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NZ Politics: I Have a Cunning Plan - Tax Childbirth

Submitted by Mark Hubbard on Sun, 2011-11-06 19:36

I know! I'm suggesting a tax. Bear with me ...

On TV3 Firstline this morning, after picking myself up from the floor when political reporter Patrick Gower dropped it so casually into his 'reportage' that the Green's idea of Government setting up its own Kiwisaver scheme to distort the free market even further was a fabulous one, and he couldn't understand why Labour and National hadn't thought of it, it was then reported that pursuant to some overseas agency of or other that one in every four New Zealand children was living in poverty.

I don't think it is then spurious to draw the logic line to the social welfare commentator Lindsay Mitchell statistic that 23% of all babies born over 2010 (for the State educated, that's almost one in four) were in 'homes' reliant on a hard benefit to live by the end of the first year of life.

Mmmm.

That has set me to pondering. Rather than the Save the Children lady's solution, when she was then interviewed, of spending yet more money on welfare, and creating yet new layers of bureaucracy, and working on the theory that you can't fix the problems of welfare by more welfare, I think a radical rethink is necessary.

Hence my proposal to fix this problem in just one generation: rather than taking from all taxpayers as we do currently, and subsidising childbirth, which I pose has led to these two related statistics, I think we should be doing the reverse - taxing childbirth.

This would force parents to assess their financial ability to have children, and only start families when they could afford to. This will mean within one generation, we will have virtually wiped out the horrendous 23% statistic, and with it, child poverty, in the one blow. Further, the childbirth tax could be put toward the State functions that those children will be using: education and health.

There will be a hue and cry, obviously: babies for the rich only, Occupiers in maternity wards, all founded on the protest that governments should not decide such important lifestyle choices as who has babies and who doesn't. The last of which I entirely agree with, whether it be via a subsidy or a tax, for therein lies my cunning plan

Postscript: it appears that one member of the Left, at least, didn't get this. A little clarification is given here: http://www.solopassion.com/nod...

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You're cute gregster napster

Submitted by seymourblogger on Fri, 2011-11-11 12:11.

Don't like, don't read. Simple.

Can't stop? A pity.

She's not unemployed

Submitted by seymourblogger on Fri, 2011-11-11 12:09.

She's working very hard. Onher back.

She's a breeder.

John Fowles: If people are going to breed like rabbits, then they are going to die like rabbits.

Cormac McCarthy: The Road

This post features on the

Submitted by Mark Hubbard on Tue, 2011-11-08 08:39.

This post features on the Left blog Kiwipolitico: http://www.kiwipolitico.com/20...

I've put the below comment up for author Lew to reply to:

The entire point is in the last paragraph Lew: the proper role of the State. That's what the piece is about. Why did you miss that?

But let's continue the Twitter debate, you never answered my question. Regarding unemployed mother of five on TV1 and unemployed mother of eight on TV3, I'll pay for their first kids, that's the safety net. But, why would a civilised society make me pay for children two through five, and two through eight. I have my own family to care for, and my own goals, my own interests and charities. So you convince me, Lew. Why am I to be forced and enslaved by the State to pay for irresponsibility on the scale of these two women?

How is this the 'civilised society', throwing thirteen children on the scrape heap of poverty?

And given Totalitarian Trev's

Submitted by Mark Hubbard on Tue, 2011-11-08 06:57.

And given Totalitarian Trev's one year ban of my posting on Red Alert, this is what I would wish to post to this nonsense thread of Grant Robertson: http://blog.labour.org.nz/inde...

Can someone ask unemployed mother of five on TV1 why she has five children when she couldn't afford to. Can someone ask unemployed mother of eight on TV3 why she has eight children when she couldn't even afford the first one.

I work too hard to pay for stupidity on this scale: why does the brute, and very stupid, State make me? This is way beyond irresponsible and into evil, both for me, other hardworking taxpayers, and for the children of these stupid women (who most likely, unfortunately, are going to repeat their mother's lives).

Let's see, unemployed mother

Submitted by Mark Hubbard on Tue, 2011-11-08 06:55.

Let's see, unemployed mother of five on TV1 last night and the reporter never asked 'why do you have five children when you are so young and have no job'?

Now, mother of eight on TV 3 tonight and the reporter never asked why she has eight children and no job. Why?

I work too hard to pay for this stupidity.

Why are our MSM reporters so inane and irresponsible in their jobs?

Good. The 'family' on TV1

Submitted by Mark Hubbard on Mon, 2011-11-07 20:30.

Good. The 'family' on TV1 last night, per my last post below, is doing a lot of damage to Labour this morning, as it should be.

Mark

Submitted by Richard Goode on Mon, 2011-11-07 06:15.

Set that end up as a private charity, Gregster, and I'd donate to it.

And, thanks to Peter Dunne, your donations would be fully tax deductible.

Labour's policy announcement

Submitted by Mark Hubbard on Mon, 2011-11-07 06:05.

Labour's policy announcement on extending WFF was as irresponsible as it was ludicrous.

I don't know if anyone else caught the TV 1 coverage of it tonight, but it was accompanied by a piece about a couple who were both unemployed, with five children. I thought that was bad enough, but there was no way the mother was older than twenty, indeed I'd put her around eighteen, yet she had five children and her and her partner were unemployed. I suggest the one thing they'd cottoned onto was having children earned a pay cheque from the taxpayer, and that throwing money at them like the Labour policy today is just straight damned evil.

Again, my policy above, written satirically, would in actual fact do more to solve child 'poverty' than Labour's policy of more welfare to fix the problems of welfare.

Set that end up as a private

Submitted by Mark Hubbard on Mon, 2011-11-07 04:49.

Set that end up as a private charity, Gregster, and I'd donate to it.

Another great idea

Submitted by gregster on Mon, 2011-11-07 04:27.

"They still don't tax cigarettes enough."

They should slam a punitive tax on Janet's posts. Win - win.

Overpopulation is the scourge that faces us. As John fowles said

Submitted by seymourblogger on Mon, 2011-11-07 00:26.

if people will breed like rabbits, then they shall die like rabbits."

Very good idea. And make the tax significant or you don't get the baby out of the hospital. This will mean more home births with no birth certificates. And a higher death rate for infants. Maybe.

They still don't tax cigarettes enough. More more more. And grow hemp and legalize pot and tax it tax it tax it.

Sweden has such an alcoholic problem that liquor is prohibitively expensive.

Because my point, Burnsy, as

Submitted by Mark Hubbard on Sun, 2011-11-06 23:44.

Because my point, Burnsy, as you can tell from my final paragraph, is that the State should not be involved in decisions around either childbirth or abortions.

So, to be clear:

Should the State be involved in decisions around abortion: no.

Should abortions be legal: yes, of course.

While you're at it

Submitted by Burnsy (not verified) on Sun, 2011-11-06 22:28.

I know! I'm on about abortion. Bear with me ....

What about taxing abortions?

There will be a hue and cry, obviously: E.g: abortions for the rich only, from the "Family Planning" Ass'n, The well funded (by tax payers) abortion industry and Sue Bradford etc, all founded on the protest that governments should not decide such important lifestyle choices as who has babies and who doesn't. The last of which I entirely agree with, whether it be via a subsidy or a tax, for therein lies my cunning plan.

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