budget, page-9

scittyandcross

Re your post which included;
"All this time to peruse the budget and not one comment. ..."

Hope this makes you happy ... IMO Swannie does deserve some credit:

. Australia appears to have dodged the worst impact of the GFC - commencing Nov1, 2007 if the XAO top of 6873.2 represents a marker therein.

. Despite the GFC unemployment only rose modestly & has retreated to below 5% - a fantastic outcome given the GFC.

. Continued investment in the our future: the NBN, education & training

However, IMO while that $50b deficit for this FY could have been much worse all-seeing Swannie had to continually revise down revenue receipts etc. Swannie has not really tackled the impact of the Aud$Rise nor have his budgets really tackled the excesses of upper middle class welfare & the need to invest massively in innovative new, low carbon industries.

IMO to hand Swannie the crown of the World's greatest Treasurer is a fair old suck of that sauce bottle. The decline in productivity that characterised Howard Govt.s has only improved marginally & our economy is really being dragged along in China's slipstream - China's pull with Hawkie still in the scheme of things & certainly not Swannie's push!

Then there is that little matter of Swannie's pumped up puppy dog public presentations - pretty ordinary compared to the wit & authority of Keating & Costello!

Whereas many developing economies have rocketed along since 2007 Australia has really just resisted the GFC body blows while accumulating a debt that will need to worked off.

IMO the title of 'Splendid Second Rater' is more appropriate, albeit a long way ahead of '24/7 Economic Media Goose' that could be awarded to Joe Hockey.