The effects of a National government

Last month I blogged about the New Zealand Income Survey, which showed that median weekly earnings had declined for the first time since the survey began. Today, Kis Faafoi points out that the burden of that decline has not been equally shared, and that some are suffering much more than others:

“Media European incomes have dropped by 3.4 per cent, or $21, over the last two years when adjusted for inflation.That is bad enough, but for Māori and Pacific the situation is much worse,” Kris Faafoi said.

“Since 2008 Maori incomes have dropped 11.5 per cent, or $50, on average, while Pacific Island wages have sunk by a staggering 19 per cent, or $89.

19 percent. Imagine that sucked out of your pay packet. And at a time when ACC, GST, childcare, and other costs are increasing due to government cuts.

So much for "taking the hard edges off the recession". National is letting people fall into poverty, and doing nothing to help. I expect better from a New Zealand government, and so should you.