Collecting roadside rubbish adds up
When I was a boy, I cannot recall ever hearing that my community had a category of our local population as being unemployed. It seemed that everyone was engaged in some way in purposeful work, both paid and otherwise.
The family units often had young people working as part of whatever kept that whā nau afloat.
Mind you, the economic situation was very different and lifestyles were not swamped by what we today consider as essential. In some ways we were operating at what, today, would be described as Third World communities. Our lives were focused on shelter, food, basic comforts and food. We seldom used our car. Twice a month saw us go to town shopping. Other trips were reserved for essential travel such doctor or dentist and a once month church service. Holidays were an exception.
Like all our neighbours, we produced a lot of our own food including eggs. Our diet was not loaded with sugar nor did we have processed pre-packaged food. Keeping the domestic economy going kept many of the family busy. Yes, some young people left the village but always for employment. It was a matter of family pride to know that all members were busy and effectively employed.
Yes, lifestyles were far simpler, but also I believe most people knew that money was the reward of work and it did not appear by governmental magic in a bank account.
All of the above leads me to think about what appears to be a very modern panacea for unemployment. I am referring to contracts where rubbish is hand-picked from the roadsides of state highways. This apparently requires two workers to search road verges for rubbish which is then bagged and eventually ends up in a landfill. These are low-skill jobs but are paid. The workers are provided with safety gear and weather-proof clothing. Should the weather turn nasty they can take refuge in one of the three vehicles which accompany them.
This activity now days requires three escort vehicles with illuminated signs and flashing lights. I can safely assume that each has a qualified driver who has been trained in escort skills. Their safety is paramount, but comes at an incredibly high price.
By my estimates, that one such exercise must be costing more than $600 an hour. So across a working day the taxpayers are paying nearly $5000. My observation has the pickers filling about 25 rubbish sacks a day, so each bag costs $200 to fill then there are the costs of dump fees and the wages paid to ensure the bags are properly disposed of.
On the stretch of State Highway that I travel there is a daily walker who for his health safely tramps the same road verges, but has no escort vehicles nor flashing lights. These are hikers on the Te Araroa trail. These are tourists adding to our economy but they are not escorted. I doubt that they are dropping rubbish or throwing dirty nappies out of car windows or jettisoning fast food packaging or beer bottles and cans. Perhaps we should be encouraging these brave hikers to drop rubbish and so provide more opportunities for employment.