Hi Pecs I agree with Costello that good times should be used to...

Hi Pecs I agree with Costello that good times should be used to reduce debt and deficit and that is what I hope will happen. While our debt and deficit is manageable if the budget can be brought to surplus by 2012/13 that will fix the deficit, then further surplus can be used to eliminate the debt. Then maybe more can be put away for a rainy day. Costello also relied on booming revenues from mining, agriculture etc and from the extra from the GST and sale of assets such as Telstra. If it were not for the Minerals boom there would have been no way that any surplus could have been achieved. He doesnt take into account the GFC response nor the fact that the Coalition would have gone into only a marginally smaller stimulus package than the government.

The boom conditions and record taxes gave the coalition a lot of leeway but they still spent like crazy particularly on middle class welfare while neglecting Health and infrastructure. Abbott wants to do the same as he is still pushing giving more to the better off including with his paid parental scheme that gives more to the better off and to pay for it he will introduce a new tax on business. There are two sides to the story and neither side is perfect when it comes to the economy imo. cheers