The danger of woke middle class identity politics replacing class left analysis is that the politics devolve into a micro aggression deplatforming campaign that alienates rather than builds solidarity against free market capitalism.
The true demarcation of power in a. democratic capitalist state is the 1% richest + their 9% enablers Vs the 90% rest of us.
Identity Politics simply cements into place a caste system of intersectionism alongside a terminal tribal affiliation to your skin colour, gender or identity.
There needs to be far more common ground and shared values.
We need to remove the yoke of taxation from the 90% and reset it to the 10% richest.
The minefield of social justice and it’s never ending pure temple deplatforming of everything that triggers it will only drive people further from the Left in an intense economic downturn because you can’t eat virtue signalling aesthetics.
- $608 million in housing equity was made by landlords
- 9.6% increase in rent for tenants
- 18.4% of children live in households earning less than half the median income after housing costs
- $5.5 billion in profit made by ANZ, BNZ, ASB and Westpac
and the Top 1% own 25% of wealth while the Bottom 50% owns 2% of wealth
If you think the worst inflation in 30 years is bad now, wait until the impact of the Ukrainian war and broken supply chains in China hit.
The Left’s take over by the middle class woke has led to the low hanging fruit of identity politics rather than hegemonic economic change, Max Rashbrooke has attempted to regain the economic issue by endorsing a tax cut TDB has been championing, tax free first $20 000…
Here’s how Labour could outflank Luxon on tax
Labour could take the $1.7b cost of Luxon’s threshold adjustments and – as former party staffers such as Clint Smith have suggested– redirect it towards more progressive tax cuts. For the same cost, Labour could make the first $5000 of income tax-free. This would save a minimum-wage worker 10.5% of $5000, or $525 – nearly five times Luxon’s offer. Average earners would get the same tax cut.
…When I set MANA up with Matt McCarten, Hone Harawira, John Minto, Sue Bradford and the incredible Annette Sykes, there was an understanding that at the core of Left wing politics was a need to use the State to materially better everyone.
At the centre of that philosophical core was an understanding that the very tax system itself needed to be reset by taking the burden off the working poor and placing out upon the wealthy.
MANA argued for a Financial Transaction Tax that would be a base rate on all automated bank transactions, it would raise enough tax to bring GST down to 10% while allowing the first $20 000 to be tax free. The extra revenue would allow for a mass State Housing rebuild plus free public transport plus more money for education and health.
The total tax take from workers would lower while forcing the Banks, Corporates and Speculators to finally pay for their greed.
This is why the Tax debate every fucking election is such a shallow and hollow joke. Labour says blah blah blah and National scream tax cut. They are both fighting over an ever diminishing pie!
It’s the Great NZ Tax Cut Scam that never actually fixes the problem!
We need a radical means to place the yoke of taxation onto those who are causing the most economic damage and greed – the Banks, the Corporates and Speculators!
Labour must think big on funding universal provision of services to survive the economic downturn and the new post-Covid reality in a climate warming world!
To fund these big services we need a new tax system. A Financial Transaction Tax penalises those who are the greediest while funding the services that benefit everyone.
-Free Public Transport: Rather than welfare increases that the cruel and insidious MSD clawback, put money back into the pockets of the poorest with free public transport, while reducing climate pollution AND making roads more free for those who need to use them. Free Public Transport would make voters care.
-Free Dental Services: Our lack of free Dental is a disgraceful outcome of free market neoliberalism over public health.
-Free Breakfast and lunches in all schools: Again, rather than welfare increases that the cruel and insidious MSD clawback, put money back into the pockets of the poorest with free Breakfasts and Lunches at school. With inflation and mortgage rates soaring even the children of the middle classes will benefit.
-Legalise Cannabis: FFS, it generates half a billion in revenue and justice system savings, just do it for Christ’s sakes you gutless wonders!
-30 000 State House Build: Rather than simply trying to fund flawed models of a rigged property market built for speculators, do mass State Housing builds for only State House tenants and owner occupiers with rent to own options. Build these on Golf Courses we seize back from Auckland and Wellington using the Public Works Act.
-First $20 000 Tax Free: Most people earn barely $40 000, making the first $20 000 tax free would benefit the poorest first and most.
-Vice Tax on all Gambling, Tobacco & Booze: A special super tax on top of the total tax paid for products that are a blight upon society. Why should the Gambling Booze Vape Barons peddle their harmful products with the barest of responsibility?
-Sugar Tax: The Big Sugar Drug Dealers have been allowed to sell their highly addictive drugs directly to market with no penalty for too long. Time too pay punks.
-Remove GST from fresh fruit and vegetables: Make healthier choices cheaper, works best with a sugar tax.
-30% Stake-hold in Supermarket Duopoly: The broken market is creating a million dollars additional profit each day to the Duopoly. Fuck them. A new supermarket chain will reduce cost and voters need to see that in an inflation explosion.
A Financial Transaction Tax, Sugar Tax and a taxed Cannabis Market could fund new services, old services PLUS take the tax take off the poorest and put it on the richest.
It’s time to be radical.
Why?
Because the economy is about to get hammered and the old systems won’t work any longer.
The sooner we start seeing it as the 90% vs the 10%, the sooner we can get actual change.
Increasingly having independent opinion in a mainstream media environment which mostly echo one another has become more important than ever, so if you value having an independent voice – please donate here.
If you can’t contribute but want to help, please always feel free to share our blogs on social media
I think the following points re enforce that sad fact that Jacinda and Grant and the rest of the kindness team have never and will never do piss all for so many because they chose to enrich their upper middle class base who don’t care about the many economic refugees who are subjected to neo liberal’s kindness party with the big smiles and if this is their ” build back better ” response then until we get a new real left alternative there will be no change and only deteriorate more and more for many of our whanau.
$608 million in housing equity was made by landlords
9.6% increase in rent for tenants
18.4% of children live in households earning less than half the median income after housing costs
$5.5 billion in profit made by ANZ, BNZ, ASB and Westpac
Point 1. Sigh…National and ACT calling for tax cuts. I for a brief moment thought Nicola Willis just might be a change for better in National. No idea why I thought that but hey, I was wrong. At a time when Andrew Little is digging the grave of New Zealand’s public health system through pig headed incompetence and as always, a lack of funding, National demand tax cuts! FFS National, you guys are dumb. Really dumb. Appealing to base greed is not smart!
Point 2. The building industry is saying work is rapidly drying up to the point where lay-offs will happen because of interest rates and loan restrictions, lack of confidence and inflation. Plus of course the good ol’ kiwi tradition of ripping off your fellow man with material costs. Now is the time where Labour honour their BROKEN PROMISE and use that slack in the system to eliminate the deficit of social housing and do Kiwibuild. Two birds with one stone, we don’t lose those skills to Australia and two, we fix the broken housing system by flooding it with cheaper housing. No excuses. What do ya reckon? Then I think of Megan Woods and realise I may as well be talking to my cat!
lay offs have already started. so far its just painters and plasterers, but sparkies and plumbers will most likely be next.
fuck Fletchers, those incompetant arseholes on the board should all be sacked.
Finally, Cannabis Law Reform makes a come back
Identity politics does not work and is even more dangerous, as we see it being used to champion lower wages, scab labour and subjugate woman’s rights further.
The stupidity and division of woke thinking and globalist Labour policy, has enabled the conservatives to take over the middle class.
It does not matter what colour you are, it is what the person stands for that is important.
AKA – Wanabe conservative leader Rishi Sunak, globalist, Thatcherite – with a privileged life and billionaire wife, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/mar/10/the-guardian-view-on-rishi-sunaks-politics-profits-above-wages
Rishi Sunak’s family wealth is obscene in contrast to the UK’s endemic poverty
https://www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2022/04/10/rishi-sunaks-family-wealth-is-obscene-in-contrast-to-the-uks-endemic-poverty/
so would you then say that any Maori in NZ that comes from a well to do family and has gone to a nice school should not run for government because whilst they are a minority they are not the correct minority?
Nope I’m saying it does not matter what race they are, it is what their policies are.
I’m against both the woke and the supremacists about their versions of superior identity and I think the longer the woke, who are pretty much largely white neoliberals with identity issues that cling on to some past relative to give themselves career boasts, have control of Labeen and other Labour governments around the world, the easier the Natz/Conservatives will gain power.
You can have Maori polices that make things worse for Maori aka the renting rules that seem to be pushing Maori into expensive, corporate run, transitional housing.
You can have Maori policies that make things better. It’s not being Maori that is the big factor – it is what the policy is.
Some of the biggest fascists in the UK conservatives are not white and come from minority backgrounds but are extremely privileged, so thinking identity is the magic that will transform everything is stupid, naive and lazy thinking – but seems very popular with billionaires of US, UK, who want cheaper labour to run their factories around the world and countries like China and Russia because it is very de stabling to suddenly have massive demands on infrastructure and services while wages deteriorate – leading to inflation.
Soon the woke will turn South Auckland into their dream new housing – there will no longer be nice, big, freestanding affordable housing for Pacific Islanders.
Not sure the Pacific Island community will thank the woke vision which is a neoliberal vision of them all in ‘warm, dry’ battery houses, just like I’m not sure that Maori are thanking Labeen for their housing policies, done apparently on their behalf.
I agree with much of what you say Martyn but the issue is the Labour Government are incompetent unable to do anything constructive. Examples abound,after 5 years they are yet to deliver on most of their election promises.
How can you call yourself a caring kind government when your actions have made the rich richer the poor poorer.Attacked your voting base.
What I would like to know is:
1. What ethical justification do you offer for loading the entire tax burden onto 10% of the population? I’m not talking about “feelz” but actually providing a reason that this proportion of the population be made to pay everyone else’s share?
2. If this were to happen, what do you propose the obligations of the 90% should be? That is, if they are given a free ride what will they be required to do. Mow the 10%s lawns or perhaps just live a crime free life? And if they fail to meet these obligations, what are the consequences?
Right now there is a significant minority of the population that contribute nothing and are committing crimes with impunity but you don’t seem to consider what might be done to address this. More money clearly doesn’t work since the problems have only gotten worse as additional layers have added to the social security net.
exactly – a decent society is one where people try to do their best for their community and themselves, not just look after themselves while flogging everyone else to do more for them. At the end of the day, people have to work or else you have no health system, no transport system and no food. Work is part of life and the best thing is to make it fair, well paid and more enjoyable for adults in between childhood and retirement, the opposite of where NZ is going.
What ethical justification do you offer for loading the entire tax burden onto 10% of the population?
The poor would still pay tax on any income they earn in excess of $20,000. The wealthy would benefit from not having to pay tax on the first $20,000 of THEIR income. That’s how a progressive tax system operates.
Quite right, Jays. If you were one of the 10% forced to carry the entire tax burden, you’d bugger off wouldn’t you. And then of those left, does the 10% of them carry the entire tax burden and so on and so on until the last person left in the country turns the light out as they depart……
$608 billion don’t you mean?
Tax every other house, property owned other than the family home. CGT. That’ll raise a few billion bucks and also get some put back out onto the market for sale which right now would be a good thing for buyers!
The RBNZ scum played a blinder. They used COVID to pump up assets, made themselves multi squillionaires and then left the RBNZ. Orr has held the fort whilst his mates flee. He will be gone soon. Sick joke and Robbo didn’t have a clue what they were doing.
Comments are closed.