Morning all,

@cohenite, re: “No response to Berridale or Gordon East”

You haven’t responded to this: why didn’t Howard buy 650,000 guns on the US secondhand market in 1996? Couldn’t he have bought them for half the $320 million spent in Australia?

Think it through, Anthony.

Re: "Economic freedom. What a joke; tell that to myriad farmers 'labouring' under green tape”

Australia’s economic freedom index is 82.6. No-one claims it’s 100/100. Point is that it’s higher than any other OECD country. And higher now than at any time during the Howard/Costello years.

Correct?

Re: “what about the CO2 tax and attendent legislation limiting what industry can do because of the scam of AGW.”

What about Australia’s emissions falling dramatically since the scheme was introduced, share prices increasing, inflation contained?

@Shadow Minister, re: “As for your indicators, you cherry pick a few indicators that look good”

Not at all, SM. The point of listing those 25 variables is precisely to avoid the cherry-picking ploy of Australia’s Opposition and mendacious media. We must read the whole story.

Re: “Hardly a surge.”

Some variables surged in absolute terms, like productivity and growth. Even Joe Hockey said last year GDP growth was “extraordinary”.

Others are regarded as ‘surges’ in relative terms by economists who have watched Australia leap so far ahead of the rest of the world.

Re: “Interest rates have been dropped by the RBA to rescue the economy, hardly something to boast about.”

Well, it was the boast of your Opposition that “interest rates will be lower under a Coalition government.” Just nonsense, isn’t it?

Re: “people employed Dropping as a % of population.”

Not at all. Job participation trend is now 65.1% and has been flat for seven months. This is marginally lower than the all-time high of 65.8 in late 2010, but much higher than the 63.5% achieved by Howard/Costello during their sixth year in charge.

Again, this must be evaluated in global comparative terms.

On all variables, SM, please check the actual data. You will see the claims, above, are quite valid.

This will definitely brighten your day!

Cheers

'Correct, Keith. Overall revenue is rising and will continue to increase for the foreseeable.'

'A challenge for Australia: to respond to the huge reductions in revenue growth over the next four years.'

Gillad said that and you parrotted

'Company profits are being squeezed,job opportunities are declining and wages are not rising. Hence government revenues are diminishing. Grim remedies are required.'

Now you admit Gillard's and your statements are wrong.

Not it is not so simple, Alan, to admit the fundamental error without assessing the impact your error has on the conclusions you draw from it, in your article.

Our problem is increased spending that is guaranteeing huge uncontrolled deficits well into the future. If we continue with the current policies, ie those that are causing that increasing indebtedness, we will very quickly finish up as bankrupt as your European socialist economic basketcases.

Now Alan, try and tell us that greater indebtedness won't stuff our future or tell me how much debt is ok or, given their record and lies, how Gillard and Swan or Labor will ever produce a surplus or a deficit of a less than a ten billion deficit annually. Last years was over 45 billion

As I say Alan, you afford me much mirth with your backflips, swan dives and gillard cr-p regurgitations

hi Alan,

sadly more dire news for you this morning.

The polls show a further slip in Labor popularity today. There's now a 14 point gap in the two party prefered.

The Australian, I know The Murdoch Press, today reports the revenue forecasts for this year and next have been revised down by 17 bil and 20 bil respectively. Swan said this years deficit would be 12 bil. He'll revise that up again.

Alas Alan worse is to come. After reading The Australian I picked up the Financial Revue. One of the leftie media mouthpieces of Fairfax.

They reported exactly the same and ADDED that the deficits for the next few years will now be in the region of 60 to 80 bil per year.

Gee that sounds awfully like the European deficits before their meltdown. With the current government policies and their absolutely awful record of underforecasting of the size of their deficits how long do you think it will be before we are as broke as the European Socialist Utopias. Until this morning I thought it might take a decade ... well with these latest figures and estimations ... I guess you know where I am leading you.

Oh and last night we had the staged pantomine, on Q and A, of our PM being quizzed formally on TV by a large group of school students. Seventeen year olds who cannot yet vote.

Guess what Alan. Our PM tried to deceive them. She was asked about tax revenues and deficits.
Julia answered with the example that Company Tax receipts were down. She then used lawyer-speak to suggest and encourage the youngsters to assume the extrapolation of that message meant the total revenues were down.

She did not use the words forecast or total revenue receipts at all in her answer.

Now Alan that was deliberately deceptive. It is the type of behaviour we come to expect of our Julia and her government. It is the reason why more and more people are shaking their heads in disbelief and turning away from them.

Cheers Alan.

i think you guys are asking too much. With propagandists they have no reason to actually discuss the implications of current trends. it is beyond their capacity. That is why they are what they are. It is a lot easier just to look at numbers.

Hello again imajulianutter,

Re: “A challenge for Australia: to respond to the huge reductions in revenue growth over the next four years.”

Correct. Revenue is still rising overall. The rate of revenue growth, however, is declining. Much lower than Treasury had forecast.

Re: “Company profits are being squeezed, job opportunities are declining and wages are not rising.”

Correct.

Re: “Now you admit Gillard's and your statements are wrong.”

Not at all. Ms Gillard’s statements are all true. Discomforting, perhaps, but correct. So are mine, unless you can indicate an error somewhere.

Re: “Our problem is increased spending that is guaranteeing huge uncontrolled deficits well into the future.”

No. The record of your current Government is that deficits and borrowings are controlled. That is why Fitch Ratings gave Australia the triple A rating in 2011 it never gave the Howard Government.

And that is why Australia has the best profile of any economy in the world. Ever.

Correct?

Re: “revenue forecasts for this year and next have been revised down by 17 bil and 20 bil respectively. Swan said this years deficit would be 12 bil.”

So was Ms Gillard right to advise “grim remedies”?

Seems so.

Re: “the Financial Revue. One of the leftie media mouthpieces of Fairfax”

Fairfax? Leftie? Hmmmm. A while since any Fairfax paper was Leftie on anything.

So, if grim decisions are called for, who do you trust, Keith?

Is trade with China a good thing? Which party arranged that? Which party opposed it?

Are strong deregulated banks a good thing? Which party fixed that? Which party opposed it?

Tarrifs? Strong Aussie dollar? Snapping the stick of inflation? Restoring Budget surpluses? Etc.

Between 1975 and 1983 the Coalition took Australia from 9th ranked economy to 16th. No?

Then between 1983 and 1996 Labor took Australia from 16th to 5th.

Between 1996 and 2007 the Coalition took Australia from 5th to 11th.

Between 2007 and 2010 Labor took Australia from 11th to 1st – and now first by a street.

Who do you trust in tough times?

Your call, Keith. I don’t live there any more.

Cheers,

AA,

"Not at all, SM. The point of listing those 25 variables is precisely to avoid the cherry-picking ploy of Australia’s Opposition and mendacious media. We must read the whole story."

That is a clear falsehood. You have only chosen the indicators that make Labor look good, and ignored those that don't. To make it worse, digging deeper into these indicators as I did shows that some are irrelevant, and others have nothing to do with labor, or are in spite of Labor's negative influence.

Labor's abysmal polling is because of its poor record of fiscal management. Labor has not only delivered 4 record deficits, but it has failed to meet its budgets every year, both overspending, and reduced revenue. Every policy has over promised and under delivered, and Juliar's record of lying and breaking nearly every promise she has made has alienated most Australians. The latest Newspoll (and pretty much every other poll) show that no one trusts them anymore.

http://resources.news.com.au/files/2013/05/07/1226636/433152-130507-federal-newspoll.pdf