Listener: 11 March, 1978, republished in Economics for New Zealand Social Democrats.
Keywords: Health; Regulation & Taxation;
Note: The numbers in this column are out of date, but the sentiment remains true.
‘The trouble with New Zealand,’ he said as he leaned on the bar, ‘is that we have far too many scrounging on the state.’
I had heard it all before, and was absent-mindedly gazing at the jugs of beer in front of him. A variety of news items flitted through my mind. The traffic officer who thought half the accidents he attended involved a drunken driver. The Auckland policeman who said nights were easy while the beertanker drivers were on strike. The orthopedic surgeon whose ward is 60 per cent full of the consequences of accidents involving alcohol. The hospital which has 25 per cent of its non-geriatric beds filled with patients directly suffering from the abuse of alcohol. The 53,000 New Zealanders who are alcoholics. The half a million New Zealanders who have a close friend or relation who is a liquor addict. The loss of production from hangovers and deteriorated performance from drinking is over eight times the loss of production from industrial disputes.
