budget and the pensioners

Well have just heard the results of the budget. Congrats to all the single pensiones on your $32pw increase, and commiserations of all us married couples who will receive the grand total of $10.14 p.w. that is $5.07 each, wow don't spend it all at once I personally think it is insult I would have expected at least $10.00p.w. each but they know better. I would like to see any of our pollies and their wives living on what they expect us to manage on.;. I am irate and sptting chips so now I think I'll have a cup of tea and go to bed.

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I was under the impression this was a seniors site with seniors issues.

all this talk of paid maternity leave, when we had our children way back when, there was nothing , you had a baby and it was your resposnibility, the wife looked after the baby at home and the husband went to work and you got a "Child Endowment Payment" of about 10 shillings a week and thought that was fine now they want to get paid to have children do me a favour.

Just using comparisons Westozzy. Those who have their lives before them, and those of us who have left their working lives behind

As I am a single pensioner, I will receive an increase of nearly $65 per fortnight from September 20th

.

I am happy with that.

I can't remember much in past budgets about pensioners even getting a mention.

Gerry

reply to brandy 1946 comments



I was merely pointing out that there are many benefits available to those under the parenting payment nowadays. Yes it doesn't start until 2011 but how long will it take for the government to bring pensioners benefits in line. At the present time if your family income is $75000 or less you get the baby bonus of $5000 at the rate of $384 for 13 fortnights, they will also be eligible for family tax benefits and mortgage relief. The basic rate of pay today is $540 a week which is a few dollars short of what I get a fortnight. I do not own my own house, when my husband died I had to sell it to survive, I now pay $210 a week rent and am left with a little over $100 a fortnight to put money aside for electricy, telephone and buy food. I am not eligible for any other benefits and as someone else wrote earlier when my husband and I were working there was no such thing as superannuation. By the time it came in I was close to finishing my working career. You are being unfair by thinking everyone is in the same boat financially as you must be and you obviously don't really need the $32.44 a week rise as many of us do. We are not whinging we just want a fair go and not just for ourselves but for all pensioners.

Dessia you are on the ball and I agree with everything you have said/ Brandy must be on a better wicket than us and I find some of her remarks quite cutting. We are only asking for an acknowledgement of what we did all our working years while paying taxes and if that is for a livable pension so be it.

I should have been gobsmacked but of course the whole budget has been an exercise politics rather than management of the economy in getting ready for an early election around September or October - Innes is right there.



Then the awful cuts which should have been made to get back into the black will have to be made next year on Budget night as 1 million unemployed will surely rack up the welfare budget horribly and less coming in and lots more going out - no real savings in this one 1.4 billion and outgoings well blame them pensioners for living too long and the media are all blaming politics for being the reason the single pensioners got the rise much vaunted for months of $32 a week and of course they threw in $10 a week for a 'couple'.



It is really a huge insult to people who have worked their butts of all their lives brought up families and been told 'don't worry we will look after you with the age pension when you get there just as you working now look after those already there'



So that piece of paper that makes you legally a 'couple' means that you will now be worse off for having it by $74.32 each a week or $148.64 a week for the couple which means a lot of things will have to go by the board. Depending on the circumstances and some people may have to ditch private health which is criminal really having struggled along to pay it. Or go without meals. Which I do know some already do.



I heard the head of AMA saying that the unemployed and single parents faced with no rise and living on low poverty will be depressed - suffer stress and think of suicide - but not one word for the old folk kicked in the teeth and getting less to live on anyway than any other so called pensioners.



Why is it have we ceased to be thought of as people - must be that as we are now 'couples' not individuals

and yet they pay us individually - is this a convenient hang over from the days prior to 1995 when they paid the man for his wife and she was non existent and Centrelink wouldn't even speak to her - not a client.



Every old age pensioner deserves a pension with enough money to live comfortable and eat properly without having to go without that food for medicines etc or to pay a bill for a necessity - weighing up which you can do without regardless of marital status.



Then add on some extra's for those who are living alone and finding it hard to manage - that would be fair and equitable.



UK pensioners get these add ons - decent heating allowance and winter coat and new shoes and stuff like that on top of the basic pension - means tested for these - but then it goes to those in need but helps a lot.



Maternity leave has already been brought in here so [b]if a woman can be given $540 a week for 18 weeks to stay home with her baby ($9,760) whilst her partner works and brings in an income then how can a person who has had her babies and brought them up to be pushed to one side along with her husband as of no further use to the community so throw them a bone of $10 to make them go away and shut up well we wont will we? I mean get real the above is almost our whole pension for a year.[/b]



Innes - where do we get that 20 page form - we have thought about this hard and think Steve Fielding is right - lets all get divorced enmasse - representing ourselves as no money for greedy lawyers :)



Big shock for pollies coming for sure - just have to stick together and bugger the maternity leave and the baby bonus and all the greedy of the younger set - lets stop being patient and nice and unselfish and whine like they do whine whine and whine some more as we have paid our dues - most of those on single parents I see never have worked a day in their lives and paid nothing in income taxes but get a lot more than we 'couples' do with 2 children and pay a heck of a lot less and guess what having blown their money on things we find silly and not being able to pay their bills they get first priority at the charities for the kids sake.



I know as have worked for charity for quite a few years doing budgets and believe me they get a lot more money - everyone does other than age pensioners who are real pensioners in that it is supposed to cover those who have worked and done their bit reached old age and can retire with grace and live comfortably - fat chance in 21st Century.



Also where are the alterations in criteria reported on income and other stuff - I haven't found it to date .



Whole budget is a political stunt ready for the early election mark my words and Innes's word too he beat me to it I think anyway.



It also shows up the spin and no actual competence in managing the economy - more about their re-election chances and not at all about the generations of people who have worked and are working and will work to pay off that enormous 58 billion racked up in what 8 months since we found out that Lehman Bros were broke and the bubble melted in the banking world and we all got the fall out - well some of it anyway.



More to come or not a bad recession at all - only time will tell as the spin is so bad no one can find the truth seemingly.



Wont say I am surprised as I had a low impression of Labor's competence before they got started but this Rudd/Swann lot make old Hawke/Keating look really good in hindsight - more like Gough at his very worst and then some.



So much for looking after the battler which most of those who rely on the age pension are plus some who lost their retirement income packages through Labor in the 1990 recession and not having strong company laws and so the pension funds got swiped - that was the recession we had to have and the world followed us on that one. Now they say this one is not as bad as that - tell it to future taxpayers still paying off the debts in years to come if we survive as a nation that is and are not taken over by then

Where have you been all day, BigVal? I have had to do hours of reading, because you did not post your summery last night. I am somewhat surprised at the reception to the budget. Centrebet are giving odds, today that represent a strong backlash against the Government. I didn't think the budget was near as bad as I expected. The major point, that I lack understanding on is, even though I had read the rumours correctly, months ago, I cannot see why they would ''kiss ass'' to the single pensioners & kick the couples in the teeth. Have I missed something?

I would really like to hear some comments from some of the KRudd supporters. What did you think Phyl?

I WAS joking about the legal separation, BUT, it would work. The effect would be catastrophic grid lock.

The 20 page questionaire, that I referred to is actually ''Relationship Details. Living under the same roof'' & is only 11 pages, including the cover. BUT, be warned of some of the inane questions, therein.

Innes I spent the morning helping my pensioner group who are really up in arms about the whole thing and if the local Labor MP had walked in would likely have been lynched on the spot.



I switched off last night and didn't even want to think about it until I had slept on it as the subconscious often does the work then.



The Harmer report is a damp squib and only says that the pensioners who are single need to be brought up closer to the amount a couple gets for two of them to live on. Well he is a public servant so paid to say what they want I reckon - cynical ? I am because lived and seen to much of this sort of thing not to wonder.



I want to know how anyone with any brains thinks that it is cheaper for two to live than one when one takes out the roof costs and the concessions all get on household expenses. This is really a puzzle - far too many who are paid to supposedly look after our interests and more interested in the young ones and unemployed to be - not the current ones written them off but worry about the unmarried mums etc who are doing far too nicely thank you very much - bet a lot of couples would swop pays as well as singles.



I also was surprised they never altered the CSHC from getting the concession allowance which is equal to the Utilities allowance to household and not to each of a married couple.



Then I thought well Labor think someone on $73,999 single and $149,999 couple who are working are not well off enough NOT to get the welfare hand outs for the young and whinging generations who want it all now and don't want to pay for their own parents in many cases as they are not all upset for them now are they and many married pensioners have kids. A few have commented at the Newspapers but more into maternity leave which is a cheek - taxpayers happy to fork out $9760 on today's minimum wage come 1 Jan 2011 for a woman to stay home with her baby - when we all had to make do and mend and no hand outs.



they really are stuck on these above figures a cut off for welfare handouts.



Please some explain to me then why pensioners - and particularly two married to each other of two lesbians or two homosexual men who live together are then seen to be well off enough to ignore.



Maybe we need to start taking off our clothes on the steps of Melbourne stn again and with married license waving around and photos of kids reared for the country already with no baby bonuses given.



Photos of homes bought with no handouts.



Photos of old pay slips with a pittance compared with today's whinging young.



Come on think people - marrieds coming up to age pension area are on our side I think as they will have not enough put aside to live on either or lost heaps.



Gerry how about a site for married pensioners and any singles who want to join in to try to get a protest going in many states and towns as possible.



Can that be done?

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