My doctor tells me that I shouldn't get wound up (later i'll tell the tinnitus story) and mostly I don't unless faced with this sort of thing: http://www.news.com.au/national/mentally-ill-homeless-being-kicked-off-dole/story-e6frfkw0-1225994050166 (sorry, you'll have to cut and paste).
It's vital that Commonwealth funds are properly cared for and all taxpayers have a right to expect that government agencies like Centrelink will properly monitor welfare benefits and teh damn monitors flag that you have mental health issues and surely, in a country where we let banks make billions (not millions, billions) of dollars from every taxpayer we can have better security for the most disadvantaged and vulnerable in our community?
While we are about it maybe the repair to the terrible damage caused in Queensland, Victoria and parts of NSW might best be funded from the finance and banking industry. How about a 0.5 cent a transaction fee for every single banking transaction? The people that use financial services least (the poor) wouldn't bear much of the burden and those that use them most (the rich) would pay a fairer share - 0.5 cent a transaction. Have a look at how much such a "Robin Hood" tax might raise: http://robinhoodtax.org.au/2010/03/350-economists-call-for-a-financial-transactions-tax/
The Tinnitus story:
I have tinnitus (ringing in my ears) and sometimes it makes life a bit miserable. Not so long ago I visited a doctor for advice and he told me that there were basically 3 causes: 1. hearing damage, which would probably be permanent, 2. stress or 3. 'lifestyle'. I went for a hearing test and my hearing is spot on for my vintage and there was no discernable hearing loss. My doctor then inquired about stress and my stress levels, and I reported they were nothing I wasn't used to and that I didn't feel under significant pressure. Then we came to lifestyle and diet and he handed me a list of the things that he felt I should exclude from my diet in order to improve my hearing loss - things like alcohol, coffee, high sugar and high fat foods. I read his list, handed it back and said, Doctor I've been thinking - it's stress!
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