At the dawn of democracy, people would be dragged from the street into a theatre so that every seat was filled and from there decisions were made… Some had no idea what they were voting for – others knew exactly what was going on.
In Australian politics the same is true. Everyone must vote or be fined (we do like our fines).
But most of the time we don’t know what we are actually voting for. As a child I always backed Liberal because my parents did.
It wasn’t until I was older (about 15) and more interested in the direction and choices the country would make that I followed up more of what each side was selling. I still supported liberal decisions and by this time my mother had gone off the rails and down the green path… She was never seen again.
In the end it comes down to money. How will it be spent. How will it be saved, and more importantly how will it affect my family and myself.
Taxes are there so that the government is able to look after its people. In theory.
It’s all levels of income earners, from the Macca’s worker who gives this grumpy individual a coffee through the window at 6:30 am, to the small business owners, equity partners, big business and beyond who fund the government and its practices and policies through our taxes.
So why then should those who haven’t contributed to the nation’s coffers, able bodied individuals who are on welfare, be allowed to say where they think the nation’s funds should be best spent?
Yes, they may have an option to pay tax from their welfare income, however, what are they contributing? Two people I know say work for the dole is a joke and they don’t end up doing anything anyway.
It’s not their money anyway. It’s a hand out from the government. So if an individual works for their own income, pays tax, they should have a greater say than those who are quite capable of getting employment, but choose not to, on where their hard-earned funds go.
Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.Photo by League of Women Voters of California 