The federal govt can spruick all its wants about the financial situation of the country.I don't know about that and don't care.What concerns me is the fact that since Liberal came to power my dollar buys less and less.We own everything and have no debts except the normal cost of living and nowadays we are flat out making ends meet.Even when the interest rates were 17% under labor things weren't as tough.When our bills go up gst goes on top of that.Wages havent gone up to cover the massive rises in everyday costs.The govt coffers may be fine but the lower income earners really are suffering.

I dont know much about economics but I agree with the author of this article.

To my mind one of the most consistent and insightful critics of the governments pea and thimble "accounting" methods is Kenneth Davidson who writes regular articles in the Age. Plus the articles by him and others that he publishes in his Dissent Magazine.

Meanwhile you cant go past ECONOMIA by Geoff Davies which I referred to some weeks ago. A thorough-going expose of the charade (or cultural bankruptcy) that underlies our "prosperity", and how it really is unsustainable.

Howards economic policies are nullifying, socially exclusive and lack a fundemental approach to alleviate poverty, be it in Australia or for his preperation of the APEC Summit.

Poverty is not only deprivation of economic or material resources but a violation of our nations equity where many economic policies don't help.

Poverty erodes both your socio-economic and political capacities ie: access to health, education, housing, food and safe water and access to inclusively particiapate in civic affairs... in both the developed and developing communities.

Howard is out of step with the international community’s approach to the next generation of poverty reduction initiatives.

Household Debt, its disturbance and stress is growing in Australia as wealth inequalities are proactively getting worse.

See the front page of (Cape Yorks) rural Local Cook Shire News this week;

"Home Crisis" Families forced to camp as rents climb and vacancies drop" or South in Tasmania where a single mother is said to have abandoned her severely disabled teenage son with the State Government in sheer desperation.

What is Howard's Government doing at ground economic levels other than divising new laws of enforcement that reflect the growng limititations of peoples enabling civic capacity "to pay".

Alert. This strain on capacity can also be seen through the nations rise issues around Mental Health statisics, as the federal and state battle on health infrastructure continues.

http://www2b.abc.net.au/tmb/Client/Message.aspx?b=31&m=1137&dm=2

As a strategic developed nation we will miss the opportunity to influence, to structurally reverse the causes of poverty and inequality everywhere including in Australia.

We need to take action and re-direct these policies now before the present goodness about the economy slows.

http://www.miacat.com/
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Exactly! I've tried to convince people that our economy, is in fact heading for disaster because of the neglect of the Howard government. Australia has a chronic current account deficit and huge and increasing foreign debt that can't be sustained, sooner or later this will force a severe recession, probably during the term of a Labor government. The debt morons,will,of course blame the government in power at the time. I agree with the argument about media bias, I'm amazed that Labor governments are ever elected given the fact that most of the media is in the hands of their enemies.

A very good article - tells it like it is. Low and middle income earners have become steadily much worse off over the last ten or twelve years. The constant bleating by Howard and Costello and supporters about the on-going rise of 'real' incomes under their stewardship is yet another example of the great lie in action. The (alleged) rise in cash income means nothing if the life-style advantages exchanged to obtain that rise (eg holidays, sick leave, long service leave, family time, job security, etc) contribute - as they do - to an overall decrease in living standards. As the writer points out, the costs involved in simply attending the work place (not to mention servicing a housing loan), are rising outof all proportion to any cash gain bought about by Howard's draconian industrial relations legislation.
The whole notion of Howard as some sort of economic management genius is a myth, and it is high time that the average informed voter saw it as such. The only promise that Howard has delivered on is his promise to deliver an emasculated work-force to the big end of town. The real tragedy is that it is the emasculated work-force itself that has kept him in power.

I take it the Howard haters are happier with higher unemployment, more welfare waste, less job opportunities and higher taxes. The 12 yes 12 blowouts in the building of a rail line from Perth to Mandurah is typical of an incompetent Labour State Government. I wish this incompetence was one off by the State Labour so to try and discredit Mr Costello's credentials is hypocrisy at its best