costello the sook of the year award, page-53

debono,

now, we are getting somewhere.

My original comment related to how within the private sector, if without some sort of government regulations, will, with the passage of time, become a case of the rich becoming richer. If such were to happen, of course to some undesirable social consequnces and may lead to social instability.

"A wealth tax on incomes in excess of 1m pa for a start. That way the incentive is still there to earn huge amounts but also re distribute some of the good fortune."

I would much prefer to have a higher personal tax rate of people on high income. That was the reason the progressive tax scale was introduced, the reason being that the rich should pay a larger portion of their incoe as taxes as they were better able to afford that.

State Death duty was abolished a long time ago. May be it is an area that can be re-visited. I don't mean a 100% death duty.

"Where would the money go?"

"My 2 pet areas are Pensioners and Health."

I certainly do not have an argument with you on that. For a healthy nation like Australia, it is shameful that our public hospitals are in such a bad state. Putting aside whether it is the states' faults or the Commonwealth's, the fact of the matter is that our public hospitals are in need of injection of government funds.

except for the wealthy one, pensioners are living on poverty line. This is not acceptable. More must be done to make sure that these people who have contributed towards society in their working lives should not have to live in poverty in their retirement years. I have a fairly strong view on this.

How are we going to make sure that public money are being spent by governments, both at state and federal levels, in an effective manner to achieve the social goals ? It is a question and a problem still awaiting ananswer. This is where we need a vigilant press, a strong parliamentary opposition, and a well-informed public, to keep the government of the day honest and be accountable for its actions.