It comes as Peters unveils new election policy proposing to create a “Kiwi Kids Grant” for parents, one of whom must be a New Zealand citizen, for their first three children.
The grant would be worth $5000 per child for each of their first three years, meaning families could receive up to $45,000 in total. …
In a statement ahead of Peters’ address, he referenced the country’s current birthrate of 1.53 births per person, which fell below 2.1 births per person which the party said was needed to maintain the population.
Falling birthrates is a concern, but there is zero chance that splashing out money like this will increase the fertility rate.
In Hungary they had a policy where a mother who has three children is exempt from income tax for the rest of her life. That is worth a lot more than a one off grant for three years. Hell I’d have another kid or two if it meant no more income tax.
But I am in a minority. The policy has not worked. Their fertility rate is only 1.56 today. It has not grown.
NZ First’s policy will also not work.
David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders
4 comments:
I'm sure the pubs and bars and pokies will do well in those areas where that money will end up. And guess what.
The kids will still be abused, beaten and starved.
But at least the parents will have booze in their guts and plenty of pornography to watch on their new TV's.
It's a stupid policy. Once 15 they will all be on the dole. Did anyone ask Winston how the one person left working is going to support 4 people on the dole?
An attractive offer for irresponsible parasites on society who will respond by pumping out more parasites-to-be.
Fixating on the quantity side and ignoring the quality side of the baby production equation leads to outcomes like that.
Not just parasites, everybody gets it but, given it will make no difference to birth rates, in reality it’s just a bribe of $45,000 to those who were going to have the kids anyway. Is it election year I wonder?
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