Bazz,

The buck (in the case 60 billion of them) stops with Josh Frydenberg.

He needs to stand up in Parliament and explain why he was unable to prevent this from happening, especially given that he talked the entire House into supporting the expenditure of $130 billion dollars in the first place.

But wait Bazz! I think I have the answer: He tell everyone that he had planned it all along because he was still working on getting a surplus. It's brilliant!

Ohh Gawd !

Oh god, our diversified economy. A very few of us dig stuff out of the ground & a few others grow stuff, & a few give out degrees to Chinese who can't actually read what is on the bit of paper, & that is about it. Those few have to earn the income for all the rest of us. Not only do the bureaucrats, the pensioners, dole, single mothers & the rest, but all those in major cities shuffling bits of paper around, driving a bus or building houses for the migrants we most definitely don't need, all depend on just a few who actually add value.

We can only take in each others washing, [service economy], for so long before we run out of Monopoly money. If the Chinese stop buying our iron ore, coal & beef, pretty soon there is no money to pay the cop handing out speeding fines, or the clerk doing the paperwork.

There probably won't be anyone speeding anyway, as we won't be able to buy the fuel for our cars & trucks.

Find new markets they say, but you can bet there are a few millions being spent monthly on trying to do just that right now, by the big miners & others. I'm sure you can find people who want the stuff, but finding those who can & will pay for it AINT so easy.

If this lock down goes on for much longer, my advice is get the hell away from the big cities. They won't be healthy places to be, & it won't be because of any virus.

Dear Paul,

I think your suggestions about "Infrastructure
Australia," are excellent. Look at what the
Victorian Government is doing with its infrastructure
projects( roads, rail-crossings, bridges, et cetera).
Surely the federal government can follow suit once
the pandemic crisis support aid is no longer needed.

Foxy the last thing we need when we have no money to pay for it is feel good Infrastructure projects. You can see that Victoria is now totally captured by the unions, when its premier wants to spend money he doesn't have on jobs that employ highly paid unionists.

If governments want to throw borrowed money about the least they could do is throw it at something that can earn enough return to pay the interest on the borrowings. That isn't much right now, but if we happen to get another Labor national government, don't bet we won't have Keating type 17% interest rates again.

Our girl up here has announced a similar splash of cash, building things we can do with out, particularly with less transport required for many months if not years, that will give work to the large contractors & their union "workers", but will earn not a cent to cover the interest on the borrowings required.

One simple question. If you were getting reduced income due to this lock down, with less than great prospects of getting more, would borrow heaps to build a large nice, but unnecessary extension on your house? If you would wait until things, including your income had picked up, why do you suggest the government do the opposite?

Belt tightening must be a state & national activity, not lust a private citizen action.

Phil,

Obviously you haven't seen the latest news.

Victoria is getting the CCP to provide all the infrastructure for the jobs and growth we all want so much.

Apparently the US doesn't like the idea of Victoria signing up to China's Belt and Road Initiative to get the funds for all this development. Mike Pompeo is saying the US is looking at getting rid of Australia from its inner circle of allies because we are too connected with the CCP.

I said "Go on do it! See if we care!"