The American
economist Milton Friedman once said that it’s a great mistake to judge things
by their intentions rather than by their results. Unfortunately it’s a mistake repeatedly made by
agenda-driven reformers on a mission to create the perfect society. A Radio New
Zealand Spectrum programme brought one such instance to public attention
earlier this month.
Until 2007, intellectually disabled people in New Zealand
were exempted from minimum wage laws. This meant they could be employed doing
menial work in facilities known as sheltered workshops.
