It is relevant to wonder why the people of this country are so incensed by the mention or utterance of sympathy for those who need the support of society.
Those on minimum wage make more than beneficiaries, except, perhaps, in the most extreme of cases. And talking to beneficiaries and those who end up on Jobseeker reveals they subject themselves to internal criticisms. They feel like it’s their fault that they have failed, etc. Even though losing your job is often outside your control and based upon the whims of the market and the inflated salaries of executives.
As a country, we focus on every action of beneficiaries, and the government spends millions trying to hunt down benefit fraud. In 2022-23, only approximately $2 million in benefit fraud was found. In contrast, $7 billion in tax evasion was estimated to have gone uninvestigated.
The money seems to indicate that the biggest fraudsters in Aotearoa aren’t the beneficiaries of social welfare but the rich and powerful, patting their accountants on the head for a job well done.
The current rhetoric bashing beneficiaries is as old as Margaret Thatcher, if not older, and under close scrutiny it holds about as much water as a bucket with a hole at the bottom.
