this post was submitted on 24 Mar 2024
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I can see the case for this, but my view is means testing super itself is the wrong way to go about addressing this.
You create a whole bureaucracy around applying means testing and a cottage industry of wealthy people avoiding it through trusts and so on.
Then when it becomes means tested it becomes a target to slash and burn politicians, just like all the other benefits. The fact it's universal is the only reason it's survived in the relatively good shape it's in, because so many have a stake in it.
Imo it'd be far better to claw it back by taxing wealth, property and high incomes.
What’s hard about it? If you’re paying PAYE on a $400k job you don’t get super.
We can means test every other benefit without issue.
Can we though...?
I wonder how much we spend on the bureaucracy of means testing vs how much it would cost to just have UBI instead...
I wonder this sometimes.
Even just changing it to a tax year and liaising with IRD would save MSD a lot of money I imagine.
Thats not even taking into account the economic cost of wasting people's time and energy forcing them to attend "work seeking" seminars etc. When some people are forced to forgo doing some part time work they might be able to do instead, or avoid doing some small amount of work they might be able to manage only on a temporary basis for fear they might loose thier benefit.