Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Dying for knowledge
Yo yo, how's it all going youse fullas?
I'm back in blogging business for 2007 and am looking foward to firing off my usual mix of banal banter, salacious slander, and commentary on the state of the nation.
Who knows, maybe even the occassional misleading league tip.
Anyways, over at Seek, Taste magazine is looking for a sub editor:
It appears the position needs to be filled sooner rather than later.
In other news, a friend's daughter is applying for her student allowance before heading down to sunny ol' Otago for her final year of Uni and was feeling rather stressed by the process i.e having to prove her parents income even though she's completely independent of them.
To cut a long story, I told her that since she's been out of home and away from her folks for more than two years she could apply for her student allowance under the independent circumstances criteria as it was back in my day....just several years ago.
But no, it turns out the Government (the same one that came up with the radical idea of not charging students interest on the loans they take out to progress their education) decided last year that now you can only qualify for an independent circumstances allowance if:
a) you are an orphan (and not just any old orphan but one who hasn't lived with someone acting as a parent for two years), or
b) your mum or dad are fucking nuts and institutionalised.
Effectively this means that the thousands of kiwi kids who choose to further their education through tertiary/polytech studies now have little alternative but to sign up for living costs via their student loan...and therefore have to pay it all back.
So while Labour may no longer be building on its $11 billion nest egg on the back of interest repayments from the nation's youth, it has at the same time, saved itself millions of dollars by cutting off access to living allowances for thousands and thousands of New Zealand's youth.
OK, so that sux, but the real question here is why should the children of dead people and fruitloops get an easy ride?
I say fuck them -- it's political correctness gone mad.
The truth is that there are many students who get the same level of financial support for their university studies from their parents now as they would if their parents were dead - in fact, some would probably get more.
I'm back in blogging business for 2007 and am looking foward to firing off my usual mix of banal banter, salacious slander, and commentary on the state of the nation.
Who knows, maybe even the occassional misleading league tip.
Anyways, over at Seek, Taste magazine is looking for a sub editor:
Want to wet your appetite working part time hours on a years fixed term contract for our delicious little team at Taste magazine?
It appears the position needs to be filled sooner rather than later.
In other news, a friend's daughter is applying for her student allowance before heading down to sunny ol' Otago for her final year of Uni and was feeling rather stressed by the process i.e having to prove her parents income even though she's completely independent of them.
To cut a long story, I told her that since she's been out of home and away from her folks for more than two years she could apply for her student allowance under the independent circumstances criteria as it was back in my day....just several years ago.
But no, it turns out the Government (the same one that came up with the radical idea of not charging students interest on the loans they take out to progress their education) decided last year that now you can only qualify for an independent circumstances allowance if:
a) you are an orphan (and not just any old orphan but one who hasn't lived with someone acting as a parent for two years), or
b) your mum or dad are fucking nuts and institutionalised.
Effectively this means that the thousands of kiwi kids who choose to further their education through tertiary/polytech studies now have little alternative but to sign up for living costs via their student loan...and therefore have to pay it all back.
So while Labour may no longer be building on its $11 billion nest egg on the back of interest repayments from the nation's youth, it has at the same time, saved itself millions of dollars by cutting off access to living allowances for thousands and thousands of New Zealand's youth.
OK, so that sux, but the real question here is why should the children of dead people and fruitloops get an easy ride?
I say fuck them -- it's political correctness gone mad.
The truth is that there are many students who get the same level of financial support for their university studies from their parents now as they would if their parents were dead - in fact, some would probably get more.
Comments:
Re: independent circumstances, the policy was bad enough to start with, and now it's fucking worse.
Exhibit A:
Regular wage and salary earning parents can't hide their income from IRD. Result: high taxes and university-age children screwed.
Farmers, self-employed and small business people can and do use accounting practices to minimize taxable income. Are able to deduct all sorts of everyday expenses from income received for example. Result: lower taxes and universisty-age children quite possible eligible for large payouts from state.
Which group is more likely to vote Labour?
Which group is more likely to vote National?
It was one thing to close the "married student" loophole. But this is pure shit.
Exhibit A:
Regular wage and salary earning parents can't hide their income from IRD. Result: high taxes and university-age children screwed.
Farmers, self-employed and small business people can and do use accounting practices to minimize taxable income. Are able to deduct all sorts of everyday expenses from income received for example. Result: lower taxes and universisty-age children quite possible eligible for large payouts from state.
Which group is more likely to vote Labour?
Which group is more likely to vote National?
It was one thing to close the "married student" loophole. But this is pure shit.
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