Baby Boom and Bust

Hard-up this economic down-turn? It seems like the only way you’re going to make some easy cash from the current government (unless your name is Fred Goodwin) is to get up the duff!

Ministers gave us a warm and fuzzy feeling last year with their “Baby Bond” scheme (£250 - £500 for every newborn). Riding high on the treasury coffers meant that there may not have been a large amount of foresight at the implication of all these new savers entering the fray at quite possibly the single worst moment in history in which to start saving. And of course, who better to trust with investments than HM Revenue and Customs?

This was all during headier times, so I’m not going to get on the proverbial high horse about that one. What is bizarre in this trait of rewarding parenthood is a new scheme, slipped under the radar this morning – expectant Mothers are to be rewarded with £190 for asking their health-advisor about diet. In fact, this is the main pre-requisite from Direct.gov:

“[You] have been given health advice from a midwife or doctor to help you and your unborn baby stay healthy during pregnancy.”

Without this grant, the information must not have been getting through! Have doctors and midwives skirted over the issue of health or offering bad advice? Shame on them. Thank goodness this grant is here to stop this injustice!

I’m off to make a load of mini-Jerks. If I can squeeze out a couple this year, that £1,000 will come in handy at these times of financial hardship.


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