It is no secrete that many small businesses are bleeding at present and, at a time when we need real help and assistance, what does Mr Swan do, he says, "go out and increase your debt and we will give you a $5K instant write off" on that new vehicle you most likely didn't really need.

He is so much out of touch.

The only reason we are being hurt is due to their gross mismanagement of our taxes.

I think in future government ministers should have indemnity insurance, paid for from their own pockets so that we, the tax payers don't have to sit back, completely helpless, while they go about wasting our money.

If they perform well, then they can enjoy the benefits of a 'no claim bonus', however, if the perform badly, then their premiums should increase.

We have all paid once Mr Swan, only you wasted that lot, now you want us to feel the pain of your incompitance while you enjoy your perks and look forward to your tax payer funded retirement.

Bring on the next election.

Must say knew it was coming.
Hockey has said every thing that needs saying.
First complaining about cuts then offering to spend big, on middle class welfare.
Asking why we have a target for foreign aid then seeing his leader and deputy go against him.
A budget that is about as good as it can be and still put us back in the black sooner.
Australia has had too many tax cuts under both forms of government time it ended.

ahhh..so...mr re

""he is so much out of touch.""

that is a judgment call
BUT I AGREE..he listens TOO MUCH to big business
and not enough to the people....

[but then he is no different
from toney...or the big fella]

or any other of the many fools
..thinking they get elected
by the people..to serve the boss...!

""The only reason we are being hurt
is due to their gross mismanagement of our taxes.""

as a smoker i can only agree
GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OUT OF MY POCKETT

i hear there are 152 DIFFERENT TAXES
you loaded us up with...

[or rather howard did]...
gst was to cut taxes..not become a cash cow
for the states

then the feds
then spend the cash
the fed USED to give..to the states

neat con
but i agree ,r re

""I think in future government ministers
should have indemnity insurance,..paid for
from their own pockets..""

HERE HERE

""so that we,..the tax payers
don't have to sit back,..*completely helpless,""

COMPLETLY UNREPRESENTED
over taxed..over explouited..over worked..underpaid
sucked dry by blood sucking leaches plundering our compulsory SUPPER

""while they go about wasting our money.""

our taxes..our labours...our good will

Not sure if many economists or financial experts would agree with the author of this thread. There's an interesting article by Ben Eltham entitled, "A Strong Budget, But Will It Bounce?" for those interested:

http://newmatilda.com/2011/05/11/strong-budget-bounce

Lexi,most small businesses are hurting badly, especially retail, hospitality and tourism.

They are struggling to keep up with the costs of running their businesses and the majority of those who are surviving are only doing so because they have a nest egg to draw upon.

When your overdraft is at max, the last kind of help we need is to go out and borrow money.

The $5,000 instant write off means that you borrow say $30 to 50K for that new ute, then you receive a 'one off' $1,500 discount on your tax. Big Deal!

Meanwhile you have increased your debt, increased your monthly commitment and decreased your cash flow, which is the very cause of your struggles in the first place.

Having been involved in small business for more than two decades, I can tell you that the writing is on the wall.

At one point, in the mid 90's, I made more money than the prime minister, to much in fact, yet today, I make less than and average mine worker.

SB used to be that one could work very hard for ten years and set yourself up for life. Those days are all but gone.

Now the worry I have is that SB is the largest employer in the country and it is looking shaky as those returns on investment, of both dollars and time are drying up and fast.

Once SB is gone, we will never replace it.

OUG. The federal government is not at fault for the GST problem as it was the states that refused to remove the taxes they had agreed to once the GST kicked in.

Bring on a transaction tax I say.

It seems to me that all is dependant on China continuing its current
growth rate. Well it is impossible. Think about this;

If its current around 8 to 10 pervent growth rate continues for seven
years then the Chinese economy will be twice the size it is now !

There is not the energy sources, oil or coal that power such growth
and internally China is running up against its own limits with
bottlenecks in transport. It does not have the availability of the
fundamental supplies such an increase needs.

No one can double the supply chain in 7 years that such growth
demands. It cannot happen, so the income from China that the
government expects just cannot happen.

i8 suppose those who read the entrails
will have noted this

""Great Wall St.:
Goldman Sachs & Co

*betting on yuan?
By: portos

The two biggest boys on the Wall Street Block a
re reportedly planning to set up yuan-dominated private equity funds in China.""

under their new mask

""Goldman Sachs wants to raise up to 5 billion yuan""

from the peas-ants-
""which equals almost 800 million U.S. dollars,
and Morgan Stanely's to follow suit next week.

To discuss the matter and its implications
for the American economy, RT talks to economic researcher and author William Engdahl.
http://revolutionarypolitics.tv/video/viewVideo.php?video_id=14934

"The torturers from the start
had said that the United States supported them
....*and that was what counted." --

Amnesty International report on Greece
in the 1960s under...US--supported dictator George Papadoupolus

http://www.activistpost.com/2011/05/report-states-nickel-and-dime.html
http://www.activistpost.com/2011/05/white-house-to-unveil-new-cyber.html

http://theintelhub.com/2011/05/12/scientific-study-links-flammable-drinking-water-to-fracking/

Dear rehctub,

My husband was self employed for decades. He always managed to survive without any major financial highs, although we did have some
lows and my husband only earned a fraction of the PM's salary. We lived within out means and learned to adjust. Mind you my salary helped a great deal.
The link I gave in my previous post was - for anyone interested in another assessment of the current budget apart from the comedic statements predictably espoused by the leader of the Opposition who's embarrasing statements are making his own back-benchers cringe as witnessed while watching Parliament on TV. Personally, I feel that the current budget had to be a tough one - to compensate for the global financial diaster brought upon the world by the US bankers. The
Australian economy still has a triple A rating on the world market.

Whether the government achieves a surplus or not in 2012-13 doesn't really matter at least they have set themselves goals to aim for it but the Opposition's scare-mongering is not going to help - especially if investors react to the Opposition's rhetoric. This will be detrimental to us all.

*At one point, in the mid 90's, I made more money than the prime minister, to much in fact, yet today, I make less than and average mine worker.*

Rehctub, stop grizzling, you are clearly still doing ok! Yes, in
the mid 90s butchers creamed it, as farmers were forced to give
their livestock away for next to nothing. You can't expect those
kinds of margins to last, its more like robbery really.

I've told you before, the world is changing, ignore it at your peril.
The high cost high price retailing model is going to crash, the
internet will force it to crash. Consumers are the winners.

No wonder that American corporations are moving into Australia and
taking market share. They are used to tough competition.

I bought a bearing seal this week, which is little more then a bit
of tin, accurately bent. I needed it to get a machine going.
Local price from the logal high margin business, 40 bucks.
So out of interest I googled the same part number. American price
is $3.95 1000% difference!

For this very reason we need globalisation. To keep the local
bastards honest.

It is OK for Mr. Abbott to condemn this government as wrong in everything they do.

If he does not or cannot explain why they are such a bad government, his words are only an opinion, not proof.

Yabby>>Rehctub, stop grizzling, you are clearly still doing ok! Yes, in
the mid 90s butchers creamed it, as farmers were forced to give
their livestock away for next to nothing. You can't expect those
kinds of margins to last, its more like robbery really.

Margins today are actually higher than they were back then, so your theory is again inaccurate.

In fact, in the mid 90's the pig farmers begged us to sell more pork, so we did.

Then, overseas pork contracted foot and mouth, so what do you recon happened to local pork prices. You guessed it, they shot through the roof as the farmers chose the OS market over the locals.

And they have the hide to call us greedy.

Lexi,it's only the past few years that have been really tough.

Flo, there have been almost as many 'stuff ups' by these fools as there are letters in the alphabet.

How on earth can you honestly think they have done a sound job.

Just remember, the GFC didn't cause the insulation 'stuff ups', the fuel watch, grocery watch, the school halls, the (state labor) traveston dam, the solar, the .........or the NBN.

Labor managed these stuff ups all on their own and in what must be considered to be record time.

Dear rehctub,

The following website may clarify a few things for you (and anyone else who's interested):

http://newmatilda.com/2011/05/13/abbott-remembers-families-forgets-taxes

As a reader wrote on that link:

"Although there isn't an election due until 2013 - Abbott would like to see one take place much earlier. Straight away actually... if we elect the Liberal Party with Abbott as leader in 2013 we will have reached an historical apex of venal stupidity. Historians will view the Australian people circa 2011 as a bunch of greedy-bloody-minded, ethically bankrupt sheep..."

"Abbott has nothing to offer but slogans and vacuous performances..."

This does seem to be his own last grasp for power.

cont'd...

The link that I provided in my previous post explains a few things like:

"The Coalition is made up of AGW denialists, and hence the home insulation scheme to them was a total waste of money. The ALP timidly endorses AGW, and its home insulation scheme was by and large successful, but it was naively managed and rorted to buggery by the sort of "entrepreneurial" cowboys who are Abbott's natural constituency... The Coalition wants the growing inequality of income, wealth, and power distribution to keep going. The ALP wants to tone it down a bit..."

It's good to read something else apart from The Australian - broadens one outlook.

Lexi said>>"Abbott has nothing to offer but slogans and vacuous performances..."

But forgot to mention, and a team with a 'proven track record' of sound economic management and budget surpluses.

They did it last time, inherited labors massive debt and they will just have to do it again, albeit, against tougher odds.

It is my bet that many labor voters will simply lodge an informal vote next time as their party, along with the greens and the two independents have let them down, big time.

A better solution would be to accept the fact that their once beloved party is no longer.

But, that what happens when you have a closed mind.

>>The link that I provided in my previous post explains a few things like:

Yes, and what about;
How much will I pay for the NBN?

How much will the proposed carbon tax increase my cost of living by?

What will happen to labors' numbers if the carbon and mining taxes don't get passed?

Yet another politically bias statement from the media Lexi.

Just remember, life runs on proven records, not just forecasts, guesswork and broken promises.

*and a team with a 'proven track record' of sound economic management and budget surpluses.*

Err that was Costello, Rehctub, he is now gone. Abbott has hardly
shown great judgement in the past.

Huge proposed payments to women earning up to 150k per year,
then IIRC it was him who cut doctor training many years ago, when
he was health minister. We've relied on overseas doctors ever
since.

If the Libs want to go anywhere, they need to bring up some talent
from the backbenches, for its not in their leadership.

*Margins today are actually higher than they were back then*

In that case you must be doing ok, Rehctub. Or perhaps your margins
are too high, so people are going elsewhere. The world is changing,
new business models are coming into play. The old high rent, high
cost Westfield shopping centre model is going to struggle to survive
as the game changes. But ignore it at your peril.

Dear rehctub,

I agree that we have to rely on "proven records," and I agree that the Liberal Party were very concerned about saving (a government that robes Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul). However, unfortunately this comes at great future expense to the nation. Achieving a surplus at the expense of social services, infrastructure, health, education, transport, does achieve great savings but it results in a deterioration of these services and ultimately requires a future government to repair the damage at greater expense.

It's unfortunate that the Liberal Party continues to ignore their responsbility of maintaining an efficient and functioning nation.

For those that don't understand this - if you don't maintain your home it will fall down and either it will have to be fixed by the new owner or it will have to be demolished - either way resulting in greater expense.

Disasters and world economic financial crises are beyond the control of any government and a sensible and practical resolution is to the credit of the nation no matter what government undertakes to run it efficiently. So far the Australian economy has survived recent disasters - both economic and natural.

Rehctub, I'm not trying to be contentious here - as I've stated many times on this forum - I don't vote for parties but for policies and for me so far, Labor has offered policies that I understand and the Liberals have only offered criticisms that don't make any sense. Tony Abbott wants an election and he deserves to have one. The Liberal Party should grant him his wish and hold an "election" for a new party leader. More progress was made in parliament when Malcolm Turnbull was party leader and under Turnbull most people saw the potential of the Opposition in government.

Well said Lexi

>> Tony Abbott wants an election and he deserves to have one. The Liberal Party should grant him his wish and hold an "election" for a new party leader. More progress was made in parliament when Malcolm Turnbull was party leader and under Turnbull most people saw the potential of the Opposition in government. <<

I am nearly 70 but have had trouble understanding how Germans which I have found to be decent people, could allow Mr. Hitler to gain the power he did in popular elections. To do so, they must have at sometime supported his beliefs, even those which was against their own personal values or interest.

As a close follower of politics in this country, I have seen a massive change in the last decade or two, of many ignoring facts and holding onto perceptions that neither benefit them or are false.

I still do not understand the process, but I do acknowledge it occurs.

We have had handed down a budget that many experts see as fair and balance. Most families, especially those with school age children and teenagers will greatly benefited.

We have a budget that addresses the needs of those who are disabled and mentally ill for the first time.

What is attracting all their attention. It is the freezing of the upper income limits that you can claim family benefits. This has occurred since 2009 at least. The Coalition supported the move.

Anyone that earns less than $150,000, (less than 15% of dual income families will still receive benefits. The same people have not objected when tax deductions were given for the last ten years, deductions that benefited the upper income earner much more than those lower on the income ladder.

I am not saying the budget is perfect, no budget is. The budget is not as bad as public perception seem to believe.

We have a community where the needy appear to be fighting the battles of the strong and powerful. There is no benefited to those on the bottom of the ladder fighting battle of the well off and rich

Thank You Ammonite and Flo. I've come across another comment on the web that struck a cord with me (and many other readers - judging from their comments) it was:

"Obviously the Opposition leader has decided to maximise his advantage on "economic management," by invoking the "Howard Golden Age" and avoid commiting himself to anything substantive on economic policy in the here and now. As a political tactic its clearly designed to - 1) keep the focus on the government. 2) Change the subject without addressing the questions posed about savings. 3) Maintain the constant election frenzy Abbott likes to conjure up.

All smoke and mirrors really. Sad.

Thank you Lady's I liked and agreed with those posts every word.
As many know I live the subject always have.
And in 1975 saw much of what is taking place today.
That year and the two before saw the ALP seemed to forget its actions did not help the uncommitted vote for them.
Much of the media campaign then and now, was biased toward conservatives and headlines lied.
They do this morning.
Every paper even the ABC web site runs this constructed lie.
Gillards refugee policy in taters as another boat arrives.
Clearly a lie, that boat had to have left before the policy was announced and it is clear its occupants are not being let in.
While Labor is head and shoulders above Abbott be warned he is not going to lead at the next election,if we run our term.
And those 12% we call swinging voters need to see us get better,Turnbull will test us.

actually it deserves noting here
bellies redirection

that two billion cost of boat people imprisoning

seems a certain selective tender is cleaning up from both ends
as happens..when these things dont go out to tender
[i note that prison system..is cashed up enough to be in other policing stuff[ike transporting prisoners

hiring ex prison guards
treating refugees as criminals
and eventually..us aas the same mindset

people dont go insane of holiday
but this incarceration service
seems to be milking the teat of medical costs too hard

its not cost affective
how are boat people any different from jet people
except they got a visa...and thus got power or money
seems the poor get special treatment..

and those who do get in..
made slaves..[how many pay up front]
how many by iou

fact is we dont know

Yabby, you of all people should know there is a difference between gross and net margins.

Now while our gross margins are much higher, or net margins are much lower.

This is mainly due to the increases in costs associated with running a business and, if these costs continue to rise, without a similar rise to the owners profits, then may small businesses will fail, along with thousands of jobs.

The consumer is constantly seeking that 'better deal' but the end result will no doubt out strip the net savings.

You see we retailers have to fight over what I call the 'left overs', that's the money left after paying the fixed bills.

This is why the industry is doomed for small players.

Won't bother me as I am at the end of my butchering stint. I also have my tree farm to support me. Posts have increased by some 120% in just under six years and I have about 20 years supply or more.

*This is mainly due to the increases in costs associated with running a business*

Absolutaly, this is why I think that the high cost Westfield model
which made the Lowys so rich, is not going to work as the game
changes. The internet coupled with a massive increase in supermarket
competition will see to that. When Coles was asleep for twenty
five years, it did not matter. Now you have the new management,
in the process of creating another Tescos. How will small retailers
pay those high rents?

The internet is playing a huge role too. People shopping online
in Australia has doubled in the last year. Whole new business models
are emerging, to give consumers a better deal, which means a more
efficient pipeline from producer to consumer, cutting out costs
and middlemen all along the way.

I know, I use them, as in the country shopping is limited. But it
also shows me the trend. Its the reason why people like James
Packer has ploughed money into Deals Direct and others. They don't
pay those high rents and don't have those high advertising costs
either.

In places like New York, one upstart online company went from nothing
to 300 million $ worth of foodstuffs and meal solutions home delivered
around New York. That includes fresh meat, fish, fruit, veggies,
bread, the lot in one delivery. The same will happen here down
the track.

So IMHO, as supermarkets become more aggressive and online takes
more of the dollar, high cost Westfield type stores will struggle
in the future.

>>which means a more
efficient pipeline from producer to consumer, cutting out costs
and middlemen all along the way.

Yes Yabby, but you forgot to say (and jobs)

I for one am somewhat opposed to online shopping, simply because it costs jobs, and that is something that we as a nation can ill afford, despite the best efforts of our government and their insistence that we are flying high.

Now as for the likes of westfield, and other centres, well, they are in for a major shake up as they will either have to demolish their land for some other purpose, or, slash their rents because for the big traders to survive, they rely on the higher rents paid by the small traders.

Currently there are three levels of traders. Majors, mini majors and small operators.

The majors are the draw card and pay much less rent and costs, the mini's a bit more and the small ones heaps more.

They all need each other to survive.

It's the annual increases, generally 4 to 6% which are built in to almost every lease that are the killers because our profits don't increase by that margin.

I think the Aldi 'stand alone' model will be your coles/wollies of the future. Only trouble is, the returns are not there for the investor/land owner so it may mean that the big guys will have to invest in their own land.

This then has the potential for a 'white elephant' effect, especially as online shopping demands increase, as the last thing shareholders want is assets that tie up capital with little return.

Either way, the end is coming for today's model.

Well Rehctub the return of the local walk to shopping centre is I
believe on its way back. As they say it won't happen tomorrow, I hope,
but it will happen.
We are facing an era of "Localisation" of everything.
As fuel costs rise an increasing number of people will do without a
vehicle and the local farmers market will become more common.

If the shortage of fuel first happens with every country getting its
share it will all happen in an orderly manner.
However if it is a matter of the US, Europe and China scrambling for
all they need we could dip out altogether.

If that happens recent figures I have seen suggest that we import
80% of our petrol and diesel, we would be in big trouble as that
could happen very suddenly. The figure I had always assumed was that
we had a little more than 50% of our own supply. It may be that the
grade of the crude oil is not suitable.

Whatever, the nature of retailing will either change gradually or
suddenly and probably nothing in between.
Not much help for the small retailer with this weeks bills but I think
he can at least bank on change happening.

How Fuel-efficient Is the Pentagon?
Military’s Oil Addiction
http://www.envirosagainstwar.org/know/read.php?itemid=593

A B-52 bomber gulps down 86 barrels per hour.
F-4 Phantom fighter/bombers devour 40 barrels per hour.

At peak thrust, F-15 fighters burn 25 gallons per minute.

An F-16 jet on a training mission
ignites more fuel in a single hour
than the average car owner consumes in two years.

To reach supersonic speeds,..a pilot
turns on the plane’s afterburners which can triple a jet’s speed
....*and increase fuel consumption twenty times.

but heck its macarbe
http://desertpeace.wordpress.com/2011/05/15/al-nakba-remembering-the-land-that-never-was-photo-essay-video/

or may be
http://saladin-avoiceinthewilderness.blogspot.com/2011/05/holding-world-hostage.html

Denying the Nakba—

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/05/2011515649440342.html
forgetting our role in it
http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2011/03/30/cesium-fallout-fukushima-rivals-chernobyl-12442/
and ignoring its political implications

is denying our own identity.
http://desertpeace.wordpress.com/2011/05/15/a-jewish-view-of-the-nakbaa-jew-reflects-on-the-nakba/

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2011/May-15/Israel-Palestinian-violence-erupts-on-three-borders.ashx
Banning remembrance of the Nakba
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/terrorism-security/2011/0515/Palestinian-nakba-protests-turn-deadly.-Israel-sees-Iran-s-fingerprints.
only reminds the world that Israel uses law
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2011/May-15/Israeli-Army-kills-4-protesters-along-Lebanon-border.ashx
to re-write history for their own benefit,
with stooges..willing to deal in terror
http://desertpeace.wordpress.com/2011/05/15/the-new-egypt-continues-to-stand-with-israel/

http://desertpeace.wordpress.com/2011/05/15/63-years-later-israel-remains-the-only-democratic-dictatorhip-in-the-middle-east/

and they have been doing it for over 60 years now.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1387290/Libya-NATO-step-bombing-campaign-prevent-stalemate.html
http://upsidedownworld.org/main/argentina-archives-32/26-the-imf-and-usury-crime-without-punishment-71105
http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2011/05/15/radiation-experiments-black-people-left-holes-heads-warning-graphic-video-22774/

http://www.antiwar.com/blog/2011/05/14/a-supine-submission-to-wrong-and-injustice/

http://revolutionarypolitics.tv/video/viewVideo.php?video_id=14957&title=college-education-is-the-largest-scam-in-u-s--history

http://whatreallyhappened.com/IMAGES/Ahmadinejadmeetswithrabbis/index.html

http://dailybail.com/home/college-conspiracy-california-prison-academy-is-better-than.html

http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2011/05/15/congress-vote-declaration-world-war-3-endless-war-borders-clear-enemies-22785/

*I for one am somewhat opposed to online shopping, simply because it costs jobs*

But it also creates jobs, Rehctub. Having someting expensive
as it is, just because it creates jobs, is no better then Beasley's
job creation schemes and is not much good for productivity.
Only through productivity, does a nation's people land up being
better off in real terms.

All those companies doing online, can hire cheap industrial real
estate paying very low rents, compared to high prices Westfield
space. They still employ workers, so do logistics companies etc.
IT workers are required, more jobs.

Besides, we already have a shortage of workets in plenty of industries, so this will free up some labour for other sectors,
no need for more migrants in some of these occupations.

Yabby is basically right.
The main objection to internet shopping is the buying of goods made
overseas and not making work in Australia.
That will change with localisation, but may take some years.

I would be interested to know if furniture manufacturing has returned
to Australia as it has in the US. However I think labour costs are
lower in the US than Australia.

I personally am seriously disturbed that we are cutting defence funding (including retaining demonstrably dangerous troop-carrying helicopters - the UH-60 has killed almost as many Australian Defence Personnel as the War in Afghanistan 21-23, although 3 were killed in a UH-60 in Afghanistan, making it 21:20). Yet the MRH-90 (http://www.ausaero.com.au/Aircraft/Military/Helicopters/MRH90/) has been put on hold again.

To grind salt into that wound, the Budget gives about $100M to Pakistan to be used against our forces.

We are also giving aid to China and Indonesia who spend much more on defence equipment than we do.
Frankly it is not only counter productive but unecessary.
If they can spend those sort of monies then they don't need our aid.