ALT Anti-Poverty week shouldn't be about presenting welfare recipients as pitiful objects. It should be a time for politicians to be scrutinised for choices that kill people through poverty, residualised public housing & violating unemployed people's agency by forcing them into compulsory activities. The main unemployment payment is $412 a week - 40% below the poverty line. 1 million people are on unemployment payments, around 40% are disabled. 20% of people on JobSeeker is employed, with an effective marginal tax rate of 75% for every dollar of income above $128 a week. Welfare recipients aren't falling behind, we're held back. 167,000 people on income support between 22 to 64 years old died between 2012 & 2022 - 58.2% of all deaths for this age group. Those on JobSeeker aged 35 to 44 are 9.6 times more likely to die than their peers. Meanwhile, the RBA continues to pursue policies intended to increase the number of unemployed people with no care for how those people will survive.
