Not Much Fun In A Prepaid World
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday October 25, 2008
SPONTANEITY is being legislated out of us. Try the simple task of catching a bus. Don't even think of it if it's one of the ever-increasing number of prepaid services and you haven't walked the two kilometres in the opposite direction to the newsagent to buy a ticket.
Come next year don't suddenly decide to drive across the Harbour Bridge because it will cost you $7 if you don't have an etag. You can prepay your mobile phone, too, but heaven forbid if you have to call home in an emergency when your credit runs out and the top-up service is down for maintenance. Even a prenuptial agreement is a way of prepaying the inevitable divorce settlement. Increasingly, if you want do anything these days you have to prepay for it. Spontaneity be damned. Some music festivals make you prepay for drinks. So rock'n'roll.Those behind this prepaying lunacy will argue it speeds up service delivery but they fail to mention it's also a great way of screwing an extra buck out of you. Try to redeem your credit on your mobile phone, your TravelTen or those drinks tokens? No way. It's free moolah for them. At least if you prepay your funeral you can be sure you'll never need a refund.I, for one, can live far more comfortably in the knowledge that I will be buried in my club colours - although the design is proving problematic. The black and white of the sadly deceased Seaforth junior Aussie rules club might work with the red, white blue of the East Sydney Bulldogs. Thankfully, both Randwick-Botany and Sydney University athletic clubs chose blue and gold but try adding in Grafton's green, black, white and mauve (the jacarandas are so beautiful this time of year). Throw in the rowing clubs and it's getting messy, but I digress.Imagine how easy it would be to budget if you could prepay your life in advance.Imagine how much cheaper that haircut would have been if you weren't talked into getting five different coloured streaks - which, strangely, all look caramel - through your locks.Imagine how more svelte your waistline would be if you could not have that extra dessert because you had only paid for one.Imagine the lack of argument over the restaurant bill because you've already prepaid your share. Imagine how less tragic that night would have been if you prepaid your drinks.Nathan Rees wouldn't have to threaten pubs with early closing because his Government has failed to properly police the responsible service of alcohol laws. There would be no arguments when the barman says you've had a skinful; he could just say you've had your voucher's full. Instead of lock-ins you could just sell grog stamps at the cop shop. The police wouldn't have to patrol the streets looking for trouble; the trouble could come straight to them Go on, Nathan, you've done it for the bridge and the buses. Do it for the booze. You know it makes sense.
© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald
