Raise Aged pensions
" Oh how furious I am about the rate pensioners receive. I feel as angry as I do about cruelty to animals and that says everything. Most pensioners have fought in the Second World War, or the Vietnam war, or if they are women, have worked hard as teachers or nurses or volunteer workers in a time when it was unthinkable not to pull your weight, unlike today. I cannot think of anything more cruel in a rich country like Australia than allowing old and frail people freezing in winter and eating once a day! I really think the government wants them all to die off to avoid paying them. I don't know what to do, but I agree it should be taken out of the hands of politicians. When I worked at Parliament House I watched all the food that was thrown away after the numerous dinners and cocktail events and was quietly shocked at the waste, especially as politicians are there to help You. They only thought about themselves, sadly. I hope you get enough signatures to make a difference. No elderly person should go without medicine, dental help, food, clothes, shelter and warmth."
Claire Guppy, change.org
They want us to work until your 70 but when you lose your job at 60 companies dont want to employ you my husband lost his job 18mths ago and now looks like we will have to sell our house as we cant afford to keep up the repayments where we will live after that who knows.
Helen Crocker, Change.org
Pensioner poverty petition link
4 comments:
There's talk of a big pension review in this country too. Old style pensions that were guaranteed with index linking every year, could now face being frozen if the Company isn't doing well enough to keep up with inflation. Got a feeling quite a few Companies will want to take advantage of that! Conversely, our pensioners get free bus passes, prescriptions, TV licenses and winter fuel allowance and my Mum also gets a £55 a week that pays for someone to clean her house as she has COPD. She often says that these benefits should be means tested as many pensioners are actually pretty well off and don't need them, which would include her! So it's back yet again to the fact that some folks are getting more than they need out of the system where the most needy are going without. When oh when are we going to get our taxes and finances sorted out to filter wealth from the rich down to the poor.
The food wastage you mentioned is absolutely appalling in this country too. It's estimated that 115,000 tonnes of perfectly good food is thrown in bins by Supermarkets every year so The Real Junk Food Project have opened a warehouse where the needy can go and just pay whatever they can afford for it. Only certain Supermarkets are contributing to it, but the Government should legislate to make it mandatory.
I find it bewildering that my Mum was able to retire at 60, never paid into a private pension and often says that "stress" was an almost unused word in her days, whereas now I'm faced with working until I'm 67, also pay into a private pension and it seems stress issues are part of everyday life. We're working harder for longer and instead of life getting better with all our technologies and advancements in medicine etc, it really seems to be getting worse. If the age of retirement continues to rise, how depressing it is to think that many people will actually never know one. Society is simply not working on our Capitalist 'there's no such thing as too much' basis. The politicians are managing our finances to suit themselves. I'm furious with the disregard for the welfare of the most as opposed to that of the minority they continue to protect. They are nothing short of self serving criminals in my eyes because there is enough for everyone, it just has to be organised correctly BY THEM!
That's if you're lucky enough to keep working. Age discrimination is a very real thing in the workplace.
It sure is, so for those who are made redundant or lose their jobs or simply are no longer physically or mentally able to cope with it, they'll now have to go through the humiliation and stress of applying for jobs they know they won't have a chance in hell of getting or risk being denied financial aid, which of course those with savings will be exempt from receiving anyway. Yet another way for the Government to chip away at any wealth that has been accumulated over a lifetime of careful saving and hard work. Plus with all these extra years we have to work now, will that not in turn prevent youngsters from filling the vacancies that would otherwise have been freed up by earlier retirement? It's probably why there's been such a huge shift in getting young people into colleges and Uni which they of course now have to pay for. Im genuinely depressed and resentful that I have to work for so much longer than my parents and quite scared that I won't be up to doing my job as it's quite mentally draining. I don't feel secure about my future at all now whereas not that long ago I really did.
I don't either, Fizz. That's why I joined a political party, so I'm not just worrying on my own, but can hopefully make things a little better. That's why I sign petitions, too, and write to members of parliament.
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