I think someone has been dreaming and listening to a bit of white washing. If John Howard's government had left the country so well off, then how does it come that the governments under Howard and Peter Costello drove the country into a recession, That does not happen when there is plenty in kitty. As far as Thatcher goes, she only considered the rich, and had no time for the workers, and the Liberal and Labor parties are following her system here, nothing for the workers, and everything for the millionaires.

merv09,
Howard's mob got us out of the Keating recession. What the Kev07, Julia & Swan crowd are presently working on will put that recession in the shade by comparison. Don't for one moment believe they're capable of pulling off what it requires to get back in the black. They're a bunch of ex lawyers with no understanding of social responsibility. Give it 18 months & you'll see a re-run of 1975. Same plot different actors.

Why are 'the rich' and 'the workers' so often placed in binary opposition? Believe it or not, there are some millionaires and even multi-millionaires who have slogged their guts out and continue to slog their guts out despite their prosperity. I find the dichotomy a little offensive.

Otokonoko,
I never had nor will I ever have so much money to understand what it's like to make a lot. Your last post hits the nail on the head. I have a friend who at 76 still works pretty hard & as far as I am concerned he deserves every cent. Another friend had a workshop & had to give up because it wore him out physically & mentally to compete with a Government subsidised workshop. Many Public Servants do not morally deserve the handsome pay they're getting in return for causing misery to others who do work.
For some strange reason Labor is the strongest supporter for handsome reward for no effort & fleece the workers. The original Labor was exactly the other way round.