Well, one thing is true. The Coalition are the greatest mob of liars that Australia has ever seen.

Before the election they tried to convince the voters that Australia was going down the gurgler, was within a point or two of bankruptcy. Led by the biggest goon Australia has ever seen, Phoney Abbott, we were told that calamity would befall us unless we voted for the Coalition.

When they won the election (which could've been won by a drover's cockatoo), suddenly their stories changed and Phoney became the world's worst Prime Minister and proved within days he was a complete failure at diplomacy.

Since then it's all been downhill as the polls attest! Folks, we've been had big-time!

Just imagine what is going to happen to our once great country with Phoney at the helm for three years. The man is an accident waiting to happen. When he opens his big mouth, people shudder.

Perhaps it's time for revolution, time to put Phoney's head on a pike!

Perhaps it's time to build the barricades!

Re: Let’s face it; population growth is the main factor contributing to this very high rate of increase in GDP. It is the demand that is increasing GDP… which is the biggest flaw of all in this ridiculous indicator!

Amen to that.

Then use the ratio of tax extracted to GDP to tell us what low taxes we pay. OK, we pay so little tax then there should be no argument in lifting the GST or fuel excise or perhaps the state governments can levy an extra income tax.

Use the current tax take more efficiently.

Of course we have had a good economy, driven by the miners, the very people the author and his left wing cronies love to hate. Oh, I forgot, mining is relatively unimportant in the economy according to this author.

"Australia's general government net borrowings were just 13.74% of GDP when Labor left office." Nice try. You forgot to mention that it was up from 8.1% in two years earlier. Over 62% increase in debt/GDP in two years!!

A lot of your figures are like this, a bit of checking and they fall apart or don't imply what you suggest they imply.

Well said Aspley, I'll have to take your word for it, I gave up reading the garbage your two comedians write some time back.

Actually some of the best comedy, apart from the laughably high opinion the authors have of themselves, is from the posters.

We get posters like Kilmouski, who obviously think the most efficient way to spend our taxes is to give it to a public servant. While he is right that the quickest way to throw it away is to let some bureaucrat near it, I can't see much advantage for tax payers in that. What is it about command economies they can not understand. Every one that has existed has collapsed.

Even that modern miracle China had to transform itself into a market economy to save itself from collapse.

It is really interesting that China is more a capitalist economy than the west that invented the idea, & just look who is the most successful. The further we of the west go down the controlled economy model, & the more welfare controlled we become, the worse we perform.

That we are driving our own collapse is obvious, the only question is how much longer can we last?

>> So our GDP is growing at 26% PA <<

Obviously that should be 2.6%

Hrrgh!!

This is an enormous rate of growth. And all our nutbag politicial masters can think of doing is to increase it still further!!

<< we are driving our own collapse >>

Yer not wrong there Haz!

Hasbeen: You are so wrong. The most successful economy in Europe, is, was and remains Germany. And at their best and needing to import guest labour, had extremely generous welfare packages, with unemployment benefits around 80% of average wages. All possible because the economy was being managed by adults, not learner drivers, or blatant ideologues, like you seem to be with a head filled with really stupid tea party type stuff?
Every person who is self employed or runs a business needs others, all of who have an equal right to a fair reward!
Every person on the shop or factory floor is part and parcel of every success story, and virtually every failed business, usually has just one culprit, the idiot in charge!
Yet there are areas where I have no other choice but to agree with you H.B.
One of those areas, is just how much tax we are required to pay, and just how too much government, can waste so much of it on bureaucratic empire building, centralization, correlation and endless duplication, which adds at least 30% to the cost of most govt service!
Moreover, State govts cost the taxpayer 70 billions per, and that's before they meet and pass a single piece of often useless legislation.
Alan quotes numbers, which don't also include the highest median house prices in the English speaking world, and just how much that cruels the essential for our economic success, discretionary spending. Nor does he mention in his rose colored analysis, the ever widening gap between the haves and have nots?
We need to reduce waste, pork barreling and entirely unnecessary compliance costs, which for many businesses are often more onerous than their tax bill. If some really stupid people had their way, and reduced or removed needs based welfare, we could in one foul swoop, halve the discretionary spend, and with it, what's left of a healthy economy.
When what we really need do is wipe out welfare for the rich, which would save at least 26 billions per, albeit, probably have H.B. crying in his beer?