A bright idea floated by someone in the Federal government sent a chill down the spines of all pensioners and welfare receipients.
It was suggested that Centrelink may help people " to manage their money ".
The idea is to issue those who get money from Centrelink with a debit card - similar to the EFTPOS card we are all familiar with.
This would enable those with the welfare of the masses in their hearts to steer the peasants to a better - and healthier - way of life.
This would be achieved by managing the bar codes on each and every product sold and through the national computer system by simply making those items deemed injurious to our health invalid when swiped through the checkout scanners.
No more doughnuts with a high fat content. Big Brother will choose your breakfast food - and of course you will only be permitted to buy the right kind of milk. Of course there will be no possibility of using your money to buy - shock - horror - cigarettes or alcohol.
It will never happen, but the thought is buzzing around in some bureaucratic minds and somewhere down the track it is likely to re-emerge in a modified form.
There are several reasons why it will be a miserable failure. Firstly, it underestimates two human factors - greed and ingenuity. The other that stands out is - supply and demand. If there is demand - someone will move mountains to profit by enabling supply.
Theoretically severe punishment for breaches and a strong policing code should deter breaches, but then we have just that already in place to prevent juveniles accessing tobacco products - and when did you last hear of kid's being deprived of their smokes ?
Undoubtedly there are people who do not make wise decisions when spending their money, but the power of computers and the manner in which they control every aspect of our lives is a potent control source.
Let us hope this latest bright idea fades to obscurity. Otherwise the day may dawn when a pensioner is refused a Big Mac at McDonalds - because it has failed to get the nod from the chief health bureaucrat !
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