JobSeeker has kept recipients below the poverty line for years, but advocates say they've never been worse off
JobSeeker has kept recipients below the poverty line for years, but advocates say they've never been worse off
As food prices and living costs rise, social services advocates say they've never seen Australians on JobSeeker struggling this much.
Some experts argue the cost-of-living crisis and inflation is actually hitting those on low incomes harder than those on higher incomes.
I’m sorry, but what university degree do you need to be a bloody expert on this?! Like yeah no shit the crisis where the cost of everything has been skyrocketing, is affecting poor people the most.
I'm hoping to anger other people enough to push back against this, because I'm too exhausted and disabled to do much activism myself anymore
Unfortunately I’m in the same boat when it comes to being too exhausted and disabled as well.
Seriously. The marginal utility of money is one of the things people should learn from Econ 101.
And when most of that money gets spent, wealthy businesses get it anyway. Taking some of their money and giving it to poor people would make them even richer.
So the big financial snake oil salesment poink the economy being reliant on x% of unemployment. They also mandate that these people who MUST be on the dole for the good of the land be denigrated and starved.
I'm getting real sick of this omelas crap.
And don't even get me started on disability payments...
Disability payments being below the poverty line... It shouldn't be happening. And to make it even worse a lot of people on Jobseeker (even lower) should actually be on the disability payments but won't get approved. This country treats its most vulnerable people like shit.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Survey results released last month by the Australian Council of Social Service showed a majority of respondents had been skipping meals, medication and taking fewer hot showers due to the skyrocketing cost of living.
But it doesn't account for the fact that low-income households spend a greater percentage of income on essentials such as food and housing — expenses that are now rising the fastest.
Elise Klein, an associate professor at the Australian National University's Crawford School of Public Policy, said it would be better for recipients if JobSeeker was indexed to wages rather than CPI.
It was temporarily increased to $550 per week by the coronavirus supplement at the onset of COVID lockdowns in 2020, before reverting back to its original level the following year.
"Those stage three tax cuts, those billions of dollars there could change lives overnight for folks who find themselves on JobSeeker," Ms Klein said.
The government, which released a number of promotional election materials this year with the motto "no one left behind", has ruled out any further increase to social security payments.
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