In the countries with little or no welfare the children and their parents are desperate to get an education as they know this is the path to the real world.
Socialist in their endeavours to be kind to everyone don't factor in the human factor.
Sometimes in life you have to be cruel to be kind, the Universal Basic Income will fail the people who need outside driving forces.
G R SCOWN
Whanganui
Cuddle rug
Mr Haakma abrogates to himself the right to determine what faith is.
I've been reading scripture most of my life, and the history and findings of evolutionary and physical science for the past 20 years.
One conclusion I have come to is that there is no conclusive evidence for the existence of God; and no conclusive evidence for the non-existence of such an entity.
That makes Mr Haakma a faith-based believer in a god who, until the establishment of the Christian church under the Roman emperor Constantine, showed no interest in any ethnic group except the pastoral Jewish tribes.
The same thinking makes me an agnostic reader of the supposed evidence of the Bible, and of the considerable scholarship on both Testaments that establishes the flaws, contradictions and inconsistencies within them.
In his response of January 11, Mr Haakma sidesteps my points about his god's penchant for brutal punishments, ethnic cleansing and genocide, which were mere selections from the blood-soaked pages of the "good book".
On more honest reflection he might consider those portions that deal with his god's take on slavery, rape and other indelicate matters, and ponder the moral role model suggested.
We do not get to know who the "fair-minded atheists" are who "scrutinised" the New Testament and "admitted the consistency of the accounts". If the claim is true, their ability to read with accuracy and analyse with clear reason is certainly faulty.
Mr Haakma wants his "leap of faith" to be accorded equal footing with the empirical knowledge of modern science. If he believes in the bodily ascension of some biblical characters despite the force of gravity and rule of escape velocity among other things, then he gives credence to myths that precede modern knowledge.
The same comment applies to such notions as virgin birth and the creation of Adam and Eve, with the addition of current knowledge on the age of the earth and the processes of evolution, and the nature and processes of the formation and development of the universe.
Mr Haakma can cling by his fingernails to his leap of faith, but let him not suppose that he can justify it by logic or reason. It is the cuddle rug he takes to bed at nights to assure him of everlasting life.
RUSS HAY
Whanganui
Rugby exports
Because of the high interest in rugby in this country I have wondered over the years why there has been so little reporting in the media of rugby news in the UK, Ireland and France.
Bearing in mind that there are a host of ex-provincial and ex-All Blacks playing there in the various competitions it has been a disappointment not to have progressive reports.
I was pleasantly surprised, therefore, to read an article by Campbell Burns in the Chronicle (January 17) highlighting several matches in which New Zealanders were involved.
In all he listed 53 players who, together with a number of Kiwi coaches are contributing mightily to rugby in that part of the world.
Let's hope these reports can continue in the future and can even extend to the TV and radio sports programmes.
CLIVE SULLIVAN
Whanganui East
Poor Palestine
I refer to Jay Kuten's letter in the Chronicle on January 18 regarding the Arab/Israeli conflict.
It was a great idea to provide the Jews with a homeland of their own after their persecution throughout history. Unfortunately, the homeland provided was already the homeland of another people, the poor Palestinians!
ELWYN EVANS
Gonville
Hot horse
I went to the Foxton horse trials on January 17 and saw Allan Sharrock's horse Kawi run.
Well, this horse has to be the best in New Zealand and reminded me a lot of Bonecrusher when I saw it race at Wanganui years ago.
I was in Perth when Kawi ran in November 2016 and I believe it may have been too hot for the horse as boy it took the guts out of me.
To the connections of Kawi, I wish you all the very best.
GARY STEWART
Foxton Beach
