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The universal basic income movement has a major problem: both critics and even many supporters don’t understand how much it would really cost.
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Increasing numbers of parents are being accused of child abuse.
Headquarters of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, DC.
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An April 2017 survey explored Americans’ opinions about government intervention and welfare policies. It found that on average, they want more from their government, but are highly polarised.
Social housing offers stability for those at risk of homelessness.
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Social housing is important in the fight against homelessness. But we don’t actually know that it helps vulnerable people in any other areas of life.
Despite alarming news, retirees can still rely on their retirement nest eggs.
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Social Security will have to dip into its trust fund to pay benefits this year for the first time since 1982. Should we be worried?
Disappearing from a high street near you.
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A long read on the decimation of British jobcentres – and why it puts the rollout of Universal Credit at risk.
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The modelling shows that Coalition governments tend to be much more fiscally conservative in their tax and welfare policies than Labor governments.
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Chris Bowen on the budget and Labor’s policies
Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen tells The Conversation he accepts that big business will "lobby on their own path".
The Department of Human Services approach to social security fraud prosecutions has become less punitive in recent years.
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Despite a public focus on punitive approaches to welfare fraud, the number of social security fraud prosecutions has fallen in recent years.
The old pathways to home ownership have been displaced by more uncertain routes that waver between owning and renting.
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Increasingly insecure pathways to home ownership are not just a problem for property markets. The fallout is likely to hit retirement incomes, the welfare base, gender equity and the broader economy.
Dealing with the disability benefit system can be highly stressful.
Victoria Jones/PA Archive
Perpetual uncertainty and changes to the way disability benefits work take a heavy toll on claimants.
Working to the wire.
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By contrast, poor maternity pay leads to an under-representation of women in higher positions and lower salaries.
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GDP has many flaws. We need a better way to measure economic progress.
More than 40 years ago professor Ronald Henderson floated the idea of a guaranteed minimum income.
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We increasingly celebrate entrepreneurial self-reliance, but for disadvantaged people, the certainty of an adequate income is a fundamental foundation. It may not be sufficient, but it is necessary.
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Politics Podcast: Brian Howe on Revisiting Henderson, Poverty and Basic Income
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Brian Howe says the targeted nature of Australia's social security system goes hand-in-hand with stigmatising welfare recipients.
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It’s widely accepted that young people living in children’s homes or foster care are vulnerable to mental illness, but new research shows that social media can actually help.
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From a certain perspective, we’re already on the road to practicing a ‘progressive eugenics’ not a million miles away from what was imagined historically.
The study found that in order to pay for insurance people were cutting down on heating, food and outings.
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People on low incomes put insurance cover first – even if it means doing without basic goods.
The Cashless Debit Card trial disproportionately targets Indigenous people, despite what the government says.
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That the Cashless Debit Card continues to be pursued exposes a dogged obsession with implementing punitive policy at the expense of vulnerable people.
A helping hand: a volunteer at a food bank in Glasgow.
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The people most affected must be involved in designing the solutions.