The " Stigma " Card !

 The Federal government is trying a new approach to help welfare recipients to " manage " their money. They despair that in too many families the welfare cheque is squandered away on alcohol and gambling rather than providing shelter and putting food on the table for despondent loved ones.

The plan isolates a large portion of each welfare payment onto a credit card which has spending restrictions.  It may not be used to pay for alcohol or gambling and is only accepted in stores nominated by the government.

The aim is to ensure that the greater portion of each welfare payment is spent wisely on food, cleaning materials or household essentials such as paying the rent or providing essential medical supplies.  A small remainder is left to be spent as the individual decides.

This is already in place in a trial phase in three parts of Australia.  The areas chosen were South Australia's Ceduna region, the Goldfields of Western Australia and Bundaberg and Hervey Bay in Queensland.  There are plans to extend it to Cape York and the Northern Territory.

To work as planned, the government restricts card acceptance to chain stores with the discipline to control throughput to legitimate items.  This sharply  reduces the options open to welfare recipients and can cause rejection at the checkout if unsuitable goods are included in the purchase.  It quickly becomes common knowledge that some customers are subjected to purchase restrictions and this makes them placed under a form of social stigma.

It also delivers a new condition that applies to welfare spending.  What was previously an " entitlement " granted by law now faces restrictions that limit spending choices.  There is widespread fear that similar terms will be applied to all forms of welfare, including the old age pension.

The vast majority of pensioners spend their money wisely and would be affronted if such conditions were imposed.. There is also concern that once the government imposes restrictions on purchasing habits it will spread to health professionals insisting on a balance of " healthy " foods and restrictions on the choice of food that does not meet that standard.

The wary see it as the first step in implementing a " control " measure in containing the " freedom of choice " that has always been in the hands of pensioners.  Restrictions apply to the granting of a pension, and now further restrictions are being applied as to how that money can be spent.

Some welfare recipients tend to hide their status as a pensioner from friends and neighbours as they believe it delivers a status stigma.  It is evident that restricting some pensioners to where they are permitted to shop and what they are permitted to buy will impose a shadow on their independence that will quickly spread through through the neighbourhoods where it applies.

It is a fact of life that any form of restriction results in a stigma that those under its control are " different " from the herd.  In this case the plan delivers a benefit to those living in poverty because of alcohol or gambling abuse, but the social cost of applying it across the entire community is just too high.