Culture and Life

by Rob Gowland

Bundle of advertising ... or bundle of worries?

They're sharp, these capitalists, aren't they? And they're 
right up to the mark with uses for new technology, too.

One of our readers brought in a letter a few days ago that she 
had received from the American International Assurance Company 
(Australia) Limited.

She has a two-year-old toddler, and AIA's letter — and 
accompanying bumph — was presumably sent to her after 
computerised trolling through records of births correlated with 
electoral rolls.

The envelope was adorned with a colour photograph of a baby 
playing with a computer keyboard, watched over by a cute little 
teddy bear wearing a scholar's mortar-board.

The link between the infant and its future education was obvious. 
Why was American International Assurance gracing their envelope 
with this particular image, however?

Well, that was to some extent revealed in the slogan printed in 
red above the photo of the baby and its playthings: "Bundle of 
joy ... or bundle of worries?"

Actually, it was a bundle of advertising — for insurance that 
will allow parents to pay for their children's education.

"Like most parents", says the glossy leaflet enclosed, "you have 
probably given thought to the future education of your children 
and the funding that goes with it." Note how neatly they tie 
thinking about education for your children to the concept of you 
paying for that education.

The leaflet nails AIA's colours to the mast with the proclamation 
that "education is not free, and it is definitely not cheap". 
Certainly, the insurance companies don't want it to be free (or 
even cheap), for there would be no business opportunities for 
them if it were.

And now for the scare bit

To reinforce their message, and hopefully scare parents witless, 
AIA's leaflet asserts that "One year's worth of education in high 
school costs anything from $3,000 to $9,000 depending on choice 
of school. Tertiary education costs even more."

However, AIA is not advocating that people take to the streets 
and protest about this dreadful state of affairs. Or elect a 
government committed to providing free education. Oh, no.

The insurance industry has an entirely different "solution" in 
mind: the "Gold Scholar children's education savings plan", a 
form of term insurance.

By coughing up a monthly premium starting at a mere $42.57 — 
"dependent upon age of the child" — you can start a plan "with a 
guaranteed cash payment designed to pay fully/partially for the 
cost of education at secondary and or tertiary levels".

Fully/partially? So even with Gold Scholar insurance you may not 
be able to pay for your kid's education.

However, they are at pains to reassure parents that it won't be 
too big a burden. "The key", it seems, "is planning, regular 
disciplined savings and, most importantly, an early start."

And they mean early: you can start insuring your child's future 
education costs when the scholar is as young as four weeks of 
age!

Unashamedly, and outrageously, AIA urges parents to "channel 
birthday monies and/or Centrelink family payments to partially or 
fully fund these plans" with the comforting words that "it will 
save you the 'financial pain' in later years".

Just so long as the insurance company gets its premiums. 

The letter enclosed with the bundle of advertising highlights 
what David P Murray, Vice President — Agencies, calls recent 
"cost of education" news allegedly from "around Australia".

This "news" is divided into two sections, under the headings 
UNIVERSITIES:

        "Two more universities set to raise HECS fees"

        "Five figures for cheapest degrees"

and SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES:

        "Parents reject state schools" [that disposes of the less 
expensive but obviously undesirable public school option]

        "Fees on rise at top schools".

Interestingly, the glossy leaflet proclaims that "it is every 
parent's desire to give the best education to their child". Is 
it?

AIA may like to think that it is up to parents to provide 
education for their children, but I think that is actually the 
role of society as a whole.

I think it is every parent's desire that their children receive 
the best education that society can provide. And I think that is 
also every child's right.

Education free, secular and universal

Education should be free, secular and universal — available 
equally to all, regardless of parents' income.

Of course, there would be fewer opportunities for corporate 
profit-making under such a system and no need for the likes of 
AIA's Gold Scholar scheme.

But what a world it urges us to look forward to, where educating 
your children can put you in the poorhouse. It's a world that 
capitalism embraces and promotes.

ABC radio reported only a few days ago that fourteen million 
children in the once socialist now capitalist former Soviet Union 
cannot afford to go to school.

What a comedown for a country that once boasted the best 
educational opportunities for children anywhere in the world, a 
country that provided free education to everyone, from 
kindergarten to university or vocational training.

Fourteen million children who cannot afford to go to school 
should make the leaders of the various countries that were the 
Soviet Union very worried: in 1917 that sort of thing led to 
revolution.

This is a world inevitably created by capitalism as the State 
steadily cuts its responsibilities and funding and money-grubbers 
move in with their "Gold" schemes to rip off parents and make 
them that much poorer while shareholders whiz off to the Gold 
Coast to enjoy their ill-gotten "rewards".