Were we every out of it? Not twelve months ago, and for some time after the three wise monkeys running the economic management of Australia, Prime Minister Morrison, Treasurer Frydenberg, and Finance Minister Cormann were yelling from the roof tops "We are back in the BLACK!" How false that claim has proven to be, it was simply untrue.
What was a possible wafer thin surplus, is rapidly turning into a sizeable deficit. These infallible economic geniuses, as they seemed to claim they were, have proven to be rather ordinary economic managers. The same three were highly critical of the Rudd Governments "socialists" economic stimulus package during the GFC in 2009, now with the economy in rapid decline the same bods wheeled out a similar "socialists" economic stimulus package yesterday to try and deal with the coronavirus. Will this package keep Australia out of a recession, I very much doubt it, more a case of too little too late, from these very poor economic managers. BTW; How good Socialism looks to the Capitalists when times get tough for them.

Yeah, agreed.

I just don't how these dills failed to forecast the Wuhan Virus a year ago.....oh wait.

" BTW; How good Socialism looks to the Capitalists when times get tough for them."

Yep, I bet we all wish we were living under the Chinese system now.

Dear Paul,

I'm actually going to give them some credit for the $750 cash handout to the unemployed and pensioners. Everyone knows this is how you stimulate spending as these groups will generally pump it straight back into the economy. It would have been a really anathema for them to do it too, but it's happening so hats off.

The tax cuts from last year really only impacted those on $45,000 and above from memory and there was consternation within coalition ranks as to why there was so little stimulus as a result. As anyone with half a brain would know it went straight to paying down mortgages.

They are mirroring a Rudd initiative which they had so roundly criticised in the past. Why? Because it works.

Why? Because it works.
SteeleRedux,
Crap ! Rudd had Costello's futures fund to raid, Morrison doesn't have that luxury !

Dear individual,

Mate, you are an outright shocker. We have been through this before and after providing the figures I thought you had accepted them. Rudd did not raid any future fund instead he and Swann increased it.

I will paste them again.

Quote

Oh good lord mate. Labour not only didn't raid it they created 4 accompanying funds.

“In his 2008 Australian federal budget speech, the Treasurer, Wayne Swan announced three new "Nation-Building Funds", also to be managed by the Future Fund Board. These included a $20 billion Building Australia Fund to invest in roads, rail, ports and broadband; an $11 billion Education Investment Fund, which absorbed the $6 billion Higher Education Endowment Fund set up by the previous government; and a $10 billion Health and Hospital Fund. In that budget and the following 2009 federal budget, the Labor Rudd Government promised A$41 billion to create these new funds.”
Wikipedia

The total funds held under management, as at 31 December each year, inclusive of funds held in the Building Australia Fund, the Health and Hospitals Fund, the Education Investment Fund and the DisabilityCare Australia Fund, are:

Date
(31 Dec) Total funds
(billions) Notes

2008 Increase to A$59.62
2009 Increase to A$87.23
2010 Increase to A$90.51
2011 Decrease to A$89.39
2012 Increase to A$94.96
2013 Increase to A$107.36
2014 Increase to A$119.47
2015 Increase to A$128.5
2016 Increase to A$139.5
2017 Decrease to A$138.9
2018 Increase to A$147.0

So you can see the largest additions to the fund have been under Labour governments.

End quote.

Yet here you are again propagating a lie. Give it up.

Hi Steele,

Given the circumstance we find the economy in, a first round stimulus package consisting of direct payments is absolutely necessary. The economy has been on the slide for well over a year now, and the government, despite warnings, has left it up to the Reserve Bank to try and boost the economy through monetary policy, mainly interest rate cuts, which have not succeeded. With the bushfires, and now the much more economically serious Coronavirus, incidentally I perceive the Coronavirus as a greater threat than the GFC, it would be totally irresponsible for the government to have done nothing.

What is the opinion of some of the 'Usual Suspect' on the forum, who if I recall correctly, rubbished Rudd for taking direct action at the time of the GFC. This government took every opportunity to claim Labor was reckless with its economic management, placing the country into deficit. At the time it was deficit or deep recession, Labor correctly chose deficit. Now the boofheads claimed a surplus when no such surplus existed, and is unlikely to exist for some years to come. Are they really the great economic managers, or simply economic fools who don't know what they are doing.

Hi Mhaze; "I just don't how these dills failed to forecast the Wuhan Virus a year ago." Of course mere economic mortals could not forecast such an event, but for the three economic gurus ScumO', Friedbrain and Cornball its would be child's play. In fact when they made the ridiculous claim "We are back in the BLACK!" it was pointed out to them that was not necessarily the case, unforeseen events could spoil the picnic. Our economic super hero's looked ahead and declared there was nothing on the horizon that could stop their economic miracle from working!