SuperGold Card - superb politics, crap policy

You State... Two million dollars alone was spent writing out a cheque to Fullers to take pensioners to Waiheke for fancy vineyard tours, cafe lunches and art gallery visits.

The fact is that Waiheke was the most favoured trip for supergold travelers as most of them could never afford to go there before the supergold scheme came into effect ... however most of them did not go on the wine tours as they were not free and the pensioners couldnt afford this. Unless my info is wrong I believe waiheke is no longer free for the supergoldies (the govt stopped this destination)

Look lets be honest about this most pensioners (unless there wealthy) hardly earn enough to pay there power and buy food.

We should be looking after our aged people and this gold card is the least we can do. though the cards should have to have the persons picture upon it to stop possable sharring it around with those that arent quite old enough for there own card (sadly yes I have witnessed this happening)

Fullers and the bus companies are actually getting a percentage of a full fare from the govt for the suppergold card holders fares so in fact they'd make more money if they could have full fare paying people on there vessels/busses.

supergold card holders should get free medical treatment as well im my humble oppinion.

We should be asking more why the auckland council rented a yaught to watch the loui races and said it was free for the public yet there was nothing on there web site advertising this or anywhere else that I could find. Now thats what Id call tax payers money going down the drain so the councellers can go out on a private boat and have fun watching the races.

CRAIG - It appears from your comments you have much to learn about tax collection and self responsibility. About the takers, oops you know about this. About proportionate expectation and a fair return or reward for years of tax payment contributions. CRAIG, on one hand are the contributers who pay tax to cover current needs of state. Those needs are many as exampled by you. Money collected is to pay for things at the time including pensions due for the mostly CONTRIBUTING people and handouts like dole payments & allowances for the mostly NON-CONTRIBUTING people - EG: CRAIG. To compare National Superannuation to the Dole or Benefit payments is to compare chalk and cheese. Tax payers of today contribute tax to pay the Superannuation for those successfully applying for it who in turn have contributed to Superannuation for the people before them. Superannuation is not only a 'just reward' for tax contributions made over many years but also a right that has been paid for many times over. So there we have it. Contributers getting their rightful Superannuation and just rewards & non-contributers getting their benefit, deserved or otherwise, to help them out. It is the wingers like CRAIG who give 'benefit' receivers a bad name. Instead of being grateful to Superannuants and other tax payers who support him, sad sack CRAIG still demands more. In a perfect world CRAIG would be grateful for what he gets and accept there are good reasons CONTRIBUTING Superannuants deserve to receive more than a NON-CONTRIBUTING CRAIG.

lol tsk tsk cathy.

you spin the same line as craig or craig or whoever lol.

nothing is free in this country, you got an education, you possible even had tertiary training.

You possibly even had to call the police at various times in your life.

Take all of that out of what normal tax payers pay and you are left with nothing for retirement.

It is solely a state benefit that hasnt been earned because you spend all your tax money when you were living your life.

Please dont tell me that you were under the impression that the tax money you were paying wasnt already spent.

How greedy.

I actually do get everyones arguement, and everyones right.

pensioners worked hard, they deserve something... but they didnt pay for this themselves, thats a mistaken impression, current tax payers are funding the retirement of our current lot of pensioners and the next generation will be paying for us.

you didnt expect all those government services that you were being offered to be free did you cathy? thats what your actual tax money was used to pay for.

Tsk Tsk, we are currently robbing peter to pay paul, thats why a compulsary retirement policy must be enacted by government.. which was done by labour with Kiwisaver and then screwed with by National.

Because future generations are going to have to pay for their own retirement without burdening the current lot of tax payers of the time.

We face a 20 Billion dollar deficit in Nationals own words if nothing is done about National super in the next couple of decades.

Which means unburdening the tax payer and making employees responsible for their own retirements.

Or raising extra taxes to continue the state funded pension scheme.

Either way, people are under the mistaken impression that they contributed to their retirement when in actuality those funds were spent a long time ago on other government services that were also the responsibility of these people to pay for with their taxes.

What a bunch of greedy "I want it" selfish, envious, never satisfied, going nowhere people, with the exception of Paul and David who make excellent and obvious good value points. CRAIG takes the cake as the greediest non-contributing "I want it all" person followed by Craig, ooops I mean Mike and also Craig ooops I mean Dave. These contributions all display the same "They have it so I want it too" mentality while conveniently ignoring the fact they have not contributed to the pay-out pot in the first place. Because Craig & Craig & Craig (who should have included Schizophrenia in his disability list) has given no justifiable rationale to show why he should receive the same payment as a life long tax contributing pensioner is beyond creditability. On one hand there is the average pensioner with at least 40 years contributions toward his or her National Superannuation. On the other hand is the disability person on a sickness or other benefit for whatever reason, justified or not, true or not, who hasn't contributed anything meaningful towards their benefit. To a normal Jo Blo the present system is both fair and simple, historically correct and recognises the truly deserving people from the not so deserving people. It distinguishes between the long time contributers and the non contributers, and sets the different amounts paid out accordingly. I guess it all comes down to the have's and the have not's. The have's have contributed and justifiably receive a fair Superannuation. The have not's have not contributed anything and justifiably receive less. So as David said. Get over it. Move on and start to doing something for yourself for a change instead of doing an Oliver Twist with no justification.

I guess some people say that pensioners are nothing but a drain on resources.

Some people like david like to say that sick people can always get better by getting over themselves

Its always petty minded garbage, something I would expect from small minds.

David is likely a New Zealand first voter, its a party that attracts the most intense form of bigot, primarily towards asians as thats what winstons pet hate is.

However we cant just say the old are a drain, or that the sick dont deserve to be sick and can just move on.

It takes a really callous kind of mind to think like that.

We have a responsibility to ensure that all people, not just the elderly or not just the sick have what Paul refers to as a "minimum dignified standard of living".

If pensioners are at that rate because it is what the government considers that minimum to be, then every other beneficiary should be there too.

There are currently 500,000+ super gold cards in circulation.. there are not all that many sickness invalids, DPB mums or Unemployed in comparrison so why isnt this scheme extended to them as well?.

We cant favour one group over another continuosly just because they have a 15 percent share of the vote.

My work with former victims of government mistakes has shown me that whilst people like to say "move on, and get over it" they have no comprehension of the results of some of these mistakes in individual lives.

Or that the government has protected themselves from claims of real damages by banning all litigation for ordinary damages like pain and suffering and loss of income using the excuse that ACC was designed to rid us of that evil.

Well thats not true, ACC doesnt cover state abuse unless it is done by a medical professional

State carers and social workers dont fit into the "treatment injury" criteria of ACC

So I do agree with craig that some people who deserve more get less than nothing.
However the elderly control a big portion of the vote.

@David

Theres always a fix in a narrow minded bigots mind isnt there.

I have been to I dont know... 12 or so doctors... all of whom say I cant work.

Not that I didnt try David, I worked for free for 3 years trying to get back to work.

Apparently however with

Osteoarthrtitis
Bronchiectasis
Generalized Autonomic Dysfunction
Myoclonus
Somatic Pain (caused by a pain overload as a child)
Keratoconjunctivitis
Intestinal Hetrotaxy
Scoliosis
Asthma
Chronic Sleep Apneoa
Chronic Sinus Disease
Etc

I will never be ok, I will never be fixed and I will never be able to work.

For something as simple as going to work (which they need to do regardless) this is what people get? free travel that they dont need?.

As I have already pointed out doofus ooops david, some of us struggle with no doctors available to help us, no means to take free sightseeing tours like pensioners.

And then we have to fight foolish arses like you who throw inane solutions at us like move on, get a job.

Perhaps if I get the opinion of 30 doctors that will be enough to satisfy a biogt like you david.

But the hatred inside you which I believe extends well past hating beneficiaries david wont ever be satisfied will it.

Small people love to hate the dumbest things, generally because those people arent worth anything themselves.

Yes, well I know of one super recepient that spent the last 20 years of his working life getting the dole while he was working under the table for a security firm.

And his sense of entitlement is huge, 20 years of ripping the system off and as a reward he gets free travel until he dies.

Seems like an inept system, particularly when you have sick people struggling to get to the doctors and not having hospital specialists that they can turn too.

There are definitely better things that this money could be spent on, like fixing Housing NZ homes, employing necessary doctors (which would also benefit the elderly).

Why exactly are we throwing money away on the elderly taking ferries to waiheke? buses and trains I can deal with but a $25.00 one way ferry trip is ridiculous.

The government should be doing what it does to every other beneficiary and forcing them to move to a more convenient locations.

CRAIG. You call Paul a fool? Seems more a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Nowhere did I see Paul call you a dole bludger but that description as a self acknowledgment is accurate enough for me. Paul is quite correct in his analysis of who has entitlement and who does not, while your green eyed comparison stinks more of greed. Stop wallowing in your own self pity. Look for opportunities to improve yourself instead of relying on others for a handout and then have the utter cheek to complain it's not enough. Superannuants have earned the right to what they receive. You have not. Get over it. Get real. Move on. Go out and learn to make a living by your own efforts instead of expecting everyone else to do it for you and stop acting like a spoilt brat.

The Governments past mistakes, past errors... that have cost people everything including the ability to work and participate in society is hidden within the benefit system.. given the fact that ACC give minimum wage to people who are hurt and injured whereas the Ministry of Social Development give half of that... is appalling.. government has taken no responsibility for these people other than shoving them in a corner and it has continually used us as an example to show narrow minded petty bigots like you that the problem with the welfare state is invalids and sickness beneficiaries.

Where is our dignity? we dont get free travel.. we barely get subsidised travel to doctors or hospitals and we have been done over far harder than any pensioner and are entitled to far more when we are put here by the state, because of their mistakes and their errors.

You seem to be arguing from a pensioners perspective.. and pensioner with large entitlement issues.

I have suffered the stupidity of some rather stupid government policies in the past and you bitch at me about how tough pensioners have it? get over it Paul, you will never know this country or the errors its government makes as well as I do, and in my life, National has made the most errors, they have never cared about the human toll of their policies.

And in return for those mistakes we get nothing but abused by fools like you who have no real idea of suffering, pain or loss or the phsyical effects of extreme abuse.

And all you do is refer to us as dole bludgers? what a narrow minded fool you are paul.