I think that the first home buyer grant is a silly idea.
All it does is it gets added onto the price of the house.
Similar to the requirement to lend to couples on both incomes.
All that did was to double the amount of money in the housing market.

What happens in any market when the money in that market is doubled ?

However the debit card is a good idea and would require very few public
servants to administer the system.
The card account would be credited every month, or week, at virtually
zero cost.
Every card transaction is based on the bar code number and it would
be an easy programming change to prevent cigarettes etc to be charged
to the card and be a cash transaction or an ordinary credit card.

However, it could only be part of the pension, dole or whatever.
There are many other expenses newspapers, train & bus fares, farmers
markets etc etc that require cash.

Never the less a good idea, a bit similar to the US food stamps.

Suseonline,
Pensioners are not welfare recipients, they've worked for 45 or more years to get their pension.

tired, ever wondered why they want cash?

To avoid paying their fair share of taxes and, if everyone paid their fair share in the first place, we would have plenty to go around.

Don't you think.

Same goes for welfare, if the percentage that is wasted, wasn't wasted, then perhaps we could relieve the tax payer of some burden.

Unfortunately, having to catch the big fish, often means catching small ones as well.

...Pensioners are not welfare recipients, they've worked for 45 or more years to get their pension.
Yes Indi, I agree. Well in most cases anyway.

clubbers/wrote..,,<<..having to catch the big fish,
often means catching small ones as well...>>

yeah..how big..up to the size that dont..NEED,,the card?
by..the big fish..you mean..how big exactly..fry?..arnt even fish

but that depends on how much super top up..govt gave you tax free
the real*big fish..HAVE..ALREADY..banked their maximum 'top-up'..safe and sound

but your..slave/rate casual workers
well you..lot..are clubbers big fish..

sure your..free/govt..top-up was minimal..[but he hates you that much..[he has his full super..plus top-up..he/has his money safely invested..he loves..making rules for you..so you wont see he got 20 times more..than..you...LONG AGO..[how much govt debt..wennt to you?

but..it gives him something to do'..while
his serfs..rake in minimum wage..watch the poor,,not hiim

how much super top-up you BANKED*..oldman?

we should tax bank withdrawals..and share's in-come..not wages
wages arnt income..time we began making rules to tax you..limit you

like..you..love making FOR..others do
[its sic*]

I have a much better idea to save taxpayers money.

Government to return to the fundamentals for which it was set up. Stick to the knitting!

'Progressivism' is bigger government and increased state control, the Nanny State. In the US, parents are getting notes back from teachers from their checks of lunch box contents, rated against a bureaucratic scale of nutrition.

Lets go back to small government and we can get on with our lives and have more money in our pockets. It will also allow teachers, police and other necessary services to concentrate on what they are there for too. As a bonus, there will be more money available for disability pensioners and age pensioners, rather than the $$ being lost on the way to hordes of nags, minders, interferers, 'consultants' and the like.

If you start forcing people to use debit cards it will not take the greedy banks long to take a bigger cut when you use it.