Today's Howick & Pakuranga Times
Pity about the headline!
http://www.times.co.nz/story_0006616.shtml
Give interest-free money to everyone, not just students, scoffs Williamson
By CHRIS SUGRUE
LABOUR candidate Michael Wood is ‘stoked’ by his party’s proposed student loans policy.
“Along with many other young New Zealanders, I am absolutely stoked by the pledge card announcement that Labour will scrap the interest on student loans for graduates living in New Zealand,” said the Pakuranga candidate.
“This policy will make a real difference to 400,000 young New Zealanders with loans. A friend of mine with post-graduate qualifications has a $50,000 loan and a $55,000 salary.
Under Labour’s policy he’ll pay off his loan eight years quicker, saving $47,000. This policy will encourage New Zealand’s best and brightest to keep their skills and talents here in New Zealand.
That’s good for young New Zealanders and good for our economy.”
But Mr Woods’ views predictably don’t sit well with Pakuranga National MP Maurice Williamson.
“I think it’s an appallingly reckless thing to do,” said Mr Williamson, who attributes the move to “desperation”.
“What if you’ve gone and done something else in life, like a bricklayer or electrician - why don’t you get free money for your business to get yourself set up?”
He quipped: “[under Labour’s policy] you’d be mad not to enrol in a tertiary institution and borrow to the maximum, then stick the money into some form of government bonds where it’s safe, make the interest off it, and never have to pay interest on the money you’re owing.
“It’s a bad signal. If giving people interest-free money is a good idea, why don’t they give it to businesses, why don’t they give it to homeowners for their mortgages – interest-free money for everyone, it would be great.”
18 comments:
Spooks, Micheal Wood aka Bertrand Bargolias can little afford to alienate the voters in Pakuranga.
Wood may be interested in http://www.executive.govt.nz/96-99/minister/williamson/electorate/electorate.htm which shows approx. 45% of voters in Pakuranga are aged 45+. Whoops!
Another nieve Labour candidate, wet-behind-the-ears, and shooting off at the mouth without thinking.
He'll be lucky to beat the highly visible but misguided Steve Baron in Pakuranga pushing his BCIR barrow.
Yes, there are many many people aged over 45 in Pakuranga who are the parents and grandparents of students and graduates weighed down with student loans.....
Hello Ryan (and anyone else who may be interested)...
In case you don't know this, Spooks lied about that quote. Spooks changed the wording and then attributed it to Michael, who never said that stuff about expecting older folk to pay for our youthful indulgences.
We haven't had an apology from him yet (and personally I'm not holding my breath for one) but we do have an admission of guilt, later on in that 'Poll Surge' thread.
Just thought everyone should know.
Nice page!!! Greatings from Germany!!!
Willkommen, Chris! Ich hoffe, dass Sie Ihren Aufenthalt genießen!
Hello also Chris, I hope you are an SPD supporter ;-)
It's interesting actually, whenever I speak to retired voters in Pakuranga, one of their top concerns tends to be student debt. I am quite sure that the interest-free policy will go down as well in the retirement villages as it does on the campuses.
They are keen for their granchildren to have the same opportunities to get ahead that they had at the start of adult lives. It's hard to do that with a five figure debt hanging over your head. Labour is addressing this problem, National will not.
Spooks, this is frustrating.
Firstly, you have lied on this thread by stating that I've said things that I patently have not. Anyone can check this.
Secondly, you're utterly fixated on the notion that this policy is some kind of a gift to students to the point of excluding any other considerations.
Are you actually suggesting that any state subsidy of tertiary education is invalid? Because if not charging interest on loans is an immoral impost on taxpayers, then surely any subsidy on tertiary study is equally unjustifiable. This would mean no student allowances and standard fees around three time the current level.
Actually, by the same logic we should wind up National Superannuation (a cynical bribe for the grey vote), stop funding public schools and hospitals(public money into a slush fund for those who 'choose' to have children), and abandon even a safety net welfare system (why should I pay tax just because someone else is too sick to work?).
Is this really what you believe? Or is it just that Student loans are a special case? If so, why?
Poetic license!!! Superb, Spooksy! :-p
Putting quotation marks around a snippet of text that you've rearranged to suit you own purposes, and attributing it to someone else with their name and date... is something called 'poetic license' apparently!
Hahahaha!!!
That's probably what Goebbels would have called it too, I reckon! Poetic license... you kill me!... hahaha...
Don't ever change, Spooksy. We love you just the way you are :-)
But spooks, what is true is that when the interest-free whilst studying policy was introduced Treasury predicted an explosion in the proportion of students taking out loans.
It didn't happen. There was a small increase of a few percent.
Yes, it's that time again, folks. So pull up a chair, get comfy, and welcome to: 'Spoosky's Remedial Reading Time!'
Ra-ta-ta-ta-da-da-daaaahh-dah!
Yes Spoosky. I did compare you to "no less than Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's chief propagandist, murderer of millions". But only in-so-far as you both spread misinformation. So there's the similarity right there. You with me so far?
You'll notice that I did not say that there aren't also some significant differences between you and Goebbels. There are. For a start, he was actually good at what he did. i.e. He had people believing what he said - rather than just laughing contemptuously - which is the response that you tend to elicit.
And as for the "murderer of millions" bit, I'll let you off the hook here too - cos I'm sure we would have heard about it if you'd been 'offing' millions of people in the short breaks that you take between posting to this blog.... So, it looks like the only thing you've been murdering is intelligent debate.
So don't worry, ol' Spooksy - you're not that much like Joe. Just a bit :-)
I've just had an enlightening thought - an epiphany, if you will. It's this: Spooksy must be right in everything that he's said on this blog because he's always had the last word in every thread he's contributed to. Check out every thread, you'll see that the last word is always Spooksy's. I mean, this must be 100% proof of his guru-like knowledge about all of the topics raised, right? (OK, I admit, he does spawn some very amused private emails between the rest of us - but they don't count, right? Spooksy always has the last word on the threads, which means that he's the winner. It's quantity rather than quality that counts in this game - we know this now).
Y'all agree with this don't you? This last word thing must mean he's terribly smart. It simply can't be the product of a 6 year old's tit-for-tat temperament and a micro-penis to match, right?
Ah well... one day... perhaps... Spooksy will put his trousers back on and decide to rejoin the rest of society. He may find it tough, but I do wish him well in his endeavours.
Anyway, let's get back onto (some sort of) topic. You mentioned 'flip-flopping', Spooksy. Would you care to explain your man Don Brash's ever-changing positions on gay people (mainstream or not mainstream?) the Superfund (yes or no?) and the War on Iraq (shall we put a big bullseye on NZ or shall we not?).
(Or is it only the Labour govt we're shining the flashlight on here?).
We're looking forward to your justification of why this man is even remotely fit to be PM... And remember: Last word wins!
Now, spooks, read carefully:
"But spooks, what is true is that when the interest-free whilst studying policy was introduced Treasury predicted an explosion in the PROPORTION OF STUDENTS taking out loans.
It didn't happen. There was a small increase of a few percent".....
in the proportion of students taking out loans, not the total amount of student debt, or average debt per debt-holder....the latter, which as your very figures on earlier threads have shown, has only increased by the rate of inflation under Labour, after exploding in real terms under National....
so, again, spooks, you'd have rather had it that Labour had placed all those students on a benefit-style student allowance?
Or not allowed them to study?
right, so you do have a problem now with benefit-style student allowances, having said you did not have a problem with them before?
It's very simple what is being asked here, spooks....
well I'm just waiting for your answer spooks.....
>>>Cheezy, promoting Don Brash on >>>this site is not in my brief. >>>Exposing this as a Labour >>>propaganda disinformation site >>>is.
Then how come you're not doing either?
In Spooksy's world, indulging in nonsensical ranting and getting awfully upset obviously counts as an 'expose'... Woodward & Bernstein have little to fear methinks.
Don't worry, we've all noted that nobody else can find any good words to say about Don either!
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