The Force is Strong With This One

The New Model Socialist

Metiria Turei's sense of entitlement is infuriating and nauseating.  "You owe me, bigtime" seems to underlie much of her political persona.  Yet she, courtesy of the taxpayer's dime, is one of the most highly paid people in the country.

She cheated the taxpayer.  She broke the law.  But only because she thought she was entitled to do so. "I deserved to be treated better.  The cruel system was at fault.  More taxpayer's money should have been distributed to me."  It turns out that Turei's lawbreaking was not a "thing of the moment" so much as a deliberate, repeated policy.  As the Herald editorial writer put it:

Spread over three years however, Turei's lie of omission starts to look less like a one-off act of dishonesty and more like a systematic attempt to rort the system. Letter writers and talkback callers have voiced their anger over what they see as her sense of entitlement to public money - not helped by the fact that taxpayers are providing her with a huge salary today. [NZ Herald]

The deep sense of grievance and entitlement now risks her being hoist on her own petard, since she is now one of the rich and wealthy--courtesy of the taxpayer.

There is also considerable public anger over her selective and self-serving morality. Turei has effectively argued that she had a moral right to rip off the system because she had to feed her baby. She is wrong because hardship doesn't give anyone the right to break the law. Her example encourages others to do the same and is unfair on those who struggle through legally. It is a particularly bad look coming from a party leader on a base salary of $173,000 a year.  

Actually, this base salary provided by the long-suffering taxpayer is considerably more when all the state-funded benefits and additions are taken into account:

Actually her salary is more that that. It is around $178,500 plus $32,000 super contribution, $4,600 of perks and $17,000 of expenses for a total remuneration of over $230,000 (per annum).  [Kiwiblog]

The Force of Entitlement is so strong with Turei that it has sucked others in.  Standing close by on the sidelines was Andrew Little, leader of the Labour Party, her political ally.  Little all but endorsed Turei's ethics and morality.  "No problems there, mate.  Go you good thing."

So, our expectation is that benefit fraud will once again become endemic in New Zealand.  Doubtless cases will appear before the courts.  We expect that Turei will become infamous for her association with what will come to be known as the "Turei defence":  namely, "Yes, I stole, but the welfare system made me do it.  In reality the system stole from Me and to what I am entitled".

And standing slightly off to the side will by Andrew Little and his Labour Party--nodding and sedately clapping the victory of entitlement over reason.