Kia-ora
Advocates of Kiwisaver and other funded retirement savings schemes perpetuate the fundamental misunderstanding that "conventional" in New
Zealand's case "neo-liberal" economists, speculators, finance companies,
politicians and those with a lot of share holding wealth in
non-productive enterprises like to perpetuate.
In other words all those who gain from wealth transfer from workers to non-productive wealthy parasites.
The
myth is that, if we give our wealth to any of the above they will
magically increase it due to the "miracle" of compounding interest from
investment. Then give it back to us with extra when we retire.
US retirees are already finding out how that works.
The wealthy are keeping the retirement funds. Thanks very much!
"Saving" for retirement relies on three assumptions.
One. That an ever increasing amount of money equals a similar supply of real wealth and real capital.
Two. That an exponentially increasing wealth per person is possible in a finite world reaching resource limits.
Three.
That putting money into increasing land prices and increasing
derivative prices in the USA, a failing State, will somehow, "magically"
mean more money (Healthcare, food, Housing etc) to support you or me in
our retirement.
Retirement income, real income as opposed to
monetary income, as does schooling healthcare, infrastructure supply and
food, always comes from current production. If I do not eat my dinner
today, it does not mean there is someone who can give me my dinner in my
eighties.
If however, I ensure our young people have enough to
eat, good health, training in skilled jobs, functioning and effective
infrastructure and good jobs, or if these are not available, at least
enough to live on, then New Zealand will be prosperous enough to support
me in my old age.
The best investment for my old age then, is not
giving my money away for financial wizards to lose, but to pay taxes to
make sure that the next generation are happy, healthy, educated,
employed and comfortable.
Also published in "The Standard".
Showing posts with label super. Show all posts
Showing posts with label super. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
On Retirement Pensions and the Age of Entitlement.
Kia-ora
On Retirement Pensions and the Age of Entitlement.
What was wrong with the surcharge?
This is a mantra. “We cannot afford superannuation” which has been repeated so long and so often that even those who should know better repeat it.
And what did Government’s do with the more than a million, in today’s dollars, I paid in tax that they cannot afford to pay me a small proportion on retirement.
Do we really want to return to the days when most elderly people were totally impoverished when their working lives ended.
In fact super has been so effective in removing poverty amongst the elderly it should be extended to everyone in the form of a guaranteed minimum income. There is no excuse for having people with inadequate food and housing in a country which is capable of supplying an excess of both internally.
Super and other benefits are easily affordable if those who get the most benefit from our society paid their fair share.
We are fast becoming a country which does not look after its children, the sick or the old.
What does that say about us?
On Retirement Pensions and the Age of Entitlement.
What was wrong with the surcharge?
This is a mantra. “We cannot afford superannuation” which has been repeated so long and so often that even those who should know better repeat it.
And what did Government’s do with the more than a million, in today’s dollars, I paid in tax that they cannot afford to pay me a small proportion on retirement.
Do we really want to return to the days when most elderly people were totally impoverished when their working lives ended.
In fact super has been so effective in removing poverty amongst the elderly it should be extended to everyone in the form of a guaranteed minimum income. There is no excuse for having people with inadequate food and housing in a country which is capable of supplying an excess of both internally.
Super and other benefits are easily affordable if those who get the most benefit from our society paid their fair share.
We are fast becoming a country which does not look after its children, the sick or the old.
What does that say about us?
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Myths about welfare.
Kia-ora
We all hear the recurrent myths about welfare. Like thousands of young girls breeding for the DPB. In fact most DPB recipients are divorced older women whose ex partners are not giving the support they should. Hardly The women's fault.
Or the many DPB fraudsters supposedly ripping off the system. The fraud unit of WINZ found 16 million worth of fraud in 2008 or .01% of benefit [payments. And! most of the fraud was by staff.
The banks defrauded us of 2 billion dollars last tax year. A large proportion of the SCF payout was to insider traders who knew they would make a profit from the bailout.
National are costing us 300 million a week for election bribes. They are proposing to defraud us of even more with asset sales to increase the profits of asset strippers and incompetent managers.
Who are the real bludgers???
Ten-myths-about-welfare
We all hear the recurrent myths about welfare. Like thousands of young girls breeding for the DPB. In fact most DPB recipients are divorced older women whose ex partners are not giving the support they should. Hardly The women's fault.
Or the many DPB fraudsters supposedly ripping off the system. The fraud unit of WINZ found 16 million worth of fraud in 2008 or .01% of benefit [payments. And! most of the fraud was by staff.
The banks defrauded us of 2 billion dollars last tax year. A large proportion of the SCF payout was to insider traders who knew they would make a profit from the bailout.
National are costing us 300 million a week for election bribes. They are proposing to defraud us of even more with asset sales to increase the profits of asset strippers and incompetent managers.
Who are the real bludgers???
Ten-myths-about-welfare
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)