Poverty
It Is Expensive to Be Poor: "What I discovered is that in many ways, these [minimum-wage] jobs are a trap: They pay so little that you cannot accumulate even a couple of hundred dollars to help you make the transition to a better-paying job... in some ways, it is actually more expensive to be poor than not poor. If you can't afford the first month's rent and security deposit you need in order to rent an apartment, you may get stuck in an overpriced residential motel."
Tony Abbott's work for the dole scheme doesn't add up: "University of Sydney Workplace Research Centre director Professor John Buchanan points out that the latest statistics show there are 146,000 job vacancies for 727,000 people unemployed and 922,100 under-employed. 'If all the unemployed filled all official vacancies, there would still be 580,900 unemployed,' he said. "That is, over 1.5 million people either unemployed or underemployed. This, and not work-shy welfare recipients, is the problem that needs to be fixed."
ACOSS call for single welfare payment to cover 'life essentials': "... the Australian Council of Social Service argues that welfare payments should be based on people's financial needs and not on assessments about their potential to do paid work. It recommends that payments for people of working age should be based on two components: a basic income support payment for all recipients and add-ons for extra needs such as disability, caring, rental assistance and single parenting." (According to the previous article,currently "Australia's unemployment benefits are the lowest in the industrialised world and that their recipients live well below the poverty line.")
What happened to the fair go?: "The information was completely compelling regarding growing inequality around the world, and the fact that wealthy people generally pay a much lower percentage of their income in tax, one way or another. It's not just me: all sorts of wealthy people have said it's a ridiculous situation."
"Why Don't the Unemployed Get Off Their Couches?" and Eight Other Critical Questions for Americans: "...73% of those enrolled in the country’s major public benefits programs are, in fact, from working families -- just in jobs whose paychecks don't cover life's basic necessities."
Elderly pensioners will be hurt most by GP fees: researchers: "These people need to use the services, they're not making a choice."
Australia's minimum wage is $16.87 an hour. The minimum wage in the United States is $7.25 an hour.
Tony Abbott's work for the dole scheme doesn't add up: "University of Sydney Workplace Research Centre director Professor John Buchanan points out that the latest statistics show there are 146,000 job vacancies for 727,000 people unemployed and 922,100 under-employed. 'If all the unemployed filled all official vacancies, there would still be 580,900 unemployed,' he said. "That is, over 1.5 million people either unemployed or underemployed. This, and not work-shy welfare recipients, is the problem that needs to be fixed."
ACOSS call for single welfare payment to cover 'life essentials': "... the Australian Council of Social Service argues that welfare payments should be based on people's financial needs and not on assessments about their potential to do paid work. It recommends that payments for people of working age should be based on two components: a basic income support payment for all recipients and add-ons for extra needs such as disability, caring, rental assistance and single parenting." (According to the previous article,currently "Australia's unemployment benefits are the lowest in the industrialised world and that their recipients live well below the poverty line.")
What happened to the fair go?: "The information was completely compelling regarding growing inequality around the world, and the fact that wealthy people generally pay a much lower percentage of their income in tax, one way or another. It's not just me: all sorts of wealthy people have said it's a ridiculous situation."
"Why Don't the Unemployed Get Off Their Couches?" and Eight Other Critical Questions for Americans: "...73% of those enrolled in the country’s major public benefits programs are, in fact, from working families -- just in jobs whose paychecks don't cover life's basic necessities."
Elderly pensioners will be hurt most by GP fees: researchers: "These people need to use the services, they're not making a choice."
Australia's minimum wage is $16.87 an hour. The minimum wage in the United States is $7.25 an hour.