Dole 'summer bonus' .. are they for real?

Doesn't bother me, and I pay a fair wedge of tax. Dole money gets spent in the economy and a great deal of it will find its way back into the public coffers by way of VAT and income tax. If it's spent on booze or fags, an ever great portion of it comes back to the exchequer. Sure, some people do elect to live on welfare, but the vast majority of those aren't rolling around on beds covered in cash, cackling gleefully. They're spending it. Dole money isn't burned in a fire; it circulates.

Is you mate Walter Mitty by any chance as I call bull on those 'stories'.

If such a scheme for free TV's existed in Australia, can you show me any more information on it?

If what you said about your mate from Holland, I call bull on it as well.

First of all the borders were closed in Australia, so the only way he would have got in was that he was an Australian citizen. Maybe he was?

Secondly, if he did just rock up and claim a pandemic payment, he probably committed fraud and did something illegal, as there were specific requirements to some of those payments. Sure, there was a lot of cash flying about at the time, so I can't be 100% sure what payments were aroun but in my experience, your mate is one of those people who would scam the system where ever he is. But id call bull on that story.

Funnily enough, I do know od someone on PUP that went to central and south America to travel the place while on PUP. He had a grand time travelling on the Irish Taxpayers dime.

Anyway, I do know that in Australia, almost all benefits are means tested, so if you have savings or assets or property, you wont get much from the government. E.g. if you have a private pension in Australia, you wont get the state pension on top, you will need to use up your own pension first. They are generally a more practical people. But as in all places, there will be people who will scam the system.

ok marko seeing as you are accusing me of making things up about these tvs and my mate coming from Holland and getting over $20k in pandemc payments then lets do a charity bet of 500 euro..And when I prove you wrong with the evidence you will pay 500 euro to the charity of my choice. You are claiming I am making stuff up so now it is time to put your money where you mouth is.

Fact of the matter here is you made up claims about Australia that dont stand up to scrutiny. This isnt the first time Ive caught you out making stuff up on Boards, its a pretty regular feature of your fantasist mind.

...so whats happening with disability services!

One thing that is quite different in Ireland is that there is more benefit to being longer term unemployed. So, for example with JSB you will not get the Christmas bonus, you need to be unemployed for at least 12 months to get it (so on JSA). In most systems in Europe the initial payment is related to what you were paid previously and decreases over time. We flip that on it's head here.

It is certainly possible to design a welfare system that encourages people to remain on it. I think the main disagreement is really whether we are there yet or not. In my opinion, we are.

What's the bet about now?

Free TV's for all and pandemic payments of $700 for just arriving into a country? Need to know the definition and scope of your bet. :)

Im not the person with Walter Mitty friends who get free TV's. ;)

Haven't really mentioned long-term unemployed really, but you are right that there will always be a small % of them in any country.

My overarching point was not about them as they are inevitable, but about the people who actually want to improve their lives but struggle to, yet are given cash bonuses as a way to appease them.

I'd much rather give them services that actually work so it will give them an actual leg up in life, lift them up the social mobility ladder and out of poverty. As I said, free full-time childcare would be a massive way to reduce poverty, but sure give them a Christmas and Summer dole bonus and sure, give everyone child benefit... as if that is the solution when we know its now.

That's my problem with these stupid cash giveaways they do little or nothing to tackle the real problems people have.

Can you give an example and a benchmark of another country that does it better?

Yes, correct.

We have had low UNR in the past, yet the highest rates of joblessness in the EU.

Most of the jobless adults are not on JSB/JSA, they are on DA / CA / OPFP, etc.

It is more and issue of the fairness of it in my mind. Those who until recently have been contributing and have lost their jobs are the ones who should get the bonus. It shouldn't be paid to the long term unemployed. We need to have a culture of wanting to work and contribute, there is value in that and it is needed to keep the whole system going.

At the moment we have a situation where it is possible that someone who is long term unemployed may be better off than a working family. Someone posted a link to a document that showed 58% of DCC social housing applicants are unemployed and a further 11% a single parents. The focus should really be on housing low income workers near the city. We have an entire apartment block in Dundrum rented for social housing a long term lease.

i cant to be honest, but i suspect some other countries do a far better job at dealing with the complexities that ultimately cause long term unemployment, im sure theres been such studies done, but i havent gone looking for them yet, but you can clearly see, we re truly dreadful at dealing with these causes ourselves....