The only thing I can think of in defense of the government is that it is better to give the money to those still working than to wait a year and hand it out to the newly unemployed. I think this is the logic behind it. the Government seems to think the money will go back into the economy except that most people have bought plasma TVs and chrome wheels for their cars. many things purchased are imported and so the bulk of the money dissapears into the economies of other nations. I'm contemplating myself in taking the money and making an investment of sorts into the share market even with a portion in the hope of doing my bit to strengthen the economy. if everyone did this we would make a big difference indeed.
On the other hand giving money to build infrastructure is a pretty good idea because you end up with something at the end of it and create jobs in the process. My issue is that the excesses need to be shut down...Overly exorbitant salaries and bonuses, consultant fees to tell us what we already know because we're wanting to blame someone when it goes wrong! Junkets to overseas places for no apparent reason. and architecture that is 5 times the price of a simple structure that does the same job.
There is no doubt we're in a crisis but it is still only a crisis of our mind. we have clean water (too much in QLD and not enough down south) sanitation, food, some of the best homes in the world. a temperate climate that doesn't have the extremes of some nations. we're not at war with our neighbours. the list goes on. we really are the lucky country, or blessed one, depending on your view.
The things wrong here are that we're over governed for our size, we're being taught how to not think for ourselves and how to blame others for our problems and we think we're immune from the issues that face people everywhere else. I hope the Government gets it right I really do. I hope we come through the downturn but I believe we live in a world that selfishness and arrogance are rife, and without a healthy dose of hardship we will continue to make dumb decisions. still I'm hopeful for the future. I believe my Kids will be better able to navigate their adulthood by observing these events and in the end we will look back, and in our nursing homes be reminiscing about the good old days of the early 2000s.
have a good one. Richard
