Time to consider another way?

In New Zealand we live in a wonderful country, blessed with a temperate climate, fertile land and imaginative people. So why is life so darn hard for so many? Why do we have many pupils leaving schools without a decent education? Why is there so much crime, how do we make housing affordable so our kids want to stay here? Why do we have so many families in Emergency Housing, at a massive cost to the tax payer? Why are so many kids going to bed hungry and waking up angry and violent?

I'd put it to you that our Political Class are increasingly NOT coming up with out- of-the-box strategies and policies that put Kiwi's first and foremost. It's far too easy to play "Blame Politics", to lay our issues at the foot of a so-called Maori Elite, or point the finger at Colonialism, or our Tall Poppy Syndrome.

Is it too easy for money to buy control and influence, as powerfully shown by Nicky Hager's Book "The Hollow Men"? Too easy to succumb to Dog Whistle Politics, and wonder, are we being manipulated by the far right or the far left? How do we bring back the halcyon days of our 1/4 acre Pavlova Paradise?

To progress we need a different approach, one that puts our people first; that gives all our mokupuna a decent chance at a decent life. This article is just one persons ideas, drawing on what I have read before and expanding with a bit of input of my own. You may think it's rubbish, or unaffordable, or both. That's great - Respond with what you would do to create a better place for our people to live. If the Politicians are bereft of ideas, I know plenty of Kiwis who could come up with a plethora of great policies.

Back in 1984 Roger Douglas published a book called "Completing the Circle". The gist I got out of it, was that Roger was thinking ahead, at the growing cost to keep criminals behind bars, to unaffordable housing and an old age pension system that, as our population aged, became less and less affordable. I believe he thought we were spending hard earned tax payer dollars on the wrong people, instead of rewarding the good and honest; effectively spending that money in unproductive ways.

If we had less people before the courts and in jail, we'd have more money to spend on our health and education system. Currently we spend in excess of $150k a year to keep a criminal behind bars. I wonder if the "discounting"system used by our judges is actually an economic tool designed to put less criminals in jail and keep the cost of the Corrections Department under control?

Irrespective of sentences though, we are seeing a large number of brazen and violent crimes committed. Due to the age of many of the offenders, they seem to get the proverbial slap on the hand with the wet bus ticket.

So the idea for the great reset is pretty simple...

Ask Government to set up a new Department - A "Future New Zealand Trust". Staff it with the kind of skilled managers who run ACC. Borrow the idea from Douglas, when a child is born in Aotearoa, gift that child a starter amount, say $40,000.

That money would be deposited into a Government Guaranteed FNZT Account in the name of that child. That money could be then invested by the trust on Domestic and Commercial Mortgages, on selected Infrastructure where a guaranteed return will come back.

Interest, as set annually by the Trustees, will be credited to these accounts on the balance in them, and Government will pledge to exclude that interest from any taxation for a period of 21 years, on an ongoing basis.

At the age of 21 years the funds are available for that person. They could pay off the Student Loan, or be used towards the deposit for a first home, or invested in a business. The catch is, if that person has any Criminal Record at the age of 21, they forfeit any rights to that account and the money therein. You Raid Raid and your are caught, and go to court and whatever else the judge imposes, you will lose access to those funds. Same for any violent crimes, crimes with a weapon, crimes involving the sale or distribution of drugs. You do the crime and that is the start of your punishment. Our kids will need to ask themselves, is it worth it?

I believe Roger Douglas was of the idea that, if a youngster had been well behaved for 21 years and then cashed up their FNZT account, they were hardly then going set off on a criminal career. It makes sense.

But here's where we differ from Douglas.

Truancy is a big issue acknowledged in our Education system. Would it be affordable to reward an annual attendance at a level of 90% or more with an extra sum of $500 per student? The upside side is, if the kids are in school and the teachers are teaching an effective curriculum, then surely the country should be producing better educated children, who should then enter the workforce better skilled and earning more money. So, yes, I'd say this is a carrot worth offering.

What about when they leave school? We need more Tradies, more IT professionals, more students trained in commerce and science, more engineers, doctors, nurses, pilots, vets. What say we give a cash top up of a further $2000 to $4000 for passing a Bachelor Level Degree or completing an Apprenticeship?

If our mokopuna can see Government is committed to helping them progress, from a very early age, and they are rewarded for ongoing good behaviour, will we be wasting our money? I don't think so. Aggregated funds saved in an FNZT account would make a huge difference to the career and life path for our young.

And... If we can give the enough in a savings account that a young couple getting married are well on the way to buying a first home, what about at the other end of life? Having had a lifetime to save for retirement, Government could in all good conscience bring in a Means Tested Pension. How would that effect the approx $1 billion a month currently paid out in benefits?

If we can create a pathway for a future to all of our young, irrespective of race or religion, to develop a more stable and prosperous lifestyle, where they are able to afford to live better, in a society that is a lot fairer than it currently is... isn't that better than the New Zealand that has been seen the growing gulf between rich and poor we've seen over the course of this century?