Punish the poor, reward the rich!

[sptrawler]

Got your NewsCorp subscription renewed did ya?

Looking at the 'Australian' front page, there seems to be some really interesting headlines, which I can't read can anyone post them up?
Treasury in warning of savings raid.
ALP property tax may hit by July.

 

[explod]

The sad realities:-

Australian Unemployed Workers' Union
25 mins ·
In a recent survey, 98% of our members said being on Newstart made them socially isolated. This punitively low entitlement is creating an underclass of citizens who can't freely participate in our society. Our members have had enough - we continue to demand our leaders #RaisetheRate

-0:17

 

[explod]

These situations are tough and becoming common. 62 alone and no work.

Federal election renews focus on Newstart and whether you can survive on $40 a day
ABC North Coast
By Leah White
Posted about 11 hours ago

PHOTO: Gae Guthrie says Newstart payments are not enough to live on. (ABC North Coast: Leah White)
RELATED STORY: Poverty in Australia has been pushed to centre stage
RELATED STORY: Here's what people have been asking us about the federal election
RELATED STORY: How many millennials are running this election? Meet a new breed of candidates
Living off $40 a day is the reality for more than 700,000 Australians who rely on Newstart payments to survive.

For 62-year-old Gae Guthrie, from Hastings Point on the New South Wales north coast, it means digging into life savings and compromising her health.

"You go without lots of things," she said.

"Food is probably the biggest thing for me ... I very rarely buy any meat.

"The doctor asked me once, because I've got brittle bones, he asked was I having meat, and I said I hardly ever eat any meat because it's just not affordable.

"So that affects your health."

Ms Guthrie said she received $754 a fortnight from the Government, which includes Newstart, Rent Assistance, pharmacy allowance and an energy supplement.

Deduct from that caravan site fees of $364 a fortnight, mandatory home and contents insurance, fuel to get her to and from her Newstart volunteer work, electricity, gas, water, medical bills and car maintenance (to name a few), and there's very little left for food or anything else.

"I don't know how people can live. If I balanced it all out, I'd be in the red.

"I'm just lucky I have a little bit of savings."

Ms Guthrie said her story was one example of many, and that's why she asked the ABC's You Ask, We Answer project to investigate: "How are people like myself expected to survive on Newstart?"

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05...wS3V7zsRr8iHeDUCYnuLnJmGPqyB1uCb5eGB_T90Zv9yI

 

[PZ99]

Why is there mandatory home and contents insurance? That's her problem right there.

Talk about punish the poor, reward the rich. Any form of compulsory insurance is going to be a rort.

 

[tech/a]

This is very true and very tragic.

Does anyone have a solution?

 

[willoneau]

I'm not sure if this is relevant but, my brother was made redundant a few years ago and now only works part time about 20 hours if he wants to. He doesn't eat much has lost weight (hates the shops) and just gets by, yet he still spends $250 a week on smokes.

 

[Smurf1976]

This problem existed 30 years ago and it exists today.

For whatever reason a lot employers simply don't want to employ older workers. That's what it comes down to.

Whilst there are plenty of people in the 50's and 60's who are employed, if that job goes for whatever reason well then for many that's the end of paid work for them in practice. White collar professionals usually won't have much trouble for but for anyone else the options often end up as self-funded retirement, becoming self-employed or going on the dole for an extended period until they're able to access superannuation (if they have enough to live off it) or the Age Pension. There are exceptions of course but a lot of employers simply aren't interested in anyone in that age group no matter how good their skills and experience might be.

Solutions I don't really have beyond noting that skills shortages usually aren't a real thing and that if we stopped filling those jobs with overseas workers well then someone currently living here would be employed instead. When business says "skills shortage" what they mean 9 times out of 10 is "we failed to plan ahead and train anyone".

If importing workers to fill such positions came with a requirement that a second person, a current permanent resident of Australia, had to also be employed as an apprentice well then I expect we'd see an improvement. Whilst that would mostly put younger people into those jobs, it must surely free up some other job which then becomes available to older people.

Point of all that being that I'd rather put people into work than have them on the dole long term in the first place. That then fixes their income problem.

I'm not opposed to immigration per se but I don't accept as valid that we have a "skills shortage" in the sort of jobs someone can be trained to do in minimal time whilst at the same time we've got unemployed people who'd willingly give those jobs a decent go.

 

[Smurf1976]

yet he still spends $250 a week on smokes.

No offence but smoking is old fashioned, obsolete and no longer required.

 

[willoneau]

No offence but smoking is old fashioned, obsolete and no longer required.

I agree totally, in my case never required.

 

[qldfrog]

No offence but smoking is old fashioned, obsolete and no longer required.

Unless you smoke dope for medicinal purpose ;-)
Which is trendy, newly fashionable and a must do it seems
While fully agreeing with weed being legal, it is as cigarettes a way to burn money and this seems to be lost in the debate
Living on 40aud a day is not easy doable here but most of the world is living for under 5 aud a day
Maybe we should look at why iur cost of living is so high more than bumping welfare expenses and making us as a country less and less competitive.
Food should not cost you more than 15 to 20 $, bulk billing on gp, so what is the problem?
Housing, and it can be linked if you take a clear unbiased look at both an Australian specific and a QE consequence, but akso on the weight of regulation and parasitism
Average returns for landlords are pathetic so please no greedy landlord story, but insurances body corporates rates water bills electricity costs, tax rates..these are what make someone on 40 dollars a day poor here
@Smurf, white collars are not exempt of age discrimination, what they do is turn into consulting or create or buy their own business while eating their savings, but problems are the same

 

[rnr]

Why is there mandatory home and contents insurance? That's her problem right there.

Talk about punish the poor, reward the rich. Any form of compulsory insurance is going to be a rort.

Just did a quick search of the internet using this question

"Is home & contents insurance mandatory in New South Wales?"

and the answer is NO, it is neither compulsory nor mandatory.

 

[PZ99]

Just did a quick search of the internet using this question

"Is home & contents insurance mandatory in New South Wales?"

and the answer is NO, it is neither compulsory nor mandatory.

You wouldn't think so and neither would I but obviously it's one of the conditions of the site.

Looks like a false profit deal to me. Similar to where some people who live in units have a fixed deal where their electricity supplier is part of their strata by laws.

These sorts of schemes should be banned because it's an unfair burden on poor people who can't afford services they are forced to pay for.

 

[Klogg]

These situations are tough and becoming common. 62 alone and no work.

Federal election renews focus on Newstart and whether you can survive on $40 a day
ABC North Coast
By Leah White
Posted about 11 hours ago

PHOTO: Gae Guthrie says Newstart payments are not enough to live on. (ABC North Coast: Leah White)
RELATED STORY: Poverty in Australia has been pushed to centre stage
RELATED STORY: Here's what people have been asking us about the federal election
RELATED STORY: How many millennials are running this election? Meet a new breed of candidates
Living off $40 a day is the reality for more than 700,000 Australians who rely on Newstart payments to survive.

For 62-year-old Gae Guthrie, from Hastings Point on the New South Wales north coast, it means digging into life savings and compromising her health.

"You go without lots of things," she said.

"Food is probably the biggest thing for me ... I very rarely buy any meat.

"The doctor asked me once, because I've got brittle bones, he asked was I having meat, and I said I hardly ever eat any meat because it's just not affordable.

"So that affects your health."

Ms Guthrie said she received $754 a fortnight from the Government, which includes Newstart, Rent Assistance, pharmacy allowance and an energy supplement.

Deduct from that caravan site fees of $364 a fortnight, mandatory home and contents insurance, fuel to get her to and from her Newstart volunteer work, electricity, gas, water, medical bills and car maintenance (to name a few), and there's very little left for food or anything else.

"I don't know how people can live. If I balanced it all out, I'd be in the red.

"I'm just lucky I have a little bit of savings."

Ms Guthrie said her story was one example of many, and that's why she asked the ABC's You Ask, We Answer project to investigate: "How are people like myself expected to survive on Newstart?"

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05...wS3V7zsRr8iHeDUCYnuLnJmGPqyB1uCb5eGB_T90Zv9yI

I hate to say it, but by the age of 62 if you need to rely on Newstart, you've done something terribly wrong for a good chunk of your life. That's basically retirement age, yet her savings are so small that she qualifies for Newstart.

And there are solutions to many of her problems. $182 a week for site fees alone are quite expensive for someone with that level of income. Remember, this is welfare. It's NOT designed to maintain a particular lifestyle, only to get by... How about renting a room in a house with other tenants? I know in metro Melbourne you can find a room + utilities for $150 a week. It's not pretty, but it works.

Add to that the fact she has a car. She's 62, not 102. An electric bike is a much cheaper option.

FWIW - I've made all of these changes in my life at one point or another. I was never on Newstart, but I know could live on it if I have to, because my spending has been lower than that previously.

IMO, we'd be better served moving toward a Singaporean model, rather than European.

 

[PZ99]

No way! Singaporean models demand your money first

 

[explod]

I hate to say it, but by the age of 62 if you need to rely on Newstart, you've done something terribly wrong for a good chunk of your life. That's basically retirement age, yet her savings are so small that she qualifies for Newstart.

And there are solutions to many of her problems. $182 a week for site fees alone are quite expensive for someone with that level of income. Remember, this is welfare. It's NOT designed to maintain a particular lifestyle, only to get by... How about renting a room in a house with other tenants? I know in metro Melbourne you can find a room + utilities for $150 a week. It's not pretty, but it works.

Add to that the fact she has a car. She's 62, not 102. An electric bike is a much cheaper option.

FWIW - I've made all of these changes in my life at one point or another. I was never on Newstart, but I know could live on it if I have to, because my spending has been lower than that previously.

IMO, we'd be better served moving toward a Singaporean model, rather than European.

Not so in most and a growing number of cases, particularly women who maintain the home, have and care for the children then when they hit the 50s the bloke shoots through and the female starts from scratch.

As a foundation member of the Australian Unemployed Workers Union I can assure you we have a real growing problem in this part of society.

 

[Klogg]

Not so in most and a growing number of cases, particularly women who maintain the home, have and care for the children then when they hit the 50s the bloke shoots through and the female starts from scratch.

As a foundation member of the Australian Unemployed Workers Union I can assure you we have a real growing problem in this part of society.

Interesting. I just had a look at some of the requests of the AUWU. I must say, some are very fair, others made me chuckle.

Some of them that I didn't agree with:
- Ending income management
- Job Guarantee Programs
- Reduce working week to 35 hrs
- Raise all benefits to $517 per week

All of these provide the wrong incentives in my view. Not to say that we shouldn't do anything at all, just that the extent of the demands is a bit much for me. In particular is the income management piece. To me, the worst thing we can do is throw money at someone without any limitations. Sure, some of the welfare recipients are there due to bad luck, but a large portion just don't know how to spend their money, nor find a job. Limiting their ability to buy non-essentials should be a top priority.

The other demands simply aim to make the country less productive. Paying each person ~$27k a year would lead many to not want a job. Along the same line, job guarantee programs result in no feedback for poor/great performance.

I like the idea of improving the system and credit to you for trying to make improvements, but I don't think I can get on board this particular movement (not that I'm suggesting you asked me to join).

 

[explod]

The days of expansion and therefore productivity are gone. We need to employ people in methods of survival and reducing world population growth and adinfanitum. Could write a book on it. Scomo's rant on jobs, jobs and more jobs has no substance in reality and everyone knos it.