Lack of decent parents the true poverty

THIS WEEK Children’s Commissioner Russell Wills is due to release the definitive policy answers to child poverty in New Zealand. An expert panel has been gathered, the evidence sifted and their solutions decided upon. Do this, they will say, and our Kiwi kids will be just fine.

As usual, it will be an academic mix of bullshit and bluster. As usual, it will ignore the primary reason why any children might be disadvantaged in this country. That reason being that their parent or parents can’t really parent. That the children’s commissioner even accepts the notion that there is ‘‘child poverty’’ in this country is an admission that he just doesn’t get it. He and his colleagues have accepted an arbitrary definition that any child in a household that earns less than 60 per cent of the median income is, by that fact, in poverty.

That equates to roughly 220,000 kids and the correlation with being the child of a welfare beneficiary is pretty exact.

This is a nonsense. Welfare is not a comfortable income, of course it is not. But the truth is that most beneficiaries are on welfare for reasons of education, skill, psychological outlook, substance abuse or comfort.

Yes, comfort. For many, being on the benefit in the provinces is way more comfortable than having a daily job in the city.

The truth is also that this country has a dreadful skills

The solution is about changing individuals’ attitudes . . .

mismatch, courtesy of a softness that permeates our society. And piss-poor parenting. The fundamental failure of any child that leaves school without qualifications is by their parent.

By osmosis, by example and by design, the parents of our schooling failures created that failure.

It’s a bit tough to blame teachers and schools when their work is being systematically undermined at home.

It is the especial failure then of the children’s commissioner and his colleagues that they fail to understand that a culture of failure – subsidised by the state – is the primary determinant as to why a child might be living in difficult financial circumstances. Although calling it ‘‘poverty’’ is a description that most New Zealanders would instinctively reject.

On Tuesday, the experts’ panel will outline policies that will essentially involve working New Zealanders paying more money to New Zealanders who don’t work.

In other words, taxing those who are productive to insulate those who are not.

If there is any poverty, then it is the poverty of intellect and empathy that believes that this can be a sustainable answer. Because it won’t arrest the true deficiency – parents who don’t aspire for, or care enough about, their kids. Whose own lives have so many negative borders that they also impose them upon their children.

In other words, the solution is about changing individuals’ attitudes – particularly those with children. Not imposing upon the rest of us when we have already made the commitment that our kids are the primary focus of our lives.

Which is why we sacrifice our treats, why we read to our children at night, why we send them to school with a nutritious lunch and why we take that low-paid job.

It isn’t giving those who do none of these things, more of our money.