Is it worth it?
Ask yourself this. Do you actually need that big fat salary?
Inside a recent Listener magazine, thrift is the cover topic.
Ponder the word thrift for just a tiny second.
Thrift makes me think of the war years, the depression.
If you live in a society that treats people as human beings - as people who live and breathe air every moment and who need food and shelter to survive, then I imagine the planet would be a much nicer place to rest.
Because resting is exactly what we are doing. We don't own the earth, we just so happen to be resting up here for a while.
Yet society is bent on destroying our own species through greed and self-interest.
A society that truly took care of its people would be a place free of fear, and of violence. People would be ok.
You really don't need alot of money to survive if you are taken care of properly.
Housing should be a right of passage. It should be one of your entitlements together with access to free health care, education and cheap utilities. Healthy chemical-free food is what I want. I want cheap electricity, transport and water. These utilities must be publicly owned.
Right now though our public health system is under threat - I am subsidising the private sector at the expense of ordinary citizens. Our health system is under enormous threat of being wholly and fully privatised as the government continues to head more to the right.
I am paying for a specialist because I am not entitled to one free under the Maternity Act unless I'm in desperate need. This is wrong.
But in fact, New Zealand actually used to be quite a nice place to live.
Real permanent full-time jobs were normal, no one hardly worked part-time or contracted, and Mum stayed at home to take care of the children. We had lots of doctors and power was dirt cheap, and so were houses!
What's wrong with that?
Sure if women want to go out into the workforce, I'm not about to stand in their way but I take offence at being called a "productive" unit by our government.
Just maybe, if women were given real options and fully supported through a true benefit for EVERY WOMAN whether she is pink purple or blue, then maybe the self-talk going on her head that she must go to work to be seen to be a "professional" would disappear.
A society based on full-employment is one where families would be able to spend time together because the cost of living would be actually affordable. Hell, women could even afford to stay at home and look after their kids.
Then wouldn't be a need to work overtime, do two jobs, and rely on childcare.
Of course opposers will say I want to work and live a comfortable life and individual responsibility.
We all want to live a comfortable life though, and shouldn't everyone be entitled to that?
In my city, I wait an hour for the local bus, and my rent is expensive. We live on one income. This is actually enough but every day the power bill goes up, the phone bill goes up, and petrol is going up. What next? My rent?
And now I'm being asked to be thrifty! Turn off your lights to save New Zealand power.
This is something I take exception too just when winter is kicking in. It's cold. People need to be warm yet in the middle of June I'm being asked to turn off my power.
At the same time, multi-nationals will get a rebate from my taxes if they shut down their company for a bit so our lakes fill up with desperately needed water?
How desperate? If it's so desperate why aren't these companies paying more for electricity than ordinary citizens?
Individual responsibility is a compelling argument. How can you argue this? It is the message of the right wing government and the way of the future.
These multi-national companies should be paying much more for power than the citizens of New Zealand!
When the multi-nationals start turning the lights off, then I will.
Until then, I am entitled to be warm and have a light going while I read a book or cook dinner.
A new government with people's interests at heart is what is needed in this country.
I am not proud to be a New Zealander. It offends me greatly the way we treat our own people, especially our elderly.
It's time we turned back to the left, and dumped the two main political parties in New Zealand