The Jamaica Star :: Commentary :: We want bonus in July!

Jackass sey de worl' no level. Jackass sey bonus shoulda pay eena Hagus'.

So it is the dreaded back-to-school time, with parents and guardians scrambling like crazy to get the supplies which they hope will ensure that the next generation will live better than they do. Or, at least, that they will not fall below the standard at which the present generation is buying the supplies.

It is not as big a rush as Christmas, nor is it as big a rush as last-minute hurricane shopping, but it is very intense at places like bookstores and uniform-material supply companies. The people in the long lines look anxious and everywhere you hear people groaning about back-to-school expenses.

School supplies

So, Jackass was thinking, why don't companies pay their employees the beloved bonus in July, so that they can spend the money on school supplies for their children, instead of December when they spend it on all sorts of foolishness that they don't even enjoy using after February, when the novelty has worn off?

Jackass knows that many companies offer their employees back-to-school loans and that seems to be good (especially when they are at a low interest rate). But on a second glance, it is just as horrible, because why give a loan for education and an outright bonus at a time when people are likely to spend and spend and spend?

No man, the world is not level at all. Not only is the bonus in the wrong place, but when you really need the money, you have to pay for it (that is what interest is, paying for money; don't forget).

And don't tell Jackass that the companies cannot afford to pay the bonus in July. Does anybody really, really think that they pay it in December because that is when they get money? Duh! The bonus is announced long before the Christmas money is collected by the company. And if they can afford to offer a loan in July/August, for sure they can switch it around. Offer a bonus in the back-to-school period and a loan at Christmas.

Ha! How many people would take it up? Not that many, Jackass believes, certainly not as many as those who take the bonus and spend it off in a jiffy.

Circulation

But there is a reason why things are the way they are. Y'see, the people who run the companies are all connected. They know that when the Government announces that such and such amount of money is in circulation, it means more profits for them. It may not be in their coffers instantly, but their friends will make more money which they will then spend on them at some point.

No, man, this bonus thing in December is a trap, although, that said, nobody forces the people who are getting the extra money to spend. Nah. It may be hard to resist, with all the advertisements and the excitement and the supposedly great deals, but in the end, it is they who decide to get up and toss their windfall cash back to the wind.

Jackass sey de worl' no level. Jackass sey de employa dem whe gi Christmas bonus skeemin', but de people dem fe know demself, too.

This bonus thing in December is a trap although, that said, nobody forces the people who are getting the extra money to spend.