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So I was watching an interview with Bill English on the news and he came out with this little gem
Listening it seemed to me that English was trying to use incentive and opportunity as synonyms. I'm sorry Mr English, but it doesn't wash. The people on lower incomes have -no- shortage of *incentive* to improve their lot, what they are having difficulty finding are *opportunities*.
What we need is the *incentive* for those people who -actually- got the ability to increase savings, invest and export from the last budget, which are the ones on *not-low* incomes, to spend that money providing *opportunities*. In more than just a trickle down sort of fashion. Because "rich" people saving/paying off debt, investing (probably offshore) and exporting (commodities for ever higher per-unit prices) doesn't necessarily create a single better-paying-than-what-we-already-have opportunity here in New Zealand.
[and props to TVNZ for providing these transcripts on their website, it's a hell of a lot faster to reference than having to re-watch the interview]
GUYON [re inequality] So it stays the same, roughly, the gap. You're not moving, or you don't put it as a priority to close that gap at all? Because in two Budgets, you haven't moved it.
ENGLISH Well, what will close it is a faster growing economy and more opportunities for people on lower incomes to get their incomes up. We changed the incentives in the tax system last Budget so that there is more incentive to get ahead, to increase your income, to increase your savings, to invest and to export. That is the key to reducing inequality - more opportunities and faster rising incomes.
Listening it seemed to me that English was trying to use incentive and opportunity as synonyms. I'm sorry Mr English, but it doesn't wash. The people on lower incomes have -no- shortage of *incentive* to improve their lot, what they are having difficulty finding are *opportunities*.
What we need is the *incentive* for those people who -actually- got the ability to increase savings, invest and export from the last budget, which are the ones on *not-low* incomes, to spend that money providing *opportunities*. In more than just a trickle down sort of fashion. Because "rich" people saving/paying off debt, investing (probably offshore) and exporting (commodities for ever higher per-unit prices) doesn't necessarily create a single better-paying-than-what-we-already-have opportunity here in New Zealand.
[and props to TVNZ for providing these transcripts on their website, it's a hell of a lot faster to reference than having to re-watch the interview]
