Treaty Principals Bill

[Lilith7]

Some Maori,  through iwi or maraes have access to dental or gp clinics, funded and staffed by those providers. I was a patient at one for a time, so they are not purely for Maori. They have been established because access to dental and health care has often been a struggle for Maori, because of poverty, distance, lack of education, or other social impediments.

Trying to balance out these access issues by providing remedies is no more racist than universities providing the same services for their students. Or providing subsidised laptops, or libraries, or gyms, or pools... Some companies do the same thing, providing benefits for employees.

There are enough structural racist, age, and gender based underpinnings in our community that serve to funnel people into social classes, industries, job classifications and careers, and health and education statistics without insisting these fake ones exist. Why is it though, that instead of fighting those very real barriers, there are political parties determined to not only maintain them, but to gaslight anyone who stands up and points them out?

The answer is pretty obvious. Because they represent, and are funded by, the people and organisations who benefit from those barriers. Who profit from cheap uneducated labour. Who profit from increased prison populations. Who do not want healthy strong passionate voices challenging their positions in the community.

Who do not want to share the wealth.

Or learn te reo...

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Is it crap?
Why are NZF and ACT campaigning against all this if its a fabricated thing? What are the maori so unhappy about that they are protesting against it?
Are they worried about loosing more handouts?

Either way, my friends tell me its real, and take advantage of these services, so it must be a thing, thinking about it, i have seen such clinics when driving about.
Dental care should be free or heavily subsidized anyway. Could easily be done if the govt didnt blow money elsewhere.
A sugar tax on fizzy drinks would easily fund it, i wouldnt have an issue with that if it meant free dental care for everybody.

What services would you be willing to give up to pay for free dental care for everybody? Understanding that there is funding for dental care for all children, and for all low income people in need of basic care through WINZ (and at rates increased by the Labour government just last year)...

Or would you be happy to pay more income tax? Or maybe, increase the taxes for those at the top end of the wealth pyramid?

What really seriously pithes  me orff on things such as this is the language used by the mean spirited people who are opposed to anyone at all being given help - unless its them & their mates obviously.

"Handouts" invariably makes an appearance, a term which wilfully ignores the fact that most of those on the receiving end will at some point have almost certainly paid taxes, thus contributing towards any  financial help they might receive.

And then there's the attitude of those who use such a term - according to most,anyone receiving any tiny scrap of help at all is unworthy by virtue of actually needing that help. Because, in the  greed motivated minds of people like that, those in need didn't use their 'personal responsibility'. They ignore accidents & misfortunes, prefering to point the finger at anyone in need.

They tend to have a very different view of any suggestion that there might be a wealth tax.

IF we were a more caring society then we'd be paying higher taxes to as far as possible, cover health, education, welfare &  ensure that no one is in need.
 There would be a  wealth tax -  but not to a punitive level & an excellent standard of education.
 And with any sort of luck, the latter might even ensure that no one ever again, falls for the greed based evil of Neoliberalism