In his article " ‘Chalming’ no one: Labor romances communism" http://www.spectator.com.au/2023/01/chalming-no-one-labor-romances-communism/, economist Alan Moran describes Treasurer Jim Chalmers as the most iconoclastic treasurer since the Whitlam government's Jim Cairns: a man who joined the ALP "after his application to join the Communist Party was rejected". Many of us suffered under Cairns, who "assaulted conventional capitalist economic theory", just as Chalmers seems keen to do if his 6,000 word essay, plus media reports, are any guide.

. Borrow. Spend. Regulate.

. Replacement of naturally evolved markets with 'collective' decisions by corporates, governments, unions, and 'community groups' via 'newly forged markets'.

. Replacement of the rule of law and property rights.

And if all this "sounds like socialism and its near cousin, fascism", that’s what it is, according to Moran.

It all comes back to the renewables mania which, despite the "$7 billion a year" subsidies, won't be brought about without non-market manipulation by Jimbo and Albo.

The manipulation and government interference in the market will include "new purchasing preferences for renewables, subsidies to renewables energy transmission, and a new carbon tax". This this tax will require over 200 businesses to reduce their emissions by "30 per cent by 2030".

Shades of the "Workers’ Paradise" that drove previous Leftists to fiddle with the market and dispense with entrepreneurial individuals and private enterprise, replacing them incompetent bureaucrats and Government.

Change the economy ? How & to what ? There's only one way to achieve a sustainable economy & that is by narrowing the salary gap between producers & consumers !
The idiotic "Growth" mentality is the single biggest hurdle in bringing back manufacturing & a level playing field.
Introduce merit based selection for senior bureaucrats instead of seniority based. Do away with the Peter Principle in every Department & within moments improvements will be obvious !

ttbn, wheels out yet another one of his nut jobs, this time its a Alan Moran, a ex dick from the far right 'Institute of Public Affairs'. When these "economists" start labelling a moderate politician like Chalmers, someone who needs no defending, as a "communist" you know something is out of wack, something is wrong, in this case its Alan Morons thinking. For these extremists its all, "reds under the beds" nonsense. The crack pot even goes to the extraordinary length of evoking the ghost of the long dead Jim Cairns, please give me a break. These old cold war warriors and their discredited beliefs.

ttbn,
>Replacement of the rule of law and property rights.
I'd be surprised if he doesn't sue The Spectator for libel!

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Indy,
You seem to be trying to outdo Alan Moran's absurdity!

>There's only one way to achieve a sustainable economy
Actually there are lots of ways...

>& that is by narrowing the salary gap between producers & consumers !
...and that's not even one of them. Indeed it's quite meaningless as most people are both.

>The idiotic "Growth" mentality is the single biggest hurdle in bringing back manufacturing
There's absolutely nothing idiotic about wanting the value of the work done in this country to keep increasing.

>Introduce merit based selection for senior bureaucrats instead of seniority based
They did, decades ago.
What will it take to get you to stop assuming that the Public Service hasn't changed in half a century?

If nothing else, my threads further expose the barking mad, Loony Left posters and their ideology claptrap.

The Socialists no longer try to defeat capitalism: they capture it. Socialists can be rich, not like the true capitalists who take risks with their own money, but through political patronage, and access to other people's money - e.g the billions of dollars that workers are forced into putting into superannuation. There is over $3 trillion in Australian super funds. Until workers retire, all of this money is 'owned' and controlled by the Socialists.

Not only is Gough Whitlam's ghost influencing the Far Left Labor government, but Doc Evatt is also playing with the simple minds of Jimbo and Albo.

But, the still living CEOs of Corporate Australia are the commo-like Treasurer's best little helpers in his quest to take control of capitalism. There tacit approval shows how big money people can be comfortable with, and profit from, Socialism. It works in Communist China. Labor wants to give it a try in Australia.

Jimbo has also announced that King Charles will not replace the Queen on the new five dollar note. The note will be designed to "honour" indigenous Australians, who ever they are, given that the last of them died out over two centuries ago.

The carbon tax, disguised as a 'safeguard mechanism’, also part of Comrade Chalmers' plans, could well be the death of regional Australia.

More than 80% of industries targeted by this abomination are in regional areas. Near enough to 90% of them are critical to Australia’s economy - coal, gas, mining.

"given that the last of them (Indigenous Australians) died out over two centuries ago." This is the typical non truth peddled by far right extremists to justify non recognition of our first Australians. Maybe ttbn thinks his ancestors shot the bloody lot a couple of hundred years ago. Not so buddy!

...Meanwhile, Chairman Albanese has been out celebrating with his Chinese mates.
http://twitter.com/AlboMP/status/1621435971270221826

He said:

"It was great to discuss how my government is helping small businesses to succeed".

That's a sick joke. If Chalmers gets to put his Big Government, Big Business, Government Picks into operation, small businesses will suffocated. His Chinese mates would be well aware that small business and Labor are not compatible.

Can anyone explain what the stupid indigenous post has to do with this topic?

Collaboration among governments, businesses, unions and superannuation controllers could easily lead to crony capitalism, and businesses supporting government policies in order to win government contracts.

Already the least efficient sections of the economy - health, aged care, education, to name a few - are regulated by or run by governments.

And, it should be noted, there is no mention of entrepreneurship in Chalmer's ravings. Politicians will replace them in selecting what they think we need; and politicians are not qualified to do this, as their 'winner picking' in the past has proved.

What Chalmers proposes is too much like the central planning of totalitarian regimes.

Well a jackass posted on this thread; "given that the last of them (Indigenous Australians) died out over two centuries ago." That's you ttbn.

I responded to that ridiculous claim, then you respond with; "Can anyone explain what the stupid indigenous post has to do with this topic?" I don't know what your stupid post had to do with this topic, other than something to do with the design of the five dollar note. Which you got wrong by claiming it was the work of the "Radical Treasurer" when the note design and what is represented is up to the Reserve Bank.

ttbn, you are forgetful, just don't forget to change your incontinence pads regularly.

Chalmer's vision for 'remaking capitalism' has been described by the Menzies Institute as "the manifestation of our worst fears for the post-pandemic world.

Chalmers wants to wreck a system of trade and commerce that has "led to exponential growth in wealth and comfort" since the 18th. Century.

Capitalism with 'Chalmers characteristics' would no longer be an economy controlled by private owners, but by government ministers on behalf of the state.

The government’s role, according to Chalmers, is to “design markets, facilitate flows of capital into priority areas, and ultimately make progress on our collective problems and purpose”.

Markets are forced to bend to serve our supposed collective interests rather than the interests of millions of individuals who invest their capital and labour in the expectation of reward - despite the fact that the government "lacks the knowledge to enable it to meet the infinite variety of needs of millions of individuals".

Pretty frightening stuff! Communism!

So Jim Chalmers writes an essay in which he ponders the future economic direction of the country and the whole gaggle of right wing extremists have a melt down. Congratulations Jim for at least thinking and pondering solutions to the what Paul Keating so accurately described as the liberal's "dead end (which) has no answer to the contemporary malaise".

Fresh thinking obviously has no place where tax cuts for companies who don't pay any tax is seen as the only answer. Fresh thinking obviously has no place where "the market" has been so successful in keeping prices affordable in all manner of examples. Fresh thinking obviously has no place where the pay disparity and gender gap inequity has been so outstandingly successful.

Give it up you whinging, whining dinosaurs of a long past era. It is way past time to look at the current situation with fresh eyes. Jim may not have the answers, but at least he is prepared to acknowledge the obvious and suggest some solutions. Much unlike the braying chorus from the right.

"Good government is a referee, but Jim and his ilk want to play the game. And they want to play in every position on the field all at once, happy to sideline the Ronaldos and Maradonas while they do so." (Damien Coory, Spectator Australia, 2/2/23)

The corporates - that can afford to pay for the Soviet-style rules and regulations (where small business cannot) - are already pumping out lefty wokeness on behalf of our most Left Wing government ever, in return for government favours and the stifling of small business, where most of the jobs are, and most taxes are paid.

'gender gap inequity'
Oh no... not that again. [Rolls eyes]

Can anyone tell me what percentage of people are on salary and what percentage of people are on award wages?
- It really is just divisive rubbish, because it doesn't apply to people on wages.

All this about gender pay gap, but what about the policy of 'not giving jobs to white people'
It's called the 'Hate Whitey' policy, No one says anything about that.

Preferring ethnic groups and minorities over experience or merit for quotas of virtue and wokeness.

- The moment you get rid of things 'on merit' it's a race to the bottom.
Destruction of society by design, decrease in ability to compete with foreign markets, sell off of public assets and guaranteed increase in inflation and cost of everything to everyone from incompetent government unable to manage it's own budgets that needs to take more from people to pay for their own woke foolishness.

But if you like seeing women and kids living out of cars and tents well this might be the policy for you.
Who wins in the end from this stupidity?

According to some conservative commentators, Chalmer's 'reinventing of capitalism' is a supporting act for the comedy of Albanese's and Burnley's hilarious performance on the Voice: and what a joke that it is.

Chalmers, who has been Treasurer for less than a year, presumes to upend one of the most successful economies in the last century. That has to be a joke!

Albanese, Burney, Bowen and now Chalmers. Comedians all. None of what they spout could possibly be taken seriously.

Oh. And Wong lecturing Britain on colonialism. That would have got a big laugh in Westminster.

A far right extremists, with his reds under the beds paranoia, his last rant is typical of this delusion that the communists are everywhere! If as he believes Albanese is a modern day Stalin leading a bunch of Marxist revolutionises, then Dutton must be the equivalent of Hitler trying to resurrect the glories of the Third Reich. The fact is Australia has had over 120 years of moderate governments, and that will continue into the foreseeable future

This "moderate" government's net zero policy could cost each household the equivalent of $4,500 p.a according to the IMF; and there is talk of another Labor attack on small business with a tax on tradies' big ute's, needed to cart their stuff around. So much for the Left's care for the workers who keep things going. They are now in love with Woke rich.

Talk is cheap, the only "talk" is by people who have an agenda, you find them ranting on 'Sky After Dark' and in the Murdoch gutter press, and on here of course. Unfortunately this "talk" is never backed up by facts, its just all talk. Agree ttbn.

It was good to hear the Opposition giving Chalmers a bit of stick in Parliament today.

Also the member for Longman reminding us that the Socialists gained only 32.6% of the primary vote, and are in power only because of our stupid, compulsory preferential voting system.

The lunatic Thorpe has moved from the Greens to the cross bench. That should be a relief for the Green party and gives hope that the madwoman will disappear at the next election.

Chalmers follows Rudd in saying that the climate-related risks are the biggest future threat facing the world.

No they are not. We have much less to fear from climate change than we do from the lunatic policies dreamt up by politicians and their advisers, and obsessively followed by our Socialist government.

Some know nothing.

"gives hope that the madwoman will disappear at the next election." Well no ttbn, Lidia Thorpe was elected in 2022 for a six year term, she wont be a candidate next general election. Please keep up.

We really do seem to be getting a conga-line of low effort threads recently don't we.

If someone is going to post a thread about the Chalmers article at a minimum they should have at least read the bloody thing. Obviously not.

The article really doesn't hand out anything substantial. There is a lot of musing and a few sentiments expressed but with little to no specific examples.

Unfortunately a result, a number of different takes can be manufactured. In fact some of it could be seen to be flagging greater private investment in public services which would give the RWNJ's great satisfaction.

What it really doesn't do is allow for any of the over the top claims that are being made about the article.

Hi Steele,

ttbn is on a mission, to expose THE COMMUNISTS at every opportunity, his list is extensive, it includes such notables as;

Micky Mouse
Donald Duck
Noddy

Just yesterday he uncovered a pair of these dangerous left wing ideologue attempting to brainwash our children with their communistic filth on television during kiddies hour! Are you not familiar with that pair of Bolsheviks masquerading as children's entertainers Bananas In Pyjamas, every word that comes out of their mouths is pure Marxism. Can't you tell, they have Karl Marx written all over them! On to the list they go! Now for Bill and Ben the Flower Pot Men, highly suspect!

It is usually the most ignorant who make all the noise, and we can always rely on Paul 1405 and SteeleRedux to keep the tradition going.

What Chalmers actually wrote is at https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2023/february/jim-chalmers/capitalism-after-crises

I'd class it as nearer mundane than radical. EVERY treasurer is keen to change our economy, but few change much. It seems a few vague statements are all it takes to get Alan Moran to try to convince us the sky's falling. But appearances can be deceptive: compare Chamers's call for more transparency to Moran's claims and it's obvious that this is not mere panicked alarmism, but rather a case of cherry picking to suit Moran's deceptive agenda.

There's a more sensible discussion of it at https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/saturdayextra/chalmers-capitalism/101929274 but unfortunately there's no transcript AFAIK.

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ttbn,
There's no way the Socialists gained anywhere near 32.6% of the primary vote! But fortunately we have a good voting system, so their preferences nearly all flowed to Labor.

Sorry, forgot to fix the links:
http://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2023/february/jim-chalmers/capitalism-after-crises
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/saturdayextra/chalmers-capitalism/101929274

Lydia Thorpe, who is crazily happy to display her ignorance publicly has been described this morning as "an entitled, ignorant one-note activist whose hate-filled presence is a insult to the institution to which she was elected, and the Australian people whose parliament it is".

Her jabber about "sovereignty" puts her in the same bracket as the late 'Prince' Leonard of Hutt, who also pretended he was something he was not.

Thorpe's ignorant lunacy is costing us money. At least we don't have to pay Paul and SteeleRedux for theirs.

ttbn, amazing how you come up with these unattributed quotes. Who actually said that? One of your adorable far right nut jobs.

I'm not impressed by Lydia Thorpe's resignation from the Greens, no more than I was with Andrew Gee resigning from the National party and remaining in Parliament. It was Greens and Green voters who got Lydia elected in the first place. The honourable thing to do is to also resign from parliament at the same time, and carry on your fight in another domain.

Chalmer's stakeholder capitalism is communism in drag.

I see ttbn, you're not willing to disclose your sources, Maybe it came from your nightly Zoom meeting with other far right nut jobs, or am I correct in saying you lifted the quote from the website of 'Patriots For A Whiter Australia', me thinks so.

Dear Aiden,

You wrote: "I'd class it as nearer mundane than radical."

Essentially I agree, and doesn't it make the gum flapping hysterics from the right make them all look like pillocks.

Oh well, what ever gets them up in the morning I suppose.

Paul 1405

You want 'sources' so that you can call them names - Nazis, Far Right and so on - because you can't handle the subject.

Like all of your sort, you like to shoot the messenger rather than say something about the message.

If I feel the need to supply sources, I will do so. If I don't feel the need, I will not. What and how I post is none of your effing business.

I don't care what you think about me, about what I say or think, or anything at all. Eff off.

Now, now, ttbn, your attempts at disguised profanity is pathetic in the extreme. If you do not wish to disclosed the originator of your quotes, if there is one, that's up to you. Given a name they may carry some weight, but anonymous quotes could come from anywhere, including being a figment of your imagination.

When anyone declares that he is going to reform capitalism, there will be hundreds of economists muttering "idiot" under their breaths.

Paul, it hardly matters what ttbn's sources are, as they're opinions not verifiable claims. And considering some of the things Thorpe's said, I think they're pretty reasonable.

Lydia Thorpe, and indeed the party she left, seems unable to understand that a treaty that divides Australia would be undesirable; a treaty that unites Australia would be desirable, but very difficult to write, and could not be achieved in the same timeframe as the Voice.

Anyway, this thread's based on quotes that ttbn HAS attributed, mainly to Alan Moran in the Spectator: a rightwing sight so hilariously out of touch that it also published the article "Trussonomics is slowly winning the argument"! I won't bother linking as it's easy enough to find, but it's full of unsupported assertions so recently (and so obviously) disproved by reality that it's surprising anyone believes them.

Every post here is an opinion. All the "sources" are opinions. All you posters without opinions of your own are merely advertising the opinions of some other idiots for them, you silly buggers.

The Pension has increased but the costs have increased more since Labor got in ! Makes one wonder why bother with increases in the first place ?
Did COVID have less economic impact in Australia than the Invasion of Ukraine ?

Knowledgeable economic sources are now telling us that today's inflation and the subsequent lifting of interest rates in Australia has more to do with the trillion dollars of irresponsible wasteful borrowing, and spending on their mates from the Big End of Town, by the Tory government of Morrison than any war or any external forces. This Tory creation of massive debt is the primary causes of today's economic ills. Fortunately an election put a stop to Tory extravagance, and according to the same economic experts, sound management is now in place to give us hope for a brighter future.

I'm still trying to see any difference between Tories & the Woke. Anyone know ?

Paul,
>Knowledgeable economic sources are now telling us that today's inflation and the
>subsequent lifting of interest rates in Australia has more to do with the trillion dollars of
>irresponsible wasteful borrowing, and spending on their mates from the Big End of
>Town, by the Tory government of Morrison than any war or any external forces.

Beware of foolish economic sources who claim to be knowledgeable. They are often dangerously wrong! A reality check is often needed, and those ones completely fail it.

Hi Aidan,

I thought "knowledgeable economic sources" would sound more creditable, that the usual line trotted out by the Forums conservative mob..."I've gotta mate". The only difference between their's and mine, is their's is from the right side of the street, and mine's from the left.

Paul,

Either your "economic source" is a pinhead or you have half-arsed it again.

Heavy fiscal spending is justified when there are strong recessionary influences such as the pandemic the effect of which was moderated by wage support, however, when the economy recovers, then this spending should be cut off and the budget runs in surplus.

The economy began to grow again in March/April 2022 which is when spending should have been cut. The coalition handed the economy in a good state to Labor in May 2022 just as inflation was starting to rise.

If labor had been even vaguely competent they would have cut back spending immediately. However, they continued spending like drunken sailors and inflation accelerated. Labor has been in power now for 9 months and they cannot blame the inflation and rising interest rates on the previous government.

Your other thread where you suggest a "future fund" to borrow $billions and spend it on building is jet fuel for inflation and one reason why the gangreens should never be let loose on the economy.

SM,

We let the incompetent Coalition loose on the economy, and how did it end up in, a trillion dollars of Liberal Party debt, with nothing to show for it. Correction, Gerry Harvey pocketed $12 million, and the Big End of Town pocketed the rest!

Any comment on the corrupt NSW Fiance Minister Turdhope, he kept it all in trust, his family trust that is, to benefit himself!

Paul,
Crap is still crap even if you manage to make it sound more impressive. At least having a mate appears to be authentic.

Shadow is half right. Tightening fiscal policy is a much better way of controlling inflation than raising interest rates is. Alas the Libs, when in power, resorted to so many false economies that increasing spending had become almost unavoidable. But raising taxes would have had less of an adverse effect on the economy than raining interest rates.

But this inflation is rather unusual in that it was caused by the Ukraine war resulting in a huge jump in energy prices, the likes of which we haven't seen since the 1970s. Floods also cased a rise in food prices.There's a limit to how much monetary policy (and indeed fiscal policy) can do to fix it, as they do very little to fix the underlying problem.

Generally money spent by governments has inflationary effects straight away rather than delayed effects. The Covid Lockdown did result in some delayed effects, but it's peanuts compared to those from the Ukraine war, which even dwarfs the Libs' wasteful failure to spend enough on things that ultimately pay for themselves.

Hi Aidan,

Rephrase my above post to; "I have a mate dada dada dada..." problem solved. I thought the "I have a mate" nonsense had been done to death by a bunch of Forumites who are "No mates Nigel's"... who we know have no mates.

The problem with government spending is political as well as economic. The Coalition locked us into their mantra of personal income tax cuts, and woe betide the Labor government should they renege on that, although economics would say absolutely to do so. Cut expenditure, but where, cut aged welfare by 25%, save $30 billion dollars, but politically Australians wont support that. Introduce user pay schemes in health, education, etc, again political dynamite. Oh yes cut war expenditure, attacking the conservatives 'Sacred Cow' Dutton would be doing somersaults on the floor of parliament, Murdoch and the commercials would be having a field day. How should fiscal policy change?

Paul,
The obvious solution is a postal survey to give them a mandate to do the economically responsible thing.

In the longer term, Australia should use fiscal policy more like the way monetary policy has been used the past thirty years.

Hi Aidan,

Totally agree, the question; "Do you agree that the Federal Government should be more responsible on spending taxpayer money?
(Or some such question). The votes in and 99% agree. Albo says; "That great, now cut Aged Pensions by 25% and save $30 billion...I have a new mandate for that...Wow!" The pensioner lobby are up in arms, Fred Ziffle the spokesman for the newly formed "Pensioner Action", appears on the 6 o'clock News with; "There will be blood in the streets, my members are angry. We voted for responsible government spending, not cutting Aged pensions, CUT THOSE DOLE BLUDGERS OFF INSTEAD!"

I'm being flippant there, but I think you get the drift, its like prisons, lot of people want to see more people in prison, but not in their backyard, somewhere else.

Paul,

It's just more of your BS. The incompetent Labor idiots can do a lot to reduce Labor's $1 trillion debt that does not involve cutting the existing funds you suggested.

Labor's wasteful spending is already reaching record levels. This is boosting inflation and as a result the interest rates.

SM,

You lack all credibility when you spruik the lie "Labor's trillion dollar debt" I know it, you know it, everyone knows it, the irresponsible Morrison government racked up more wasteful debt than all the previous governments since federation. So lay off your lies. Not satisfied with dishing out the dosh to the big end of town, for example $12 million for the mega rich Gerry Harvey, they locked in a massive tax cut for good old Gerry as well. What is it, maybe Gerry looking after ScumO' and Friedbrain with free TV's and computers, a free lounge or two. Given the huge amount of Coalition corruption uncovered I wouldn't doubt it.

TTBN's closing comment:
'Shades of the "Workers’ Paradise" that drove previous Leftists to fiddle with the market and dispense with entrepreneurial individuals and private enterprise, replacing them incompetent bureaucrats and Government.'
Set up a false dichotomy. It is this dichotomy that was exploited by Thatcher and Reagan and has since been embraced by virtually all shades of politics. A perversity lies at the core of neoliberalism; whilst market fundamentalism actively produces, and depends upon, the existence of, social and spatial inequalities in wealth and income, neoliberal philosophy promotes the view that it is both morally wrong and technically unnecessary for governments to seek to intervene to remediate these inequalities. The result is a damaging and incredulous cycle of market liberalisation followed by growing inequalities followed by the preferred panacea—more aggressive neoliberalism.
This government's aim is to encourage entrepreneurship and private enterprise but rejects an economic system that increases inequality. One possibility is a property owning democracy based on some form of distributive justice. There is lots of work being done in that space.

Pauliar,

Just as you are a liar and a fraud when you say it's the coalition debt as labor built a fair chunk of it and has continued to do so.

September quarter Labor's debt grew by about $25bn and the same is expected from the December quarter. So Labor's debt in short order is $50bn in 6 months and they don't even have a pandemic to pay for.

Labor is and always has been incompetent with money.

Aidan,

Labor loves to tax and spend, and in doing this they are boosting inflation and interest rates. They promised to be fiscally responsible and to continue the tax cuts. Any attempt to change this prior to another election will be another lie among many.

SM,

The flow on effects of the Morrison madness when it comes to debt will continue well into the future, another $25 billion in the September quarter. You can't rack up a trillion dollars of debt like ScumO' and Friedbrain did, and not expect long term repercussions. As we know Australia will be burdened with the massive Coalition debt for the next 50 years!

Are you saying the Coalition tax cuts are not inflationary?

Pauliar,

Labor's $1T debt has got even worse after Labor happily racked up $50bn in 6 months at a rate even faster than during the pandemic showing Albozo's staggering incompetence.

Australia will be burdened for generations due to Labor/green spending like drunken sailors.

"Australian Government gross debt increased from $534.4 billion in March 2019 to $885.5 billion in April 2022" That's about $350 billion in one year. The $50 billion is residual debt created by the incompetent Coalition. Its a fact the Morrison government had lower taxes and more spending for the big end of town!

Pauliar,

How's your dementia, the $25bn deficit was due to Labor's incompetence, and any flow on in spending stopped by June.

As for tax cuts being inflationary, the one thing I can count on is you half arsing it, as clearly you didn't bother to read up on the "cuts" that Labor committed to.

These "cuts" were primarily put in place to compensate for bracket creep that would otherwise reduce real wages and increase the cost of living. These should ensure that the tax taken on most taxpayers stays about the same %

The responsibility of the government is to reduce inflation by being fiscally responsible. That Labor is still spending like drunken sailors shows that they can't be trusted.

SM

That should have read 3 years not 1 year. I say tax relief when possible, and given the trillion dollars of Coalition debt, any further tax cuts at this time are not economically responsible. Your folk hero Gerry will just have to pay his taxes out of the $12 million of free money he got from ScumO' and Friedbrain, if he can't avoid them. The ramifications of the Coalitions wasteful spending are going to be with us for the next 50 years!

BTW, no free telly for ScumO' and Friedbrain from dear old Gerry as expected. Gerry wouldn't give them, or you, a free smell of his fart! I bet you're in hock to Gerry big time all on the five year plan!

Shadow,

>Labor loves to tax and spend, and in doing this they are boosting inflation and interest rates.
No, it isn't tax and spend that has that effect, it's deficit spending. Taxation has the opposite effect.

My understanding is that because of high commodity prices, the deficit's likely to be significantly lower than forecast. But with inflation high around the world, the predicted crash in commodity prices would, on the whole, be good for the economy.
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Paul,
Being economically responsible doesn't equate to making enormous cuts. And economic responsibility should not come at the expense of social or environmental responsibility.

Overall, the most responsible course of action would be to temporarily raise the top tax rate. But that goes against an election promise, so they'll need a separate mandate for it.

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Both of you:

Australia's federal debt is NOT Labor's debt.
Nor is it the Coalition's debt, nor the Liberals' debt.
Nor is it even taxpayers' debt.

The Federal government has a policy of only borrowing in the currency it prints, so investors can be sure their money is safe, without needing to resort to the advice of those incompetent credit ratings agencies. There's no limit to the amount Australia can borrow, so we need not worry about the debt - we should focus on the deficit instead, as that has more of an effect on inflation. But we should keep in mind that it wasn't the primary cause of the current inflation.

Aidan,

Economics 101, Individuals don't spend 100% they save some which means that taxing and spending is more inflationary than cutting expenditure.

taxing and spending reduces real income which is another labor government failure.

Paul,

Given the $trillion of Labor debt they should not be spending like drunken sailors. The $25bn deficit was in the 2nd half of 2022 and is not in the future.