National: Restoring discrimination

National's bill to restore age-discrimination in pay rates passed its third reading last night. So, from May 1st, National's cronies will be able to pay someone less simply because of their age. And this is apparently how National "closes the wage-gap with Australia": by cutting wages. No, that doesn't make sense to me either.

We wouldn't accept "Maori rates". We wouldn't accept "women's rates". We wouldn't accept "gay rates" or "Catholic rates". So why are we accepting youth rates?

Any reintroduction of discrimination is a backward step. But its so very, very National, isn't it? Impoverishing the young and poor to enrich the greedy old.