I read the conclusions of a survey by the Australian Council of Social Services that 'more Australians are struggling to make ends meet', 'new data suggests more families are struggling to make ends meet' and 'the cost of essential items and services like food, rent, energy, health, education, clothing and transport costs continue to go up'.

Equally I read about widespread and increasing alcohol-fuelled public and domestic violence and, almost every day I see full page liquour ads and every month, see an application for yet another liquor outlet in my local area.

These people are obviously not short of money, nor are those who pump billions annually into gambling - at the races, on sport, in lotteries, on poker machines or online.

I suggest that this behaviour would be impossible if something like 2.2 millions Australians were truly living in 'poverty'.

Indulgent Australians are often abysmally unaware of what is happening across the world .... overseas, millions live on less than $ 1 a day ....

What makes you think those well dressed casino patrons are on welfare.
And have you seen who is doing the street fighting and drunkenness?
I doubt you can link welfare and these issues.
What by the way would you have us do?
Adopt low income lifestyles?
If you do not like drinking and gambling tell me how we stop it,

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Gold Standard now covers the Bretton Wood System

From http://www.thegoldstandardnow.org/component/search/?searchword=bretton+wood+system&ordering=newest&searchphrase=all&limit=20

1. Why real monetary reform can - and must - be done now
(Key Writings/Key Monetary Writings)

... of the 200-plus years of U.S. history. But "global monetarists," following Robert Mundell, advocated at least a temporary return to the 1944 Bretton Woods gold-exchange system, while others heeded Jacques ...

2. Why real monetary reform can - and must - be done now
(Key Writings/John D. Mueller)

... of the 200-plus years of U.S. history. But "global monetarists," following Robert Mundell, advocated at least a temporary return to the 1944 Bretton Woods gold-exchange system, while others heeded Jacques ...

3. Fiat Money, Fiat Inflation
(World Press/World Press)

... end of gold convertibility and the Bretton Woods monetary system in 1971. With expansive credit policy and Fed financing of the U.S. government deficit, every boom and bust cycle has been enabled by ...

4. "China, the dollar, and the return of the Triffin dilemma"
(Golden Nugget/Key Blogs)

... (Yale University Press, 2009), perceptively observes: China’s position on imbalances is also the same as the US position at Bretton Woods: the debtor should bear the burden of adjustment. In the ...

Why not start a thread?
That post has nothing to do with the subject.
And while the thread is staggering along not going to far it may have killed it.
Few subjects are of more importance in a country with aging population, and growing welfare needs.

Belly,
I want to support your idea of the need for welfare reforms.
Welfare is such a huge part of government expenditure; suffers from constant political tinkering; has become too ridiculously complex to manage, to access and to be as 'fair' as we would like. It should work better.

I've not had any 'epiphany' about what might be done, yet. But here are some initial thoughts:

The thread you started got me to thinking about what is welfare, or what should it be? For now my working definition is that welfare is "sustenance provided by the government for people who are unable to do so for themselves without assistance."

Basic sustenance to me would be food, shelter and protection from harm.

Any one of us in Australia could find ourselves needing assistance to have sufficient food, shelter and protection at (and for) some time in our lives.

The luckiest of us are helped with these basics by our families (whatever that group of your loved ones is) and friendship communities (religious, political, social, sport).

When these sources of assistance are inadequate the government must be involved. Remember I'm talking about three basic human needs for a person in our society. It's what I would like for myself - so it's what I would like for everyone else.

Belly, I'm still pondering through the next steps. No 'answers' to put out into a public forum yet. But at least I'm focused on trying to think of ways to better achieve in practice the concept of welfare I have suggested above.

Thanks for prompting my thinking - I have long thought that all people in society need to constantly work hard at trying to make life better for everybody - or that society risks implosion or abandonment.

Wm Trevor thanks and welcome.
Say we start with what promoted the thread.
Welfare lobby is displeased with Governments intention to review disability support pensions.
They claim, many agree, some can in fact work, and that some are hiding in those ranks unfairly.
Once we owned post offices and such, could we consider owning some thing again?
And putting jobs, often very much needed and wanted, aside for such.
Unemployment, no intention to other than keep paying it but.
Can we do better.
Why contract out work like parks and gardens if those jobs could be used for a work for fair wages and benefits ones?