In the past year, the average New Zealander effectively lost $54.59 for every hour they turned up to work if they did not own a home, Brendon Blue writes.

A substantial class of investors have certainly been made exceptionally wealthy by the Covid-19 response, even as those who work for a living have seen their incomes stagnate.

But while this separation of ‘investors’ or ‘speculators’ from ‘homeowners’ might be politically convenient, it makes something of a false distinction.

Whether a house is owned as a home, or purely a source of income, any non-improvement appreciation in value comes at someone else’s expense.

Until New Zealand acknowledges this, little will change: whoever is in charge, and no matter how many new homes get built.

yeppp renters always on the pointy end of the stick :(

  • NotAGinger
    3·
    4 years ago

    United States has the same problem. our increased unemployment benefits and stimulus checks are not enough for people to survive on indefinitely.

    • skittermouseOPM
      2·
      4 years ago

      it’s rough out there! especially when every scrap of income just gets funnelled away from you immediately. treading water is a horrible way to exist. people look to nz as some magical utopia and while it has some nice perks (cool flora & fauna mainly, lol) the reality is there’s a wide swathe of the population struggling with precarity and no relief in sight, just like so many other countries. we’re still at the ‘mercy’ of neoliberalism after all!