A lot of New Zealanders are feeling ripped off at the moment and it's not hard to understand why.

In these hard economic times it just adds insult to injury when it seems we're paying unnecessarily inflated prices for things like milk and All Black jerseys. Why, if we export milk to half the world, does it cost twice as much here as in Australia? Why, if a company sponsors our rugby team, do their promotional jerseys cost twice as much here as, well, almost everywhere else?

'Recently, in Singapore, I found my favourite Heinz Baked Beans in a dairy next to our apartment. Made in New Zealand. Same labelling, everything. They cost less than half of what I pay in my local New World.

New Zealanders are, in general, gentle passive people. There seems little chance that rioting in the streets will break out as it has in England. But, with London burning, you do have to wonder about such things. The last time riots took place on this scale in Britain was 1981, back in the days of Margaret Thatcher's infamous proclamation that there is no such things as society, just people.

That may, in a reductive libertarian sense, be true. But, as the gap between rich and poor continues to widen in New Zealand (like Britain), it's hard not to wonder whether there are consequences down the track.

As you see from the riots, when there is no such thing as society, it doesn't take much for people to start turning on each other.

I wonder if there's an element of that in recent attacks on the National Jazz Festival. Times being hard and getting harder maybe some folk just need a target for their frustrations. Despite suspecting that the outpouring of negativity (look at some of the comments about jazz-related stories on the SunLive website) is confined to a few of the usual suspects who feel the need to rush into print as soon as they find any excuse to whine and therefore are not representative of any wider community angst – it's still a worry.

A lot of inaccurate stuff has been put out there by people who have really made a dog's breakfast of the facts, and who have strung together mangled attempts to diss every aspect of the festival. I think it a worry because, as this stuff gets unthinkingly repeated, some people might actually believe it.

Without wishing to inflame the easily-inflammable even further, let me at least set the record straight on a couple of things.

The Jazz Society books are in good shape. They have not asked the council for a loan to pay-off debt from this year's loss. The society had built up a surplus over the previous years which covered the debt. Less than two thirds of the surplus was needed to pay off the debt. Any money asked for from council is nothing to do with this year's losses.

Next: in anticipation of a harsh economy the festival did reduce its budget this year, by something close to $200,000. Good responsible financial planning. The organisers are professionals – they're not stupid.

Next: the $30,000 that the council has given the festival for the past six years is not a loan. It was a Flagship Events Grant. Look upon it as sponsorship. An economic impact survey of the festival in 2004 concluded that it brought $5 million to Tauranga. Since then the festival has grown considerably. Consider that the survey may have been wrong and exaggerated. Let's be conservative: halve it, then knock off another million. Say the festival brings $2 million to Tauranga. Isn't $30,000 a reasonable investment to bring $2 million into the local economy? Isn't the council meant to try and help our economy? Less than a dollar from each ratepayer doesn't seem unreasonable to me.

This is not an event where money goes to overseas shareholders or to benefit a few. This is not a group looking to line their own pockets. This is a festival run for the benefit and enjoyment of the people of Tauranga.

And there is moaning that tickets for the ‘main event' this year were too expensive. Get over it. Top class international acts cost that. There is so much music supplied for free at the festival that anyone bitching about this can only be doing so to hear the sound of their own voice.

The Jazz Festival is one of the crown jewels of Tauranga society – a little respect people, please.