So, Corin “An “empowering” economic model must consider some or all of the following:” (here follows the usual baloney which enshrines government into the minutia of private arrangements and attempts (certain to fail) to make "all things lovely for everyone")

I note Corin expresses no opinion to “reward for commercial risk”.
I note Corin makes no mention of personal choice.
I ask should a fair pay commission consider the capacity of an organization to pay what the commission would deem "fair pay" and then would that same commission underwrite to likelihood not only of business closures but also businesses which would have started and did not because of an onerous environment.

As for Tax systems -

No tax system is perfect but what is certain is a complex one will be less perfect that a simple one.

“Income tax” is a very "blunt instrument" to pretend to shape "equality" with.

I would, personally, prefer to see the differential tax bands removed completely and everything reduced to a single tax rate, a bit like GST presents a single tax rate, replacing a plethora of differential sales tax rates.

Recognising such a "radical" strategy might appear to significantly benefit the high earners versus the low earners, the tax-free threshold could be raised to ameliorate such an outcome and spread the average tax burden closer to how it is levied at present.

Adam Smith had the right answers 200 years ago, I see no merit in this socialist pap and drivel, which is designed to ensure mediocrity will prevail and we will all be forced down and into a state of equal impoverishment.

Oh Corin, good of you to have the courage to actually admit you advise Red Ken. Most would not show such courage, or maybe it is just foolhardy.

Shonga and Faustino - it appears that you both seem to suffer from the syndrome which was called M.E. in the country I was living in when I also had it. However, I would not use my own personal experience in overcoming this syndrome to pontificate on how you should handle it. You are both intelligent and discrete beings doing the best you can under debilitating conditions and my heart is with you both. I am sure nobody else would presume to come up with catch-all solutions for either of you either.

Yet when it comes to that vast amorphous mass called "the unemployed" personal stories such as yours are never considered as the unthinking cry of "any job is better than no job", is repeated ad nauseum by those who have no more experience or knowledge in this matter than the personal.

From my ongoing (unpaid)work in this sector I cite "Mary" who for twenty five years successfully ran her husbands business. When the marriage broke up she was classed "unskilled" and sent out cleaning. "David" was school chess champion, and a science and mathematics whizz: after his parents divorce he left school and was sent out to dig holes. "Anne" spent her entire married life doing extremely important charity work - she was made to give all that up and currently washes dishes. "Mark" a University educated film maker with no transport was consistently offered jobs fruit-picking in remote areas. Not one of these jobs even covered these peoples rents and they all had nervous breakdowns.

Hell's teeth, what does it take to convince others that a "one size fits all" policy is what condemns a vast number of the unemployed to failing mental health, on-going unemployment, and the derision of the rest of society? Any job is better than no job? No, it demonstrably isn't.

Thanks for those kind words, Romany. My sister on Tyneside diagnosed ME five years ago. I’ve improved a lot in the last 12-18 months, but am still adjusting to the reduced capacity. As for “I am sure nobody else would presume to come up with catch-all solutions for either of you either,” I’ve had a vast array of generally unsolicited advice over the last six years, essentially, as in all things, one has to find one’s own wisdom and balance.

Romant/Faustino,
Sadly my ignorance of ME syndrome prevents me from comment, unless it means that my life concerntrates on ME. This is true, as most mentally ill people with my particular symptoms consider removing oneself from the matramonial bed a huge achievement on some days, we have very few friends. Not really employable material, I would have thought, however from the first of June this year, someone with similar symptoms will be expected to arrive for job interviews, and find themselves on "newstart" instead of the "disability pension" when they don't arrive they will be struck off the books, and will recieve no means to survive.

Col Rouge who appears above and I have had many disagreements, however I have found things in Col's character to praise, I won't go back into those now, however I would like to comment on Col's tax comment above. I see the merit in your arguement for a flat tax, with accompying tax threashold rise to exempt low income families from paying tax at all. The only provisions I would add are that the national tax take does not fall, and that tax subsidies to business should be abolished to achieve a net situation of equal incoming and outgoing expenditure. Col and I and the general community fail to realise how much we have in common, and also the old chesnut trotted out by the wealthy that "they are only envious of our success" is a total nonsense. The wealthy can have their wealth as far as I am concerned, provided they pay their "fair" share oftax to their country. We working class people in general "couldn't care less" about the wealthy, all we care about is trying to put food on the table for our families, and being able to sacrifice something else this week so we can fill the car with petrol.

Any form of "simplified" taxation system, provided it is socially "fair" would I'm sure be welcomed by the overwhelming majority of ordinary working class families, provided it did not further discriminate against them more than the current system does.

Thanks for all your comments - as far as health is concerned - clearly a benefits system must provide for the needy. The Howard reforms to disability payments are perhaps the wrong method of resolving this, incentives are often more effective than sticks. Indeed the carrot is mightier!

Indeed Andrew Leigh makes the case that well constructed EITC's (tax credits) create incentives that reduce the number of sick days taken per year in Britain.

As far as wage inequality is concerned - the best way of closing gaps - especially between suburbs and schools, is quality of education opportunity and private and public investment that results.

I would caution against using blunt instruments - like minimum wages - to do what is better done through education investment and tax credits - to create incentives and to reduce wage and non-wage inequality.

In Australia there is still a large number of people whose parents don't work ... many have been priced out of jobs.

Shonga, ME is the UK term – myalgic encephalitis – equivalent to chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Both generally refer to conditions for which the cause is unclear, but is thought to be viral. In my case the more specific term post-viral syndrome (PVS) is appropriate as my condition arose from shingles and Ross River virus, subsequently exacerbated by work-related severe/extreme depression which prevented recovery from the PVS.

As for business subsidies, I calculated when Corporations Tax was 39% that business welfare was equivalent to 22% of the CT revenue. Abolishing all industry support and using the revenue for tax cuts (whether in CT or elsewhere) would be much more efficient. Entrepreneurs have the ability to identify and exploit profitable opportunities. They serve the community as major drivers of innovation, better ways of meeting consumer needs and growing incomes - so long as their efforts are directed to productive ends. When the most profitable opportunities lie in avoiding tax or in lobbying government for preferential treatment - which is far too often the case in Australia - then the entrepreneurs damage Australia rather than enhance it.

The onus is on governments to reform their tax systems and practices so as to encourage productive entrepreneurialism rather than rent-seeking.