we keep banging on about spending but what has actually changed drastically in recent years is the amount of tax"
the income side of the balance sheet is not performing ------------ true.
So the statement 'tax is too low' IS correct ----------- BUT, can be easily misinterpreted.
What one can do to repair an income side of the balance sheet tax wise is to RAISE the level or rate of tax ------------ which is the normal way governments do business --------- but, unfortunately - a disastrous way.
there is another way ---------- it's called growth.
And, just like in a garden ------- you have to plant and nurture to create the conditions for growth.
so, the very LAST things you do is to cut down spending on things like education, research, support for innovation, business incentives, infrastructure spending.
And that - is the very crux of Australia's problems.
Basically, in a nutshell - Australia has two political parties ---------------
1. Libs ----------- who spend bugger all - they cut everything they can cut and more - even the green wood - indeed, if they were gardeners --------- you would have bugger all crops most of the time and certainly even if you had a crop - you wouldn't get the truck to market because your gates would be stuck shut with rust and your driveway impassable.
2. Labor - labor do have the big ideas and the ability to sign the cheques - often borrowed - but, they spend on wildly - with crook management - so, your trees will have zillions of people pruning them - after weeks of talks - and when they finally get to prune - it is done at the wrong time and at high cost. Ditto - they will fix the gate ok and you will have a road - but, after all the meetings - the gate will be ordered from America and be 110 volt - and the road will be a six lane highway - but, have toll gates at either end.
In the end ---------------- both major parties are a bloody disaster.
Australia needs something different ----------- it needs to go into the future ---------------
Smart
Efficient
Bold
Well managed
Courageous
Willing to take risk
Willing to spend a bob - going into debt --------------------- YEP, MORE debt - for the benefit of the future.
One can go on ----------------------- but, the reality is that both labor and liberal - can't cut the mustard in that list - neither of them.
It is not just a matter of raising more tax ------------ the problem is deeper than that ---------- it is HOW you raise that tax - or HOW you pay for the services you need and HOW you go about servicing the farm AND allowing it to grow.
We haven't got the brains, we haven't got the culture, we haven't got the political guts - we are pretty well babes in the woods in a modern economy really - we are only good at digging up stuff and selling off bits of the farm.
We think we can pick winners - but, we are dreadful at it and we allow zero (or as good as) funds to general research - where many of the biggest winners in economic history lie - and we throw those chances away - because they aren't targeted, they are out of our control and we can't see what they will come up with --
of course the very same reasons why general research pays off in spades when it pays off.
Good luck for tomorrow and or Tuesday Oz --------- we sure do need some luck.
