Recently an advertisement has been hitting the Melbourne airways that has been giving me severe anger wrinkles. I won’t name the company but they claim to give people ‘a fair go’ and allow them to rent things like computers, plasma televisions and treadmills. You know, life’s essentials. That sentence was meant to be peppered with sarcasm in case you couldn’t tell. The ad depicts a few typical Australians who want to be given this proverbial ‘fair go’. Presumably they can’t get a loan to purchase these ‘necessities’ and this company is claiming to be able to give them what they want for something stupid like a dollar a day.
No one needs a plasma television. No one needs a treadmill and to be perfectly honest no one really needs a computer. If by chance any of these items are required by a person perhaps that person should save up their money and buy it. Yes. I’m talking piggy bank style. I cannot stand the thought of people who are already in financial difficulty being seduced into thinking they need all these ridiculous items and being ripped off by these ‘buy now and pay later’ scams. I do understand that everyone’s financial situation is different and I freely admit that I am very blessed in being an educated middle class Australian woman but if I hear one more minimum wage working idiot who buys his lunch at MacDonald’s, smokes a packet of cigarettes everyday and pumps $200 through the pokies every Friday having a bitch because he can’t afford to get the new play station console I’m going to tell him where to stick it. Along with the girl who works in retail and gets a full beauty treatment every Saturday to the tune of $300 and then takes out a loan to buy a Chloe handbag. She can stick it too.
There are millions of people in this world with the most disgusting sense of entitlement it makes you wonder where they learnt it. Daddy Smaggle has always said to me that if I want something I have to work for it. I kind of assumed that that was a general Australian attitude but clearly there are quite a few people who missed that memo. There’s a lass I know of who is studying (her third degree. When I queried her on her intentions to pay her HECS debt she replied – ‘Oh please! I’ll never earn enough to pay that back.’) and chooses to only work enough to pay her rent and buy bare essentials. She recently took out a loan to go on an overseas trip. Yeah. That was some essential spending there sweetheart. Now up to her eyeballs in debt she was lamenting that she wishes she was a relief teacher (as I am) because I earn so much more than her. ‘Tis true. May I say though that I went straight from year twelve to university, completed my degree in the prescribed four years, never failed, never deferred and graduated on time. Now I am reaping the benefits of my own hard work (and Mamma Smaggle’s constant encouragement) by having an excellent part time job to support myself while I study something I love. Where was she when I was doing this? In Morroco. Smoking weed.
The point of this rant? The world owes you nothing. Aside from the ACTUAL essentials of food, clothing, shelter and water there is nothing that you should be given without having to work for it. As for the plasma television – If I wanted one I could buy one today, no loan required, but I’m not going to do that because I have a shitty little TV/DVD set with appalling reception that does the job just fine. And the money that I saved on this non-essential item can wait for something else. Perhaps I can use it to pay my rent if I get sick and can’t work or maybe buy food if I get fired and I don’t have an income. If, god forbid, either of these things happen I’m lucky. Because I don’t have to pay off a loan for a useless plasma TV that certainly won’t keep me warm if my electricity gets cut off.
Can I share my favourite Daddy Smaggle quote? He is a self made man who owns a spectacularly reputable plumbing business that he built himself through hard work, determination and the undying support of Mamma Smaggle who is his business partner. They are two weeks away from moving into a beautiful home that they built themselves. In passing, a gentleman remarked how lucky Daddy Smaggle is. His reply? ‘Yes. I am lucky. And the harder I work, the luckier I get’.
Share your rant?
Love Lady Smaggle
xxx
For Daddy Smaggle. Happy Father’s Day! I’m so proud of you.
P.S. This rant is aimed at able bodied people who have the physical and mental ability to support themselves financially. I teach special needs kids and do not take lightly the fact that there are circumstances under which people do require assistance.