May
2010
If it’s good enough for K-Rudd0
In Genesis, we read the story of Joseph who literally went from a prisoner to prime minister in one day - all because of a budget plan that setup the nation for prosperity.
Last Tuesday night Kevin Rudd and Wayne Swan unveiled our nation’s budget. It was televised live, and analysed to within an inch of it’s life by a colony of journalists, bankers, economists, industry representatives, welfare lobbyists, political commentators and, of course, the opposition.
Why does anyone, let alone so many people, care about the budget? Why don’t we just say to Kevin Rudd “Don’t stress over it Kev, I’m sure it all work out in the end. Forget about the budget”?
Because we all know that like Joseph of old, the national budget is not just a bunch of numbers on a bit of paper - it has real impact on our lives.
The decisions that Kevin Rudd and Wayne Swan make about how they allocate the available income (and like last year, added debt on top of that) effect each and every one of us in lots of ways.
Whenever we drive on a main road, whenever we fill up with petrol, whenever we get paid by an employer, whenever we order a glass of wine, or do the grocery shopping, whenever we go to hospital, whenever we enrol in a university course, whenever we run our own business or if we’re on a benefit or pension - just about anything we do inside this country, our life is influenced by the national budget.
Our lives are a little bit better, or worse, depending on how the government spends its money. A few strokes of the pen and we could end up spending hours more in the hospital waiting room when we’re having an emergency. Or we could be treated quicker - it largely depends on where the money flows.
And since the government decided to spend more money than it earnt (again), it doesn’t just effect us, it effects the future generations who will have to pay off the debt.
The thing is we all have the power to effect our own lives in the same way - with a budget.
Yet many people don’t use this power wisely at all. We say to ourselves what we would never say to Kevin Rudd. We tell ourselves that it will all work out without a budget.
Life can be so much better when our money is allocated more efficiently. So why don’t we pay more attention to our own budget? If it’s good enough for the country, and businesses, charities, churches and even tuckshops right across the country, isn’t it good enough for us to have our own budget?