Federal Labor is softening us up for more budget cuts, as interest rates continue to climb and a recession looms. Sue Bull reports.听
tax cuts for rich
Greens, Socialist Alliance and Australian Progressives protested against the stage 3听tax cuts for the rich at听Treasurer Jim Chalmers' Logan office.听Alex Bainbridge reports.
Despite the Treasurer听saying workers鈥櫶齱ages are听not听to blame for inflation, the government is not coming up with solutions to address wage stagnation, argues Jacob Andrewartha.
The billions of听dollars听wasted on military spending听and听tax cuts for the rich should be used to fund renewables,听argues听Peter Boyle.听
In a 40-minute interview with the Guardian, federal 鈥渙pposition鈥 leader Anthony Albanese's arguments for Labor鈥檚 serial capitulation to the Coalition government were weak, inconsistent and based on a fool鈥檚 reading of political reality.
Before the 鈥渟uper Saturday鈥 byelections on July 28, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was saying the outcome would be a 鈥渢est of leadership鈥.
Then he lost all five contests and changed his tune.
The federal Coalition government's so-called "tax reform" package is, overall, a major escalation of the capitalist class war by the rich against the poor and working people.
The initial tranche of income tax measures will reduce tax by a very modest amount for low-income taxpayers, but the long-term effect of the package is to massively reduce tax on the wealthy and attack the elements of a progressive taxation system established in this country over many years.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his business mates have wasted no time in coat-tailing US President Donald Trump and renewing their threat to cut the company tax rate.
Trump announced a plan on September 27 to slash the US corporate tax rate from 35% to 20%, at an estimated cost to the national budget of US$2 trillion over 10 years. He did not give any details, but it will be a massive public hand-out to big business. Meanwhile, Trump and the Republicans continue to seek to undermine health insurance for the poor.
The latest buzzword the government is tossing around to try to scare people into supporting its grossly unfair budget is 鈥渋ntergenerational theft鈥. It recently released an Intergenerational Report, which looks at the budget over the next 40 years to back up this campaign.
The report says that in the future we will all live much longer and spend more of our lives in retirement. There will be a lower proportion of working people whose taxes pay for pensions and health care, so 鈥渨e鈥 have to start paying for it now.