Every economic recession reminds us that not having a decent social security system is a recipe for disaster. And the Covid-19 pandemic quickly revealed what was admittedly obvious even beforehand – our social security system was woefully inadequate. Similarly, the jobkeeper payments also were an acknowledgment that having hundreds of thousands of workers go from their wage to the lower jobseeker payment would smash the economy. Anglicare also estimates that without an extension in the jobseeker payment, affordability for those on jobseeker will fall back to worse than was actually the case prior to the pandemic. The pre-pandemic jobseeker rate was not fit for purpose and was designed to keep people in poverty as punishment for being unemployed.

Source: The Guardian August 31, 2020 17:26 UTC