There are - in Australia at least - many different types of dole payment. Unless a person is in a wheelchair, it is practically impossible to tell which dole payment they are receiving. It really isn't any of my business and I would never be so rude as to ask someone why they are on the dole or why they have not found employment. They could be suffering from depression and be receiving the Disability Support Pension. They may be elderly and unskilled or speak English as a second language and find it hard finding people who are willing to hire them. They may be a single mother who is barely making enough to get by and who could literally not afford daycare for her child if she found full-time work. Most dole payments are significantly reduced once a recipient starts earning an income of more than $150 - $200 per week. That isn't a lot of money - certainly not enough for most people to live off in this day and age and with inflation what it is. Other people receive dole payments that are allocated specifically to them because they are studying full-time and can not reasonably work whilst doing so. Others are deaf, blind or otherwise disabled. Some suffer from chronic illnesses, other people are just unlucky and are yet to find their niche in life. Of course there are people that abuse the dole system and who could quite easily find employment, but don't, because they enjoy the "spoils" the Government and tax payers are providing them. But society, in general, is very limited in its understanding and tolerance of people that are seen - rightly or wrongly - to be leeching off the Government without reason. I know that, certainly, where I live, it is considered embarrassing to be on the dole because there is so much negative social stigma related to it. Ultimately, it's impossible to fairly judge someone who is on the dole without knowing the intimacies and intricacies of their situation. Better to err on the side of caution and not harshly judge someone than it is to do so and wind up with egg on your face when you find out that their status as a dole recipient is legitimate.

All the power to them. It takes a lot of hard work to remain on the dole nowadays.