Monday, July 02, 2007

The Working for Families goose

I knew WFF represented a fairly dramatic lift in redistribution but the money available continues to surprise me. Here's a couple of stories from the latest Ministry of Social Development regional newsletters;

Recently one of Eileen’s clients was a woman on the Domestic Purposes Benefit who was experiencing severe financial and mental hardship. Eileen assessed that the woman was not receiving her correct family assistance entitlements, so on behalf of the client she made one phone call to IRD. Fifteen minutes later she was informed that her client would receive an extra $184 per week plus an $8,000 back payment from IRD. “Prior to our meeting she was showing signs of extreme distress. When she left us she was over the moon, a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders, all the stress and emotion had gone,” says Eileen.

Work and Income even go looking for people to give it to;

Forty thousand people over a four-day festival kept Work and Income staff busy at the Te Matatini National Kapa Haka competition held in Palmerston North. Work and Income staff were there promoting the Working for Families package, and information on Enterprising Communities. “This is a huge whänau event where we were able to provide families with information that can change lives. People were surprised at how much they can be earning and still be eligible for assistance, it’s great that we are out there reaching people who normally wouldn’t come to us for assistance,” said Rongo Puketapu, Working for Families Case Manager.

Whatever happened to New Zealanders, the rugged individualists.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Whatever happened to New Zealanders, the rugged individualists."

I think that guy died last year. There are just the rest of us here now.

Brian Smaller

Anonymous said...

'Rugged' and 'individualist': anathema to all the usual collectivists.

Anonymous said...

And when the WFF goose runs out?

I still cannot see the fairness in a system that takes money off me to give to someone who should have had a vasectomy but instead produced 7 kids he cannot support, and at the end of the day, although he earns half what I do, his take home pay is almost the same as mine. I still have a family to support as well. I just produced what I could afford to feed, cloth and educate by my own means.

Brian Smaller

Lindsay Mitchell said...

Brian, You can't see fairness where there is none.

Anonymous said...

Brian Smaller , you are not brown enough , stupid enough or pathetically dependent enough so it is clear you will not vote Labour either . ipso facto no "WFF goose" for you !