If Australians would like to understand why we are experiencing a housing affordability and cost of living problem, they should cast their eyes to Canberra, Macquarie Street, Spring Street and where ever else their Houses of Government sit.
Take this headline from the online version of the Sydney Morning Herald.:
A modest $250 million revamp. $250 million is considered modest for a revamp.
Now this is not to criticise the current Minns Labor government in NSW. This particular debacle is the creation of the Berejiklian-Perrottet Liberal-National-Profligate NSW government who left NSW tax payers in an economic gutter. Much like the Turnbull-Morrison Liberal-National-Profligate Commonwealth government left Australian tax payers in an economic gutter. And the Andrews Labor Victorian government and Palaszczuk Labor Queensland government left the Victorian and Queensland taxpayers respectively in the economic gutter.
What is the common thread - GOVERNMENT - throwing other people’s money at the wall, down the toilet, out the window.
They take from us at the point of a gun and then give it back less a sizeable commission and expect to be thanked. They travel around on our coin and then retire on comfortable pensions only to consult or lobby back - at a significant premium.
This is a crime against Australians but no-one wants to prosecute.
According to the most recent Commonwealth budget, on a real per-capita basis, in the 2024 financial year:
Commonwealth receipts are expected to be $18,102;
Commonwealth payments are expected to be $18,479; and
Commonwealth net debt is expected to be $15,574.
Imagine how much an average family of four could be better of if they had a spare $18K to spend - and if the Commonwealth spent less?
If a $250 million “revamp” is modest, what about the $12 billion Snowy 2.0? What about the 11.2% pay increase for Commonwealth public servants? Remember that in 2022, Commonwealth public sector salaries were $24.5 billion meaning that an 11.2% pay increase means that another $2.7 billion that will need to be ripped out of the mouths of taxpayers. Bet all the experts say Australian governments have a revenue problem.
Our Governments are happy to deflect their culpability for inflations and housing unaffordability onto business or energy markets or overseas wars. But the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth is that the source of Australia’s economic ills lies squarely with our narcissistic, incompetent, and clueless governments - elected and bureaucratic.
Elections have consequences and the consequence of the last 20 years of elections is that Australians are significantly poorer for the votes they have cast.
Unless we change our direction, we will end up where we are headed … and that is Argentina.
My instinct is that the electorate will need to be on the receiving end of higher tax rates, before it can be motivated to call for reductions in spending.
Think about this: if the major revenue source for the states is GST, then state spending governments have close to zero accountability to voters for the level of taxes imposed on voters, and to that extent, zero accountability for money they spend.
That's before the states opt to simply rack up debt, for voters in 2030s etc to worry about. The Fed Govt has power under constitution to "cap" state debts, it just lacks the will to do so.
Cheers
Yet Australians increasingly look to governments to solve all problems, who then promise more spending, only to deliver even poorer outcomes. It's the Big Government Blob.