Pork on your fork
This federal campaign has certainly been notable for the rampant throwing of money at people who we need to vote for us.
In a lot of ways, many of this election “bidding” seems to pass me by - we don’t have kids, I am not a mother looking to get back into the workforce and so family benefits, baby bonuses, child care allowances, technical colleges, education spending etc are not going to directly benefit or disadvantage me.
It is true that I got the benefit of some of Howard’s tax cuts, but that benefit was taken away in the same breath by the increase in HECs repayments for those earning above $32K - effectively cancelling out any benefit from the tax cuts (and actually leaving me behind where I was 4 months ago).
Don’t get me wrong, I am not moaning. I am, however in the position of one who looks at the promises being made on the basis of whether they would benefit the community as a whole rather than just key interest groups.
And I have come to the conclusion that politicians think that we are stupid. We are not even smart enough to be stupid, we are mice who chase cheese. The premise of election spending seems to be that I will vote for the person that promises me the most personal financial benefits, and I will vote against the person who doesn’t give me anything. And I will exercise my vote in complete apathy and ignorance of any other issues.
And what’s more, my “price” is incredibly small. I will sell my vote for the price of a sandwich and a milkshake, $600 per year in a baby bonus, or a rebate on my child care expenses. If that is all it takes to buy a vote, then it is the cheapest bribe in history.
The depressing thing is that we are forced to vote this way and evaluate politics this way because there is nothing else on offer. With the major parties doing nothing more than appealing to my personal financial benefits or detriments, then I am forced to respond along those lines. I am forced to write letters to the paper complaining about the possibility of an increase in my child’s private school fees under Labor’s education policy. I am forced to ring the PM on the radio and complain about the way that my carer’s allowance works.
I actually found myself yesterday checking the PM’s announcement to see whether I would get anything out of it. Not whether it was a sensible policy to accomplish clear goals or reforms. Nup. To see whether anything would end up in my pocket.
Short message to pollies: I pay taxes and I am happy to pay them. Stop using my money to buy votes (even mine).