A Day of Contrasts
Today summed up the difference between the two main Parties, and their respective campaigns.
On one hand National gave a good impression of three senile, blind dogs put in a sack in a sausage factory as the bumbled and stumbled over each other with regard to their three contradictory policies on native logging. Inthe end Brash executed a perfect flip-flop and scuttled what would have been a hugely unpopular policy. This is not a Party fit to run the local rabbit board, let alone a country.
On the other hand, Labour delivered a positive new policy that will make a huge difference in our primary schools. Labour will inject up to $80 million per year to bring new entrant classes down to a one teacher to fifteen child teaching ratio. The current ratio is 1:23. The policy will give young New Zealanders the best possible learning environment at a critical stage of their development.
National simply cannot deliver investments in our future of this kind while they are wedded to giving high income earners a $92 tax cut per week. I would personally receive quite a good tax cut under National, but I'd rather know that 5 year olds in our public schools are getting a great education.
9 comments:
oh now, that last 'point' if we can so dignify it, was truly, risibly, desperate spooks...
Well Mikey - thanks for confirming you'll be better off under National. And, to ensure 5 year olds in public schools get a good education you'll need to pay teachers on performance not service.
Labours's campaign is one nasty attack dog with yellow teeth. As rabid and nasty a cur as ever I've seen.
spooks, it take time to train 1300 primary teachers.....Labour (or even National, I think) wouldn't want to put an untrained spooks in front of the class, now, would it?
spooks does it not occur to you that many workers ARE parents?
the tax cuts (if we ever get them a) Nat not looking like winning and b) if they do Winston has said he is not so sure about their cuts) are going to give bosses (yet another) excuse not to put wages up. Wage increases would make a real difference to the quality of life for so many workers - tax cuts, accompanied by increases in user pays (eg Brash has said he would cut some of the subsidy on doctor's visits) will not do the business.
spooks how can you possibly have any idea what percentage of a union's members are parents? talk about fabrication!
yes wage negs happen in the gross but i have a funny feeling that many bosses would say (if Nats tax cuts happen) "well you effectively got an x% pay rise already due to the tax cuts so we are offering 0% this year." when of course some costs for those workers will have gone up (health, education, etc), more than absorbing any advantage to wages through tax cuts, so workers will be demonstrably worse off.
This is what happened in the 1990s - workers came out of that decade having lost a lot of the conditions they had in the 1980s (eg penal rates, clothing allowances) and being paid less in real terms at the end of the decade than at the start.
W4F works differently because of the way it is given out. Plus bosses cannot say "pay rises for those without families only". Besides which we know, from research done by Child Poverty Action, that it is those with children who are most in need of help - i don't know if you have any kids spooks but i hear they are expensive things to keep!
Maori have done exceptionally well under this government Spooks. Maori unemployment has plummeted (at a faster rate than the general population), many health statistics are finally beginning to improve, and maori rates of entreaupeneurship (sp!!??) are extremely high.
You're right Spooks that just providing a "handout" will not achieve anything. I think that things are looking up for Maori chiefly because Maori are taking the initiative and doing many things for themselves.
Naturally, the economic base provided to some Iwi through the settlement process of the 1990s/2000s is assisting with this. Good economic conditions and wider public policy invariably are helping as well.
Mikey - looking forward to seeing statistics are published on how well NZérs are doing. Your preoccupation with skin colour is nauseating.
Only 13 days to go and we can luxuriate in being one people.
Any comment on the One News Colmar Brunton poll this evening - congruent with your own polling? If you missed it go to David Farrar's blog.
Hahahaha! Mikey's "preoccupation with skin colour", huh?
Wtf? He was just answering Spooksy's question! Duh.
A bit of advice for Too Right - If you get your hand off it, then you might be able to successfully pull your head out of your arse.
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