Hey Bryan.

""Now who did the right thing and was the outcome fair?""

Probably both mate....""and was the outcome fair?"" probably not mate, don't for get we haven't been means tested now for yonks.

Something else too Bryan, remember the 1/6 in the pound to service the universal superannuation that was to give us the mean average way at retirement. That was scrapped to help service the many benefits introduced back then by successive bloody governments.

Your folks should have retired at 60 on a good superannuation scheme
and not be looking for an extra quid that they so richly deserved.

My parents did not own a house freehold till 1968 and at that point pop still owned a 1955 A30 that was knackered. But they were thankful with what they received, he died in 2000 still owning his 2nd. ever car, a Morris 1100, probably 30 years old then.

You know something mate, our oldies have been shat-on by successive govt's over the years in their headlong rush to butter-up the young benefit bludgers so as to occupy the treasury benches. You may remember before the 2008 election the Labour outfit was going to drop the level of our 'super' payments to 60% and with a possible increase in age!!! I posted that on here at the time mate.

Cheers mate.

It's not easy when your on welfare and I know. We live on $21,ooo a year, two teenage boys and myself. Oily rag stuff but we manage, have car,sky and internet, the mortgage gets paid, so get by. Can't get a job, six years of sending in C.V's answering jobs, no joy. Keep trying. There's jobs out there they say. True the last one I went for paid less than my teenage son who pumps petrol after school gets. The Politicians forget the minute they get into Parliament were they come/came from and it's all about the MONEY! As for the family on Campbell Live who said they struggled on $80 G a year to get by!!! What the hell were they spending it on????? Maybe like the guy that they put on the show from last year who couldn't live on $20 G, they like him brought groceries from the local dairy. The thing is the more you earn the more you spend and tend to waste. Every country in the world now the rich are getting richer, ie; China and Russia. If we all live within our means the rich don't get richer!!!!

BD,

""And Squirter,we may not have got free lunches in the 50s but we did get free milk...I remember it well.""

It was free to the primary level only....I delivered it. From memory 3d per pint elsewhere. I thought we were generalising on here.

Cheers.

Not sure where you get your information from Squirter. I don't remember raising the age of entitlement was a Labour Party Policy in the 2008 Election and I remember that they promised to keep Super at 66% of the average wage (for couples).

This from the National Business Review:- Policies of all Parties: 2008

SAVINGS AND SUPERANNUATION

ACT: Axe KiwiSaver and phase out current government superannuation; introduce new government subsidised private savings scheme with higher taxes for those who do not join; use government super contributions to pay for any benefits in person or children's lives.

GREENS: Keep KiwiSaver and universal superannuation.

LABOUR: Keep KiwiSaver and universal superannuation at 66 percent of average wage.

MAORI PARTY: Keep KiwiSaver and universal superannuation.

NATIONAL: Reduce minimum employee KiwiSaver contribution from 4 percent to 2 percent and reduce employer contribution from 4 percent to 2 percent, cap government employee subsidy at 2 percent; keep universal superannuation at 66 percent of average wage.

NZ FIRST: Boost superannuation from 66 to 68 percent of net average wage; eventually individualise super accounts; support KiwiSaver; direct NZ Superannuation Fund to invest more in local infrastructure.

PROGRESSIVE: Support KiwiSaver and guarantee universal superannuation at current level of 66 percent of average wage.

UNITED FUTURE: Support KiwiSaver and seek to have more of its funds reinvested in New Zealand; increase superannuation by calculating it based on forecast of inflation rather than retrospectively.

G'day Earthy.

""As for the family on Campbell Live who said they struggled on $80 G a year to get by!!! What the hell were they spending it on?????""

I broke my back in the 90's mate and spent only a few years on a benefit.

Great stuff mate....keep on posting mate.















Cheers mate.

Hi Earthy,
No, it's not easy on Welfare and you've clearly done well to manage as you do. Most small towns have been very hard hit by the Recession and I suppose the Pike River tragedy has influenced that for all of you.
What sort of work did you used to do?
Are both your boys still at school? What do they plan to do when they leave?

Hi Earthy, It certainly isn,t easy. I lived on an Invalids benefit from 1985- 87 and then a partial one from 1987-90 when I was able to hold down a part-time job I worked from a wheelchair too.

Arandar,

Your No16. I'm not interested in regurgitating different party policies of 2008 love I've moved on, but for your interest I was telling Bryan what I knew and posted on here at the time. You see love 5 or 6 of us on here make jolly good use of our computers when it comes to polititians....I emailed all 120 of the them and that was the responce from different camps.....it was going to be sprung on the population sometime after had they been succssful. That was backed up by another couple of members.

You did not think in your wildest dreams that the Labour mob would have that as party policy when they were lagging miles behind in the polls prior to the election did you.

Arnold Nordmeyer, Labour minister of finance did a similar thing back in the mid to late 50's when he upped the price of smokes, beer, petrol, and from memory taxes, needless to say they were a one term government.

Cheers.

I see - so it wasn't public policy; rather something some unnamed Labour MP told you they were planning to do after the election in direct contradiction to what they had said.

Don't suppose you kept the email Squirter did you by any chance? It would have been very useful ammo wouldn't it? A real gotcha!!

Hey Arandar,

""some unnamed Labour MP told you they were planning to do after the election in direct contradiction to what they had said.""

Crikey love, if you can name me one party that hasn't done a similar thing, well, I'll goan eat ole OKKA's hat after he's hung my big photo up on his lounge wall. the only polititian I'd ever consider considering to be half human is the hua that bucks his party IE. Tamihere, Winnie, Ruthless Ruth, Michael Laws, who else ??....crikey that means Prebble and the other joker Douglas....I need help to consider my considering I think. not very consistant.

Cheers love.

Quote Squirty----"well, I'll goan eat ole OKKA's hat after he's hung my big photo up on his lounge wall."

crikey ! an enlarged Squirter , the mind boggles

"Can't get a job, six years of sending in C.V's answering jobs, no joy. Keep trying. There's jobs out there they say. True the last one I went for paid less than my teenage son who pumps petrol after school gets. "


Earthy,I don't think you'd be the only person in that situation;all you can do is keep trying.
What is worrying is the view we're being fed by the media of people on a benefit being 'lazy bludgers' (when they know full well that those people are a tiny minority) & if they need to interview a beneficiary,they invariably opt for an unattractive,overweight (& a smoker if possible) person who isn't especially articulate.
The perception that all beneficiaries are just lazy bludgers who don't want to work is now quite widespread.

I'd like to see some fairness - why do we almost never hear of those on benefits who do cope on a low income,,some bringing up their family extremely well & whose kids in turn do well.