- May 1, 2016
- 28,816
- 56,166
- AFL Club
- Carlton
- Moderator
- #1,901
The fact that the dole is less than the minimum wage is evidence towards breaking the assumption that the dole can just be lived on. It is not sufficient to sustain you for very long, nor is it intended to be.You think the dole should be equal to or greater than minimum wage?
If you're asking what I think, my answer would be that I am not an expert. There are others who are, who can better say precisely how much money is required to live on, or to get a job. It is my opinion that the dole is too low, as it currently stands, because you cannot live on it and seek to improve yourself sufficiently to get a job, and that the various mechanisms which are used to force those on the dole to seek work are both not functioning towards that end and are making it harder for everyone involved, with the express purpose of making the dole itself too much effort to claim and stay compliant with.
Please note, too, that I'm not talking about getting a job in your field; this isn't about people being choosy. This is about the jobs market being very difficult, with people remaining unemployed for steadily longer as time progresses.