Home topics news News News Has the stimulus payment worked? Adrian Raftery June 29, 2009 Debate will no doubt rage for years to come whether the “Kev 07” stimulus package worked for Australia. I must admit that I queried the benefit of it when it was announced on 3 February. I struggle to find the benefit of giving someone $900 if they are at risk of losing their $50,000 job. The same arguments about the baby bonus and plasma TVs are also being raised about the stimulus payment. Foreigners and the dead got the cash . Yet those that needed the government handout the most seemed to have been the ones that didn’t earn enough as they weren’t technically a “taxpayer”. There have been complaints, quite justifiable, for some accounting firms charging $60 handling fees for the stimulus payments. National credit card debt continues to rise with it now around $45 billion. And we had announced in the Federal Budget in May that we have a record budget deficit. Yes Australia avoided a technical recession when the March GDP figures were released but really what impact did the stimulus payment make to the bottom line? And is it inevitable that we will fall into recession anyway in 6 months time? National unemployment continues to rise with 1 million expected to be without a job in the next few years. Business confidence has risen in recent months and I can personally tell you that virtually every one of my clients were