An economic stimulus story

 
An interesting but cynical view of the Australian Government's proposed economic stimulus package. If you're not aware, in February 2009 Kevin Rudd's government announced plans to begin handing out cash payments totalling AU$42 billion (approx. €22 billion at the time) to Australian workers and families with the first payments due in March.


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It is the month of June - a resort town sits next to the shores of a large lake. It is raining, and the little town looks totally deserted. It is tough times, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit.

Suddenly, a rich, fat-cat tourist comes to town. He enters the only hotel, lays a $100 bill on the reception counter, and goes to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one.

The hotel proprietor takes the $100 bill and runs to pay his debt to the butcher.

The butcher takes the $100 bill, and runs to pay his debt to the pig raiser.

The pig raiser takes the $100 bill, and runs to pay his debt to the supplier of his feed and fuel.

The supplier of feed and fuel takes the $100 bill and runs to pay his debt to the town's prostitute who, in these hard times, provided her "services" on credit.

The hooker runs to the hotel, and pays off her debt with the $100 bill to the hotel proprietor to pay for the rooms that she rented when she brought her clients there.

The hotel proprietor then lays the $100 bill back on the counter so that the rich tourist will not suspect anything. At that moment the rich tourist comes down after inspecting the rooms, takes his $100 bill saying that he did not like any of the rooms and leaves town.

No one earned anything. However, the whole town is now without debt and looks to the future with optimism.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the Australian Government is doing business today also.
 

When a soldier comes home

 
This is an excerpt of something that arrived in my email this morning - and I will admit that it would ordinarily be trashed as spam without a thought - but for some reason today I am moved by its words.

Lately I've been reflecting on life, particularly my own and it's recent dramas, trying to put some perspective on things. This was a timely reminder that just made me stop and think - not about soldiers per se or trying to draw direct comparisons with them - but more generally about how in western society most of us are preoccupied with acquiring wealth, living comfortably and "problems" that if we really think about them are rather trivial in the greater scheme of what's happening in the world.


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When a soldier comes home, he finds it hard...









...to listen to his son whine about being bored.









...to keep a straight face when people complain about potholes.









...to be tolerant of people who complain about the hassle of getting ready for work.









...to be understanding when a co-worker complains about a bad night's sleep.









...to be silent when people pray to God for a new car.









...to control his panic when his wife tells him he needs to drive slower.









...to be compassionate when a businessman expresses a fear of flying.








...to keep from laughing when anxious parents say they're afraid to send their kids off to summer camp.









...to keep from ridiculing someone who complains about hot weather.









...to control his frustration when a colleague gripes about his coffee being cold.









...to remain calm when his daughter complains about having to walk the dog.









...to be civil to people who complain about their jobs.









...to just walk away when someone says they only get two weeks of vacation a year.










...to be forgiving when someone says how hard it is to have a new baby in the house.









The only thing harder than being a soldier... is loving one.