The unsolvable enigma !

In a perfect world, nobody would live below the poverty line !  The unsolvable enigma facing governments is to balance the dole at a level that will sustain job seekers, but keep it low to make effort to seek a job an absolute necessity.   Raise the level too high and some people will prefer the dole to actually doing paid work.

These days the dole is termed the " Newstart " allowance and it is presently paid at just $ 245 per week.   This is clearly in " poverty territory " because the poverty level cuts in at $ 470 per week,  $ 225 less than the people out of work are expected to live on.

All the welfare agencies can tell lurid tales of the hardship this imposes.   There are people who miss meals themselves to provide food for their children.  There are countless families with unpaid heating and light bills - and some are in danger of losing the roof over their head because the money is not there to pay the rent or service the mortgage.

Being out of work brings with it a stigma.   The words  " Dole Bludger " springs from some lips, and yet the world is going through tough times: Industry is laying off workers and in some cases - shutting their doors and new job opportunities are hard to find.  No fair minded person could doubt that for some, being out of work is a product of this twenty-first century.

It is suggested that the level of the dole be taken out of government hands and passed to a tribunal - in a similar manner to the hands off approach of the independent commission that rules on the salary level of politicians, the judiciary and the top level of public servants.    This suggestion has met with a resounding  " No " from the government.

The welfare agencies are calling for the dole to be raised by another $ 50 a week.  They make a good point when they claim that it is becoming impossible for job seekers to get to job interviews in a presentable state at the present sustainability level.    The money is simply not there for a haircut, decent clothes - and the fares necessary to get to that interview.     To make matters worse, if applicants fail to make it to job interviews, even this meagre sustenance ceases.

It would be easy to play the blame game to divert attention from the fact that the dole at it's present level is below the poverty line.   There are some sections of society that are intolerant of the unemployed and maintain that being out of work is their fault.   Those with a socialist philosophy think that finding work for everyone is a government responsibility - and that the government must pay a working wage when job search fails. The problem is that both the government and industry are trying to balance budgets and in many cases that means a reduced labour force.

If " Newstart " increases by $50 a week it will cost the government another $ 1.5 billion a year.  That is not an unreasonable sum to put food on the tables and restore a little human dignity to whose who are victims of the GFC.    The problem is that to do nothing will see the living standards of the unemployed drop further - to catastrophic levels.

There are other options.   One would be to issue a travel voucher to enable free passage on all trains and bus transport, valid only on the day of the interview.  Finding a few dollars for fares is a big ask out of just $ 245 a week at the present level, and that would certainly help - but the administrative cost of implementing it would blow out of all proportion to the benefit.

It seems the only answer is for the government to  bite the bullet and go with that $ 50 a week increase. The cost of living has gained pace since the dole was last reviewed.   Maintaining a below poverty  level flow of aid to the unemployed is not defendable in a society that has accepted higher pay for politicians and maintained pensioner incomes in line with the cost of living.

To continue to do nothing would be tantamount to abandoning those in need and making them outcasts of society !