Widening gap between the “haves” and “have nots” is the burning issue for Ardern’s government to tackle

When  a  journal   as influential  as  “The Listener” flags  the  great  divide between  the  “haves”  and  the “have nots” as the  legacy of the Covid pandemic, it’s an issue  which should be  consuming   the  attention  of every politician — especially  the politicians in a government  with  ministers  who see  themselves wearing  the  mantle  of  Michael  Joseph  Savage.

The Ardern government has not  hesitated  to  throw money  at  the problem, as  other  governments  have done,  and  massive  stimulus  from  the Reserve  Bank  has helped  get the economy   back  on track. 

But, as  economist Cameron Bagrie points out  in “The Listener’s” study,  not  everyone has been a  winner. He  says  the  K-shaped  recovery has exposed pre-existing tension points  such as race  and gender  and  who bears the brunt of a  lift in unemployment.

“There’s  the perceived gap between the haves and the have-nots,  with  soaring  house prices at the epicentre. And  at the  very time we  are dealing  with that, the  financial cost of  our  ageing population is rising rapidly. By 2035, a  massive two-thirds of  welfare  benefit spending is projected to be spent on NZ Superannuation—and that’s not  counting  the growing  health costs”, says Bagrie.     

Covid  has exacerbated  inequality and driven  holes in the social  welfare   safety  net.