Tax cuts, first home owners grants, child care subsidies and
any where else this ideologically bankrupt federal government can thing of throwing money will see our interest rates go to a level that will make the pain on borrowers during the Keating days pale into insignificance.

Tax cuts will just be spent on imports (wide screens etc) adversely affecting our already teetering balance or trade.
Cash money for first home owners has made things worse for them by raising the cost of homes even further beyond their means. Doesn't take a genius to see that demand for homes rises with the extra money but without the corresponding increase in supply the only thing that can happen will be an increase in cost.
Childcare grants just allow the few providers to raise prices to higher and higher levels.
Subsidies for private health cover just allow the private providers to raise premiums.

To fix Australia we don't need a government that throws money at private infrastructure, we don't need a government that takes billions from public housing when people are desperately looking for affordable accommodation, we don't need a government that props up a few private child care providers whilst removing public providers. We don’t need a government that subsidies private health funds. Unless a person is a direct beneficiary of this Howard government largesse i.e. one of their business backers how can a voter possibly call them good economic managers?

Any more years of Howard and there will only be two kinds of people in Australia very rich and very poor and that is not an Australia I want to live in

THINK4SELF... your thoughts might be your own, but they do reflect those of many others also I feel.

In my case.. a miserable $20/week in tax cuts is nothing compared to the opportunity to get medical treatment in lifethreatening circumstances at an emergency room.

You only have to take a son with acute apendicitus to the emergency room where people with scrapes and cuts and imaginary other problems bully their way to the front, sidelining your offspring... to realize this.

With all the recent kafuffle about Sydney hospitals.... and miscarriages in toilets etc... gee.. you don't have to be brilliant to work out what's needed.

Unfortunately for me, I view what the 'faceless' mob behind labor bring to the values of the community to be worse than this.
So, my vote will goto a party like FF who can send a message to the Coalition along those lines.

It is possible these days to approach such parties..who's preferences are eagerly sought by the other parties, and suggest they make a bit of a deal along these lines to benefit from those preferences.

BOAZ
Agreed but finding an alternative party such as FF or the Greens who will be truly independent and put real pressure on the majors is practically impossible. Look what happened to the Democrats who sold out to the Libs over the GST. If they had held firm this farcical Federal / State blame game would not be happening. The states would still be going to Canberra each year with their budgets. Canberra would have to publicly say "no" taking the political consequences. The withholding of funding by Canberra unless some philosophical agenda of their own is met is disgraceful, and as for saying the states have all the money from the GST it just replaced other taxes the states levied.

The Fed/State blame-game was happening well before GST was introduced. The GST is just one more bit of revenue for them to quibble over.

I dont see that there is anything wrong with providing subsidies to private childcare providers. Providing them to listed corporations is perhaps something that I do have problems with, but whilst ABC is prevalent in most areas of the country, there are still many small private providers that mainly operate as not-for-profit (centres) or family day care (self-employed). I know what I pay for my FDC carer, and she doesnt make a very good living off it. However, its still a big cost burden to me, given that it has to come out of after-tax income (hence the rebate to help address this).

I support retention of tax revenues though, in the hope that the $34bill can be spent on service upgrades or on public education or the like.

Hear, hear Country Gal but how do we make the Pollys and "aspirants" hear. All the polls are saying just what you do. Services please not small tax cuts to the aspirants class. If the punters fall for J.H's rhetoric this time they deserve him. They probably will especially as a recent survey carried out by a mainstream woman's magazine asked which things would you NOT cut back on if your economic circumstances took a dive. The most prevalent answer was.... that they would do anything not to have to take their kids out of private schools. How sad