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Randon thought
Jul. 3rd, 2009 10:49 amThe plasma TV has come to represent not luxury, but waste. The ongoing decrying of Rudd's stimulus packages, along with the baby bonus and other government payments, has been that it would be wasted on plasma TVs up and down the country rather than essentials.
Another plank of the conservative economic message has be to support small businesses, though bastions of hard-work and achievement. It's a pity by attacking plasma TVs, these same commentators are also unwittingly attacking small business.
Australia is a consumer economy, and as such a large percentage of the working population is employed in selling goods to consumers. The counter argument to people buying plamsa TVs, is that while the product originates in Asia, the purchase employs Australian sales staff. In fact, a lot of what is available for purchase is inessential in a purely survivalist sense, or in other words, a large percentage of Australia's economy is based on the purchase of "inessential" items.
Small business sells a lot of "inessential" items; from household nick-nacks to scrap-booking to fairy costume hire, small business survives by finding niches, and many niches are hardly inessential. Even more main stream stores like books shops or clothing stores can be though of as inessential when considering the availability of libraries and clothing above a certain practicality (ie fashion) can be argued as inessential according to the plasma TV model.
Of course conservative proponents of small businesses, while praising hard work would also agree with those shops no longer competing to wither on the vine - it is free market thinking after all - but overall an attack on a plasma TV is an attack on their own constituents. If government handouts were not allowed to go on what is not inessential, a lot of small businesses would simply miss out.
Another plank of the conservative economic message has be to support small businesses, though bastions of hard-work and achievement. It's a pity by attacking plasma TVs, these same commentators are also unwittingly attacking small business.
Australia is a consumer economy, and as such a large percentage of the working population is employed in selling goods to consumers. The counter argument to people buying plamsa TVs, is that while the product originates in Asia, the purchase employs Australian sales staff. In fact, a lot of what is available for purchase is inessential in a purely survivalist sense, or in other words, a large percentage of Australia's economy is based on the purchase of "inessential" items.
Small business sells a lot of "inessential" items; from household nick-nacks to scrap-booking to fairy costume hire, small business survives by finding niches, and many niches are hardly inessential. Even more main stream stores like books shops or clothing stores can be though of as inessential when considering the availability of libraries and clothing above a certain practicality (ie fashion) can be argued as inessential according to the plasma TV model.
Of course conservative proponents of small businesses, while praising hard work would also agree with those shops no longer competing to wither on the vine - it is free market thinking after all - but overall an attack on a plasma TV is an attack on their own constituents. If government handouts were not allowed to go on what is not inessential, a lot of small businesses would simply miss out.