Joe Hockey, Shrek and Other Misunderstood Ogres!
“This year the Australian government will
spend on average over $6,000 on welfare for every man, woman and child
in the country. Given that only around 45 per cent of the population
pays income tax, the average taxpayer must pay more than twice this
amount in tax to fund welfare expenditure.
“In other words, the average working
Australian, be they a cleaner, a plumber or a teacher, is working over
one month full-time each year just to pay for the welfare of another
Australian. Is this fair?”
Joe Hockey
Ok, what’s the difference between Joe Hockey and Shrek?
Answer: One is a complete work of fiction and the other is green.
I’m trying to work out Joe’s figures in the
above quote. If the average taxpayer has to pay twice $6,000 in tax to
fund welfare expenditure ($12,000), how does that equate to say cleaner
or a teacher or even a plumber working one month to pay for the welfare
of another Australian? Is he suggesting that we pay $12,000 in tax every
month? Or does he think that our wages are $12,000 a month.
Whatever way I look at it, it doesn’t make
any sense at all. But I’m sure some Liberal supporter will have the
answer and it’ll go something like this:
“Don’t you idiots realise that Labor broke
the country and we have to do something to fix things, and this is
something so you can’t criticise it!”
Of course, Joe did also complain that much of the criticism of his Budget was “political”.
Political? Imagine that! I mean, getting political is a terrible thing, isn’t it? Nobody should get political with the Budget…
I’m also intrigued as to when the media
stopped demonising the government because people were unemployed and
started blaming the unemployed themselves. After all, it’s the
unemployed that chose to shut down the manufacturing sector and sack
public servants. It’s the unemployed who make all the decisions about
how the economy is structured. “Everyone who is capable should be
working,” we’re now being told, as more and more decisions are made to
create less and less jobs. I’d say something about easier rules on 457
visas, but Rupert finds that racist and disgusting. We only want
stronger borders against asylum seekers.
But I’m more intrigued by the idea that the unemployed under 30 need to apply for forty jobs a month even in the six months before they start getting benefits. Or else they’ll have to wait another four weeks before being eligible for Newstart.
So this is how it works in practise. A person
who is 26 and suddenly unemployed must spend what money they have –
assuming they have savings – on photocopying resumes, stamps,
stationery, internet access and various other items in order to make
themselves eligible for the dole. Which – the Liberals are fond of
telling us – should only be a temporary measure! If you run out of funds
before you’re eligible, then you can never become eligible, because
you’ll never have the money to meet the job application criteria.
Catch-22 had nothing on this.
Ah well, I guess some can move back in with their pensioner parents who had no cuts to their pension!
Still, this should be enough to make those
under 30 demanding to be able to work for below the minimum wage.
Anything rather than starve.
And Workchoices – which will was dead, buried
and cremated – will become Zombie Workchoices. Or to give it the proper
new name. Work(youhaveno)choice, you lazy bastard.
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