Aussie dollar set to fall pretty hard, wonder how that will affect policy of both parties.

-PB

Probably be too busy telling us how great they are for creating 1000's of new job opportunities in manufacturing/exporting that usually follow a low dollar.

Hearing a member of the Abbott Goverment complain about the media launching a "jihad" against the government = Funny

Hearing a member of the Abbott Government complain about the media launching a "jihad" against the government when Abbott himself said two years ago "If you want better coverage, be a better government" = Hilarious

Hearing a member of the Abbott Government complain about the media launching a "jihad" against the government when Abbott himself said two years ago "If you want better coverage, be a better government", and Bill Shorten shutting them down by saying the exact same thing two years later = Priceless

A low dollar is probably good overall for the economy in the present circumstances. Although there are always winners and losers whether the dollar appreciates or depreciates.

I hate it getting cheaper because I am planning to go overseas next year!

Will easily go down as the worst Government in the history of this nation.

-PB

I think a lot of people knew this before he even started:lol:

Edited by switters: 2/9/2015 01:13:50 PM

Putting aside my ideological bias which makes me believe 90% of the policy decisions a conservative party would make are terrible, I knew Abbott would be a shit prime minister but I thought that there would be someone competent enough in the cabinet to get something done. Biggest bunch of intellectual lightweights I've seen.

I really think a lot of the blame for Australia's current fiscal position has to go to Costello & Howard. While they were swimming in rivers of mining industry tax income they kept cutting personal income taxes, and increased middle class and baby boomer handouts via family tax benefits and over-the-top concessional treatment of super contributions.

They eroded the tax base, so that once mining tax revenue dried up we were in a structural deficit. During the good times, there should have been much more preparation for the post-mining boom era.

The ALP were initially very unlucky in terms of timing, and I believe dealt with the GFC pretty well.

But obviously they shot themselves in the foot with the whole Rudd/Gillard/Rudd thing, and general inability to communicate effectively.

Then this govt.... I don't think they even know what they represent. They are just "not ALP". That is literally all that matters to them.

Abbott almost exclusively defines the party in terms of not being Labor.

I feel like politically we have been in a holding pattern since not long after the polls started turning against Gillard.

Good pick up.
I'm guessing you have studied politics &/or economics?

Not so sure that's necessary. It's been pointed out a number of times over the past 600 of pages. Certainly true though. The "Liberal party are good economic managers" myth has been well and truly blown out of the water.

Sadly blaming the former Liberal government for our current economic woes fails the sniff test. Costello and Howard gave us something like 9 or 10 consecutive surpluses and negative net debt. Prior to 2007 we were one of the best managed economies in the world, and one of the strongest per capita. So the idea that are to blame for our current fiscal position is absurd, and fails the sniff test, and every other possible test one can think of.

What passes the sniff test is that Rudd and Gillard presided over six straight deficits, despite something like promising six consecutive surpluses. When the GFC hit rather than tightening spending they jacked it up, while our national income started to fall. This resulted in whopping deficits and stimulus spending that blew the margins out as far as the eye could see. This strategy might be ok when trying to avoid a recession, and lucky for Labor and thanks to the shrewd economic management of the previous Liberal government, they were able to buy our way out of the GFC, but left us with a massive structural deficit they did nothing to address in their remaining years of government. The current government IS trying to address this structural deficit, but the reforms are being blocked in the senate, but the government at least has a solution. Labor on the other hand have no solution at all, too scared to cut spending and no ideas how to grow the economy. They want to raise taxes but they know this will hurt growth, so they have completed divested themselves of any feasible economic plan and are now just putting all of their eggs into soft issues like gay marriage, republican and wind farms and doing their utmost to destroy the FTA with China.

No matter how bad you think the current government is doing , things will not get better under a Labor government.

Authorized by rusty for the Liberal party Canberra...

Almost every independent pundit believes Howard and Costello wasted the Mining boom with Middle Class welfare and tax breaks for all and sundry

Just because you don't like the ALP doesn't mean they were to blame, whatever did happen to the super profits tax?




Yes Rudd spent big, and if he hadn't we'd be in more trouble than the early settlers. What is this massive structural deficit the ALP created that you speak off...examples please?



How do you know things wont get better under a change of government?

How are the Libs trying to address the structural deficit....what amazing reforms are being blocked by the Sensate....can you name them????

Raising the tax on Super? No
Super profits tax? No
Reform of the public sector? No
Reduced Government Spending?
Increase in GST rate? Abbott says its a state issue and refuses to take lead
Increase in PAYE tax rates? Hockey is talking repeatedly about tax cuts to fight bracket creep?



Edited by joffa: 2/9/2015 06:46:02 PM

On the plus side imported guns will be more expensive.

Pure speculation.

-PB

Jules the perennial smug smart arse and Joffa coming out puffing his chest :lol: .
No matter what Abbott/Hockey do and don't do a change in Gov putting in those even more useless Red coats won't change our course one bit - being the skeleton of a party of the previous 2 PM's proves it full stop, what stupid joker and might I add you need more than 1 bright spark with balls in their pack can do the job at hand.
Your fuckin dreamin - not speculation its a fact, what light is there ? can they find a light switch ? I fucken doubt it.
I really don't care what party gets the gig for lets face it none of them are any better or capable so your kidding yourselves, your hoping change will turn a new page and all good overnight :lol: idiots.

Edited by M.L.: 2/9/2015 11:22:36 PM

Does this count as a meltdown? ;) :lol:

Watching the news and seeing angry Syrians blaming every European country under the sun for their predicament. I feel sorry for these people but getting angry and protesting won't help them. Germany has had 1,000,000 applications for 800,000 positions. They're stopping 100 people an hour at their borders. I wonder how the Europeans feel about this mass migration. Are their attitudes any different to ours?

Looking at this catastrophe in Europe and what we have, it appears as though we are no more prepared than Europe for refugees. I wonder how left leaning parties across Europe feel and what they are saying about how the governments of the likes of Germany and Hungary are dealing with this situation.

Pretty close :lol: I'll admit I was obviously being a smart arse with my previous post but the rest [-x (smug enough?)

You don't know me EG to judge.
If i could see a change for the better id support it - i dont see how any other party at this stage can be better, like i said others are dreamin for the sake of it.
Hey smug arse, if you know to do better get going into your own electorate and run for a ticket.
Lets see what you can really do instead of talking it up and criticise.


Edited by m.l.: 3/9/2015 07:54:09 AM

People overstate what a government to do around influencing the economy, in general all they can do is set some parameters and it's up local and foreign market forces to determine the outcome. I personally couldn't give a stuff about the deficit as it's pretty normal to have such a situation when the economy is slowing (less tax revenue), but the tories made a big song and dance about their ability to control it and they should be crucified for it.

Do I think the ALP will be way better? Probably not but there's a chance that they'll actually try and do somethings to try and stimulate the economy in more diverse areas so that a new "Howard and Costello" can take the credit for in the future. The LNP's great economic plan to cut welfare, and give tax breaks to old industries like mining through axing the super profits tax and the carbon tax lacks vision.


Why do I need to run for parliament? I can have an opinion without being a politician. I'll run for a seat when Bolt, Devine, Ackerman, Hadley and co do.

Oh dear :lol:

-PB

Regarding the Libs, just pointing out that Costello ran surpluses, whilst the ALP ran deficits is superficial in the extreme.

You are ignoring the Global Financial Crisis and the end of the mining boom. They are 2 massive things that occurred in 2008 that you can't just ignore.

Do you realise that as a % of GDP the tax take under Howard was higher than it was under Gillard?

We were actually taxed less under the ALP - mainly because mining tax revenue fell off the face of a cliff.

I am not being pro-ALP, I am just looking at objective reality.

As I have previously stated on this thread, I think the introduction of the GST was the last brave piece of legislation Australia has had.

Howard proposed the tax, took it to an election, ran on the issue and won. I will always be critical of the ALP, particularly Keating for running against the GST when it was a policy Keating supported when the ALP was considering it in the 1980s.

I give credit to the ALP for the immediate handling of the GFC - by all objective measures we had probably the best management worldwide.

But they stuffed up the mining super profits tax, the carbon tax argument, the pokies legislation etc. All good policies in theory, just sold appallingly badly.

Lines like "we will always be worse off under....." just expose people for being party hacks.

In regards to the refugee crisis in Europe - with a population of 500 million, they have had 270,000 illegal migrants so far this year. That is equivalent in population terms to Australia having about 12,500.

Europe's demographics are falling off the face of a cliff with low birth rates. They should be doing everything the can to accommodate, process and integrate these people as they need tax payers to subsidise their elderly over the next 50 years.

The irony is, in 30 years time, rich countries in the west will be PAYING people to come to their countries as the population ages dramatically.

TO be tax payers these people need skills and to be able to speak the local language. Can these European countries afford it?

Will be interesting to see if they create programmes to integrate these refugees. We sure as hell should be doing it rather than these people doing nothing. Could be a boost for a government who does it too. You know, showing some bloke from a war torn country as a tradie following government assistance.

Can they afford it? Can they afford not to?

It's an investment that all evidence shows pays off massively if those people are helped, educated etc, rather than being barred from working and inevitably forced into ghettoes because they don't have the money to get educated and afford anything better.

You can't keep these people out, there are just too many entry points. And the whole demographic thing is huge - there are so many abandoned towns in the countryside in countries like Italy, Greece, even Germany. They need people!

Europe is always very reluctant to get involved in American adventures (with some justification) but now it's somewhat come back and bitten them fair in the arse.

Hhmmmm I don't really agree with that. The refugees are coming from Eritrea, Syria & Libya mostly. Those countries, if anything, have suffered from a lack of intervention. Syria & Libya especially are in the state they are in due to fallout from the Arab Spring.

There are some from Iraq, but not the majority

Lack of intervention is exactly what I'm saying. Europe has been very reluctant to get involved in the Middle East in general.

Edited by munrubenmuz: 3/9/2015 11:02:51 AM

Too easy. They'll simply make their way to England and be employed by their fellow brethren and drive real wages down.

Spoke to a chippy from the UK the other days who tells me wages are what they were 20 years ago.

He's loving it. (Blue text implied.)