Spending your money

The government apparently has designs on families’ disposable income:

Parents could be required to provide their children with high-speed internet access under plans being drawn up by ministers in partnership with some of the country’s leading IT firms.

According to the Minister for Schools:

“We need to get to a point where in the same way when they start school the expectation is you’ve [the parent] got to find a school uniform, provide them with something to write with and probably these days a calculator, and in secondary school some sports gear – well, you add to that some IT.”

Sounds as if they need to sit up and pay more attention at the back:

3 out of 4 parents and guardians find meeting their child’s school costs ‘very’ or ‘quite’ difficult, according to a new survey from national charity Citizens Advice.

Despite the rhetoric, it seems to be hard for government and policy-makers to grasp that poverty means feeling lucky if you have a spare tenner left over at the end of each month.

Of course it’s important for children to have Internet access, so here’s a better idea: The government could curb its enthusiasm for throwing money at castles in the air and use it to provide children with IT equipment.