megpie71 (![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small} megpie71) wrote, |
My extra $5 per fortnight is because I'm formally on sickness allowance. It's to cover medical costs. I'm thinking of using it to save up for some desperately needed dental work - at $5 per fortnight I should be able to afford to visit a dentist for a quote some time in 2032.
I wouldn't say Centrelink's benefits are criminally inadequate. What I would say is that they're designed more with the interests of the indignant upper-middle classes in mind than the interests of the people who are actually receiving the benefit (the aim of the dole, although it's never actually stated as such, is to shame and bankrupt people into finding work). It's designed to play into quasi-Victorian notions of the Deserving and Undeserving Poor, and into notions of dole bludgers living the life of Riley on the public dollar.
I wouldn't say Centrelink's benefits are criminally inadequate. What I would say is that they're designed more with the interests of the indignant upper-middle classes in mind than the interests of the people who are actually receiving the benefit (the aim of the dole, although it's never actually stated as such, is to shame and bankrupt people into finding work). It's designed to play into quasi-Victorian notions of the Deserving and Undeserving Poor, and into notions of dole bludgers living the life of Riley on the public dollar.
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