This morning, on our ABC I actually heard our esteemed treasure Swan actually suggest that "things like" spending 43 billion dollars on a national broadband network would reduce inflation. The next thing I heard was silence from the ABC political reporter.

I was listening to 2 incompetents, neither of whom should be in their jobs.

I wonder who taught Swan that the government borrowing yet another 45bn would reduce inflation. It's a wonderful idea. With this training, he can now fix all our inflation problems, just by borrowing a few hundred billion, great.

If this bloke gets back in as treasure we had better hold on very tightly. This voodoo economics will give us a pretty wild ride, all the way to bankruptcy.

Yeah just the same as I heard our esteemed opposition leader state he didnt know when he could return the budget to surplus despite his treasurer Hockey saying 3 years at the very same time on another station.
The same as I heard him spouting "no great big new tax" but then saying he was going to introduce one on business to pay for the "over his dead body" maternity scheme.
I heard him say "climate change is crap" and then say he would introduce an incentive scheme to reduce carbon.
Not to mention his appalling gaffe over no means no. What an insensitive dick.
Now he is jumping into bed with the big tobacco companies. Im sure his bumchums the miners wont mind. They can turn it into one giant orgy of capitalist spin and propaganda. Im sure Rupert will bend over for them like he has done so many times before.
With scumbags like this youve never seen it all.

Hasbeen posts:

"... The next thing I heard was silence
from the ABC political reporter.

I was listening to 2 incompetents,
neither of whom should be in their jobs."



Congratulations, Hasbeen. You have succeeded in capturing on the electronic page the sound of one hand clapping.




[Forrest hears in his mind's ear the haunting melody of Sibelius' 'The Swan of Tuonela'. Will this be a Swan song, a flight to the Finnish, he wonders in his mind's mind. Slowly the strains wain away. Silence descends.]

Nah, What I read is an biased armchair critic who has even less idea of The plan's finances, economics and who bases his opinions on public media/ party dogma doing his usual uninformed number.

If the plan involved better informed, more relevantly skilled professionals several months work, then a 5 Minute assessment by a media who's concerned with a grabbing story than analysis is logically suspect.

It is unlikely that the treasurer would have come to that conclusion on his own.
But of course B& I tops Knowledge any day, right?

well the Abbott and Costello show [under Rodent] milked 65 Billion away from Health etc to put into a Future Fund for themselves [and other Fat Cats like judges who pay only 14% contribution to their UNFUNDED super].

that's why I don't want the Mad Monk in power

I enjoy this Forum!

We love to analize, and it
shows!

The problem on this point is, all of you are right!

Exy, I'm not surprised that you would agree with Swan, someone has to believe all their rubbish, it might as well be you.

I still won't be surprised when he claims all this borrowing is good to keep interest rates down, & I expect you will agree with that too.

Now we have little Julie having the hide to start claiming that this election is about the economy. She expects us to take her seriously, when she still has this dill Swan as treasurer. Wonders will never cease. Still you'll be with them, won't you Exy?

I suppose she might as well try the economy as a new tack, she has stuffed so many lines of attack now, there's not too much left, & still 2 weeks to go, WOW.

Peter Costello brought down twelve consecutive Federal Budgets, [and ten surpluses]during the years he was Treasurer eliminating a net debt for Australia of $96 billion; a brilliant Economist and Treasurer; let us hope that Peter imparted some of his knowledge, strategies and expertise upon any staff currently remaining in the Coalition.

Dear Hasbeen,

WOW! is absolutely spot on.

Anson Cameron also nailed it in
"The Age," Saturday July 31st 2010,
when he wrote:

"I'm highly susceptible to spin...
Oh yeah, I've bought some hyped
products in my time (haven't we all).
Jingles call to me like Sirens to
horny Argonauts...
So when Julia comes on TV and tells me
that Tony can't be trusted. I believe her.
She's got my vote. And when Tony comes on
and tells me Julia is a usurper without
ethics, I believe him. He's got my vote.
And when Julia comes on and tells me
Tony's a climate turnip who will burn us
all. I believe her. She's got my vote.
Done deal. Again... Gullibility means
serving many masters in the course of a
day. Each evening between sitcoms
I'm pulling more political volte-faces
than Winston between wars..."

Peter Costello brought down twelve consecutive Federal Budgets, [and ten surpluses]during the years he was Treasurer eliminating a net debt for Australia of $96 billion; a brilliant Economist and Treasurer; let us hope that Peter imparted some of his knowledge, strategies and expertise upon any staff currently remaining in the Coalition.

--

ANYONE can screw the pensioners etc to give a surplus.

Notice how quickly he had the wife quote The Sentimental Bloke and join Howard in the Pig Trough.

By arranging to LOSE his seat [via Family Law and Abo Kiddie craps] he got $230,000 pa EXTRA superannuation than if he won Benelong.

Did you notice not even a Paul Keating tear from the Rodent

.. like rats from a sinking ship, and he and costello straight for their Future Fund kitty, like a rat up a drain

so just as Menzies inflicted Howard on us mentor wise, Howard was always going to inflict the DNA Kid, the Head to Toe Kid, the Mad Monk, the Bob Ellis "defects from ALP Kid" upon us.

Abbott is as much a bottom feeder as was GW Bush, but he will be elected for same reason Hitler talked to per:

"It is most fortunate for governments that the people do not think"

DD you dont give us information only your hostile emotive attitude. Just as well you are not part of a government for all people.

mikk, you know damned well what he said was he can't give a timeframe until we all know just how bad things are. Also, niether party has told us just how much it will cost, or is likely to cost, to fix up labors monumental stuff ups.

The big tax you refer to is an additional 1.5%, not he 30% proposed by labor. Now if his 1.5% is 'big', what does this make labors 30%?

You labor lovers sure do know how to condure up the old 'spin', hey!

Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

As for the rest of you labor pupets, you can crow as much as you like, but the fact is we would have been broke in less than one year if the libs had left the economy in the position that your lot have managed to get it two now. From +20billion to - 60 odd billion and a huge mess to clean up.

History shows that Labor have held office twice in the past two decades and on both occasions they have placed us in serios debt.

And the big picture,
Qld labor - BROKE, NSW labor - BROKE, federal labor - BROKE!

Nothing to crow about!

Foxy, I suppose I'm lucky. I have made my choice, & have switched off. It really is a relief to switch off the drivel we get from the commentators.

A couple of weeks ago I had no idea who I would vote for. Julia started hinting at the right stuff for me, but after a while I realised she was only kidding. She has a real problem trying to balance her academics, real people like you & belly, & swing voters like me.

Even if I had not decided she was trying to con people like me, the tripe from Swam this morning would have decided me we just can't afford any more voodoo stuff.

For once it is good to be in a marginal, my vote just may count.

and...DD? Your point? Are you able to improve upon stamping out a $96 Billion Debt that Labor caused prior to Peter Costello spending thousands of hours devising ways and implementing concepts; thereafter overseeing the processes, in order for Australians to have pressure valves released in their daily lives for a few years? More money in their pockets for a few years, less pressures with personal debt, costs lowered, improved inflation rates, the economy was functioning at its best during the years Peter was Treasurer.

That man worked 24 hour days DD throughout most of his career; he out of the many public servants in parliament deserves his super long service, retirement funds and payouts.

Why are you not performing the job with all of its pressures?

Costello also lost a billion on currency swaps, sold off most of our gold reserve to the Chinese and flogged off almost all our government assets.

More money leaves the country now as a percentage of GDP as share dividend payments to new overseas owners of what were our own companies - than was being paid as interest payments.

The surplus he claimed to create out of thin air was a windfall from the minerals boom - most of which was used to bribe voters instead of investing it in infrastructure and about a third was actually HECS debt - some of which may never be paid.

The surplus was never a big vault full of cash under Parliament House where Costello used to swim around like Scrooge McDuck.

It's also been reported that Treasury actually did most of the work and that he was "lazy" when it came to serious budget work.

The only thing he would have done 24 hours a day would have been to whine about when it was going to be his turn to be PM.

If we're "borrowing" $100 million a day and that represents 4% of GDP it means that the government is actually taking in $2.5 billion per day. The amount coming in will grow with the economy while the amount paid back on loans will be reducing to zero within the next few years.

Maybe you'd prefer to be in a deep recession instead and spend the surplus on dole payments to the masses of unemployed?

The thread is a mirror,a spotlight on this election campaign.
Cynicism runs free a forgetfulness that allows insults to Gillard but forgets Tony Abbott is the man who put Barnaby Joice in charge of our country's finances.
Who said yes no definitely no/yes maybe to climate change.
Who holds the view abortion drugs should not be used ever.
A strange shift in the way media is hiding the real Tony Abbott from us crafting news to undermine one side and elevate the other.
Australia could be the biggest victim, if we are unable to see Abbott's past we will not see our possible future.

Hasbeen,people in the IT industry know it's all BS.This again are the large corporates influencing our Govt.$43 billion more debt for no gain.It must be also corruption.Who are getting undisclosed kickbacks?

They must think we are mad.On one hand bring on the clean feed and slow down the net via censorship,then pay a needless fortune to speed it up a bit.

Hasbeen,

I don't agree or agree with Swan.
What I do Know is that you are not skilled or informed sufficiently in the area you need to be to make statements that are anywhere near as definitive as the one starting this topic.

As I said assertions without substance are simply prejudices.

Have a good week end.

Ecy, you don't have to be too smart to understand the principal, just a little smarter than Swan, & that's not too hard.

I'm surprised that with your opinion of yourself, you haven't bothered to learn the basics.

Hasbeen,
Smarts has nothing to do with my point. Experience and Knowledge Plus All the facts.

I would be uncomfortable if the smartest person in the world sailing my yacht around the pacific if they didn't have the other attributes as well.

In addition Economics is a soft science even less authoritative that AGW/ACC which is at in a reasonable better understood. I would cite the number of 'nasty surprises' this science has given us (GFC).

If not then science and principals are "overtly subject to interpretation" then the only factor left is the corrupted nature of current participants, Corporations and the corp dominated Govts (feral Capitalism). In Australia's case that means (the party system)both parties to differing degrees.

One can argue that any party whose primary focus is corporate power,(capitalism) i.e. Liberal/Country Party (aka Nationals (sic)) Coalition are the lesser of the two in that aspect.