How would you like $1,000 right now, no tax, no strings attached from your government? Well that’s what is happening in Australia. I just hung up the phone from talking to my mother and apparently Australians are very happy right now. Why? Because the government is staying true to its word regarding its $AU10.4 billion economic bailout plans to strengthen the Australian economy again. I have talked about this earlier in this blog, as Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced his “Economic Security Strategy” aimed at relieving personal debt to lift Australians out of the global economic crisis. Lump sum payments will be given to veterans, families, the disabled, seniors and pensioners. Here’s what citizens will get:

Pensioners, people with disability, seniors, carers and veterans will receive $AU1,400 for singles and $AU2,100 for couples

Families will receive $AU1,000 per child under 18 that is monetarily depended (that includes university students!). Think about it. If you have four children, that’s $AU4,000 upfront, no tax.

Sounds great right? So why can’t this sort of action happen in the United States. Instead of giving money to the corporations and expecting wealth to trickle down, the Australian Government has given money directly to the people who need it most to free our country from debt. Better still, a specific date of December 8, 2008 has been announced for payments to Australians. It’s a no strings attached action by the Rudd Government to help Australians now.

Now, I am no economics expert to say the least, but it seems logical to me. Yes, the population differences in Australia compared to the U.S. is enormous, but just look at the Australian bailout plan figures ($A10.4billion) compared to the U.S. figures ($US700billion). Between the two candidates in the running for presidency, Barack Obama has the right idea for strengthening the U.S. economy. Last week he announced his economic plans if elected president, with a focus on lowering taxes for the elderly and middle class. But people need to pay off their debts and they need to do it now. An immediate, lump sum payment straight into people’s pockets allows them to walk down to the bank and pay off their credit card right then and there.