Robert posted out of frustration recently the following.
"As we pass week two I find no one is really prepared to make any comment that contradicts the Government.
I received a letter from my employer saying that I will have to use annual leave during this time of lock down.
Evidently the government's generosity does not extend to many workers who are hired by large organisations.
Evidently in two weeks time I will return to work.
I do wonder if National was in power the response might be different.
Our PM is happy to have everyone locked up and the state in control. That's what socialists do.
There are many that could easily go about their work with out endangering anyone.
Socialism wants total control and is threatened by religious beliefs especially.
Last night somebody entered my property.
We will see more of this as people grow desperate."
I responded with:
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Talk to your employer.
Really talk.Ask them if they have access to Government support and if so what is coming your way.
Don't let this go. If they say they have none coming - contact the Government. It is your right.Oh, and by the way National would be doing nothing better and more likely less in your interests than the 'socialist' Labour government is doing which fundamentally is better for you in your socio-demographic situation. Give up this silly labour-bashing and stop acting like a rich business person.
Robert answered with:
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Labour does nothing for me. Nothing. Every penny that comes into my house is from hard work. We get no subsidies despite physical and mental illness.But God provides.
You're nuts!
Go and talk to someone at Social Welfare which incidentally exists under either a Labour or National government. I believe that you will be qualified for some support. If you don't do this then stop your whinging, or, maybe, call up your National pals and see if they can help.
Yeah right! They'd be as much use as that stupid statement about god providing. Give me a break.
OK, I might have been harsh in telling him to stop whingeing. I know that he's a very hard worker and puts in all hours to support his family who do have some health issues as he suggested. Robert is a contractor and, in a way, self-employed so he doesn't see himself as a wage worker and in line for income support from a government that he doesn't believe in ("Our PM is happy to have everyone locked up and the state in control. That's what socialists do").
The problem with this is that he falls into the same trap that many hard-working, lower income New Zealanders do when supporting a political party whose ideas and ideals are in conflict with their own needs.
"Faith-based voting is the norm, in that we tend to select the election messages that best fit with our deeply held beliefs. Routinely, faith trumps the evidence. There is, for instance, a doctrine that says National is better at managing the economy, and this religious conviction goes hand in hand with an ingrained belief that Labour is a tax-and-spend lightweight on the economy, and should therefore be shunned by the cautious and the prudent. "- Gordon Campbell September 2017
In USA a big part of the reason that Donald Trump was elected president is that disenfranchised, lower income voters bought into his (now debunked) promises to increase employment in their towns, re-establish local industry and to reduce government control ('drain the swamp'). This of course has been disastrous with the people with next to nothing getting even less (job and industry losses, medicare assistance cancelled, welfare benefits reduced) while the top 1% of wealthy people get even wealthier through tax breaks and business grants.
Bizarrely, Robert who is a National supporter here, in NZ, professes to be a Trump sympathiser as well.
There is an overload on the support systems with Work and Income struggling to keep up with unprecedented demand: HERE but there are programmes in place that people can access whether they are unemployed, employees or self-employed.
It's a tragedy though that there are so many people who, maybe through a prior bad experience by them or a family member, have no faith in this and prefer to knock the system rather than support it or help to improve it. Turning your back on ideology that is close to one's needs and requirements in favour of an idealised one that is built for others in different economic situations is nuts.
This opinion piece is 6 years old but there are still some points of relevance: WHY I WILL NOT VOTE NATIONAL
I might be a bit idealistic and naive but the faith I have isn't in the existence of a mythical god but in a social support system that might have some failings but needs to be embraced, corrected and improved by all of us. Turning one's back on it isn't the answer.
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