As I said in the post on infrastructure and debt, Peter Martin heaved a sigh of relief that the Coalition Government finally understood that the services, infrastructure and welfare that we depend on to function have to be paid for, by raising revenue if necessary. Laura Tingle goes further. She says the Coalition has reset the debate on the role of government by moving to:
a more central position which embraces, and even advocates, a bigger role for government, both in terms of its fiscal position and its interventions in the economy, whether that be by building, owning and running airports or regulating product and labour markets.
If a new conservative party was formed and included people like Tony Abbott, how likely would you be to vote for them?
Overall the answer is ‘not very likely’ with ‘Total unlikely’ at 58% and ‘Total likely’ at 23%. However the Lib/Nat preference is evenly split at 41% each way. Continue reading Saturday salon 17/12→
Essentially S&P want to see the budget under control. Explicitly:
There is a one-in-three chance that we could lower the rating within the next two years if we believe that parliament is unlikely to legislate savings or revenue measures sufficient for the general government sector budget deficit to narrow materially and to be in a balanced position by the early 2020s.
If you haven’t heard about it you will. And if you think it won’t happen in Australia, you’re wrong.
Thieves can use RFID technology to empty your card. Seems they can steal your details with a cheap credit card reader, which they hold near you wallet or purse. It could be on public transport, or standing next to you in a supermarket. Continue reading Saturday salon 21/5→
Ross Gittins tells us what not to believe. He reckons they don’t use the appropriate accounting methods to add up the figures. He also says not to obsess so much about deficits. It is the government’s responsibility to borrow to spend on infrastructure and other good things. Continue reading Budget open thread→
