Let us remember that teachers aren’t our enemy, the defence force is not our enemy, and the poor who use our social services are not our enemy.
Rather than fall victim to “divide and rule”, we need to unite and fight our common enemy — the ultra-rich who do not pay their fair share of taxes. Our current problem is the tax take is not large enough to cover us all.
Taxing the middle class more and reducing social services will never be enough. We need a wealth tax to increase the size of the pie so there is enough for us all.
Inequality is the enemy of us all. Poverty creates more work for our health system, our education system, and our judicial system. Even the rich will benefit from a safer, healthier, and better educated society.
I’m no tax expert. I don’t have all the answers. There are people in New Zealand better skilled in this area than me. But I urge you to demand a fairer tax system from our Government. Reducing inequality is not a panacea for all our problems but it seems like a damn good start.
Rosemary Avison, RN, BA(SocSci),
Auckland