Unemployment Flashcards

Question

Contemporary work The gig economy

Answer 1

* Labour disconnected from a single employer * Workers need to accumulate many short contracts, sometimes concurrently * Often mediated by a third party, e.g. Uber * More precarious than self-employment * Negotiating position undermined by the third party * No opportunity to reinvest in a business and build a brand * Little acknowledgement of overheads * Are workers independent contractors or employees? * Enhances flexibility...but for whom? * Is this a new kind of employment or just an unregulated labour market?

Answer 2

* Your job is integral to social construction of identity * In late-modern society identity is a self-reflexive project: * Decline of traditional institutions * Rise of the individual choice * We each choose who to be and how to live * #DoWhatYouLove * Does the construction of the self produce freedom or the illusion of freedom? * Does this help or hinder businesses?

Answer 3

* Continuity and progression in the work we do * Old fashioned careers: * Predictable * Connected to an employer * Reciprocal loyalty * New careers * Multiple careers over the life (sequential or concurrent) * Self-directed * No reciprocal loyalty * Career planning is individualized and up to the employee to do in their own time and at their own expense

Answer 4

* If you accept all of this you might conclude: * Valuable people (those who are clever, skillful, hard working, reliable, trustworthy) have more valuable labour * Valuable labour produces valuable goods and services (things people want, services people need) * Valuable goods and services are in high demand, so sell for a higher price (businesses will pay you a high wage as long as you produce more than you cost

Answer 5

Human value = Value of labour = value of production = price of wages

Answer 6

* If you accept all of this you might further conclude: * Good people are working people * Working people are productive people * Productive people are rich people * Rich people are good people * I will refer to this as ‘productivism’

Answer 7

* Productivist discourse supports neo- liberalism * The market provides a fair price for labour * Those who don’t sell labour are a burden on those who do * Policies that interfere with the price of labour will create inefficiency * If people were more productive, a business would hire them * The best form of welfare is a job

Answer 8

Human value doesn't equal value of labour * Karl Polanyi * Describes the ‘fictitious commodities’ of land, labour, and money * These things are not products made for a market * These things have intrinsic value * People have value, regardless of whether they sell their labour successfully * People want more from life than to help capitalists make profit

Answer 9

* People can be highly productive without participating in the labour market * Volunteering * Domestic work – caring for family, having and raising children, making food, maintaining a home * If I walk my dog and you make yourself a cake, that is considered domestic work and of no economic value * If you walk my dog and I make you a cake, that is considered productive labour – it contributes to employment figures and GDP * Important feminist critique – creating a chair is valued labour, creating a human being is treated as worthless * Those who participate in the labour market can be entirely unproductive * The phenomenon of bullshit jobs – the topic of this week’s reading * Work that produces nothing of value such that the person doing the job thinks that it should not exist * Types of bullshit jobs * Flunkies * Goons * Box tickers * Duct tapers * Taskmasters

Answer 10

* The pandemic demonstrates that essential services are not well remunerated. * Conversely, bullshit jobs are usually very well remunerated. Wages are not really determined by supply and demand the way the price of chairs is determined, because humans are not chairs. * Human beings cannot enter and exit the market at will * In a market for goods there are few sellers and many buyers. In the labour market, there are many sellers locked into contracts with single buyers. * Chair sellers can monitor the competition and adjust their prices in a dynamic way. Employees do not know how much others charge for labour and cannot adjust their price. * Chair seller can ship goods wherever demand is high. Humans cannot easily move where demand is high. Production ≠ Wages * Rent-seeking is well remunerated * ‘Rent-seeking’ is extracting a price without producing anything of value * E.g. Enron’s electricity scam * E.g. selling worthless vouchers * E.g. planned obsolescence of phone chargers * E.g. large parts of the marketing, advertising, and financial industries

Answer 11

* Unless you are a strict libertarian, the labour market is a source of structural injustice. * Egalitarianism – Labour markets produce vast inequalities * Rawls difference principle – The poorest are easiest to exploit * Equal opportunism – The price of your labour is partially determined by the demand for your kind of labour in the place you happen to live. * Unless you are a strict libertarian, the labour market is a source of structural injustice. * Utilitarianism – Only capitalists and rent seekers have their preferences satisfied. Everyone else is locked into this system. * Just deserts – Being productive, working hard, and contributing to society do not guarantee high wages. Often the opposite is true. * Feminists – Labour outside the home is the only way people are valued. Essential work of literally perpetuating the species is ignored. The labour market and justice

Answer 12

* Assumed relationship between money, work, and virtue is flawed * Rich people are not always good people and poor people are not always bad people * Some poor people work very hard and some rich people do not work at all * Some people who do not work make a substantial contribution to society and some people who work make no contribution to society

Answer 13

* The labour market constructs work as for the exclusive benefit of the buyer of labour. * People only work if it benefits the employer (i.e. turns a profit). * People not perceived as productive either correctly (e.g. people with disabilities) or incorrectly (e.g. people of colour) lose access to welfare. * Unemployment level set to benefit business – high enough to keep workers desperate and wages low, but low enough to keep consumer demand for products high.

Answer 14

* Capitalists and managerial class determine demand for labour * Middle class have limited control over demand some control over supply of their type of labour * Working class have no control over supply or demand for their labour * The working class suffer first and longest during an economic downturn * Never confuse being middle-income with being middle class! * Power imbalances between capital and labour * Only capitalists and rent seekers do well consistently * Unions are important * Working class people can band together * Levels out the power imbalance * Makes wages more transparent * Few buyers of labour matched with few sellers of labour * People will work for less than they need to survive * Phenomenon of ‘working poor’ * Hidden * Individual blame * Tokenistic response from business * Can be addressed with social welfare * Food stamps and food banks in the USA * Highly inefficient * Result is to subsidise McDonalds * Can be addressed with labour market regulation

Answer 15

* Productivism explains why identity is so connected to work * Your labour is your value. Your work is your identity. * Strange pride we feel in creating wealth for someone else * Explains the ‘spiritual violence’ of bullshit jobs. * Productivism explains the stigma around not working

Answer 16

* Neoliberal policy often aims to make the labour market function more like a market for chairs * Concerned with increasing productivity of workers to maximise profit margins, i.e. a smaller share of productivity for workers * Concerned with labour market ‘flexibility’ * Less influence of trade unions, minimum wages, and minimum conditions that ‘distort’ the price of wages. * More casualization, Uber-fication, and the ‘gig economy’ to minimize the influence of our human need for stability * See Workchoices

Answer 17

* The labour market is socially constructed but not engineered * Productivist and neoliberal discourses are pervasive and accepted * Discourses often correspond with human biases

Answer 18

* Markets are adaptive and self-sustaining once set up * The labour market performs important functions well enough * In complex systems, fixing one problem can create another * The people with the most power do well under the current system * People who do poorly in the current system have a deep cultural beliefs that support the system * Graeber proposes the ‘anti-conspiracy theory’

Answer 19

* Being in between jobs * Short term * Unproblematic for the economy * Limited effect on person

Answer 20

* Mismatch of skills * Generated when an industry declines * Especially problematic for older workers * Problematic for the economy – unused labour * Can be problematic for communities built around an industry

Answer 21

* Change in aggregate demand for employment during boom – bust economic cycles * Modern governments smooth out booms and busts

Answer 22

* Affects industries that have peaks and troughs * Temporary unemployment during troughs * Examples: * Agriculture * Tourism

Answer 23

* The minimum rate of employment that can be achieved in a stable labour market * Assumed to be approximately 5% * Very low unemployment causes * Aggregate supply shortage * Bottlenecks for business * Wage breakout * Unsustainable inflation * Policy balance unemployment and inflation * Note that ‘natural’ does not mean inevitable

Answer 24

* The same individuals remain unemployed for a long period of time * Some people at a disadvantage in the labour market * Disadvantage may be exacerbated by long term unemployment * Deterioration of skills (real and presumed) * Deterioration in confidence and effort * Practical barriers to seeking work caused by poverty * Employer discrimination related to poverty, e.g. postcode discrimination * ‘Scarring’ effect on future employment and wages * Especially harmful to individuals * Requires complete change of lifestyle * Sustained low income causes poverty * Associated with declines in physical and mental health * Causes social isolation with relocation and inability to engage in social activities * Social stigma * Costs associated with social problems

Answer 25

* Overall low rates of unemployment (below what is now considered ‘natural’) * Public services served as employer of last resort * Unemployment was usually frictional * Benefits represented temporary stop-gap measure

Answer 26

* Neo-liberal approach dominated * Public service no longer employer of last resort * Acceptance of natural unemployment rate * Higher aggregate unemployment * Concentration of unemployment in a subset of the labour force * Structural unemployment caused by decline in manufacturing

Answer 27

* Increased cost of unemployment benefits * New and growing phenomenon of long term unemployment * Concentrated in older male workers * Concentrated in working class * Concentrated geographically

Answer 28

* Unemployment benefits no longer viewed as a temporary poverty alleviation measure * Goal was to promote employment * Government policy focused on supply side of the labour market * Encouraging unemployed into work * Less consideration of role in supporting demand (i.e. creating jobs)

Answer 29

Productivism * People who do not work lack value * If people were more productive, businesses would hire them Personal responsibility * Unemployed should find a job * Unemployed are blameworthy * Unemployed are morally deviant

Answer 30

* Addresses overall cost of payments * Concern with ‘undeserving’ people receiving welfare * Creation of the ‘most efficient’ social welfare system in the world * Archaic rules and administrative waste * High effective marginal tax rates create a disincentive to work

Answer 31

Late 1980s introduced activity test for long term unemployed * Intensive interviews * Requirements to take on training and education * Requirement to take on temporary, casual, or part-time work

Answer 32

* Reframed under Howard as a reciprocal obligation between unemployed and the state * Obligations included: * participation in ‘work for the dole’ * job search activities * participation in the privatized Job Network * regular reporting to Centrelink * Failure to comply results in ‘breach’- Reduction or removal of welfare payments for a period of time * Breaches increased dramatically in late 1990s to early 2000s * Breaches disproportionately affected Indigenous Australians (approximately double what might be expected) * Likely causes: * lower levels of literacy * higher rates of mobility * lack of confidence dealing with bureaucracies * lower likelihood to appeal * poor postal services in remote areas * lack of appreciation for additional difficulties faced by Indigenous people in the labour market * Pressure to reduce breaching from: * Advocacy groups * Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission * Commonwealth Ombudsman * Public concern * Policy changes around 2006 reduced breaching, although the practice remains

Answer 33

* Constructs the roles of citizen and state differently to the past * Previously, citizenship created an entitlement to the common wealth * Now, the unemployed must enter a reciprocal and conditional relationship to access resources that belong to the state * Mutual obligation activities do not address unemployment * Does not address the demand-side causes of unemployment * Requires recipients to apply for jobs when they are unqualified * Reduces sustainability of employment as people take jobs to which they are unsuited * Mutual obligation is punitive rather than constructive * Dark side of just deserts is punishment * If we toil and suffer for our income, the unemployed must also toil and suffer * Explains why governments persist and the public accepts obviously wasteful policies

Answer 34

* Engage in work-like activities while receiving unemployment benefits * Can be used to meet activity requirements * Limited additional payment for participants (currently $20.80 per fortnight) Intended to help recipients: * develop skills and experience of different workplaces * show they are ready to start work * meet new people who might become referees * get involved in the local community

Answer 35

* Often low-skilled busywork that provides no opportunity to build skills or demonstrate capability * Workers do not receive basic workplace entitlements and protections, e.g. workers compensation * Contradicts neo-liberal concerns about distorting price of labour by providing workers far below minimum wage * Empirical evidence demonstrates virtually no effect on chances of obtaining employment * Appears punitive rather than constructive

Answer 36

* Change in eligibility for support for people not participating in the labour market * Stricter application of eligibility for Disability Support Pension * Reduced work test for DSP from 30 hours to 15 hours * Restrict eligibility for Parenting Payment by lowering age of youngest child from 16 years, to 8 years, to 6 years * Raise the age of eligibility for Aged Pension

Answer 37

Welfare payment quarantining * Implemented in 2007 under Howard as part of the NT intervention * Proportion of welfare loaded onto a card * Card can only be used to purchase morally desirable goods and services from designated retailers * Card cannot be used to purchase alcohol, gambling, or black market goods (e.g. drugs) * Funds cannot be withdrawn as cash

Answer 38

* Assumes poverty is caused by poor management of funds * Costly to implement * Faulty assumptions about alcohol and drug consumption * Contradicts rhetoric about ‘welfare dependence’ * Restricting income makes budgeting more difficult * Reduces opportunity for cost savings, e.g. shopping around, buying second-hand * Continues to disproportionately affect Indigenous communities * Mounting empirical studies demonstrate ineffectiveness

Answer 39

We persist with income quarantining * Flawed 2017 evaluation criticized by the Australian National Audit Office * Ongoing trials, evaluations, Senate hearings * Increased proportion of income quarantined – from 50% up to 80% * Current trials being run in * Ceduna * East Kimberley * Goldfields * Bundaberg and Hervey Bay * Cape York and Doomadgee * Northern Territory

Answer 40

* Drug testing of unemployment benefit recipients * Two-year trial being conducted over three sites * Canterbury-Bankstown * Logan * Mandurah * “The trial is designed to identify people with illicit drug use issues and help them to get to a point where they can look for work and secure a job.” * Locations selected due to high rates of drug offenses * First positive test will result in income quarantining * A second test will be conducted within 25 days and, if positive, may result in mandatory drug treatment Problems with drug testing * Cherry-picked statistics to support flawed premise - Positive test does not equate to ‘drug problem’ * Research shows most drug usage has no impact on employability or job performance * International research shows low numbers of positive tests and cost blow-outs * Coercive drug treatment is ineffective

Answer 41

Robo-debt * Designed to identify welfare fraud * Fortnightly income reporting reconciled with annual tax data * ATO reported income averaged out over year * A debt raised for recipients who worked for part of the year and received benefits for part of the year * Recipients required to refute allegation (i.e. presumption of guilt)

Answer 42

* High error rate due to method of calculation * Determined to be illegal * Class action settled for $1.2 billion * Government persisted despite widespread publicity of inaccurate debts * Government obstructed legal clarity, dropping a debt rather than allowing court to determine legality * Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme due to report on 30 June 2023

Answer 43

* Centrelink * Replaced Department of Social Security under Howard * Remains a government organization but disconnects service delivery from policy and planning * Borrows from private sector strategies * Citizens reframed as ‘customers’ * Branding – DSS vs Centrelink, Unemployment benefits vs Newstart * Presentation and layout * Official administrative function obscured * Centrelink * Aim to enhance administrative efficiency by reducing input costs * KPIs and efficiency dividends * Increased automation * Increased self-service * Results in degraded ‘service experience’ * Long wait times * Accessibility issues * Administrative burden can act as a deterrent

Answer 44

* Replaced the Commonwealth Employment Service * Non-profit and for-profit organisations tender in a competitive market for government contracts * Different contracts and incentives to obtain employment for people with varying levels of need and periods of unemployment * Incentives linked to maintaining employment over relatively short periods (3 to 6 months

Answer 45

* Problems with Job Network * Funnelling public funds into profitable private businesses * No incentive to help people build a sustainable career * Potential for cherry-picking clients more lucrative within the incentive scheme * No effect on aggregate unemployment * Organisations claim credit for outcomes that would have occurred without them * Organisations shuffle people up and down the queue for a job * Coercive powers outsourced to private businesses

Answer 46

* Eligibility * Aged 22 to Age Pension age * Resident * Maximum income and assets for applicant and partner * Unemployed and looking for work or temporarily unable to work due to sickness * Maximum fortnightly payment for a single person, no children * Before Covid-19: $570.80 per fortnight * Including Covid-19 Supplement: $1120.80 * Now: $778 * Maximum fortnightly payments * Single with a child: $883.20 * Single, over 55, on payment for 9 months: $883.20 * Partnered: $712.30 each * Taper rates * First $150 results in no reduction * After $150, payment reduced by 50c for every dollar earned * After $265, payment reduced by 60c for every dollar earned * Maximum earnings for a single person, no children $1479 per fortnight

Answer 47

* Ordinary waiting period of 1 week * Up to 13 weeks if applicant or partner have liquid assets including cash and money owed by previous employer * Redundancy payments * Finished seasonal, contract, or intermittent work in previous 6 months * Move to an area with fewer jobs opportunities a 26 week waiting period applies

Answer 48

* Rent assistance * Single person, maximum payment $212.20 per fortnight (for people paying at least $430.60 per fortnight in rent) * Single parent with 1-2 children, maximum payment $248.22 per fortnight (for people paying at least $526.54 per fortnight in rent) * Family Tax Benefit Part A * $222.04 per child aged 0 to 12 * $288.82 per child aged 13 to 19 not receiving a benefit and meeting study requirements * Family Tax Benefit Part B * $188.86 if your youngest child is aged 0 to 5 years * $131.74 if your youngest child is aged 5 to 18 years

Answer 49

* Low payments * Complicated rules * Surveillance of recipients * Engagement with recipients outsourced to: * The recipient (i.e. self-service) * Private organisations (job search providers) * Draconian enforcement

Answer 50

* Reflects dominant discourses * Productivist * Personal responsibility * Moral deviance * Uses cherry-picked data and anecdotes * Emotive rather than factual * Feigns objectivity and balance – just asking questions * Simplistic explanations, conflation of social issues

Unemployment Flashcards

(75 cards)