Wednesday 13 May 2009

Slice of budget anyone?

With the news out that the ‘winners’ of the Federal Budget 2009 are homebuyers, pensioners, students and parents-to-be, I got to thinking: how can I get a slice of the profitable pie?

I just missed out on K. Rudd’s $900 stimulus payout (2007-08 being the first and only complete financial year in which I didn’t pay taxes in Australia), and since it’s being argued that the government’s knee-jerk, spend big response to the GFC is likely to put Australia into financial ruin for generations to come, I’m especially eager to score something now. Be buggered if my kids end up paying for a present I didn’t even receive!

What to do? Age prematurely? Go back to school? I certainly don’t have any money to go out and buy a place… that leaves babies. Yep, I could use my unemployed time wisely, get up the duff and pop out some more little Australian mouths for the government/tax payers to feed.

Perfect. If Boyfriend and I hurry – he flies out Sunday – we can get pregnant in 2009, I squeeze out the kid in 2010 (earning us a healthy $5,000 per child) and by 2011, when things start looking up recession-wise and the government’s new paid parental leave kicks in, I can get a job, fall preggers again and be eligible for 18 weeks paid leave – all thanks to K. Rudd and his team of Merry Gentlemen.

The old proverb, "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will eat for a lifetime,” rings in my ear. Would it not have been better for the government to put more money into businesses and business development than just hand out lump sums to individuals? I know most of my friends spent their stimulus money on shoes – good shoes, lovely shoes, but shoes nonetheless – and jeez, what we wouldn’t all give for jobs right now.

1 comment:

Sash said...

I have a confession to make:
I too spent some of my $900 on shoes! Most people in their twenties will end up spending theirs on other countries economies anyway - so you're absolutely right, infrastructure would have been the right way to go...