John Ralston Saul waxes lyrical about Govt.It is the most inefficient way of doing anything.It is everybody else's money but their own and they're into wasting it big time.Just look at the mess NSW is in at the moment even with record taxes and a booming economy.

One in six adults of working age are supported by the tax payer on social security benefits.When the baby boomers retire so will economic growth,unless we can find some hard working ,rich immigrants.

The last thirty years have been an erra of wasted opportunity.There should have been bucket loads of money for people to retire on.We lost the discipline.

Taxation by itself is only half the story. If the government spends the money wisely and efficiently, then 40% taxation is no problem. If they waste it, then 20% is too high.

If each taxpayer examined how his $20,000+ per year of taxes was being spent as carefully as he investigated his stock market investments or his new car, government would have to spend the money more carefully. In general, very few care, so governments can get away with inefficiencies. An active electorate is the best defence against wasted government money.

If Bob Carr is wasting money, Arjay, lets get stuck into him. If John Brogden says Bob Carr is doing a poor job with the trains and the hospitals, we need to ask him how he would do it better and how much it will cost. Too many times opposition ministers get a free pass when a government blunder is revealed, because they have no ideas about how to do it better anyway.

I have a personal view of this. If I move overseas, I can reduce my personal taxation by up to half. I have done so in the past. Tax doubled on returning home from a pacific rim nation. When I retire, I plan to live off savings made in those years. If I move overseas, I will be able to increase my disposable income in retirement.

Selfish, maybe. But if a large number of self funded retirees were to do the same, it may cause problems for the nation when trying to fund retirement for those dependant on welfare. We are fortunate most self funded retirees haven't twigged yet.