579>>A billion dollars a month, can you substantiate that.<<

God now I am really concerned 579. You asked that as if it is a revelation.

If it is a revelation, then consider why I am whinging about it. As I said we could build and staff 2 new teaching hospitals a month. Gillard has just cut a $40 million cancer therapy subsidy, and we are shipping a BILLION dollars a month to foreign bankers in interest.

It took Costello 10 years to retire the $10 BILLION debt left to him from Keating.

Our current debt is about $180 BILLION, so it may take 90 years to retire it.

579 I don’t care who runs the country, as long as they know what they are doing.

Here is your link for the interest

http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/ir/ir_expense.htm

History shows that all significant social developments and all major infrastructure projects were initiated by the Labor Party.

The conservatives only make changes begrudgingly for electoral rather than social purposes and are no more than a bunch of do-nothings who maintain the status quo for their owners and handlers.

Some Labor initiatives that we take for granted are -
National Super, Aged Pension, Workers Compensation, Invalid Pensions, Public Hospitals, Medicare, plan to eradicate Tuberculosis, introduction of running water and sewerage systems, womens' rights legislation, general access to Tertiary education and so on.

Liberal legacies include-
Biggest Trade deficit on record (including the longest run of successive monthly trade deficits), highest levels of household and business debt in history, lowest value of the $Aus, interest rates consistently above OECD average, highest inflation in 16 years, lowest housing affordability, highest personal bankruptcies in 20 years, highest taxing government in history, massive cuts to education while frittering away mineral boom benefits on electoral bribes and so on.

Paying a million dollars a month as a number tells us practically nothing.
To know whether that state of affairs is a good or a bad thing, one needs to know at least the following:
> What is the amount as a % of income;
> can we manage the cash flow;
> Was the money used wisely and possibly in income (present or future)generating ways.
Some of the ways this money might be spent can appear at first glance to be 'Lefty' and wasteful, but in fact may be a good investment.
Or not.
As an example, there has been criticism in these pages in the past, of expenditure on government advertising that is seen as 'social engineering', but particularly in the areas of health, such expenditure may be a wise investment if it reduces health care costs in the future.
Similarly, one can argue whether or not the NBN is the right, or most cost effective solution, but expenditure of billions of dollars in improving Australia's internet infrastructure could well be a highly profitable investment if it helps develop new industries and leads to many more rural jobs.
Borrowing to build a high speed rail system might be another investment worth going into debt for.
I'm not arguing the benefits or otherwise of these projects themselves, simply making the point that debt, if the money is spent wisely, may be very good for our nation.
Virtually every international economist agrees that the debt we incurred in minimising the negative effects of the GFC was a very wise investment and is part of the reason Australia did not even go into recession.
I've run some reasonably large operations, and my Boards would have given me hell if I had not borrowed heavily to invest for growth.
In business, not having debt is called, 'having a lazy balance sheet' and is frowned on heavily by institutional investors.
Anthony
http://www.observationpoint.com.au

Anthonyve>> Paying a million dollars a month as a number tells us practically nothing.<<

It tells me something Anthony; it tells me you are a fiscal illiterate.

The interest that this government pays is a BILLION a month.

Anthony at school have they taught you what a BILLION is yet?

A Billion is ONE million million….get it.

Wobbles you have not got a clue either. Please give some references to your claims. Or have you adopted the Gillard Labor standard of lies and spin.

Anthony I gave you the English BILLION, but there is an American BILLION, that is one thousand million. I will give you some homework. What form of Billion do we use in Australia for govt accounting purposes?

What has an American treasury site got to do with us. All very well to say that debt is bad. Anyone that has never had debt, has nothing. Without debt you do not have a credit rating. Your ability to pay debt is more important than debt it self.
Our debt is miniscule, compared to our total GDP.
All states have debt, without it infrastructure would stall, and so would our economy.
It's not all bad, i would not let it worry me.