Egalitarianism
One of the things you see overseas is how tax money not directed toward maintaining an obscenely huge military can be better spent.
On Friday night, Debi and I took the boys to QE II Park, which is one of the nine leisure and recreation facilities we have here in Chch. They are owned and operated by the City Council.
It's hard to imagine many communities in the US where you could spend tax dollars to build a public health club & water park. Of course I have seen public pools in the US, but nothing on this scale. QE II has an Olympic size lap pool, a wave pool, 2 children's pools, a lazy river ride, and a diving well.
For the a mere $8.50 we spent a couple of hours playing in the indoor pools/water park. We didn't get tickets for the five state-of-the-art hydroslides this time, but if we had it would have bumped the price up to $32.50.
A working class family could spend the day there for about 3 hour's worth of minimum-wage labor. But if they were earning only minimum wage, which is $11.25 here in NZ, they'd qualify for a Community Services Card, which could reduce the price even more.
Before we left the US, we went to Country Springs Water Park. It was a nice place, though a little smaller than QEII. A Friday evening there will set you back $100 for a family of four. That's about half a work week at minimum wage. An evening at the hotel and two days in the water park is an easy $200.
I often hear NZ described as 'egalitarian.' Sometimes this is a bad thing, but it also manifests itself in ways that are rather easy to miss. In the US, many people would ask, 'What does it matter if poor people can go to the water slides in NZ but not in the US?' (And, frankly, would ask lots of worse things about poor people.) Egalitarianism here seems to mean, at least in part, that everyone should have access to family-oriented activities.
Now, to be fair, they're not giving away free trips to Disney for anyone who wants them. But, on the other hand, if you want to spend the evening splashing around in the pool with your kids--or going to the beach, the playground, the parks--then go ahead. Beside the modest entry fee to the pool, you don't find user or entrance fees, and I've yet to encounter any place outside the immediate city center where you have to pay to park.
Here the outdoors are still free. Having things to do with the kids doesn't mean having to be middle class. 'Public' here doesn't mean 'substandard.' At the pool, the park, the beach, I see a mix of all classes (and races).
This isn't just a government issue, either. The Community Services Card that I mentioned can also be used for discounts at many businesses, such as banks and power companies. Some movie theaters, too, offer discount tickets to Card holders.
On Friday night, Debi and I took the boys to QE II Park, which is one of the nine leisure and recreation facilities we have here in Chch. They are owned and operated by the City Council.
It's hard to imagine many communities in the US where you could spend tax dollars to build a public health club & water park. Of course I have seen public pools in the US, but nothing on this scale. QE II has an Olympic size lap pool, a wave pool, 2 children's pools, a lazy river ride, and a diving well.
For the a mere $8.50 we spent a couple of hours playing in the indoor pools/water park. We didn't get tickets for the five state-of-the-art hydroslides this time, but if we had it would have bumped the price up to $32.50.
A working class family could spend the day there for about 3 hour's worth of minimum-wage labor. But if they were earning only minimum wage, which is $11.25 here in NZ, they'd qualify for a Community Services Card, which could reduce the price even more.
Before we left the US, we went to Country Springs Water Park. It was a nice place, though a little smaller than QEII. A Friday evening there will set you back $100 for a family of four. That's about half a work week at minimum wage. An evening at the hotel and two days in the water park is an easy $200.
I often hear NZ described as 'egalitarian.' Sometimes this is a bad thing, but it also manifests itself in ways that are rather easy to miss. In the US, many people would ask, 'What does it matter if poor people can go to the water slides in NZ but not in the US?' (And, frankly, would ask lots of worse things about poor people.) Egalitarianism here seems to mean, at least in part, that everyone should have access to family-oriented activities.
Now, to be fair, they're not giving away free trips to Disney for anyone who wants them. But, on the other hand, if you want to spend the evening splashing around in the pool with your kids--or going to the beach, the playground, the parks--then go ahead. Beside the modest entry fee to the pool, you don't find user or entrance fees, and I've yet to encounter any place outside the immediate city center where you have to pay to park.
Here the outdoors are still free. Having things to do with the kids doesn't mean having to be middle class. 'Public' here doesn't mean 'substandard.' At the pool, the park, the beach, I see a mix of all classes (and races).
This isn't just a government issue, either. The Community Services Card that I mentioned can also be used for discounts at many businesses, such as banks and power companies. Some movie theaters, too, offer discount tickets to Card holders.
posted by Jon A at
6:38 PM
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