Not a road to riches
Besides millionaires, teachers, nurses, builders, firefighters and many others aspire, innovate and stay positive in their workplaces for their working lifetimes.
Teachers especially. The difference is the one in two who endure past five years in the classroom stay on set salaries their whole careers. They risk physical and mental harm daily.
They usually are taxed at the top rate, and don’t get overtime pay for all the extras performed, despite those extras involving the wellbeing and inspiration of their students, including those who do go on to achieve rich-list status.
In the 90s, I remember cynically claiming an allowance of less than $20 per night for being responsible for other people’s kids 24/7 on numerous field trips and camps; not to mention mentoring sports, music, drama etc outside of school hours. Like parenthood, teaching is indeed a “well of need with no bottom”.
But, however long the hours of intense work, there is no way teachers, principals and other salaried folk can aspire to become millionaires.
Of the cohort of around 100 classroom colleagues I had in 1996 when I first retired, burnt out after 25 years, a good 10-15% of them are deceased. They didn’t even get to enjoy retirement.
Juliet Leigh, Pt Chevalier.
Immigrants doing essential work
In regards to the recent reports on the immigration raids in the United States, I’m wondering what the Trump Administration is planning on doing in the not-too-distant future.
What is not being reported is the fact that immigrants, both legal and illegal, are often essential workers in agriculture and hospitality as well as the garment manufacturing industry. Past experience has shown that even the impoverished American has no interest in filling the positions currently filled by immigrants.
Therefore, at some stage, the general public is going to experience shortages of fruit and vegetables in grocery stores. The traveling public will experience slower services when staying in hotels and motels. Those dining out will also experience slower service and those inexpensive clothes will likely be more expensive or not available.
When Americans and tourists experience shortages and reduced services and employers cannot find staff willing to work for the current wages and conditions, what is the White House going to do and who will it blame?
Dunstan Sheldon, Hamilton.
Stronger action needed
Winston Peters’ announcement of travel bans on two Israeli ministers is not the bold moral stand it pretends to be. While Palestinians are being systematically slaughtered and starved in Gaza, this symbolic gesture does nothing to stop the genocide unfolding before our eyes.
Targeting Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, two of the most openly racist and fascistic figures in Israeli politics, is the absolute bare minimum. Yet Peters makes it clear this is not aimed at the Israeli state or military, which continues to flatten entire neighbourhoods and block humanitarian aid.
New Zealand’s historic stance on illegal settlements means little if we refuse to hold the state of Israel accountable. These bans won’t stop a single bombing. They won’t get food to starving families or end the suffering of over two million people trapped in a war zone.
If New Zealand were serious about peace and international law, we would sanction Israel itself, just as we’ve done with Russia.
Dana A Patterson, Waiheke Island.
A slum with scenery?
The Government has adopted a policy to push tourism and the minister states that tourism has the potential to be our biggest export earner. I also read Roger Partridge’s opinion in the Weekend Herald (June 7) that New Zealand’s economy has a chronic capital investment problem that is getting worse, with the country having far less infrastructure, plant, and technology than comparable countries.
This reminds me of a claim made by prominent professional engineers back in the early 1960s that “New Zealand was at risk of becoming a slum with scenery”. This prediction seems to have been and continues to be proven true.
Brian R Ellis, Windsor Park.
