Wages v. dole

Press, 1 April 1985, Page 12

Wages v. dole

Sir,—The current benefit for married or de facto couples with no dependants is 3136.85, not 3173 as J. Stanley presumes. Rents are excessively high and food prices are rising daily. The current benefit rates are hardly an incentive to quit your job and join the dole queue. Many people on the unemployment benefit can’t afford the basic needs which every human should be entitled to, while there are others who have an overabundance of monetary and material wealth. Unemployed people and beneficiaries receive very little money, yet do a lot of valuable work in the community, voluntary organisations and the home, which often goes unrecognised by people who choose to work in traditional paid employment. Unemployed people are not bludgers, but victims of a capitalist system which maintains and encourages an unequal distribution of wealth and controls the lifestyles of people by inextricably linking jobs with money.—Yours, etc., MARY O’DONOGHUE. March 28, 1985.