Well. As the dust slowly settles on the Labor government’s latest tax INCREASE, some of the more silly analysis has started from the usual places.
But first, and for the avoidance of doubt, the Labor government has increased taxes with their announced changes to Stage 3. Stage 3 is legislated and budget for so their proposed change is to cut taxes for some but increased taxes for others. This is the second tax increase from this Labor government in just 20 or 21 months, the other tax increase being on superannuation balances over $3m.
Increase taxes for higher balance superannuation accounts. Increase taxes for higher income earners. A pattern emerging perhaps.
You would think that this would be enough ammunition for competent opposition to tear strips off a government but this is the Liberal Party after all, where many of its elected representatives probably agree with Labor’s policy anyway.
I would propose that we pass the tin around to raise funds to buy something for the Opposition Treasurer so that he might be more easily identified:
But as to the analysis, he’s not the only one, but Comrade Shane Wright from Fairfax Media wrote yesterday that from a political calculus perspective, the latest Labor tax increase will result in “12 winners for every loser”.
Ah. Australia has a Robin Hood government it seems … takes from the rich and gives to the poor. Of course the government takes a nice commission for its services.
But as Alexander Fraser Tyler wrote, a democracy:
can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury.
Bingo.
Our elected class have long voted themselves largesse from the public treasury, but now they seek to expand the franchise.
This latest change is disgraceful politics, disgraceful policy, and disgraceful analysis. So basically business as usual for our political class.
Any they wonder why there is such little regard for politicians and journalists.
Well, we do have compulsory voting and on top of that compulsory preferences, which combine to ensure we appeal to the lowest common denominator, being compulsory voters.
No need to appeal to the good of the country - just give the uninterested punters a couple of hundred bucks and they'll tick the box in your favour. Internet voting will only make the situation worse, by making the voting process even easier by clicking a button on your app, in between TikTok videos.
If we want to raise the level of political discourse in this country, remove compulsory voting. Leave it to the people who actually care enough to go out and vote.
Well Kosta Patsan raises some valid points but there are pluses to compulsory voting. He mentions compulsory preferences. That is the greater of the two evils in my view. As one machine man infamously said when asked about the drift of support to minor parties, "They (the voters) have nowhere to go". He was referring to the fact that the votes eventually found their way to the major parties on the trickle down effect. Abolish compulsory preferences. There is a working model in NSW I believe. To the main story. Rhetorical question: where is the party proposing indexing tax rates? My toad tolls are indexed along with tobacco and alcohol excises. Add to that the above CPI increases in Public Service and politician's salaries. Don't mention the never ending increases to the ABC budget. Factor in also the increase in the number and scope of various commissions and other "authorities". Then there are the ballooning number of "inquiries" launched at great expense to ensure that politicians can eschew any responsibilities for their own decisions. This same cabal is busy trying to make our exporting primary industries untenable. The same ideologues who promote high immigration and decry housing shortages also have on their long term agenda the closure of the cement manufacturing industry. Not going to build much without concrete. No windfarms either by the way. The inconsistencies are endless. We are living in what can only be described as a dystopia.