Me fail English? That’s unpossible.
But, but… there’s no Australia without the donors.
The Coalition’s “debt and deficit disaster”
April 7, 2018 Written by: Kaye Lee
When Joe Hockey delivered his first fiscal statement in December 2013, it painted a much bleaker picture than the PEFO produced by Treasury and Finance in August based on Labor’s policies.
This was in part due to the Coalition’s decisions, foregoing $7.4 billion in revenue from the carbon tax and unnecessarily gifting $8.8 billion to the RBA for example, and partly due to Hockey changing forecasts, assuming a sustained unemployment rate of 6.25 per cent over the forward estimates for example.
“We have inherited from the Labor Party budget deficits totalling $123 billion over the next four years, and unless we take immediate action, we’ll be in deficit for more than a decade,” Mr Hockey said.
Whatever action they have taken doesn’t seem to have worked because the deficits over the four years since the Coalition took government have added to $159.2 billion with another $20 billion to the end of February this year.
Hockey’s 2013 MYEFO also warned of ballooning debt suggesting that Labor’s profligate spending would see gross debt hit $460 billion by the end of 2016-17.
Under the Coalition’s supposed superior economic management, gross debt was actually $501 billion by the end of 2016-17.
Hockey, Cormann and Abbott went into overdrive about the “debt and deficit disaster”, saying that taxpayers were on track for a $667 billion debt bomb if Labor’s policies and spending was left unchecked over the next decade.
The latest fiscal statement delivered by Scott Morrison in December last year has that figure now projected to blow out to $684 billion.
Despite Hockey’s prediction about unemployment proving wrong, with the unemployment rate dropping from 5.8% in August 2013 to 5.5% in February 2018, there are almost 20,000 more people unemployed now. Those that are employed are working less hours on average suggesting there is a significant underemployment problem.
Labor governed during a time of global financial collapse and their stewardship got us through relatively unscathed.
The Coalition has governed during a time of global recovery yet we find ourselves in a worse position than when they took over.
Many will argue that deficit spending is a good thing and that it is private debt, not public debt, that is the problem. That is a valid argument and a separate discussion. This is about comparing the Coalition’s performance to their promises.
If the Coalition want to go to the election claiming to be better economic managers, a simple look at the figures combined with some footage and quotes should be enough to put paid to that idea. And that’s before we even look at rising power prices coupled with rising emissions.
But then again, we have the Murdoch media who have that mantra so ingrained in their heads that we are unlikely to see any real analysis from them or from those who blindly believe them.
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I like
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That is rad
Pretty sure everything bad is because SA wind farms, batteries, not being able to give
more polluting resources away to
foreign businesses and Labor/Greens. Yep, that’s what it is.
It could be worse for him today. He could barrack for Essendon.
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There is some scuttlebutt about Dutton’s performance as a Queensland cop. According to a now- closed petion on the Change site, Kernot wanted to run with it when contesting Petrie against him, but Beazley overruled her.
Some may get the reference.
Great talk at the national press club from Author Richard Flanagan.
I just watched it.
Brilliant speech.
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It’s rare that someone speaks so long and I find myself completely agreeing with everything.
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Text of Flanagan’s talk is up on the Guardian website
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I am not much of a fan of Flanagans books, and I am no fan at all of speeches that strive to tell everything that is wrong about Australia.
Yep Flanagan wants you to all agree with his negativity, which in some way is set to shame into action.
Well, in my view, Australia is a great Nation. Not perfect, and we have some skeletons in the closet, but we are not the pack of ugly people that Flanagan suggests. Our democracy is also not perfect, but there are none better, and we do need to fix a few things, but to give a nationally televised speech about how crap we are is nothing worth applauding.
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Uh huh … but facts matter.
Agree - sick of these parasites who have leached off taxpayer monies all their lives and who have never been accountable for anything. At the end of the day they are everything they are critical of. Nothing but elitist snobs who hate anyone who has a different point of view to them.
It must be a miserable experience sitting around the Flanagan family dinner table at Christmas. There would be more moaning going on than from a ■■■■ film set.
Partisans unite in disgust at peasant artist who wouldn’t know a hard days work if it bit him, how dare he speak a few truths? Uppity ■■■■■■ intellectuals, non contributor artists. If they don’t like it leave.
Right? Status quo is just fine, roses you might think.
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Nowhere near as miserable as it would be to wake up and be you every day.
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