Labour markets - a great discussion

Over at catallaxy, a discussion has broken out about welfare, labour market regulation and the intrusion of the government into our private lives, i.e mutual obligation for receiving the dole.

Some choice comments:

• The full effects of Workchoices have yet to kick in and we’ve already got our unemployment rate down to 5%

• “Throw in high marginal tax rates, loss of housing assistance and health care card etc etc and you can see why it is entirely rational for the unemployed-by-choice to remain that way”

• Mutual obligation must die. Or we must get a posse together and kill it. It is a most hateful hateful hateful concept. And how are these taxeaters “working”(that is to say sitting around draining our blood from us) at the centrelink going to ascertain whether you are holding up your end of the deal… Well they are going to have some sort of formula and some sort of fucking forms for you to fill in….

• A (female) friend of mine who lived in a flat with two (male) friends was told that she had to prove that she wasn’t sleeping with either of them, in order to keep receiving student benefits. That’s not mutual obligation, that’s just plain creeping paternalism.