Stay Calm And Keep Shopping - Another Budget Thread

[icyfroth]

I decided I should read up on the budget so I could comment. Found this article explained it well:

Budget 2014: the six graphs that matter for Australia

This is a horror budget for many – but the cuts overall are not as bad as in the past and, surprisingly, leave Wayne Swan with the record for wielding the budget axe

"On the broader economic front the budget suggests 2014-15 will be worse than this year. While the economy in 2013-14 is expected to grow by 2.75% (a slightly conservative estimate given annualised growth in the last half of 2013, which was 2.9%), in 2014-15 it’s expected to just trudge along by a mere 2.5%. Only in 2015-16 is the economy expected get back to close to trend growth of 3%.

Why are they so gloomy? Well it’s not households. Household consumption has been revised up since the Myefo – from growth of 2.75% next year to now 3% and 3.25% in 2015-16.

So we’re expected to keep shopping.

The problem is the end of the mining boom. This budget really throws off any hope that mining might sustain us. In the pre-election economic and fiscal outlook (Pefo) done just prior to the 2013 election, business investment was expected to grow in 2013-14 by 2%. The Myefo revised that down to a fall of 1.5% and the budget has dumped it even further –estimating a fall of 4%."

"This was going to be a horror budget. And it is. If you are intending to go to university, if you are under 30 and unemployed, if you are a family with a child over 6, if you go to GPs, you’ll going to be hit hard.

Family tax benefits are frozen to save $2.5bn over four years, the threshold for Family Tax Benefit cut from $150,000 to $1000,000 will save $1.2bn, cutting it for families with kids over six saves $1.9bn and the $7 co-payment for GP visits gathers in $3,5bn. The increase in costs to uni students through the deregulation of fees, the cutting of funding to unis and the changes the HECS/HELP repayments $3.2bn

But the biggest individual “saving” is through not increasing foreign aid as promised. This saves $7.6bn and is easily the laziest save any government can do."

"Hockey is not rushing back to surplus. Yes he’s putting on the fiscal breaks, but not like Costello did in 1996 to 1999, nor even like Keating did after the “banana republic” crisis in the late 1980s.

The budget deficit will shrink by on average 0.7% of GDP over the next four years. Costello trimmed it by 1% of GDP when he came in –but he was able to rely on much more revenue growth than Hockey.

Spending is expected to be cut each year by on average 0.3% over the next four years. Costello’s cuts to expenditure were double that."

Entire Article Here

Those baying for Hockey's blood should do a bit of back-reading.

[izabsmiling]

It looks like an infomercial lol

[cherry*135]

Those who have been made redundant recently (car industry etc) or are about to (16500 piblic servants and others)are not going to be calm and they are not going to be going shopping. Nor will others who will fear job loss. Job security is low.
Nor will others who will have a reduced income as a result of the budget...families etc. same with those on low incomes having to pay the $7 medical co payment.. 3 sick kids $21 plus costs of prescription ( increased in the Budget).

This thread is very insensitive to people struggling and they will be struggling more after the measures in this Budget take place.

[izabsmiling]

We all need to be cautious as some economists believe that this Government could sent us into A Depression .

It looks as though they are happy with a plan to leave us to starve.

I will be very careful and very selective with my spending now.Some Corporations have completely lost my custom.

[cherry*135]

Reading the actual Budget document line by line will give a true picture. It is available online.

[spotweldersfriend]

My belief is Hockeys plan to cut savagely to bring the budget closer to a surplus so they can hand out the bribes pre-election.The general public aren't going to fall for that one this time.I wouldn't be surprised if the next set of polls sees them down another 2 or 3 points.No pink batts or union Royal Commission is going to save them,particularly with all the ICAC findings coming out.

[lakeland27]

the 3rd graph 'Government Revenue'is the telling one . Hockeys problem is who and where he chose to hit . Quite simply these guys have proven to be a little dim allowing flawed ideology to eat all of the poitical capital they held. people allege that Palmer is a big goose but he seems to have come out on top of the libs

[*elizabeths-mum*]

The new budget hasn't really affected my husband and myself personally. It will affect our youngest child who is starting uni soon and won't be finished before the deregulation comes in. My biggest concerns are the extra stresses it will put people under who are in the categories likely to be affected. Even in laid back regional Queensland I've seen changes in society reflecting the pressured lifestyle so common in the capital cities.

It annoys the heck out of me that Joe can state and, I think honestly believe, that people like him will be feeling the pain because they are paying an extra 2% tax on their income above $180 000 and won't be getting (another) wage rise for a couple of years.

[bluecat*dancing]

Makes you want to sit down and weep for poor Joe, doesn't it, Em.

[cherry*135]

257 000 unemployed youth (over 18) and 16500 public servants won't be feeling calm, nor likely to vote for the LNP next election.

Abbott gave the number of public servants to lose their jobs before the election as 12,000. Now he just tacks on another 4500 to that total.
Anyone would have to be living in cloud cuckoo land if they can't see the flow effect that will have... That many people without work, they wont be spending a cent apart from basic living necessities. Retailers, restaurants, and other services will feel that badly and in turn will have to cut staff and/or close down.