Now It's Come To The Crunch

Illawarra Mercury

Tuesday December 16, 2008

Jeni Harvie

SPEND, spend, spend.

Everyone wants us to splash our cash: the Government, retailers, manufacturers, tradies, charities, restaurateurs, pubs and clubs.

They're all singing from the same songbook: Open your wallets and save our nation. It's in your hands, our only salvation.

And they are warning that if we don't buy up big, industry will fold, unemployment will grow and we'll all be rooned.

The Federal Government underpinned the feeding frenzy with its $10.4 billion gift to families, pensioners and carers.

I wonder if people are doing their bidding or using it to pay off some household debt?

The Government won't get much out of me. Not only did I miss out on the largesse (our children have left home and we are not drawing pensions) but I have long taken issue with the drive for mindless consumption.

At Christmas last year I took a stand and announced to my family I was buying pigs, literacy classes and mosquito nets for them.

Well, not literally. The money that would otherwise go on Chrissy presents was being invested in agricultural, education and health programs in Third World countries.

It didn't go down well, but I was determined.

Now, the branch of the family who vehemently resisted my break with tradition has hit hard times. They are the ultimate consumers, the epitome of our disposable society.

Oh no, that's too harsh. They are into recycling. They love to give away their designer clothes to the rest of us poor wretches; clothes that generally have never been worn.

We knew they were heading towards a crunch as they spent the decade extending mortgages, running up credit cards and buying goods with two-year interest-free loans, believing the time to pay would never come. Or that's what I think they believed.

Can you hear my frustration?

These are intelligent people and I love them dearly, but when the easy money is flowing, they dive in and enjoy the ride without worrying about the destination.

Now they've arrived and it's not pretty. Despite refinancing, they have had to put their house on the market, the overseas holidays and fine dining are history and the retail therapy is limited to window shopping.

And, they have declared Christmas a pressie-free zone.

This is the global financial squeeze hitting home on a personal level. This family will also miss out on Kevin Rudd's handouts, so no relief there.

Their hardship is just a reflection of what is happening throughout the community, although not necessarily under the same circumstances.

Other people are just the unfortunate victims of this age of excess, the worst of which occurred in another country across the Pacific but which is wreaking havoc here.

It all puts a different spin on Christmas as a time for giving.

The Government is giving in the hope that people will give in the hope the economy will kick.

But I am still not convinced that spending is the way to our salvation; certainly not buying all those imported goods that mostly fill our stores.

Let's support local businesses but also bring some Christmas cheer to those so much less well off than ourselves, even in a credit crisis.

This year the family is getting ducks, goats, a donkey, a well and an AIDS orphan care pack. And I think they'll be happy.

Jeni Harvie is an escapee from Sydney's media madness. And she couldn't be happier.

© 2008 Illawarra Mercury

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