Basics Card

I just read a thread that inspired me to create this one.
Obama says: If Obamacare’s Too Expensive, Cancel Cable, Cell Phone

In Australia, there is a special card that many People are given. (Mainly the Indigenous Peoples')
It is called the Basics Card

Now what it does is give People digital money on a plastic card and the Person can only use it at selected stores. At this stage other People receive money in cash to their nominated Bank A/C however this card, if the Government of the Day decide that you are within the selection criteria, are given this instead.

Your choices are completely controlled.

so, when Obama says, "work out your budget"...

His Government has already worked out what your budget should be and it will only be a matter of time, before you all get your shiny new Basics Card.

The Smart Card failed to get off the ground due to the educated Public and now the Australian Government have given it a new name and has been implemented in a quiet slinky way and the majority of People don't think twice about it.

Long, long ago, I went to University and I studied interesting subjects... after studying some of those interesting subjects; I reached the conclusion that if the Government of the Day could marginalize a select group of People in a selected area, they could bloody well do it to anyone depending on their strategy.

reply to post by Thurisaz


Yes, the idea is that the government pays for your stuff and that gives it authority over your decisions. And a growing number of people, including me, are trapped in it.

The annoying part is that if the government breaks the system in order to force people to go on assistance, is that the same as someone going on assistance because they are lazy? No, it's basically cheating. The system should be made so that people don't have to be on assistance to survive, and are allowed to be free.

If the only choice is assistance, then do people really owe it to the government to tell them how to live and spend their money? No, that is very close to slavery. The method to earn one's own way has been taken, therefore it gives the illusion that someone is "leeching" when really that illusion is only meant as a way to justify more control.

This is how come more effort isn't put into getting people to learn how to take care of themselves, it would be disadvantageous to certain folk who like them being dependent for resources.

That is a bit creepy, normally. But at the moment, it seems like it is being taken to an entirely new, and outright blatant, level. I am not sure on the numbers, but wow...

Census: 49% of Americans Get Gov't Benefits; 82M in Households on Medicaid. (CNSNews.com) - In the fourth quarter of 2011, 49.2 percent of Americans received benefits from one or more government programs, according to data released Tuesday by the Census Bureau.

The U.S. has similar cards.

Most States have food stamp cards with specific restrictions and the same cards have "cash" for some people.

Some states use a card for Medicaid.

But I see the difference with that Australian card.

reply to post by darkbake


yes the truth is the various phases of the Australian Government kept the Indigenous People dependent on welfare. It was and still is a cycle of dependency... the Govt is now expanding that cycle onto other groups in other areas.

reply to post by xuenchen


the 1967 Referendum of the Constitution stated that "No laws could be made to a specific group of People"...

seems the 1967 Referendum has been forgotten and another phase of Government phrase the legislation in other terms, thus being specific without being specific.

now what the general population seem to miss is the fact that this is happening and these People who fit within the selection criteria for the legislation are nothing more than crash test dummies to be used later on other groups.

It is very alarming for me as a Non-Indigenous Person. The Govt are creating legislation that is unconstitutional as per the 1967 Referendum...but those that are not affected don't seem to notice or see it for what it is.

reply to post by Thurisaz


It's tough huh? On the one hand, making sure the poor get food and utilities is a good thing. Right on! On the other hand, why should they be cut-out (excised?) from the money-spending freedom the rest of society is a part of? Not so right on!?

I guess that if a group of people are given money that they spend on anything but food and utilities, it's up to them. Or, does society then have to make sure that, even though they spent it all, the people still get fed? It's hard to do right for all sides and why should taxpayers pay twice? Tough call imo

On the money-making side...does some guy set up a store in a dirt-poor area and get authorised to accept the Basics Card? Captive market? Can he put his prices up on low-quality stock and chisel the value out of the poor? What can they do then? Would some chain-store use economies of scale to ramp its profit margins by exploiting the super-poor? I'd say they wouldn't miss the chance - hail the free-market economy!

I guess the folk who defend the free-market economy would need to bend their ideals over backward to excuse populations being segregated from the market. Before the Basics card came in, I wonder?? With whom did the politicians spend the most time around tables? The poor communities or the business leaders?

Kandinsky
reply to post by Thurisaz

 

On the money-making side...does some guy set up a store in a dirt-poor area and get authorised to accept the Basics Card? Captive market? Can he put his prices up on low-quality stock and chisel the value out of the poor? What can they do then? Would some chain-store use economies of scale to ramp its profit margins by exploiting the super-poor? I'd say they wouldn't miss the chance - hail the free-market economy!

yes, in the remote areas, the average price for a loaf of bread is six dollars. Very expensive and if that is the only shop in the vicinity, that is their only choice:
Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER)

In June 2007, the federal government staged a massive intervention in the Northern Territory to “protect Aboriginal children” from sexual abuse.

Without consultation Aboriginal peoples’ lives were heavily regulated, and many felt ashamed and angry.

94% Percentage of income-managed people in the NT who are Aboriginal [26]. More than 3/4 of those who managed to move off the scheme are non-Indigenous.

$282,048 Money the government spent to advertise the Basics Card to local businesses in Bankstown, NSW, before introducing income management there [35].

$76m Government spending in 2011-2012 to implement income management in the Northern Territory [35].

reference above.

HERE COMES THE BASICS CARD

The Australian government and their new policy of” income management”, currently operating in the Northern Territory will be trialled in a number of metropolitan locations across Australia.

The concept is based on a form of increased social engineering, where government will tell you how and where you spend your money, the first five locations are: Bankstown, (NSW), Logan, (Qld), Rockhampton, (Qld), Playford, (SA) and Shepparton, Victoria. In addition, Kwinana in Western Australia, one of the other trial sites, has had Child Protection and Voluntary Income Management in place since April 2009.

This Big Government measure, which is supported by both the Labor and Liberal party, comes at a massive cost. Estimates provided by the Government indicate the new trials will cost the Government $117 million over 5 years. The Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) has noted, for example, that the NT scheme (total expenditure of $402 million over 5 years) and covering about 20,000 individuals, amounts to a cost of $4,100 per person. Put in perspective, this is 1/3 of the allowance paid to unemployed people over a year ($11,600 per annum), or 8 times the amount provided to employment service providers to address barriers to work for long-term unemployed people ($500 per annum), money better spent on increasing services and employment, rather than Russian style social intervention.

All info @ Aldridge Independent is worth reading.

Even out of the misery of unemployment the government is creating opportunities for big businesses to profiteer. Aboriginal people who previously worked for the Community Development Employment Program (CDEP) or Strategic Indigenous Housing and Infrastructure (SIHIP) programs for Award wages now work for less than half of that on quarantined incomes.

Endless private consultants and contractors are employed to do very little in these programs. Some consultants have been given free cars and hundreds of thousands of dollars to do, in their own words, “absolutely nothing”.

Under Labor’s rule, with the tacit support of the Greens, we have seen special deals with large supermarket chains, as not every shop accepts Basics Cards. Other businesses have sensed there is money to be made. Desperate for a piece of the income management pie, fast food companies like Red Rooster are begging the government to be part of the Basics Card scheme. You can bet that they will also be pushing for income management to be expanded into other areas.

Soce Australia

some more info:

Shopping with Basics Card like Apartheid

BASICS CARD: “BLANKET INCOME MANAGEMENT” FOR MANY AUSTRALIANS!

This at an administration cost of a mere $4400 per person!

Issued with a Basics Card, people will be told where to shop and what they can buy, standing in separate queues at shops chosen by the Government to be fitted with Basics Card facilities.

The Northern Territory experience shows that most small businesses/takeaways and second hand shops are excluded.

Welfare card pays out on poor

Business groups have condemned a federal government plan to control the spending of up to 20,000 people across the country by effectively making them shop at a handful of the biggest retail chains. And the Law Council of Australia has warned that the change could be discriminatory.

WORK AND THE BASIC CARDS IN THE NORTHERN TERRITORY

Anyone who joined the CDEP from 1 July 2009 is still required to work 16 hours per week. However, they will only receive the Newstart allowance of $462 per fortnight through Centrelink, rather than being paid wages by their employer. In the NT half of these Centrelink payments are quarantined onto a BasicsCard, meaning that workers are paid half in wages and half in ration cards. For example, 16 hours work will earn a worker $231, with the rest going onto the BasicsCard. Top up money is still available for the hours.

However, the devastation of the CDEP changes will be felt beyond the hip pocket. The CDEP used to provide crucial blocks of funding to Aboriginal organisations and community councils, which both serviced the community and provided political representation.

Take for example the community of Kalkaringi, 500km west of Katherine. John Leemans, the Victoria Daly Shire CDEP Coordinator estimates that in 2007 before the Intervention there were between 200-250 people, out of a population of 800, working on the CDEP. They were participating in programs like plumbing, bakery, truck driving, brick making and welding, and kitchen work.

In short the CDEP paid for a lot of the day-to-day operations of the community. With the Intervention all these jobs were scrapped as residents were placed onto income management.

“There’s no way that you would have a white fella getting paid on a BasicsCard working on a $672 million construction program.”

As Sheldon explained, “When we first got paid, there was $300 on top of our Centrelink every fortnight. Then the top-up just started going down and down and then went out completely. It was just working for the dole. I was on the BasicsCard too. It was a complete rip off.” In other words Sheldon was working the equivalent of a full time job to be paid $115 a week in cash and $115 on Basic Cards. Or in more precise terms as outlined on Crikey: “For the weeks Sheldon was receiving $300 top-up… his pay works out to $8.15 cash an hour. For the weeks he received no top-up, the hourly cash rate was $3.50.”

Agenda behind Aboriginal Child Protection

reply to post by Thurisaz


Yeah, they're buggers aren't they? First chance of an opportunity and they're bending folk over again.

Who do they employ as staff in these stores? Are they at least creating some jobs in the communities?

Course, if they get paid in cash, they'll spend it in the same stores lol.

reply to post by Kandinsky


no a lot of People travel to bigger towns to do their shopping, (the ones in the remote areas) but those that are on the program in the cities, Bankstown NSW, Playford SA etc are told where to shop.

In one of the links I provided, it explains that the legislation abolished CDEP:

Thurisaz
WORK AND THE BASIC CARDS IN THE NORTHERN TERRITORY

... the devastation of the CDEP changes will be felt beyond the hip pocket. The CDEP used to provide crucial blocks of funding to Aboriginal organisations and community councils, which both serviced the community and provided political representation.

Take for example the community of Kalkaringi, 500km west of Katherine. John Leemans, the Victoria Daly Shire CDEP Coordinator estimates that in 2007 before the Intervention there were between 200-250 people, out of a population of 800, working on the CDEP. They were participating in programs like plumbing, bakery, truck driving, brick making and welding, and kitchen work.

In short the CDEP paid for a lot of the day-to-day operations of the community. With the Intervention all these jobs were scrapped as residents were placed onto income management.

As Sheldon explained, “When we first got paid, there was $300 on top of our Centrelink every fortnight. Then the top-up just started going down and down and then went out completely. It was just working for the dole. I was on the BasicsCard too. It was a complete rip off.” In other words Sheldon was working the equivalent of a full time job to be paid $115 a week in cash and $115 on Basic Cards. Or in more precise terms as outlined on Crikey: “For the weeks Sheldon was receiving $300 top-up… his pay works out to $8.15 cash an hour. For the weeks he received no top-up, the hourly cash rate was $3.50.”

CDEP was their own community development program and they were creating their own jobs and paying their own.

Thurisaz
reply to post by darkbake

 

yes the truth is the various phases of the Australian Government kept the Indigenous People dependent on welfare. It was and still is a cycle of dependency... the Govt is now expanding that cycle onto other groups in other areas.

edit on CDT01uSat, 15 Mar 2014 01:54:46 -05005446am73 by Thurisaz because: add

I bet that worked out well for them. No, I'm just kidding. It probably worked out really badly for them, right? I mean, honestly, how are they doing on the whole compared to other ethnic groups?

Liberal types like evidence, and I think that is a pretty good empirical study right there.

reply to post by Thurisaz


What a depressing article. Cutting/killing the budgets for training and work will leave populations with no skills to offer and no way out of relying on the support of Basics. Also we know what human nature is like, right? people will condemn the untrained, unemployed as bludgers when, in reality, they're fenced in and trapped by lack of funding, limited jobs prospects and no culture of work or opportunities to get out of there.

I woke up in a great mood and your thread has given it a kicking.

reply to post by Kandinsky


I am sorry for bringing you down.

It really does suck what is happening.

Most People don't think about it or if it is on the news or in the newspaper, they skim over it because it doesn't apply to them... Fact is, this is an issue for everyone.

All quiet on the western front.

I wanted to post here some information of the Government's 'agendas' :

ATS Thurisaz thread Aug 14 2007

Thurisaz
Since the release of the 'Little Children are Sacred' Report, media representation of Aboriginal Communities has been extremely negative.

The media coverage is sensational, controversial and it has generated a huge public outcry.

The Government must do something to stop this!

It has become nothing more than a seven day wonder.

The Government of the day is now justified in taking whatever action is necessary. The general public is not overly interested now in what the Indigenous Communities have to say.

In the public’s mind, they have been led to believe from the select media footage, all Indigenous Communities are incompetent and cannot manage their own affairs:
They are all drunks, petrol sniffers and child abusers[sic]


What is really going on?

Despite pleas made by the Indigenous Groups, the NT Intervention Bills were passed through the Senate:

The Combined Aboriginal Organisations of the Northern Territory and the NSW Aboriginal Land Council are urging the Senate to put off the vote until the NT Government releases its legislative response this weeksource

It had been suggested that legislation would be passed regardless of the Committee’s findings:

whatever the committee's opinion, the report is unlikely to halt the progress of the legislation source

A member of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs suggested the Senate hearing into the Intervention Bills were inadequate:

If we look at the way in which this legislation has been rammed through the House, we can see that the potential for open and clear discussions about the faults or merits of the legislation has been denied… we can see that this is a recipe not for the empowerment of Aboriginal people but for the disempowerment of their interests
Aboriginal Land Rights (NT) Amendment (Township Leasing) Bill Second Reading, 13 June 2007

The Intervention Bills will give the Australian Government the power to abolish the permit system and lease Native Title Land.

The Commonwealth Government has indicated that, during this five-year period, it will continue to negotiate for 99-year township leases with traditional owners, pursuant to section 19A of the ALRA. This gives rise to an extraordinary proposition, having stripped traditional owners of the use of, rights to, and responsibility for their land, the Commonwealth is proposing ongoing negotiation of 99-year leasing arrangement under extremely asymmetric power relationsAboriginal Land Rights (NT) Amendment (Township Leasing) Bill Second Reading, 13 June 2007

The matter that we have to consider regarding these amendments concerns the Commonwealth establishing for itself an entity that would issue subleases Aboriginal Land Rights (NT) Amendment (Township Leasing) Bill Second Reading, 13 June 2007

Why is it that the Government needs to lease the Native Title Land in order to protect Aboriginal Children?

Why is it that the Australian Government is excluding Aboriginal people from involvement in this process?

Why is it that the Australian Government is black-mailing Indigenous Communities into signing the lease agreements?

the references are not showing up in the above quote; ref in above link.

Thurisaz
ATS Thurisaz thread Aug 14 2007

in the above link you will find more than enough information on the agenda of the Government. This information will show why the Government of the day has implemented this strategy of 'income management'.

wow can't believe what I have just read:

Venezuela Issues ID Cards to Curtail Food Hoarding

Battling food shortages, the government is rolling out a new ID system that is either a grocery loyalty card with extra muscle or the most dramatic step yet toward rationing in Venezuela, depending on who is describing it.

President Nicolas Maduro's administration says the cards to track families' purchases will foil people who stock up on groceries at subsidized prices and then illegally resell them for several times the amount. Critics say it's another sign the oil-rich Venezuelan economy is headed toward Cuba-style dysfunction.

I hate to say I told you so ... but you can see how Venezuela are implementing their own ID card and system of control.

It appears that these types of 'moves' by governments is to hide the emerging truth that the 'system' is collapsing due to globalisation. Globalisation has meant that every country is inter dependent and no one stands on their own. Therefore, when one goes down the rest follow. Everything functioning in the NWO depends on no variables in the world and is just never going to happen.

World civilisations have come and gone many times in the past because globalisation weakens every country in the world and collapses at the slightest tremor. Hunger, pestilence and war follows. Freedoms return to the survivors not long after..............

Every cloud has a silver lining!