I'm trapped in a handout cycle, but I'm not a 'bludger'

Wednesday, 27 June 2018

I don't want handouts, but I'm caught in this cycle. (File photo)

People called me a ‘bludger’ when I spoke out about how a $16,000 pay rise only left me with $50 a week extra in hand, and how Working for Families has kept me in need of Government support. They were wrong, and most missed the point.

I am grateful for the support I get from the Government. I just wish I never received it in the first place.

The point I wanted to make was this: the Working for Families system is broken because it encourages people not to work or seek a higher income. Tax cuts for everyone in work is a better solution.

People missed the point that I am working more to reduce my reliance on Working for Families. If the system was geared towards incentivising working more, or going for that promotion, everyone would win. But it isn’t and this has the negative effect of subsidising wages for a group of people, holding them down for all workers.

* Two incomes not enough for family seeking food parcels

* More working poor seeking charity

* Burden falls on charities as WINZ clients face food grant decreases**

Working for Families pays out to families in the middle- to high-income bracket. I will not escape the Working for Families trap until I earn around $120,000 a year, and that is not going to happen any time soon. In the meantime, for every dollar I earn, I lose 70 to 85 cents at the other end.

I understand the aims of the scheme, but people need to be able to help themselves as well. If you ask anyone why they work, I guarantee the vast majority will mention money. If they earn roughly the same amount of money for working 40 hours as for working 30, why would they work those extra 10 hours?

With a different tax system and wages at the level they should be, I believe most families – including mine – could support themselves with no additional help from the taxpayer.

Over time, inflation and rent increases will decrease the value of Working for Families tax credits. A normal working person's income would keep pace with inflation through pay rises and promotions but these are neutralised by Working for Families. This means that people will slide back below the poverty line and the government will respond by throwing more money at Working for Families, increasing the payouts, raising the thresholds and making people more and more reliant on it.

I don't want handouts. They reduce the value of my own work and make me feel as though my family's income is out of my hands. Unfortunately, I am caught in this cycle. Working for Families is such a large proportion of my income that declining the payouts is not an option.

The crazy thing is that Working for Families used to subsidise my childcare. When my accommodation supplement increased, my childcare subsidy greatly reduced. Because of the handouts, they took away the childcare that I need to be able to work.

I mentioned tax cuts as a better alternative as I believe allowing people to keep more of the money they earn will motivate them to improve their own situation rather than relying on the taxpayer.

In the last election, both of the main parties' answer to 'children in poverty' was Working for Families. My vote in the next election will go to the party that is brave enough to say there is a better solution, that will also help people who are struggling but don't have children.

I contacted Stuff with my story, not because I was struggling for money or because I wanted sympathy, but because I wanted to show the other side of Working for Families, and I'm pleased that this was done.

I don't want to be considered a beneficiary. I work full-time in a skilled job for a fantastic company doing work I love. I also have three of the most wonderful children that ever appeared on this earth.

So please - don't call me a bludger.