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robin wayne...
... And finally, we come to the document's almost Biblical central switcheroo, in which Mr Swan converted billions of company-tax-cut dollars into loaves and fishes for the masses.
Having set himself up deliberately as the bitter enemy of Messrs Forrest and Palmer and Mrs Rinehart (and it's a funny old day where at least one of those three aren't mentioned contemptuously by the Treasurer for one reason or another), and used them as the central characters in his "the many against the few" morality play, Mr Swan went one step further in the budget.
What more poetic revenge could he take - on these tyrannical straw men he has created - than to take their money and literally scatter it to the poor?
The budget isn't a reformer's triumph, a Keynesian work of art, or a work of austerity.
It's The Passion Of The Wayne.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-10/the-passion-of-the-wayne/4002088?WT.svl=theDrum
- By Gus Leonisky at 10 May 2012 - 11:13am
- Gus Leonisky's blog
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abandoning this and that...
These will be funded from proceeds of the mining tax after the government axed plans to fund a 1 percentage point cut to company tax.
The opposition opposed the company tax cut because it was funded by the mining tax. But yesterday it abandoned its principle of opposing policies funded by the mining tax and said it would support these two welfare measures.
Mr Abbott said the measures were not linked to the mining tax but the budget paper links them explicitly.
Supporting these increases while still vowing to abolish the mining tax if elected will blow a $2.9 billion hole in the Coalition's election costings.
The business community remained angry at losing the promised tax cut. The government scrapped it because the Greens and Coalition would not let it through the Parliament. Ms Gillard and Mr Swan said they remained keen to cut company tax but did not say when or how.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/federal-budget/cash-flows-as-mining-tax-wedges-libs-20120509-1yd7o.html#ixzz1uQQdMkgL
meanwhile, at the grindstone...
Australia's unemployment level in April came in at 4.9 per cent, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Economists had tipped the jobless rate to increase to 5.3 per cent from 5.2 per cent in March.“It’s generally stronger than expected,” said RBC Capital Markets economist Su-Lin Ong. “You’ve got another reasonable gain in employment and while the previous month was revised down, the last couple of months have been decent.”The economy added 15,500 jobs last month - better than the 5000 jobs analysts had been tipped companies would shed. The net gain, though, was entirely the result of 26,000 part-time positions being created, with employers actually cutting 10,500 full-time roles in April.Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/jobless-rate-in-surprise-fall-20120510-1ye84.html#ixzz1uQmzhpjj
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Meanwhile at the merde-och dung factory, the emphasis is on Tony Abbott of course being able to do BETTER THAN everyone else...:
TONY Abbott will tonight reply to what he calls a "class war Budget" by presenting the Coalition's economic vision focused on families and small business.
The Opposition Leader said he would outline policies for "a better deal" and "how to get our economy growing again" in his official Budget reply to Parliament.
"Because without economic growth, everything that government does is just robbing Peter to pay Paul and that's what we saw from this government this week with its class war budget," Mr Abbott told reporters today.
Yesterday Prime Minister Julia Gillard accused people on Sydney's North Shore, where Mr Abbott and shadow treasurer Joe Hockey have their electorates, of not understanding the burdens non families of school costs.
Ms Gillard was condemning the Opposition's rejection of the Schoolkids Bonus payments of $820 for secondary school children and $410 for those in primary school, contained in legislation which already has passed the House of Representatives and is likely to be approved by the Senate.
Today the Prime Minister didn't back away from her North Shore comments."
"We're the Labor Party and we make absolutely no apologies for saying we are here to serve middle and lower income Australians," Ms Gillard told reporters.
"And Mr Abbott's here to serve the rich."
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/money/federal-budget/tony-abbott-ready-to-unveil-better-deal-budget-in-reply/story-fn84fgcm-1226351902695#ixzz1uQnd2ubT
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Er, Mr Abbott, the "economy IS growing" at 3 per cent despite all your efforts to kill it and remember should the "economy grow too fast, you'll be hammered by interest rates...
Presently Julia, as usual, is serenely smiling despite BAD POLLS while you act like a grumpy old fart despite these polls in your favour. People (Australians) are masochists, aren't they?...
Of course Swan taketh away from Paul super rich a little bit of dosh to give to poor Peter... Er why not?
Isn't this what sharing is about? Sure Paul will vote for you. Poor Peter thinks the sun shines out of your arse, because he only reads the Merde-och media. He has no idea about the trap you have set for poor Peter and his hard working family around the block... Yes, there is a "resucitated" work-choices, dug up from ten food under ground, lurking around the corner and a few other floggings... but you will be waving the nanny bonus as a carrot, but be fair, eventually only the rich may be able to collect...
Sounds like a blue print for disaster for poor Peter and welfare for rich Paul...