Richest 40% get 23% of all welfare

This is a shocking statistic, and shows the utter madness of parts of Australia's welfare system. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if those at the bottom didn't have to bash their head against a bureaucratic wall every step of the way just to get fuck all payments that sometimes don't even cover the rent. 

This isn't an argument about comparing those deemed as poor in Australia with the poverty that exists in 3rd world countries, this is an argument about fairness and what sort of society we want here in Australia. At the moment it's grossly unfair.

THE richest fifth of households receive nearly half of all the wages paid in Australia but also get about 12 per cent of all government handouts, new research by the Bureau of Statistics shows. 

The findings not only highlight big income disparities across the community but raise questions about the scale of "middle-class welfare" flowing to well-off families. 

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But maybe the most revealing finding was the amount of government assistance being transferred to high-income households. The preliminary results showed the richest quintile of households received about 12 per cent of social assistance benefits while the next highest quintile got 11 per cent. 

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Many high-income households qualify for the childcare rebate, which is not means tested, and the private health insurance rebate. Read more

Or to put it even more clearly, the top earning 40% of households in Australia, get 23% of all Australia's welfare payments. That is a staggering figure. I had no idea it was that  high. 

There's not the slightest justification for people such as I to go through all we have to go through to get the little we do, when there is 12% of welfare money going to the most well off in the community. There's no justification not to use that 12% and target the lowest earners who really need that money. This is about having enough money for food, clothing, housing, electricity, phone, bla bla, you know, those basic sorts of things that we all take for granted. It's not about wanting a smart phone, a bigger better telly, private insurance, a holiday, a car, or caviar. It's simply about having enough money to live off. 

If these well off people want to have private health insurance, send their kids to private schools, put their kids in a child care centre instead of hiring a private nanny for the day, that's all fine and dandy. But they should pay for it. The gov should not be giving money to people who don't need it, especially when it's at the expense of the poor.

The GFC appears to be never ending right now. Things aren't going to get better any time soon in Europe or the US. Surely now is the time to look at welfare money in the cold light of day. The whole system needs a shake-up. 

I blame both major parties for this BTW. Howard did enormous damage to the whole welfare system by targeting the well off with welfare to buy their votes for years before he lost office, and Labor seems either too gutless or incompetent to address the issue other than tinkering at the edges. As with the GFC, I can't see anything changing anytime soon. But this really sucks man.