I don’t let things get me down for long. I think it was the fact my rent went up the same day they increased GST and to top it off when I was looking for info about it, I came across those other blogs. I only let myself wallow for a few hours before I tell myself to just get on with things and pick myself back up.

@ Anne – don’t let the nasty mindless bleating on some web sites discourage you or distract you from your studies. There seems to be a lot of right wingers commenting at the Standard these days, you would think they haven’t got a web site of their own to go to.

The biggest proponents of this was Ruthonomics where the boomers removed free education, scrapped trades, all funding directed at the following generation X. Yet at the same time they kept universal super and benefits the boomers would still enjoy. (note: the talk now is of raising the super age not income testing it).

Add onto that the fact I’m also a student and they no longer have the TIA to cover short fall in cost of childcare while you’re studying, then I’m looking at a very hard lean year.

That’s all I’m going to say due to the fact I’m trying to keep my cool after reading other blogs that state I’m a parasite raising uncouth kids (shame mine say please and thank you and you’re welcome out of habit that is now entrenched in them as it doesn’t fit with the acceptable stereotype)

He had even better working class credentials than I did – son of a faceworker, brought up in a mining village in South Yorkshire.

His take on the Labour Party was that in fact they had a vested interest in people NOT getting on. He observed that whenever people did ‘better’ themselves the majority didn’t support Labour any more. And that if Labour lifted half the people off some sort of welfare dependency who languish there then they’d never have a hope in hell of getting back into power.

I argued vigorously against him, but now, in retrospect, I think that his views aren’t entirely without merit.

National (conservatives) pursues policies that seek to keep and increase the wealth in the hands of those who have it. Their support comes from ‘aspirational’ classes who buy their single focus arguments straight from treasury.

The Labor party emerges from the union movement and believes in collective responsibility. They seek to assist those in employment (& future generations) to have the quality of life they deserve (but the boss wont pay for). The last Labor govt also sought to support business in areas they needed support or encouragement, as this is the best way known to support employment and wage growth.

National supporters must have had a word to the govt and said that actually R&D credits/subsidies & so called distortions can benefit business/economy.

Do you want poor people beggin on the streets, like in your beloved China? Plenty of homelessness here. Unlike there, we actually know that people need a roof over their head. We are better than them.