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All The Ways The Federal Budget Is Fucking Over Vulnerable People

Yep, it sucks

The Federal Budget for 2020-2021 has been released, and boy oh boy has researching it been depressing. The new budget fails women, refugees, poor people and the planet whilst giving tax cuts to the rich and extra money to fossil fuel companies. At this point, I’m not even surprised, just deeply, deeply disappointed. Let’s get into it.

Tax Cuts For The Rich

The government is bringing forward another wave of tax cuts, which means people who earn between $45,000 and $90,000 will get an extra $1,080.

However, the government is giving more tax cuts for those that earn more, so it’ll benefit higher income earners the most. People earning more than $90,000 will receive up to $2,565 extra.

There seems to be a belief amongst politicians that tax cuts amongst wealthier groups boost the economy due to the spending this encourages, but this isn’t actually true. Rather, it’s a self-serving misconception that allows the rich to get richer. The truth is, giving money to rich people doesn’t boost the economy because they just hoard it.

Once you have enough wealth to have everything you need and then some, it gives you the capacity to collect and store it – which actually is the opposite of stimulating or boosting the economy. In actuality, it’s giving money to poor people who need it that does results in a stimulated economy, because they’ll actually spend it out of necessity and because they can. When you’re poor, hoarding wealth isn’t an option.

While The Poor Stay Poor

Despite the trauma that COVID-19 has put our most financially vulnerable through, there is still no plan to maintain JobSeeker after Christmas, leaving poor Australians behind.

JobKeeper will be extended, though with smaller payments that are just barely enough to keep people out of poverty.

JobSeeker being cut has led to criticisms of the way women have been left out in the budget, as it is women that were worst affected during the pandemic.

Scott Morrison just said ‘we’d never tell an Australian how to spend their money’ on #abc730 People stuck on the cashless welfare card might not agree?

— Rosie Williams #AusGovInfo (@Info_Aus) October 7, 2020

Women Are Being Left Out

There’s been mass outrage on Twitter after the federal budget for 2020-2021 was released as it was criticised for leaving out women. Despite announcing a Women’s Economic Security Statement in the budget, it’s still lacking real change and doesn’t actually offer support to women in the here and now.

The security statement offers $240 million of funding for the next four years to increase jobs for women in male-dominated industries, essentially still funnelling money into places dominated by men. The statement also funds grants for women-founded start-ups, the tackling of sexual harassment in workplaces, and it encourages women to pursue careers in STEM.

These might sound okay, but they don’t offer any help right NOW to women, nor do they tackle the underlying systemic issues that cause women to be worse off in the first place. The statement also just further funds male-dominated industries like construction, rather than placing money into female-dominated industries that would inevitably elevate woman workers.

Scott Morrison disagreed with the criticisms around the lack of support for women in the budget, stating that no one ‘credible’ was taking such a stance.

Naturally, he is getting absolutely dunked on for it.

Pair all this with the fact that there isn’t really going to be any extra childcare support, and it’s clear the budget isn’t interested in the actual issues that are preventing women from being able to join the workforce in the first place.

School Chaplaincy Gets Priority

The government is also allocating a whopping $61.4 million into school chaplaincy. To put this in perspective, they are only giving $16.7 million into Indigenous health and no new funding into childcare, again showing how the budget has abandoned marginalised groups and women in particular.

Yep, The Government Is Investing In Fossil Fuels

The new federal budget doesn’t include any more clarity about when our dear government reckon we will hit our emissions targets. Considering our emissions have actually been INCREASING lately rather than decreasing, it’s look pretty grim.

The new federal budget prioritises fossil fuels over clean energy, and includes an UPGRADE to a coal-fired power station in NSW and $52.9 million to expand the gas industry.

In regard to renewables though, the government only allocated a measly $5 million for electric vehicles, and investment into renewable energy like wind and solar was dismissed as “mature” technology, i.e. tech that doesn’t need government support.

Two things that were atleast somewhat positive were the $50 million to develop carbon capture and storage, and funding for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) for another decade, but that money is far less than what we need to fight climate change.

Migrants And Refugees

The government has announced a cut in refugee intake by 5000 in an apparent bid to save money, though this has been condemned as disingenuous and racist considering the government has spent far more on offshore detention than it will save by cutting refugees.

The new budget also announced a new English language test for those applying for a partner visa, prompting outrage at what is being described as a revival of the White Australia policy. Having English language requirements to enter Australia is racist as it essentially perpetuates the idea of White Australia and of having to be assimilated into western culture to exist here.

It also says a lot about who the Australian government thinks is appropriate to marry, and inherently favours white and western migrants.

Mental Health – But As A Distraction

Perhaps one of the only good things to come out of this budget is the doubling of medicare-subsidised psychology appointments you can now get with your GP mental health plan. This is undoubtedly positive, but also, I don’t really believe our  government’s apparent commitment to mental health – because if that was the case, we would increase welfare.

Poverty and unemployment are the two biggest risk factors to committing suicide, outside of being First Nations. Considering the measly amount this government has allocated to Indigenous health, the cutting of JobSeeker and the lack of support for unemployed people over 35, and it’s clear that mental health isn’t really a priority for our government, no matter what crumbs they give us.

Image Sources: Twitter

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