cash bonus...who cares

[Aquamarinejewel]

Quite a few interesting viewpoints in this thread.

The pensioners who are really struggling really need this and you hear so many stories about some of them having to go with less food in order to have enough to pay their bills and to the families who can't afford to buy the kids some good Xmas presents will be able to do so this year.

I remember reading somewhere that they might do this again next year before Xmas.

 

[carntheroos4eva]

All I hear about is the goverments cash bonus to people with children and pensioners.Fair enough the pensioners should get it but what about single people on low income as well.Whats the goverment doing to help them.Instead he gives it to people who have children.They always get the bonus.They get everything!!!!!!

If I was given the 1000 I would of gone and spent to help the economy within reason.But I can't I don't feel like spending, my hours have been cut at work I can't find full time employment elsewhere because theres too much competition.My job is very iffy so I won't spend and I bet I'm not the only person out there in that position.What about all those people who can't spend that feel there jobs aren't safe.What about giving the money to those people!!!!!Thats where you'll find the greatest need!!!!!

I'm over hearing about people with families getting everything.I'm doing it tough and I need the bonus too!!!!!!

Seriously without sounding rude but the low income people need the money to pay their bills.
In fact all the people who have been given this cash bonus need it. It only takes morons like yourself to be so damn negative and come up with reasons why you are against it.
Have a heart mate. Seriously have a heart.

 

[Karl Pilkington]

Hear, hear.

Always makes me laugh when I hear someone whinging about how 'easy' families get it....

I'm sure its difficult, but nobody forced you to breed. In all likelihood you don't pay income tax. Giving you an extra grand shouldn't make-or-break your day to day life. If it does (and this goes for the baby bonus), or was even a factor when deciding to have kids, this country is in worse shape than I thought!

(Not saying you personally, DT, but there are more than a few out there)

Fact is Rudd and Swan wanted this money spent, so giving it to "families" was a shithouse decision. One of many in Rudd's short career as PM (I voted for him btw, I feel like an ass).

You want 10 billion spent quickly? Give it to 18-25 year olds, the unemployed, those living in poverty and those attending mental health clinics.

 

[Karl Pilkington]

The pensioners who are really struggling really need this

This shoudl never be a reason behind handing out one-off cash bonuses, because it does nothing to fix the problem long term.

This is what is ****ed about this country, when we were having breeding issues and low fertility rates a few years back - the government COULD have looked at raising award wages, or lowering taxes to increase wealth long term.

Instead, they handed out cash bonuses (First Home Owners, Baby Bonus x 3, Superannuation Co-Contributions) which have, if anything,, inflated house prices and convinced people to go in to huge debt they can't really service over the long term.

If there are old people starving to death and not living to at least a basic standard in this country, we need to look at increasing pension payments, or adding additional subsidies to their pension cards. Handing them $1500 does nothing for them in 3 months time.

For 10 billion we could reform our entire taxation system.

Our government seems awful willing (going back to Howard) to just piss our money away.

And the thing that shits young singles, is that WE are the ones that pay for all of this shit, whilst "young families" get all these bonuses without paying shit.

 

[Karl Pilkington]

If a student is spending $540 a week on 'expenses' then he/she needs to go back to school and learn how to do a budget.

Hey, if our government can't do one why should we expect a bunch of 20 year old pisshead, bong-smoking arts student to know how?

 

[Karl Pilkington]

It would be ridiculous to start handing out monies to students because :

It is ridiculous to hand out this money to ANYONE. Our country is going in to DEBT to give out money that we are actively encouraging the recipients to WASTE.

It is not capitalism, it is bullshit. Its just trying to prop up a rooted economy, so that we might not hit the skids until after the next election (meanwhile, we go tens of billions into debt) when Ruddy triumphantly enters his second term.

Howard was the master of this crap, but Rudd is making a good fist of it.

 

[Karl Pilkington]

Easy - Define a student.

Couple of examples.
I'm a stay at home mum doing an online course on paper meshe. The course is 10 hours long and can be taken over any length of time. Am I a student ?

I am the son of a millionaire in his first year of university. After one term I quit, to take off overseas with the intention of resuming studies next year. Am I a student ?

Being a full time student has already been defined - has been for years.

The stay at home mum isn't a student, because she isn't doing enough courses and it is a freakin' arts and crafts course. If she was doing two subjects a quarter or three per semester, in a degree program or Tafe diploma, then she would count as a full time student during that time.

Not sure on your millionaire kid theory, I reckon fd would know though, he's pretty good with the student calcs.

Anyway, I'm a full time student, and a full time worker, as far as the government is concerned. I earn too much to gain any real assistance, though I can access government funds to pay for my course if I wish.

Point is, it is hardly unworkable, "student" has been defined for ages.

 

[Frodo]

Families deserve nothing! Why, because it was your choice. You get more out of having kids than it can ever cost, and you want to have everyone else subsidise your enjoyment. Well how about having a Porche and 4 overseas holidays a year. Surely you'd need government assistance for that

Oh, and I have 2 kids, cost a fortune, particularly school fees and UNI, but I worked my balls off for it and didn't expect hand outs.

Pensioners. Nothing. They had their time to save and didn't.

Students. Well that's a future project. About 10% are worth helping, the rest are just keeping unemployment down.

 

[Scotland]

No-one deserves anything.

If we want to debate the merits of who should be given money to boost the economy via retail spending, then how about giving to those with a proven savings record? My wages aren't decimated each month by an excessive home loan, nor do I have a brand new car in the driveway that I haven't paid for, or a credit card, let alone an outstanding balance... can I have some of the cash too Ruddy?

Utter waste of $10bn.

 

[raskolnikov]

According to you all you have to do is get a couple of kids & all of a sudden you're living on easy street!

I don't think anyone is saying that.

I have been single and now I am married with kids.

Let me tell you that even though I was earning far, far less as a singleton my disposable income was far, far more than it is now.

That means nothing. So your disposable income is less. You forgot to mention the $500,000 house you're living in and the 4WD you're driving.

It is easy for single people to change their employment/financial situation, they just have to get off their arse and improve their skills/knowledge base to make themselves more valuable in the workplace. But it is much harder for parents to do the same because children take up so much time and money that they don't have the same resources a single person does to improve their situation.

What a load of crap. It is often easier for a married person to get retrained as their spouse can provide the main source of income. If a single person gives up their job where does their money come from?

 

[hoianbulldog]

What a load of crap. It is often easier for a married person to get retrained as their spouse can provide the main source of income. If a single person gives up their job where does their money come from?[/quote]
I gave up employment to go back and study when I was single many years ago. To get by I mopped floors and cleaned toilets at night. It really depends on how much you want it.

 

[Bunnie]

This shoudl never be a reason behind handing out one-off cash bonuses, because it does nothing to fix the problem long term.

This is what is ****ed about this country, when we were having breeding issues and low fertility rates a few years back - the government COULD have looked at raising award wages, or lowering taxes to increase wealth long term.

Instead, they handed out cash bonuses (First Home Owners, Baby Bonus x 3, Superannuation Co-Contributions) which have, if anything,, inflated house prices and convinced people to go in to huge debt they can't really service over the long term.

If there are old people starving to death and not living to at least a basic standard in this country, we need to look at increasing pension payments, or adding additional subsidies to their pension cards. Handing them $1500 does nothing for them in 3 months time.

For 10 billion we could reform our entire taxation system.

Our government seems awful willing (going back to Howard) to just piss our money away.

And the thing that shits young singles, is that WE are the ones that pay for all of this shit, whilst "young families" get all these bonuses without paying shit.

Ok this statement here pisses me off to no end. You "young singles" are not the only ones paying for this. We have a young family, pay shitloads of income tax all because we save and try and invest for our family's future. We do not get a red cent of this handout from Crudd (fine, we'll earn our cash ourselves) and WE ALSO PAY FOR THIS HANDOUT, JUST LIKE YOU.

Furthermore, unless you are going to be a 100% self-funded retiree that provides his own infrastructure and services in the future, the little darlings we have produced will eventually be working and funding your retirement. Yes, having children was our choice, but if some of us do not reproduce then who, exactly, is going to keep the machine going when your retirement rolls around...?

 

[TigerCleavage]

Typical Labor government, spend the country into another hole.

 

[rizzo]

It is ridiculous to hand out this money to ANYONE. Our country is going in to DEBT to give out money that we are actively encouraging the recipients to WASTE.

It is not capitalism, it is bullshit. Its just trying to prop up a rooted economy, so that we might not hit the skids until after the next election (meanwhile, we go tens of billions into debt) when Ruddy triumphantly enters his second term.

Howard was the master of this crap, but Rudd is making a good fist of it.

This shoudl never be a reason behind handing out one-off cash bonuses, because it does nothing to fix the problem long term.

This is what is ****ed about this country, when we were having breeding issues and low fertility rates a few years back - the government COULD have looked at raising award wages, or lowering taxes to increase wealth long term.

Instead, they handed out cash bonuses (First Home Owners, Baby Bonus x 3, Superannuation Co-Contributions) which have, if anything,, inflated house prices and convinced people to go in to huge debt they can't really service over the long term.

If there are old people starving to death and not living to at least a basic standard in this country, we need to look at increasing pension payments, or adding additional subsidies to their pension cards. Handing them $1500 does nothing for them in 3 months time.

For 10 billion we could reform our entire taxation system.

Our government seems awful willing (going back to Howard) to just piss our money away.

And the thing that shits young singles, is that WE are the ones that pay for all of this shit, whilst "young families" get all these bonuses without paying shit.

Agree on both counts KP. Short sighted by Rudd, although Sony will be happy when a few million gets spent on 40" bravias and PS3s

 

[Scotland]

Ok this statement here pisses me off to no end. You "young singles" are not the only ones paying for this. We have a young family, pay shitloads of income tax all because we save and try and invest for our family's future. We do not get a red cent of this handout from Crudd (fine, we'll earn our cash ourselves) and WE ALSO PAY FOR THIS HANDOUT, JUST LIKE YOU.

By the sound of it, you are doing OK. If you're doing well enough to be ineligible for FTB A, then good on you. No doubt there are families who are also paying for the latest handout, but there are plenty that aren't. I'm not seeing too many singles on the receiving end of, well anything, hence the anger.

The fact remains that middle income families get a much, much better deal than singles & couples. 'Working families' earning $90k a year don't need a yearly handout to buy their kids a new XBOX any more than I need one to buy a new beer fridge.

 

[Strike Swiftly]

i agree with KP. Im married with no kids. Im sick to death of paying top tax for it to be returned to breeders to spend. If they have so much money to throw around, why doesnt the govt just reduce my income tax. they want the money spent, fine. cut back my tax and ill spend a whole lot more!

 

[Karl Pilkington]

Its not like I odn't understand why young singles and couples are taxed higher. And ultimately we live a "better" lifestyle than most young families.

But if you're going to tax us more, at least stop wasting the money. If the funds were going towards education, health, infrastructure etc. I wouldn't mind (or probably even notice).

But we're heading for a deficit budget, right? Doesn't that mean that our government has to borrow to meet its costs at the end of the cycle?

Why are we borrowing funds, just to ask people to waste it on consumer products? Hardly a sound idea imo.

 

[Frodo]

Ok this statement here pisses me off to no end. You "young singles" are not the only ones paying for this. We have a young family, pay shitloads of income tax all because we save and try and invest for our family's future. We do not get a red cent of this handout from Crudd (fine, we'll earn our cash ourselves) and WE ALSO PAY FOR THIS HANDOUT, JUST LIKE YOU.

Furthermore, unless you are going to be a 100% self-funded retiree that provides his own infrastructure and services in the future, the little darlings we have produced will eventually be working and funding your retirement. Yes, having children was our choice, but if some of us do not reproduce then who, exactly, is going to keep the machine going when your retirement rolls around...?

Well that is a problem that successive governments have led us into. IMHO part of the taxes we pay throughout life should be being invested so that a decent pension is not a handout, but something owed. But instead they leave it to future generations. Bit of offset now with employers having to pay a super levy but that's just pushing responsibility off elsewhere.

Strange that I will get no Australian pension, but a part UK pension. That's because of their 'stamp' system. Retirement savings.

But really, does anyone have kids in order to keep the pensions of the future going? I don't think it enters anyone's mind!!

 

[Chief]

Instead he gives it to people who have children.They always get the bonus.They get everything!!!!!!

Awesome isn't it ??

 

[Karl Pilkington]

Awesome isn't it ??

No, it isn't. Its completely stupid.

 

[Chief]

Why are we borrowing funds, just to ask people to waste it on consumer products? Hardly a sound idea imo.

It is what private individuals have been doing for years.

 

[Chief]

No, it isn't. Its completely stupid.

Which is how I feel about fiddy-inch HD plasma TV screens.

Swings and roundabouts.

 

[Karl Pilkington]

It is what private individuals have been doing for years.

And? Is there a point rattling around in that vacant little head of yours Chiefy?

It hardly makes sense for the government to actively encourage it - especially in an uneven manner. And ESPECIALLY when they have to go in to deficit to finance it.

 

[Karl Pilkington]

Which is how I feel about fiddy-inch HD plasma TV screens.

Swings and roundabouts.

This is possibly the worst point you've ever NOT made.

 

[Frodo]

The thing about the bonus is that it isn't there to help anybody. It's there so people can spend it and boost the economy.
So in theory jobs are sustained if not created.
And unemployment is a huge threat.

But the targeting is wrong. How much of this stimulus will hit it's target?

Finally, it seems, Rudd and his buddies have stumbled upon infrastructure. Now there's a way of creating jobs and demand for construction materials. Trouble is that we voted the ALP in, and infrastructure is controlled by the trade unions. So what we will get is projects that cost three times as much as they should and take twice as long.
And who pays for it? Us! When?, probably in the future, because raising taxes would be counter productive (in fact dropping taxes would be a good stimulus), so we borrow and let our kids pay.

Yep, not only do we need more kids to pay our pensions, but to pay our debts too