Australian Population and Government spending

After reading a news report that the Australian Government is going to spend $64 Million on a crack down on crime I crunched some numbers.

As of the 3rd March 2013 the Australian population is 22,936,614.

Now, if the Government invested that $64Million, giving 2.79 Million into an account for each and every Australian, they could wipe out poverty and the need for welfare in a single stroke.

 By investing $2.79 million (which is the $64 divided by the population) in to accounts that earns interest, each Australian could be given a dividend over the year that would amount to $139,500 based on a 5% interest rate for the investment.

 Given that the minimum wage in Australia is around $31,512 per year, the $139,500 would not be sniffed at by many.

 The Government can take tax from that and every one would still come out with a nice little earner.

  In fact, the Government would earn more money from taxes than they do now. They could stop welfare and save even more by not giving handouts. 

 To ensure that Australia doesn't collapse in on itself due to all of this money, people will still have to work to prevent to economy from going stagnant, and there would have to be incentives to ensure people start businesses and hire staff.

Because human nature is what it is, there would also have to be some controls on how and what people spend their money on, otherwise they might waste it all on drugs and alcohol.

Makes you think though...