Here's an interesting article to wet the palette before you read this rant: [link]

I see a lot of argument over cause and a lot of finger-pointing at present. What I'd like to see is an organised left movement offering a solid alternative to 'stimulus packages' and bail-outs. I might just have a suitable alternative available too:

Invest in Infrastructure while you can!

In Australia privatised companies are battening down to weather the storm. Things like energy, gas and water are just as subject to this as anything, though they are more government based. Health, transport and education are in there as well. Our universities are no longer seen as schools but as businesses, the same is true for many hospitals and all transport systems.

And thus I propose that instead of returning tax money in wasteful "Stimulus packages" the government turns around and puts that money where it was meant to go in the first place. Better that this is taken care of by the Federal government than the states because the state governments are fucked as it is. Especially NSW.

A good slab of that money ought go into the public hospitals in order to keep staff on deck. Nurses are over-worked, under-funded, and ready to walk out because of the strain. It's not fair on them and it sure as hell isn't fair on the people who rely on this health care system because they can't afford private cover and care. There are quite a number of these people. They've done nothing to deserve being ignored like this. The amount they'd get from a stimulus package would be better off once pooled and used to the benefit of EVERYONE. Education comes into play here because it's very expensive to try and get nurse/doctor/surgeon training in the first place and there's little support for students. Little to no dorm-type housing, student loans don't really cut it, welfare sure as hell doesn't and trying to juggle two part-time jobs and study is hell for the most determined people.

Add to that the fact that teachers are in a similar situation to nurses. From primary school to tertiary education.

Transport is an easy thing to pick on because this global collapse has come at a time when we're also glaring global warming in the face. People won't be able to afford to keep their cars so an alternative needs to be given. You can't expect someone to work an hours car ride away when there's no public transport and they just had to give up the petrol lifestyle. Western Sydney is a prime suspect when it comes to that. The 200 year old train system in Sydney doesn't reach out that far so everyone needs cars, and the buses are overloaded as is. Oh, the trains are too come to think of it. Funny how such an old thing struggles under current population trends. Who could have possibly seen that coming!? Even now I see price hikes in transport. An adult pays $14 to travel from where I am to Sydney, return, for a day's work. That's $70 a week, which is quite a dent if you think about it. Improve the system, make it cheaper, and give people the chance to enjoy the tax they paid in a way that benefits everyone, even the wealthy who pay more.

It's really fucking naive to expect people to go out and spend wantonly when you give them money and they're in the pinch. They won't. They'll use it to pay for that glaring energy bill or put some money back for their mortgage repayments lest they get fired from a tightening company and find that the lurch is upon them. Wake the fuck up, politicians. Stop poking holes in an already tatty safety net and work to patch it instead. Need I add that all these public works provide employment? Building new train lines, planning infrastructure, over viewing the refurbishment and administration of hospitals, schools, etc. Just think how one could improve the unemployment through all these. It could soak up some of the people who are getting dropped in the name of cost cutting, or dropped because entire companies are shutting down.




Phew! I'd also like to add that I've changed the licence on several works (namely, those for which I've used no stock and hence have total say) to include Creative Commons and Reproduction. This is a bit of my thumbing my nose at DeviantArt I'm afraid.