Is MSD keeping track of #IamMetiria ?
One of the most important points about Metiria’s courageous admission that a quarter of a century ago the draconian nature of welfare forced her to lie to feed her family, is that it has shone a spotlight onto the down right evil tactics used by MSD to crucify the poor.
The Daily Blog has catalogued the list of terrible treatment at the hands of state agencies and how their flawed punitive and draconian ‘fraud’ process actually hurts and damages more than it holds to account.
Once upon a time in New Zealand, the agencies of state welfare were constructed as an instrumental and direct means to ensure our egalitarian values.
Social welfare was seen as a way to redistribute back to the most vulnerable amongst us and these agencies were critical in carrying out that redistribution.
There was a pride involved in this public service, our compassion made us unique and it built the values from which we as New Zealanders have benefitted from.
That simply is no longer the case.
For the last 30+ years, the neoliberal experiment has turned our once egalitarian welfare state into a neoliberal welfare state. The branches of social welfare, the MoD, CYFS, Corrections, Parole Services, Housing NZ, WINZ and Mental health have all been warped and mutated into weapons to punish the poor for being vulnerable.
The truth is that NZ no longer has a functioning welfare state, these once grand bastions of egalitarianism were built to support and provide at a time when Governments believed they had a direct responsibilities and obligations for the cradle to grave support of their citizens as a means to ward off the extremes unregulated Capitalism can create. We saw those extremes rupture in World War 2. Post world war 2 and the managed capitalism boom, these obligations and responsibilities by the state were transformed directly to the individual as neoliberal revolutions reset government agendas in the 1980s.
NZs neoliberal revolution occurred 30 years ago and it has impacted every fragment of our economic, social and political narrative. A neoliberal welfare state is not there to help the vulnerable because that’s considered dependency, instead it acts like a giant stick to beat people and find ways to punish them for breaches of rules they don’t know about.
Just consider this…
More than half of all beneficiaries owe Work and Income money
Figures released to Checkpoint With John Campbell show 60 percent of beneficiaries had a debt, up from 49 percent in 2008.
The debt includes money owed for overpayments, one-off grants for living costs, and some fraud.
…you read that right, 60% of beneficiaries owe WINZ money because of WINZ convoluted processes and spite. That debt is effectively a life sentence to most beneficiaries, they are indebted slaves to a system that will punish them if they ever dare speak out against it.
This viciousness is not only seen in the spiteful policy of MSD but also in the mass surveillance powers they have given themselves to spy on beneficiaries. Which leads to an interesting question, because MSD spy on social media for welfare fraud, are they following the #IamMetiria social media campaign and will begin secretly investigating anyone who uses the tag?
What most NZers are not aware of is the level of brutal spite masquerading as social policy and watching the tentacles of the MSD unleashed and starting to crush people in our social media feeds will be a stark lesson on how corrupted and perverted our system has become.
We have no choice as individuals of conscience but to stand with those facing this level of brutality from the State.
#IamMetiria
Thirty years of neoliberal ideologically driven policies has turned us into a society with massive inequality, and an equally massive deficit in empathy and compassion.
According to neolibtard doctrine the unemployed play a hugely important role in the economy.
Every jobseeker should walk tall as they are keeping NZ competitive by ensuring that job competition enforces low wage rates. They’re national heros, and I mean that sincerely.
Odd then that the neolibtards don’t recognise this. A typical act of cognitive dissonance.
Since National came into power, the MSD as with ACC have now been turned into profit making corporations. They were never set up for this but National runs Government as a return on investment. Disgraceful.
One only looks at ACC claims being turned down, not by the original GP but a second hand selected Government controlled GP.
Disgraceful.
Bang on Bert!
There have been previous disclosures about beneficiaries being spied on. I think that is established fact now.
Bill English’s social big data project seeks to extend this, and turn the screws on the rack; it is no surprise then that the people running Bill English’s big data project are former geospatial analysts for spy agencies, formerly responsible for targeting people with drone strikes.
Just as we see National proudly moving from openly exploiting migrant workers and moving to exploit the local population because it removes travel and maintaine costs associated with that already cheap Labour, the National Party is now quite literally bringing the War on Terror back home, to target the minorities they despise at home, too.
Shocking flfthy Natiaonal truth, if true… can someone look into it?
If you want to have your say, use a cafe’ or library.
MSD has already stated publicly that that trawl through Facebook and other social media accounts. Welfare recipients past and present need to be VERY VERY CAREFUL what they say online.
#IamMetiria
University of Waikato senior psychology lecturer Dr Ottilie Stolte said research demonstrated beneficiaries routinely work under the table for cash or find some means of supplementing benefits, legal or otherwise.
“Throughout the research I don’t know of a single case where I have heard of somebody relying on welfare who has been able to survive just on that.
“It’s pretty much the norm now that they are either doing under the table work or illegal activities, lying or not quite telling the truth. The grey economy. Or they are eating $1 loaves of bread. Or they are relying on charities for food.
“In the past the solution for poverty was work but now, globally, half of the people who are in poverty are in work.”
Changes to the welfare state can be traced to the 1980s and early 1990s, when a raft of cuts were introduced, she said.
There were changes to employment laws, unions were weakened, and lower wages were painted as a way to promote economic competition.
Now, high food prices, rent increases, house price inflation, consumer debt, finance deals, low-wage service jobs, part-time work, split shifts, casual contracts, and job insecurity are all part and parcel of the modern economy.
“Definitely it was difficult [in the 90s] but nowhere near as difficult is it is today. It’s got a lot harder since she [Turei] was a solo mum. Social mobility is more problematic today,” Stolte said.
She believed there was “very good spin for the last 20 or so years” to scaremonger people into the idea welfare was unaffordable.
“In so many ways we are getting more and more divisions in society. People have less to do with people who aren’t like them. People who have lots of money don’t mix with people who are poor.
“When I was at school the surgeon’s child was in the class with the rubbish collector’s child.”
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New Zealand’s welfare system is no longer a functioning … – Stuff.co.nz
https://www.stuff.co.nz/…/new-zealands-welfare-system-is-no-longer-a-functioning-syste…
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And of course the changes she was referring to was the original subversion of our social democracy and its successful Keynesian economic system with the traitor Roger Douglas and his neo liberalism in 1984 ,…
And the changes that the following Bolger National government implemented under its Finance Minister Ruth Richardson called the ‘Mother of all Budgets’ , – which was a barely camouflaged set of initiatives to dismantle the Keynesian welfare state.
This was followed quickly by the same government with the ‘Employment Contracts Act’ , – which was a set of legislation designed to smash the Trade Unions and do away with collective bargaining and put downwards pressure on wages and terms of employment, – and enable employers to strip employees rights to legally bargain collectively for wages and conditions.
This then turned into the Employment Relations Act,… and although touted as softening the original Employment Contracts Act , – does nothing more than disguise the true intent about what this piece of legislation is designed to do and for whom it was designed.
I will give those who are young and not familiar with this history a hint and something to look up…
Business Roundtable – who now call themselves the ‘ New Zealand Initiative’ .
These and others like them , – were the bodies that not only drew up and advised neo liberal politicians during that time, – but are still very active today in subverting our elected officials.
Because in order to plunder this country’s wealth , they needed their cadre of political front men and women to ram through legislation that no one in their right minds would ever consent to . They found those two people in Roger Douglas and Ruth Richardson. Both members on the Board of Directors of the Mont Pelerin Society.
Theres another organization people can look up and research.
AND if anything,… we should have some measure of sympathy and understanding for all these people who have so easily been victims to these neo liberals propaganda and attack Metiria … they have had no other real narrative or historical precedent by which to compare…
Opposing thought has been systematically opposed and shut down over 3 decades,… and replaced with the notion that neo liberalism is the new legitimate ‘Orthodoxy’ with catchphrases such as ‘ TINA’ ( There Is No Alternative ) , when in fact there are many far better alternatives such as a social democracy and a Keynes based economy and that neo liberalism, – is only one choice , – and an extremely poor one at that.
They become angry over things that they by and large don’t understand and lack any historical reference point to … that 3 decades ago… would never have been acceptable. That is , of course ,… until the neo liberals started to make serious and ominous inroads into our egalitarian values and political system.
The exact point at which we find ourselves at today.
This is why Metiria Turei is such an incredibly brave and heroic woman.
She has challenged the Empire and the Empire has been found wanting.
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worship.