Dear Yabby,

You really shouldn't
speak on behalf of today's women.

Let me set the record straight for you.
Today women work, while raising families,
studying (post grad. qualifications), and
in partnership with their husbands, surround
their children with a sturdy sensibility, a
world view, different from the 'Me' mentality
of modern culture.

When they use their credit cards they have their own incomes
to pay for their own expenditures, as well as being
able to contribute to the family's financial needs,
such as paying off mortgages, their children's educations,
and other expenses that come up. Women take responsibility
for their actions and they therefore expect accountability
from the actions of their elected Representatives in
Government.

As a poster said on the 'newmatilda.com' website:

"I am so sick of people heaping praise on Costello as
the world's greatest treasurer because he ran a budget
surplus. The truth is he overtaxed us! And what he took
from us wage-earners he gave to the rich and called it
a tax concession."

And another poster on the same website stated:

"...Costellos' debt truck in 1996 was about foreign
debt which stood at $192 billion, it became $650 billion
in the next few years. Debt to disposable income in 1996
was 69% of GDP, it was 160% by the time the Liberals
left and has only fallen slightly to 155% since.

We are and have been swimming in debt for a decade and
Costello didn't notice..."

*We are and have been swimming in debt for a decade and
Costello didn't notice..."*

Ah but he did notice. He noticed like I did, that it was not
his created debt, which taxpayers would be forced to cough up for,
but your maxed our credit cards, your bigger houses, your living it
up, you as individuals, women and all.

That debt is not Australia's debt, but individual Australians
debts. Ordinary Aussies, living it up to the max.

Don't blame the treasurer for your bad habits.

*what he took
from us wage-earners he gave to the rich and called it
a tax concession."*

like what?

*Women take responsibility
for their actions and they therefore expect accountability
from the actions of their elected Representatives in
Government.*

Costello left the Govt debt free, so was fully accountable.
Hopefully women will now repay those maxed out credit cards,
for they are part of that debt that Australians owe to overseas
lenders.

The mining was largely facilitated by the relaxation of the inflexible IR laws under labor. This is why the mining boom started much earlier in other countries, bu only after the liberals came in in Australia.

As dovif2 pointed out, the issues that caused the GFC did not occur in Aus and as a result of the liberal leadership that curbed debt (Which Krudd is rapidly reversing), the state is much more able to ride out the crisis.

Dear Yabby,

Like what?

As I've told you in several previous posts -
and you can refer to the websites I've
quoted from 'newmatilda.com.'
Peter Costello, "...used the windfall gains of
the mining and terms-of-trade boom of the 2000s
to fund tax cuts, leaving infrastructure investment
and essential human services like health and
education to wither on the vine. When the economy
turned, so did the federal budget, and those
surpluses melted away. As Treasury research eventually
showed. Costello in fact ran structural deficits for
the last few years of his reign..."

And to continue with your "like what?" question...
"...under Costello's watch, capital was taxed far more
lightly than labour, and the rich gained disproportionate
benefits in comparison to the poor.

To take one example, his decision to give a 50 per cent
discount on capital gains tax to investments is an
illuminating contrast to the punitive marginal tax rates
faced by low-income earners trying to combine government
benefits with part-time jobs..."

And, by the way, my credit cards are always paid up
in full, on time, and my house mortgage was paid off
a long time ago. So sorry, you're barking up the wrong
tree here.

Foxy, the mining boom really got going in around 2004. Costello
had been paying off our debts for years. When it happened, he
put additional money away to pay all those public service pensions
in the future, a wise move.

So Australian taxpayers are better off then those in Britain,
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, USA etc. Read the latest
Economist. That did not happen by magic, it happened because
he showed good judgment and fiscal discipline. But that is clearly
beyond the comprehension of bleeding hearts like yourself.

*To take one example, his decision to give a 50 per cent
discount on capital gains tax to investments*

I've explained why that happened, it is not a subsidy, but a
replacement for indexation to inflation, which Keating introduced.
When you invest 1000$, in ten years it has lost 50% of its real
value. I personally would probably be better off under the old
Keating calculation, which was fair, but a bit more complex to
calculate. The people who pay no CGT at all are homeowners.
If your house is revalued to 1 million$, even if you paid 50 grand
for it years ago, you pay no tax at all. THAT is a subsidy!

*my credit cards are always paid up
in full, on time, and my house mortgage was paid off
a long time ago*

You missed my point completely. There are millions of Foxies out
there, living in suburbia. Take a look at who owes money. Its Mr
and Mrs Average, its young gen x and y, living it up on their
credit cards, or uptrading their houses, or buying investment houses
for their retirement. A great many Australians are saving nothing
and spending far more then they earn.

That has nothing to do with the treasurer. He left our Govt coffers
in great health and that was his job

Yes we can all sleep easy that Costello left our coffers in good health.

Pity about the health system and the scandalous attack on the lowest income earners via Work Choices. The lack of money spent on failing infrastructure due to overpopulated cities, AWB, the "never ever" GST, children overboard, children in detention, failure to declare Work Choices prior to election, ignoring pensioners etal are hardly the hallmark of responsible and transparent governments.

Costello is not a loss to a nation, it would take a rare politician to earn such accolades. Costello is not one of them.