Abbott government ministers are fond of fielding difficult challenges
with “I do not accept the premise of your
In the same way, the Australian people and a majority in the
Senate do not accept the premise on which the based. Don’t get me wrong,
Aussies are no more informed on the mechanisms of economics than any other
country. But they can differentiate shit from clay, without understanding why
they can smell the shit.
The premise put to the people, by the Abbott government was that
the economy was in crisis, that every Australian now had to do the ‘heavy
lifting’ to resolve the crisis. Against that dire backdrop we were simultaneously
seeing:
Individuals, like Gina Rinehart, our richest ‘mining magnate’;
a fortune created off holding licences to control resources which belong to all
Australians, and contribute a miniscule percentage back into the country’s
economy. On top of that, Gina, looking just like an overfed sow protecting an
overflowing trough urging us to be realistic, to settle for a much as $2 an
hour for our labours. That jars!
We watch big corporations and their benefactors pocket
massive profits, but use every available mechanism to avoid their tax
liability, among other liabilities to the economy. While our banks continue to
post record profits, one quarter after the next, the rest of us face a struggle
to feed and house ourselves; ordinary people constantly feeling the economic
disparity.
In virtually the same breath confirming a economic crisis
the Abbott government handed over nearly $1billion, following a bungled Tax
Office challenge, just the most obvious payment to Abbott Patron Rupert Murdoch
and News Limited. Favours need to be repaid, but ordinary Aussies are hardly in
the position to deliver favours on such a grand scale.
No doubt Abbott, Hockey et al seriously believe in their
chosen ‘economic’ model, comfortable in casting the bulk of the population as
little more than servants to a wealth, shady and seeming disreputable business
elite. Even the opposition appear to be in the thrall of this inequitable
premise. But for the most part, we the people simply reject the premise of
current budget demands.
The average Joe might not fully understand the ramifications
of education funding cuts, or massive increases in university fees; or the assault
on the ABC resonates deeply, even though many Aussies rarely access the
broadcaster. It remains a valued icon. They have little doubt about the attacks
on our ‘free health’ system, and the imposition of a ‘GP co-payment’.
There is no acceptance of the free argument of health, a tax
levy was imposed and accepted from the outset of the scheme. We know the system
works well, and should not be touched unnecessarily. It is also easy to see the
argument of paying for health into the future is hollow, given that none of the
impost will go back into health infrastructure. The bulk of it is targeted to ‘medical
research’ a move which terrifies the country’s research bodies. For a sector
which relies primarily on benefactors, with the fear of a special fund killing
off the enthusiasm of public benefactors.
Then we have our economic gurus, again lining up to support
the business elite in their forecasts and advisories. While we tend to accept
the advice of ‘experts, when that advice is also based on a false premise it to
should be soundly rejected. When the economic experts face up to the need, in a
modern economy, of equity for all, then and only then ewe should listen to
them. Sirs, we reject the premise on which the economy is framed. (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-01/deloitte-access-economics-warns-the-budget-is-burning/5929216)
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