Cashless Welfare Card

[moonflyte]

Could this be the end of the tragedy of alcohol fueled violence and child neglect.

A cashless welfare card aimed at stemming alcohol abuse would be rolled out across the country under a welfare reform the Turnbull government is considering taking to the election.

As regional trouble spots line up to be chosen for trials of the government’s new Healthy Welfare Card to begin next month, The Australian understands the Coalition may seek an election mandate to extend the card to welfare recipients across regional Australia if they achieve positive results.

Under the new system — proposed by mining magnate ­Andrew Forrest in his review of the welfare system in 2014 — 80 per cent of a person’s government payment would be ­quarantined to a bank card that could not be used to buy alcohol and gambling products, nor ­converted to cash.

The remaining 20 per cent could be accessible as cash.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/national-cashless-welfare-card-plan-by-turnbull-gov...

[jimmy*part4]

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@freddie*rooster wrote:

Are you a Vet Jimmy?

People with cardiomyopathy or complicated heart disease wouldn't be encouraged to exercise.

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Are you a Vet Jimmy?

Is this a discussion about pets or people?

People with cardiomyopathy or complicated heart disease wouldn't be encouraged to exercise.

In that case my comment applies to the dozens of other heart problems now, wouldn't it?!

[imastawka]

 

[chameleon54]

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@***super_nova*** wrote:

The difference between indigenous community and people living in suburbs is that these communities are 100s of km from anywhere.  people there gettheir money and the only place to spend it is the ONE shop.  Giving them card instead of cash means that the only change is on what they can buy, not where they buy.  It limits the amount of grog and cigarettes, and the kids get fed better.   That is why it has  no impact on the families who were already spending their money on food. 

In large cities, the choice of where to shop is huge, and price difference is large.  Giving card to poor people who are no drug addicts, alcoholics or smoke too much, will mean that their survival strategies will be curtailed and their income in fact reduced.

This morning I went to our market and bought some apples for $1.20/kg, grapes $1.45/kg , bananas $1.50/kg nectarines $1.79kg. on the way home I stopped in our local supermarket and walked through the fruit/veg section to get some milk.  Bananas were $3,40, nectarines $3.80/kg, apples $5/kg, grapes $3.79kg .  So if i bought 1kg of all these at the market I would have paid $5.94, for identical shopping at the supermarket it would have been $15.99, that is $10 difference just on 4 items, and there are places that are even cheaper than our market.  So can you understand what impact the card will have on ordinary poor people who do not waste their money, and who  are managing just fine due to wise shopping?  It will mean their kids will have less food, just because there is a small % of people who spend their money on drugs.  Do you really think that is a step in right dirrection?

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 If the card worked in the same way as the visa type credit cards that almost everyone uses now, you should still be able to make your grocery purchases from market stallholders. Most proffesional market business use credit card facilities linked to a mobile phone. Even our local fruit seller who sells from an old ute on the side of the road takes credit cards.

If the businesses you are buying from are strictly cash only, there is a fair chance that many are not declaring all of the cash income and are cheating the tax office ( and hence pensioners ) out of taxable income. If so then this is another example of fraud endemic in the current system. You may be inadvertantly contributing to this fraud by purchasing from cash only sellers.

I,m not a huge fan of cards, but have just gone seven days without any cash in my wallet. They are accepted in so many places now, that it is simply not the drama it once was. ( even a year or two ago ).  I didnt set out to try and prove any point, and it had nothing to do with this thread,  it just happened as I have been too busy to go to the bank and dont have a cash access facility linked to any of my cards.  Cards just simply are not the inconvenience they where a few years ago. 

Wether we like cards or not, they are completely taking over, in the same way computers did 15 years ago. People really dont have a lot of choice.  We either learn to adapt to the changes, or find ourselves isolated from society. As an old farmer, I wasnt a big fan of computers when they came out, but find them quite useful and actually enjoy them now. After going a week without cash, I,m actually warming to cards too. The monthly statement sure beats the heck out of faded little reciepts at tax time and they are a lot easier to store in the wallet.

[ambercat16]

I think you will find the Basics Card is not as readily accepted as a credit/debit card.  Retailers have to apply to become a "basics card merchant" and have to fulfill various criteria to qualify.  

I doubt many vendors at a farmers market would have the facility to, or be willing to produce an itemised receipt for each transaction at the time of transaction and to keep itemised receipts and point of sale record of each transaction in an auditable filing system for at least 2 years.  It would hardly be worth their while to do it.

[esayaf]

It's always the way that those that won't be affected by something are the biggest advocates of it.
As someone said earlier give the politicians the card too because they also live off the taxpayer.
The Liberal party has made it an election policy so we'll have to wait and see what happens and if this card interferes with my ability to pay my mortgage due to a lack of thoughtful consideration for the circumstances of each individual I for one won't lose my house without doing something that will change me from costing the government $12000 a year to being housed and fed at $150000 a year.
Why should I struggle and stress all the time when no one appreciates it and I'm constantly harangued for being a bludger.

[esayaf]

Every forgets that every morning they wake up and they haven't had their head caved in and been robbed by an unemployed person that their taxes have paid for that

[justpolls]

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@go-tazz wrote:

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@***super_nova*** wrote:

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@jimmy*part3 wrote:

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I'd say "disadvantaged" people here have it a bit too cushie. I see them driving around in new cars (with their disabled placard hanging from the rear view mirror), parked in their driveways, at their well mancured homes....never having to work. Parking in the disabled parking spots in front of every store, watching them get out and stroll effortlessly into the store.

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I do not know how difficult to get a disabled parking in the USA, but it is not easy here.  Of-course, here it is also abused, mainly by able bodied relatives taking grandma's car to the shops, but that is another story.

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Unfortunatly it's starting to get abused a bit more than that and easier to get then you think.

I've asked a few here why they have a disabled sticker as they have no trouble geting out of a car and will

beat me getting to the shop/club,etc.

Their answer is that their doctors said they could have one,so they got one,(so the Doctor lied on their

application form).

That also now explains the number of visitors that come to town and park in the handicapped zone when

they clearly have no problems getting out of their cars.

The permit is designed and issued for people that have difficulty getting out of cars and that have difficulty

walking but a high number are now used by people getting out of high 4wd vehicles and cars that don't have

those problems.

It's dissapointing when you see a disabled person that clearly has difficulty getting in and out of their car

having to park two rows back and struggle to get to the front doors of our RSL club,(you then see people with

no difficulty hop into their car and drive out of a disabled spot with the permit hanging from the mirror,

The worst I came accross was a couple that looked to be in their 40's park in a disabled spot at the chemist

with the permit on their dash and they got out quickly as if they were in a hurry.

They didn't go into the chemist but quickly moved to the centre of the street to avoid the traffic and then to

the other side of the street and went to a cafe,(so how did they get their permit?,a dodtor that lied?).

So not only did they not need the permit,they also parked in a spot which is used on a regular basis.

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Sometimes, the disabled people who truly need these permits also need drivers (family, etc.) to drive them around since they are unable to drive themselves. What you may be seeing are family members driving the disabled persons car with the disabled plates on them or using the temporary placards that are being handed out. I t's not necessarily doctors rampantly handing out disabled placards and abusing the sytem. I would say it's more a case of family members abusing the use of handicapped placards than anything else. 

[justpolls]

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@***super_nova*** wrote:

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@jimmy*part3 wrote:

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I'd say "disadvantaged" people here have it a bit too cushie. I see them driving around in new cars (with their disabled placard hanging from the rear view mirror), parked in their driveways, at their well mancured homes....never having to work. Parking in the disabled parking spots in front of every store, watching them get out and stroll effortlessly into the store.

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What an envy and hate.  You are obviously bit confused about the difference between disadvantaged and disabled.  People may be disabled but still making lots of money, or even if they cannot work they could have inherited, or if they become disabled in an accident they would have insurance payout.  Why should people are disabled not have nice houses and cars?   

I do not know how difficult to get a disabled parking in the USA, but it is not easy here.  Of-course, here it is also abused, mainly by able bodied relatives taking grandma's car to the shops, but that is another story.

 

[lurker172602]

Stephen Hawking has a net worth of around $20 million.  I doubt he's rorting the disabled parking scheme. 

[justpolls]

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@lurker172602 wrote:

Stephen Hawking has a net worth of around $20 million.  I doubt he's rorting the disabled parking scheme. 

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