Wednesday 27th of November 2024
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bedazzled .....

bedazzled .....

Peter Costello yesterday mocked Wayne Swan's claims the Howard government was to blame for the battered budget bottom line.

"Here's Wayne Swan, he inherits a budget that is in surplus - and I don't think he will ever produce a surplus budget - he inherits a financial position which has no debt, and we're now looking at putting the commonwealth $200 billion into debt," the former Treasurer told Melbourne radio.

"So don't blame him for the deficit and debt. The people who are responsible are the people who left the budget in surplus and reduced the debt to zero."

It was good, but it worked only as mockery. It failed as rebuttal. 

"Did you attempt to rein in spending at any stage?" he was asked. "Obviously, yes," came the reply - but only one occasion was nominated; his first budget.

"In 1996 when the budget was in deficit, I reined in spending and put it into surplus," Costello proudly proclaimed.

Which only left the spending in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and his 2007 swansong to worry about.

But regrets, he had a few.

"Did you say that you didn't want John Howard to spend as much as he did?" the question came.

"No," the self-proclaimed paragon of fiscal virtue began, "what I believed we should do is I believed we should cut taxes. And ... I think if I look back on it we should have cut taxes, I would have cut taxes by more."

http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/houserules/index.php/theaustralian/comments/big_wallet_short_memory/

struggle, with hope...

One of the largest business lobby groups has welcomed the federal budget, but warns that the projected future economic growth rates may be overly optimistic.

The Australian Industry Group's (Ai Group) chief executive, Heather Ridout, has particularly welcomed the boost to transport infrastructure funding.

"The announced investments in road, rail and port infrastructure are particularly welcome," she said in a statement responding to the budget announcement.

"These investments will lift the productive potential of the economy over the long term."

 

The Ai Group has also thrown its support behind the extension of the First Home Owners' Grant boost.

"The extension of the First Home Owners Boost will provide additional stimulus to the housing industry and the many businesses supplying home construction," wrote Mrs Ridou

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Gus can confidently say that in Sydney the building industry is confident... The working man in the street is able to give a bright forecast: property are cheap, subcontractors are screwed and builders are running short of employees and of machinery with so many new contracts going around since the budget... It can only fill coffers for developers and create more inhabitation and shopping space for the growing average populace... Someone also tells me about the cash that's still floating around despite the recession... But some of the strugglers still struggle but quite less than under John Howard who gave them NOTHING and took away their hopes... Should Malcolm, or God (I'm an atheist) forbid Costello, take over the reins, they would sink back in despair... Sure, hope is a monster but it's the one thing that gives wings to the downtrodden and the sick...

Better than costello ever did...

Australia maintains surplus despite flood disruptions

By finance reporter Elysse Morgan

Posted 6 hours 54 minutes ago

Australia's trade balance for January has come in much higher than economists were expecting, despite the floods causing significant disruptions to mining exports.

The trade surplus was $1.9 billion in January, the tenth consecutive surplus.

A 4 per cent fall in exports were offset by a similar fall in imports.

Economists believe the latest trade surplus figures show the widening gap between the booming resources sector and the rest of the economy.

JP Morgan economist Ben Jarman says the surprisingly good result was due in part to an unexpected surge in gold exports.

"So that's always a bit of a random factor on a month to month basis, it swings around a lot, but in this instance it really represented basically the difference between what we were guessing and the outcome in the end, it added around $400 million so that was a positive," he explained.

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Gus: during his toad-like inflated tenure as treasurer, Costello oversaw a trade deficit going south by about 2 billions per quarter... His mates at the Liberal (conservative — ratbag rightwing) party poopooing the present Labor Government economic record have NOTHING to stand on. They're idiots and ECONOMIC ILLITERATES who at present are as unAustralian as mad stupid terrorists... See toon at top... The surpluses that Costello is talking about were government surpluses when the government was not investing enough in anything — storing money like an uncle scrooge, leaving people paying the bills...