Volunteer/National Service scheme (2 Viewers)

[moll.]

I was reading a TIME article a little while back and the author came up what I thought was a fantastic scheme for encouraging people to do more charity and community work. This is it, with an Australian spin:

- We take the baby bonus (maybe increase it by a few thousand more) and rather than giving it to the mother we invest it in the market.
- After the child completes year 12 we will give them the total amount in their fund if they complete a year of full-time volunteer work.
- At around 7% (conservative estimate) return per annum, with an initial investment of $7,000, (assuming the child finishes year 12 at age 18) this would be a payout of around $23,659. It's not heaps, but it's enough to provide an incentive.

Some other things and options to consider:
- If they complete one/two (depending on what works best) years in the military after graduating they get the account money on top of the regular army salary. This would solve manpower shortages we have.
- It provides incentive to stay in school after year 10
- We could make it available to tertiary graduates as well, which would give the volunteer sector access to highly qualified recruits, and the money would continue to grow whilst they study.
- It would get rid of the ridiculous baby bonus scheme.
- Investment could occur through a small government-run department, it can be outsourced to private companies, or we can combine both by paying private company wages for fund managers, but keeping them in the public sector.
- At $7000 per child, this would have equated to about $1.85 billion in 2006. Considering the birth rate would fall if the baby was abolished, we're looking at about $1.5 billion per year, which about 0.5% of total government revenue.
- Not sure what to do about immigrant children. Maybe set up their fund once they become citizens and just leave them with less than Australian-born kids?

What do you think?

 

[moll.]

Awful idea. Here's a great way to deal with the baby bonus. Just get rid of the fucking thing.

FUCKING THING SUCKS>

That's the point dude. We are getting rid of it.

 

[Iron]

Would that 7% be from the government or market?

 

[moll.]

Would that 7% be from the government or market?

From the market of course. It's an estimate, naturally. Some years would be over, some years (such as this year) would be under.

EDIT: Actually in the long-term you may even be looking at more, going by investment returns in the past 17 years.

 

[aussie-boy]

Baby bonus is means tested - there's a lot of people who don't get it already

Why waste a year of everyone's lives? Studies have shown that the best way to contribute to society is to get a job and then give the money you earn to charity so that they can spend it on specialised services to assist their work

Also, why should the government give $23k just because you finished school? It already payed for a fair amount (or a lot) of your education. The money should go to better infrastructure.

I would support a government volunteer scheme however, where you could work 6 saturdays a year or something in return for a professional reference, as well as youth allowance for the duration of your further education (regardless of parents' income)

 

[moll.]

Don't like the idea of 'incentivised national service'.

Given that Barack Jihad Osama is going to institute a backdoor draft/national service in the US, that's not the path I think we should be going down.

Even then though fuckin Rudd will probably lap it up and force us all to do military service or euthanise the homeless or something.

I'm obviously not talking about that. The incentive remains just that: an incentive. You're not being forced to anything.

Yeah because I would love to waste my youth helping other people, you'd have to be a fucking retard to want to do that. Be charitable when you've done something with your life.

You might not, but you don't speak for everyone Schroe. I would do it.
After I'd finished uni though, not for a gap year.

 

[moll.]

better INFRASTRUCTURE

ROADS EVERYWHERE

Yeah, cos that really helped everyone and the environment when they did it in the 30s.

 

[Iron]

From the market of course. It's an estimate, naturally. Some years would be over, some years (such as this year) would be under.

EDIT: Actually in the long-term you may even be looking at more, going by investment returns in the past 17 years.

I think youd almost certainly be looking at less. The gvt should guarantee the return for it to have real meaning, which undermines the purpose.

This is an inferior scheme to the hecs one - not to mention the fact that it's not volunteer work if youre essentially being paid for it.
DONT YOU GET IT! ThE MASSIVE PROBLEMS OF SOCIETY WILL NOT BE FIXED BY THROWING MONEY AT THEM. IT IS MEANINGLESS, IT EVAPORATES LIKE NOTHING. SPENDING $=DIGGING HOLES TO FILL THEM AGAIN
akshdjoairefnhinAJNFWEOIHNFWNDjkf
We need to return to the old themes
Desire is the root of all evil

 

[moll.]

Baby bonus is means tested - there's a lot of people who don't get it already

All the more reason.
Last thing we fucking need is more poor people.
Despicable.

Why waste a year of everyone's lives? Studies have shown that the best way to contribute to society is to get a job and then give the money you earn to charity so that they can spend it on specialised services to assist their work

What, they can't do that as well?
How about you either nominate a charity to receive your fund money, do the work and get it in your hand, or if your ignore the fund and forget to do either the government will keep it.

Also, why should the government give $23k just because you finished school? It already payed for a fair amount (or a lot) of your education. The money should go to better infrastructure.

It's not. It's giving you $23k for a year's worth of work.

I would support a government volunteer scheme however, where you could work 6 saturdays a year or something in return for a professional reference, as well as youth allowance for the duration of your further education (regardless of parents' income)

Six saturdays a year? That's fucking pitiful.

 

[moll.]

I think youd almost certainly be looking at less. The gvt should guarantee the return for it to have real meaning, which undermines the purpose.

This is an inferior scheme to the hecs one - not to mention the fact that it's not volunteer work if youre essentially being paid for it.
DONT YOU GET IT! ThE MASSIVE PROBLEMS OF SOCIETY WILL NOT BE FIXED BY THROWING MONEY AT THEM. IT IS MEANINGLESS, IT EVAPORATES LIKE NOTHING. SPENDING $=DIGGING HOLES TO FILL THEM AGAIN
akshdjoairefnhinAJNFWEOIHNFWNDjkf
We need to return to the old themes
Desire is the root of all evil

Money solves all problems.

 

[Iron]

Ur so blind

But go ahead worshiping your golden calf, heathen, idrc
People need to be the focus of social programs
PEOPLE

 

[Grissom]

It's not. It's giving you $23k for a year's worth of work.

What a fucking retarded idea. I almost make that working 2 days a week.

 

[aussie-boy]

All the more reason.
Last thing we fucking need is more poor people.
Despicable.

Huh? Anyway my point was that its going to require more money to be spent, since the baby bonus doesn't go to everyone atm

What, they can't do that as well?

Yes, but they sacrifice the contributions that would have made from 1 year's professional salary... a year's volunteer work hardly compensates for this

Six saturdays a year? That's fucking pitiful.

The goal would be to encourage awareness of the community, something which has gone straight over the heads of a lot of young people in our generation.

Nah I'm taking the mick. Yammering for infrastructure is for people that don't understand how anything works.

How so? Investment in things like renewable power generation, fast internet, high speed rail and comprehensive urban public transport are the things that are going to improve this country the most... much better than throwing money away on what is essentially welfare

 

[jb_nc]

I was reading a Picture magazine article a little while back and the author came up what I thought was a fantastic scheme for encouraging people to send their topless photos in. Amazing, amazing.

 

[jb_nc]

people

versus

picture

choose a camp

then fight to the death

 

[Riet]

better INFRASTRUCTURE

ROADS EVERYWHERE

ROADS FOR DAYS.

I think they should just forcibly draft every arts student/sociallist alliance member.
Edit: Also the baby bonus shouldn't be means tested that just encourages poor people to have more kids, rather than encouraging middle-class families whose kids will actually contribute to society.

 

[badquinton304]

ROADS EVERYWHERE

Australia is huge geographically for its population, roads everywhere would cost too much to maintain, I think carefully building roads based on needs and population density would be the wiser choice for Australia.

 

[Enteebee]

What's so awsm about this idea? Hey I have another idea, let's get rid of the baby bonus fund then pay people $28k and not call it a volunteer service LOLOLOLOL

 

[Ben Netanyahu]

poll options are lacklustre in originality and humour comrade

 

[CharlieB]

A similar idea was pitched at the 20/20 summit:

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd plans to recruit young volunteers | National | News.com.au