Did You Steal My Money

The Australian Senate has finally passed the $42 Billion stimulus package. Good thing if you ask me.

But somehow I think that some parts of the package are a little "weak". Here I have 2 proposals. Despite being a little too late and nobody reads my blog, I'd still like to write about it.

Firstly, I thought that the money should be spent on expanding satellite cities. Capital cities in most states are overloaded as it is now, and experts have predicted that population will keep increasing. Now, while population increase is not a bad thing, the rate it is increasing by seems to be unsustainable. Commute time will double in the near future, along with overloading of many infrastructure.

Hence, to me it seems reasonable that the money be spent on stimulating activities in those cities, creating jobs there. That way, jobs are created while the burden on capital cities do not increase. 2 birds with 1 stone if you ask me.

Secondly, it seems to me that most of the money in the stimulus package would be going to low income families/individuals. While this is a good thing, I thought more of it should be concentrated on those who have lost their jobs or are unemployed. My reasoning being that in a recession, inflation decreases. This would mean that low income earners would be better off than prior to the recession as petrol and food prices, among others, drop, provided they can keep their jobs and hours. Hence, they are not the ones who most need the money.

Looking from a less altruistic view, my point will still seem reasonable. This is because the purpose of the stimulus package is to stimulate the economy. In other words, the government would hope that the cash bonuses would be spent by the recipients rather than saved. And how better to ensure it is spent than by giving them to people who need the money just to survive? The unemployed are the ones who would most likely spend the money on daily essentials. They still need to eat after all.

Despite all these, I must applaud the government for promising it would make available money from the stimulus package for the reconstruction of bushfire ravaged communities. I guess, they, of all people, would be most in need of help.

Why then, you might ask, that I did not support the Opposition in blocking the stimulus package? The answer is simple. A slightly flawed stimulus package triumphs over a bad stimulus package, or in this case, the lack there of. The right-wing Liberal Party has handled the financial crisis terribly, in my opinion. All they ever talked about was tax-cuts. Nothing else. They opposed the package, but did not seem to provide any logical and acceptable alternatives. Useless. They are called the opposition, but their job is not just to oppose, but to provide an alternative. Tax cut isn't it. A 12 year old can propose tax cuts.


TY