One thing the world seems to be lacking more and more is people taking responsibility for their own actions.

I say this in reference to the tragic cutting of funding for things like community education in New Zealand. Community Education, in my opinion is well worth the $54 million they are cutting. The key benefits:

• This is how most of our country’s volunteers upskill so they can do the jobs that NO ONE else will do for free
• Community courses are responsible for fostering hobbies. Hobbies are one of the greatest joys of living. I don’t care if 1,000 people take a pottery class and only one of them shows any talent, there is inherent value to allowing people to continually educate themselves, to improve themselves as human beings.
• Community courses mean that people who go and work in foreign countries can land decent jobs. You can learn a language in your own time, at your own pace and for less than the thousands of dollars a year it costs to study privately. This means we are representing ourselves on a higher level and more importantly bringing international skills and experience back home when we return.

So why did the Government do it?

Because, I think we are turning into a nation of bludgers and every decent initiative the government comes up with, people look for loopholes to abuse. I am starting to understand that human nature is such that people feel they have the right to anything they can get, rather than taking responsibility for only using what they justifiably deserve. However, I’m getting sick of all the people who happily abuse the system, then complain when there is no money left to pay for some fundamentally important things. It’s not the government’s role to make you a responsible human being IT IS YOURS. Here’s how we can get our community education back:

Student allowances

Some people in our country aren’t fortunate enough to come from wealthy backgrounds. Some people study courses that require their full attention and therefore can’t work. Those people still deserve an education. That is the point of student allowances.

So why on earth do so many students who are perfectly willing and able to work and support themselves, rely on the free money? Why do they deliberately restrict their working hours so as to ensure they get more free money? They are using funds that were set aside for people who needed them, simply because they can. So STOP doing it. Go get a job, work to support yourself if you can and free up some money for people who actually need it.

The dole

I heard of a guy recently who has a masters degree but is sitting on the dole for some political point. All he is doing is wasting money that people like me work hard to contribute, and putting his entire point in jeopardy. Meanwhile, other contributing members of society are lumped in with his stupidity and people who need the dole are considered bludgers. The dole is not there to let well-educated people sit back and take a break, it’s there for people who don’t have any other choice, so stop stealing their money.

The anti-smacking bill

$9 million of taxpayers money wasted by a bunch of ignorant people who listened to hysterical news coverage about an important piece of law that STOPS child abusers being allowed to use reasonable force as an excuse for breaking their children. NO ONE CARES if you give your child a little smack, it’s just that some people think it should be illegal for you to turn up in court after breaking your child’s bones and getting off because the law is vague on what exactly ‘reasonable force’ is.

If you are going to sign a petition that will cost the country an absurd amount of money, please first check:
1. That it will actually have an impact on anything.
2. That you know what you are talking about.

And if you don’t bother thinking before signing, DON’T come crying to me about how you can’t go and attend a community singing class anymore.

The tragedy of the commons is a pitiful excuse for a country to waste important resources. It’s not hard to have enough pride in yourself that you refuse to lower yourself to the standard of bludgers, even IF everyone else seems to be doing it.