Thursday, January 8, 2009

School Holidays - Contributing to the Economy

I think Mr Rudd got it wrong. Here he is, handing out thousands of dollars to pensioners and people with children in an effort to stimulate the economy. Stimulating the economy is probably not a bad idea, as I have no desire to live through a depression, however I hope anyone who was actually a recipient of any of this money has enjoyed it, because I'm certain that some of our taxes have been used to contribute to the personal bank balances of people who earn more than us (but that's a totally different post for another day).

Where I think he went wrong was that there are other ways to stimulate the economy which would require no extra funds from the government. That's right. None.

All he has to do is declare a few more weeks of school holidays in the year.

Any of my readers who happen to be of school age are cheering (if I have any - drop me a line in the comments if you are actually at school).

Now I know that sounds odd, but hear me out. The reason I've thought of this is that my Beloved has a business where they make security screens and reglaze broken windows. They always get heaps of extra work during the school holidays as a result of vandalism and break-ins. It occurred to me that there would be more money generated by security firms, child care, and recreational activities as well.

So there you have it. A quick study to isolate the most destructive age groups, and they get a few extra weeks off school to do their bit for the economy.

How impressed do you think the government would be with this suggestion?

... Approximately Not At All.

Disclaimer: This post is not in any way intended to show support for destructive behaviour by any minors who may happen to read my blog. Don't do it.

9 comments:

June Saville said...

I was a schoolie's wife once and he used his holidays to spend our money while I worked - me getting but two weeks of holiday per year! I came home to get the meals for him and the kids at 6.30 when he had knocked off at 3.30.
He got the super because there was no precedent in law for that when we were divorced.
So now I'm on a full pension which makes me a ricipient of Mr Rudd's scheme. I tell you - it's hard living on less than $A300. The windfall was a godsend!
I hope you never need to try living on a pension because I'd suggest your enjoyment would be ....
Cheers
June

Hippomanic Jen said...

I actually have no problem with the windfall, particularly for those who've done their bit over many years paying taxes and looking after kids and contributing to our communities and in some cases putting their lives between me and Hitler or Japan. I actually think the weekly pension should be raised, rather than relying on occasional generosity.

But I don't think that there's any reason why can't there be more than one economic stimulus package!
:)

Dee said...

Lump sums always cause problems, look at the baby bonus... there needs to be a better way to distribute bonus's like this, and giving some families enough to buy a small car.. well.... enough said.

June Saville said...

I'm into that! I think a lot of people will be having problems in the next few months - but let's hope not!
J

Long dark hair, blue eyes said...

Great idea Jen!

Allegro ma non troppo said...

I've waited 5 long years for my little guy to go to school so that some poor hapless teacher can try to answer all those questions of his.

And you want to DELAY it another few weeks?

Ha ha - interesting suggestion, though!

Yeah, we got the silly money. We bought some shelves and put the rest into the mortgage. The government baffles me.

Louisa Claire said...

Jen, you crack me uP!!

Givinya De Elba said...

Yeah, we got the bonus too, and although we're low wage earners, we could have managed without it.

It's saved, even though the govt said, "You gotta spend it!!"

I feel guilty that I got it. You wanna share it with me?

Hippomanic Jen said...

Don't feel guilty - I know precisely what I would have spent it on if we'd been eligible! or the mortgage. One or the other!