Our beloved federal treasurer this week called on Australians to have yet more babies. He thinks we aren’t having enough and certainly aren’t pulling our weight as far as developed countries go. But what motive is he really hiding behind that unshifting, smug smirk of his?
Mr Costello claims that we need to have more babies to facilitate the growth that the country needs for the future. He obviously believes this as he has been throwing money at every birth at a rate of $3000 a pop (if you’ll excuse the expression). But I think it’s more than just growth he’s after. I think he’s just trying to save his job.
How could a politician, in good faith, honestly and openly encourage more children into this world considering the following realities of life in
- The health system is under-funded and overstretched as it is.
- Schools are desperately over-crowded and under resourced.
- Most Australian families are already financially overcommitted.
- There isn’t enough water for the current population as it is.
- Energy supplies and rising fuel costs are a looming and unaddressed problem for the very near future.
- Housing prices are getting beyond the reach of middle income earners.
And he wants MORE people? That’s seems a little strange, until you consider this: Babies are excellent consumers. Every child that is born automatically helps the retail industry to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. Just have a look at how many baby related products there are on the market and then add that to the food, pharmaceuticals and detergents that they also require. BINGO! With every child that is born the economy benefits. And when the economy benefits the treasurer looks good.
Parents think the Baby Bonus is a great idea. $3000 - $4000 for having a baby is a wonderful gift. But it’s not a gift. It’s an investment. They give you $3000 so you will spend $10,000+. It’s the same ploy the government used on new homeowners. “We’ll give you $7000 if you’ll take on $300,000 worth of debt”. The economy gets a massive boost from the government’s ‘generosity’. But what is the cost of this boost?
The downside of this boost is that in ten years there won’t be enough places in schools for the children that get born now. There won’t be enough doctors or hospital beds when they get sick. There won’t be enough fuel to get them around. There may not be enough water for them to drink. But do they care about that? Of course not. By then Mr Costello will have done his term as PM and retired very happily with a huge payout.
Peter Costello wants a quick injection into the economy to save his own bacon. The orchestrated housing boom has kept him afloat but now that is cooling he needs a new trick to fix the bottom line. Short term solutions for a happier treasurer.
If Mr Costello is so concerned about the country’s population, here’s an idea. How about speeding up the processing of refugees? I’m sure they would love to come and help out our economy.
No comments:
Post a Comment