Never mind saving kiddies, give it all away

Excuse the pun but it beggars belief!

Our do gooder PM is now suggesting that if we don't spend the pitiful $10 bucks extra a week he's offering in tax cuts, we could do the right thing and give it to charity because apparently many charities are going through a hard time right now.

Sorry to have to tell you this John, but you're a bit out of touch luv...you see we're all going through a hard time right now...and those very people the charities need to reach are the ones that could do with the extra $98 per week you've awarded yourself and your wealthy peers.

Could the bloke sound anymore naive then in his speech to Philanthropy NZ conference? There is political innocence and then there is sheer idiocy.

At a time when most people are struggling to pay their mortgage, raise their kids and ahem ahem, save for retirement, the mere hint that others may in fact not really need this tax cut (ie. the rich) is mocking to say the least.

But this is National we are talking about...the party that helps the rich get richer while the rest drift away.

And then there's the boil of superannuation and the fact that the pot will be dry by the time most of us get there...if he was going to suggest doing anything with the tax cut, surely it should be that it goes into saving for retirement?

As for his request for an 'American culture of giving' - look no further than the mess that country is in right now.

Forget the giving to charity Johno, and live in the real world, a world where people are struggling to buy fresh vegetables to feed their children...help them to help themselves by increasing their tax cut so that their children don't end up needing the very foodbanks and later the unemployment benefit that the wealthy is never going to foot the bill for.

Crazy, crazy, crazy.