'Cash payments for the poor a waste of money'

'Cash payments for the poor a waste of money'

To help offset the Oct. 1 fuel price increases, the government is
providing Rp 100,000 a month in cash to poor families who qualify
for the assistance. The Jakarta Post asked residents for their
thoughts on the government program.

Irwan Setiabudi, is in his 40s and lives in Bintaro,
Tangerang. He works for a sports tabloid in Palmerah, Central
Jakarta:

Personally, I am not in touch directly with the issue. I only
know about the issue from the media. But as far as I can see, the
scheme has failed to reach the targeted people. Many poor
families who are entitled to the money are not receiving it.

I think the scheme is a waste of money. The recipients will
learn nothing from it. They will just go out and immediately
spend the cash. This program is all about buying the silence of
those people affected by the fuel price increases.

It would be better to use the money for other purposes, like
education. The government could help pay the school fees of poor
children.

Widyawati Djuana, 30, is a marketing employee at a financial
company on Jl. Sudirman. She lives with her husband and baby
daughter in Karet, Central Jakarta.

I do not think the money will be received by all the people
who need it because it would be impossible to identify everyone
who is really poor. People have different standards of living,
right?

Besides, cash payments are prone to abuses by unscrupulous
officials who may want to use the money for other purposes.

I would prefer the government to use the money for other
programs, like purchasing rice directly from farmers at
relatively higher prices, and then selling the rice on the market
at lower prices. I think such programs would be more helpful than
cash payments.

-- The Jakarta Post