The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
The Forum - On Line Opinion's article discussion area



Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

Main Articles General

Sign In      Register

The Forum > Article Comments > Sharing the boom > Comments

Sharing the boom : Comments

By Andrew Leigh, published 2/7/2008

Should the Rudd Government take a leaf from the Tony Blair playbook and consider a windfall profits tax on Australian mining companies?

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. Page 2
  4. All
If you are really concerned about under-funding, then advocate a re-odering of priorities, rather than another cynical cash grab. If the former isnt addressed, then the more cash that gets grabbed, the more exaggerated becomes the mis-prioritisation of monies.

There's plenty of money swilling about the public trough.

Areas where money should stop going...
1. middle-class welfare
2. business welfare (no depreciation, R&D breaks, subsidies or bailouts... likes of Toyota and Bear Sterns can sink or swim on the seas of free-enterprise
3. employee largesse... from pinching stationary for the kids, to extended leave 'entitlements' for personal lifestyle priorities, thru to the highest paid employees (executive management) who pilfer exhorbitant salaries/bonuses for sub-standard performance.
4. arts, entertainment, pretty public squares for more latte sippers, monuments that local council builds as testament to themselves, no more soft cash to crappy indy bands to pump out 10minute demos on their PCs or go 'on tour' through regional areas, at $5-$20k a pop. These individuals, who justify suckling at the public nipple because they 'enhance public good' by contributing scrunched-up-ball-of-paper-on-pedestal or cow-cut-in-half or photos of semen and vessels full of urine, can fund themselves. Maybe go and grovel at the feet of private benefactors like way back when. The public dont get an equitable interest in their art if/when it starts selling at $50k a pop.
5. the littany of systemic and expansive waste thats built into the budgeting process across all levels, delberately running out of money before yr end, to justify bigger budgets. Using waste to justify more waste.
6. No special treatment for politicians, especially retired ones. No early super payouts, no private jets and no lifetime pensions for idiot prime ministers who made a mess during their tenures. Get a job.

These would be a fair start. Would free up enormous funding for the stuff that really matters... health, infrastructure, and education, in that order.

Its nice to feel nice, but its better to feel warm with a roof over yer head and well resourced hospitals and schools.
Posted by trade215, Sunday, 6 July 2008 10:56:09 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
A fair point trade215. There is an awful lot of reprioritisation of funding that should take place.

But there should also be a considerable increase in the movement of wealth from the sphere of private enterprise in mining to the public arena, for the greater good of us all… or at least for the vast majority of Australian citizens who aren’t currently making a lot of money or gaining an improvement in their quality of life from the exploitation of our non-renewable once-off primary resources.
Posted by Ludwig, Sunday, 6 July 2008 10:14:12 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Have you taken into account that resource companies pay royalties on production as well as company tax.
They also have to deposit into government data bases all basic geological information they obtain in exploration and production that is then after a time available to other companies.
In addition their environmental impact statements and other regulatory reports are a major source of environmental information also availble to the government free.
Posted by 58, Monday, 7 July 2008 9:06:53 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. Page 2
  4. All

About Us :: Search :: Discuss :: Feedback :: Legals :: Privacy