Full-time mums are not bludgers

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I'm getting into dangerous territory here ...

According to the Australian Treasury Department's Ken Henry, (The Daily Telegraph 10/09/09, The Australian 16/09/09) once my kids go back to school, I will be sitting around doing nothing so I'd better get cracking and get back to work. In his plan any
family tax benefits I'm receiving will be taken away so I will be forced to go back to work.

I should go back to work because it will be for my own good. Apparently the government now needs to tell Jenny with a brain all of her own, that she hasn't actually been experiencing any 'well-being' for the past 10 years.

How do we convince our society that:
(a) being home at with kids full-time is REALLY hard work and
(b) just because you can't measure this REALLY hard work in taxable income it is still immeasurably valuable to our society

Supposedly we're all a bit over 'feminism' and the battle has been won, but when there is even a whiff of women's choice being compromised in this way I do wonder what we've gained exactly.

It's all about the money and it drives me crazy. I have to work so hard to tell myself each day that what I do is truly, eternally valuable without being told that I only count in our society if I'm paying tax.

Comments

Pip said…
Very interesting when they do the sums!
My simplistic theory on all this politics is that Rudd's wife is a career woman and Howard's wasn't...hence the different attitude to the whole stay at home mum deal.
October 7, 2009 at 12:00 AM
Ruth said…
Thanks for this post. I read it last week, and have been thinking about it since. I'm very thankful that I can stay at home to look after my kids full time. I hope that the government doesn't stop my ftb - because I don't think our family would cope if I had to go back to work, on top of looking after everyone.

Ah, now some sit around the house time - wouldn't that be lovely....can't remember when the last time I had that was....possibly before kids?! ;-)
October 25, 2009 at 7:44 PM
Jenny said…
I also think that the government needs to recognise what we save them by looking after our kids ourselves. They don't need to subsidise child care costs for us. We can volunteer at school and be involved in our local communities. We can have energy to invest in our marriages - thus avoiding the massive knock-on effects of divorce. I could go on ...!
October 25, 2009 at 8:10 PM
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