tax
im not satisfied with just adding a comment to moonij’s post, this requires a rant…bear with me…
…whilst i am not saying that all beneficiaries should be forced to do community service, i do believe that in cases they should. i refer more to the likes of my sister, who gets $200 a week on the independent youth benefit, and uses it to sit on her ass and do nothing. this is a personal bug bear of mine. i dont see how its fair that she (and others essentially in the same age bracket as me) gets that money for living alone, whilst i loose a fifth of my wages to the taxman to support the scum like her, that resides underneath my shoe. whilst sure there are cases where maybe they do deserve said benefit, the majority of them are bludgers and should be forced to earn like the rest of us. take my sister for example, she has two perfectly good and loving parents, who have more than adequate homes, and chooses not to live in either. the government then condones this sort of crap by paying her a tax less income weekly. i should remind you that i cannot get a student allowance in this country, which would allow me to support myself through a period that will eventually lead to me being able to contribute to my community and our society, and yet youths that choose not to live at home can just stick their hands out. where is the justice in that? the government bitches about the amount of student debt in this country, and the amount of graduates that shift overseas, well hello! i’m a hard worker i like that, i prefer not to have to ask for or borrow money, i would rather work like 90 hours a week, and achieve a financial goal purely on the back of my own blood sweat and tears, but where is the incentive? i’m on a student tax code, and yet the bastards take a fifth of my wages, and then i get taxed additionally for every hour i work a week, after i cross the 40 hour mark. its all good they say…your a student you can claim it all back in july…thats crap, the last three years i have applyied for a refund, and each time i have recived just under a fifth of what i payed in tax? again, wheres the incentive for me and students like me to stay in new zealand? there isnt one. i am of course ignoring the fact that after i pay my income tax, i then pay gst on everything, as well as bonus taxes on petrol, alcohol, and cigarettes like everyone else. also, will we are talking about ird…does anyone else smell a rat with kiwi saver? i mean they take another cut of your wages, and invest it in a finance company. the brochure i was reading, states in the fine print, that “we cannot assure the security of your investment” does this not alarm you? cause it does me. and again laz i am not trying to offend you…but i am of the opinion that receivers of benefits, should be made to volunteer and help out around their communities, maybe this would serve as an incentive to try get self sufficient again? i dont know, it’s just my opinion.
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Jan
I disagree with you on that last, how is being forced to do community work going to give anybody incentive to get back into the workforce? Suitable job placement is what they want, not community service. Laz might have an opinion for you on that one.
Each and every person on a benefit has a different story, not everyone sitting on a benefit is a lazy ass. There is criteria put in place by the government that everyone must reach in order to receive a benefit. Just because your sister is scum (your words not mine) does not mean that you can judge all beneficiaries by her example.
Its no holiday getting a benefit, there is barely enough money to survive on.
Well said Tors and I agree whole heartedly. It’s easy for us on the working 8-5 path to assume that all beneficiaries are pond scum that suck the wealth from the rest of the nation. So what it comes down to is the same old same old… a select few ruin it for the rest of us. I can’t fathom how the stay at home dole bludger who does nothing for the economy can even look at themselves in the mirror. (And there’s plenty on benefits paid to people that don’t fit the “bludger” label, so that comment isn’t pointed at ALL beneficiaries). Those of perfect body and mind who waste away while we the workers toil to provide for them. That sucks arse. But how do you weed out the scum from the genuinely unemployed? You can’t. And I think it’s all too easy for these devious scum to pull the wool over WINZ eyes too. Too easy to give a reason why they can’t be bothered getting off their butts to better themselves. I’m proud of Kirst and proud of myself for going and making something of our lives. Goddamn it was hard at first. When we first met we were both working part-time and were both studying to some degree. When we moved in together we got bugger all in the way of support because we were no longer entitled to it. We got by okay… a damn sight better than some others get by I might add. And now? Well now we’re in a great place. We just bought our first house last year which is awesome, and not something I could have seen myself being able to do 5 years ago. We are where we are because we did. Not because we stuck our hand out. Personally, I love that we aren’t eligible for family assistance.
So whats my point? Nicola (whoops Slink, I used her name!)… you and your equals need to get real. You need to sort yourselves out. Pull your head in and play like adults. Get a job. Get training. Do something besides sitting there being a sponge and rotting yourself AND our society and generally giving TRUE beneficiaries a bad name.
[/rant]
Wow the politics keep coming!
I do agree that “bludgers” (those who use the benefit as an excuse not to work) need a kick up the butt and should be forced into work (which is what work testing and cancellation or suspension of benefit is all about) but there is a fine point to be made about the independent youth benefit you neglected to mention slink.
To get an independent youth benefit, the youth must have a signed letter from their parents saying that they either cannot or will not support said youth and that they no longer live with them. If your sister does as you say chose not to live with either parent who is offering her a decent place to live, then she is actually deceiving Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ) and as you say the New Zealand Tax Payer (NZTP). The independent youth benefit is there to help youths who’s family environment is no longer an acceptable environment to be in, for example the parents may be physically or emotionally abusive or the youth may be “out of control” and no longer tolerable to live with. Abuse of this should be reported so WINZ can act upon it.
Another point I would also like to make that I failed to mention on my comment earlier Is that yes, everyone pays g.s.t. (which was actually created to eventually replace Income tax but that never eventuated) and that people working pay income tax, but did you know that ALL benefits are taxed by the government? thats right they give out money with one hand but use the other to take back a share of it. So to say I am not a NZTP is actually a false statement. I do pay tax on my income thank you very much. It may not be as much as you pay, but I do not receive as much income as you either.
Also did you know that the unemployment benefit is not an excuse to sit at home and do nothing? no, there are conditions to receiving the benefit. You MUST take steps to search for and be available for work. Another way to look at it is that you are employed by the government to search for work. Also if there is a course that may increase your chances of employment then you are obligated to attend, an example being the Search4wrk seminars I am currently attending. Failure to meet any of these conditions will result in either suspension or cancellation of the benefit. And trust me, WINZ do investigate and act upon abuse of the unemployment benefit.
The problem of bludgers is a hard one to deal with. Those who are abusing the benefit do so by lies and deceit. As is with the justice system, said people must be assumed innocent until proven guilty, WINZ cannot act without evidence and cancel a benefit because they think someone is a bludger. And yes they do give chances for people who do abuse the system, but that is a guard against people who may have legitimately and accidentally failed a condition from being met losing there benefit.
The stigma of being unemployed is a very hard thing to deal with, like they say it is far easier to get a job when your in a job than if your on a benefit. Whys is this? it is because of the stigma that is attached to beneficiaries. I know I am a hard worker with a lot of skills and abilities that would be beneficial to any employer but because of the stigma, most employers think I am a bum who doesn’t want to work and I never get a look in. Which really sux.
So before you go bashing beneficiaries, think about these points and just remember, it could be you who may be in my shoes someday. And you wont like being called a bum or a bludger either.
Now slink, im not having a go at you matey, I’m just trying to show there are two sides to the story. Yes this story may have an unfair ending, but as is it is with life, many things are unfair.
Peace.
I think we should give Slink some special kind of award for this one…
hell yeah lets give him the Sue Bradford award for the most controversial political issue on TGM.
And the winner of the longest comment ever goes to…
me?
Haha Yes you!
What do I win?
You will be known as the winner of the longest ever comment. Thats the prize.
Lame, id rather some $ or a trophy. Hell even a certificate!