by Robert Carling
Long-term prospects for Australia’s public finances are not receiving the attention they deserve. It is one thing for Commonwealth and state governments to balance their budgets in the short term, as they are attempting to do, but spending commitments are being made as though nothing beyond the four-year horizon of the forward estimates matters. Under current policies, Australia is heading in the long term for a substantially larger share of government spending in the economy, which will bring pressures for higher taxation or borrowing or both. Spending by governments at all levels as a proportion of gross domestic product (GDP) (currently around 36%) could rise to well above 40% over the decades ahead, if not sooner…….
spending commitments beyond 4 yr horizon have actually started to matter since the last change of government. Sadly though the people are impatient and not willing to wear the hard times to get there. Its because of this impatience, a govt that actually is prepared to take the hard road must be tough enough to take the knocks along the way as well as find the balance to keep a fickle population satisfied enough to give them a real chance to get where they know we should be going.
“substantially larger share of government spending in the economy, which will bring pressures for higher contribution (taxation) or borrowing or both.” More good government services require more contribution so what is the problem – let the beneficiaries stop bludging on the community by avoiding contribution.
The sooner this gutless excuse for a govt is forced to work within budgets approved by Parliament by making it’s Party pay for any cost overuns, the sooner we as the people will start to be a lot better off. They will no longer be able to hide their stinking vote buying by coercing the non workers of this country to simply live at the expense of the working tax payers. This Great Country was built by the past workers and their taxes, and is being maintained by the current working class and their taxes, not by the Dole bludgers and the even worse pig snout in the public trough govt that does nothing about them so long as they vote them in. I see no reason why those on the dole should have the privilege of a vote if they are unemployed anyway, that might get some employed around election time at least! Forward spending or liability beyond the next election should be banned as the scum govt’s push their vote buying expenditure simply on to the next Govt, essential services excepted and still limited by budgetary control, so that we know , as the people, who is really responsible for wasting our children’s heritage, which at the moment is simply nothing but massive debt, left to them to pay by the current crop of paper shuffling, totally non productive, Govt bought votes whose so called taxes paid, are in fact already paid for by the true taxes produced by productive working citizens. Reduce the size of Govt, thereby reducing the need for more taxes. Am getting sick of the Pay peanuts you get monkeys theme paraded by some, time we used the Pay a reasonable average wage max with no fancy expenses and you will get People who want to serve their Country instead of those who are very obviously serving themselves
The problem Tim Kottek, is that we don’t want more good government services, and we don’t want to contribute more to something we don’t want. Even if the services were good, which they are not. Get it?
Gee – NO Defence Force, NO Security Services, NO Universities – will the last intelligent Australian switch off the lights as they leave!
Western version of democracy under strain as right wing thinkers wish to leap frog the voting process. The next step is getting the police and the army onside to crush any opposition. As is being seen in other parts of the world we are approaching the Fascist/dictatorship regime era again to solve our problems. Ken Follets latest book is a good read of the 1930’s and the rise of Adolf Hitler, the Communists and how wars start.
Have you read Hayek’s Road to Serfdom? I would class Hayek as a greater authority than Follet.