Ranting rather than analysis

The Labour candidate for New Lynn retweeted this self professed rant. Sadly for them both they ignored those little things called facts.

Let’s even ignore where the other parent is and why they are not contributing to their children’s upbringing. Maybe they died. So we’ll leave that to one side.

A sole parent with two children on $40,000 get $137 a week family tax credit and $72 a week in-work tax credit.  They would also get $103 a week accomodation supplement so that is $312 a week in taxpayer support so their $177 a week for expenses is actually $489 a week!

But it gets even better with the changes made in the Budget. That person will benefit by the following from 1 April 2018:

• $11 less tax a week
• $28 more family tax credit
• $111 a week more accomodation supplement

So that is $150 a week more in the hand for that family after 1 April. Their $489 a week after rent will be $639 a week or around four times as much as the ranter said.

Oh the family is also eligible for childcare subsidies of $5.06.

So thanks to the Labour candidate for highlighting the rant so I could explain all this.

Note I am not saying that life will be easy for a sole parent on $40,000 a year. But their $677 net wages gets topped up by taxpayers with another $450 a week, which is I suspect more generous than most OECD countries. And childcare subsidies could be as much as another $200 a week.