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@the_great_she_elephant wrote:

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@icyfroth wrote:

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@the_great_she_elephant wrote:

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@icyfroth wrote:

So why are we so far in debt? Something like 3.5 Billion AUD?

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What, in your opinion would be a managable level of debt?

 

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That's a hard question for me, She-el, seeing I'm a political numpty and and not very good at figures either, as you've probably noticed. 

 

But as an answer I'd say...maybe something like the 96-odd billion the Howard government started off with when it took office.

Which was paid down by selling off assets like Telstra and quite a few others, bringing us into a $20bill surplus.

 

Which is now gone, and not only gone, but now wer'e now evenin more debt, and I don't entirely blame the Labor government, there were circumstances beyond their control.

 

It does worry me however when a government applies to raise our debt ceiling to $500bill and the opposition says no no no you can only have 400bill, that we still need to borrow more. No there's no debt ceiling at all, to my understanding.

 

I mean, how are we going to pay even just the interest on those loans? Cutting services, raising taxes and selling off assets seems the logical answer, doesn't it? I mean, if that's going to happen, then why not in the first place, to keep us out of debt and out of foreign hands.?

 

Which is why I feel a bit insecure when I hear little hints of further Government services to be privatised sold off. How much longer before we run out of assets and resources?

 

BBL

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But the problem is, reducing debt by selling assets can only ever be a very short term solution and one that  can only lead to increasing  problems in the future. - revenue from these assets is lost and  the time  inevitably comes when there are no more assets to sell. And where do you go from there?

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But that's my whole point!