Hi, I am a New Zealander, and until I read this thread I knew nothing about LJH, other than that he looks funny and speaks like an Australian.
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Originally Posted by bikeboy  Govt. foreign debt is another thing Howard says he has fixed, but all he's done is sold all our assets. This means that over the long term of say 10-20 years, we will make a net loss. But hey, it buys votes and he'll be long gone, so why should he care? |
National did this to us some years ago. No longer does my government control its countries infrastructure - not the railways, the airports, telecommunications, transport companies...
It is not cool. I think governments should own these things - keeps control with the people (under a good govt...).
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Originally Posted by grantg I think it's a little simplistic to say that 16/17 yr old girls see the dollar signs and have a baby. I don't belive that many of them would really choose to raise a child on welfare. The problem here is more about our society as a whole and gap that is widening between the rich and the poor. |
As a student of psychology, I can tell you that it is absolutely not simplistic to state that all the teenagers think about is the money. It has been proven that the prefrontal cortex is heavily involved in future-related decision making, such as to have a child or not. Our cortex (the thin layer on the outside of the brain) matures from the rear to the front. This means that, on average, one's prefrontal cortex has not fully developed until one hits 20~25 years of age.
While they may look and act like adults, humans > 20 years old need guidance, not a system that rewards impulsive decision making. ESPECIALLY not a system that rewards impulsive decisions regarding pregnancy. I am totally shocked that one may be paid to have a child!
In NZ the system is different. I am no expert, but I believe that if a single parent is struggling, there are certainly ways to get money from the government, but it is only enough to survive, the incentive (and obligation, cajolement and expectation) that the parent will AT LEAST find some part-time work.