When do we start the Paula Bennett-bashing? How about now?

It hasn’t taken long for National to trot out the beneficiary-bashing - I really thought they’d leave it to the second term, but I suppose they’re riding high in the polls and feeling a bit cocky.

The irony is in this case that Paula Bennett, the minister for social development, is stripping away the exact kind of support that got herself off the benefit and into a career which has seen her go as far as well, being a minister in government.

But the most disturbing aspect of this current round of kicking people while they’re down, is that Bennett is basically saying if you disagree with the government, it’s okay for the government to release your personal details to the world and invite the ugly side of NZ society to publicly attack you.

These women are trying to get themselves off the benefit by going into training - and to be recieving benefits as large as they are, it’s obvious they have a number of children to look after, whose fathers aren’t in the picture. It’s hard enough bringing up kids when both parents are present, let alone doing it by yourself. And what would the privileged arsehole class suggest she do? Stay on the benefit, the one they’d strip from her if they had the chance? Kids don’t choose their parents, and it’s not the mothers you’d be punishing the most by taking it away.

When will people learn that punishing children for the choices of their parents’ only leads to more money being spent on social needs further down the track?

And when will they learn the key thing to getting people into paid employment and off govt support is education and opportunity?

No matter how much money John Key managed to siphon out of the economy as a money trader, his job will never, ever be as important as someone who brings up children alone.

Mirrored from Radio Over Moscow.