96 Results

Crikey readers talk the perils of fast fashion, the IPA’s hypocrisy as it cries poor and the need for austerity.

Julia Gillard’s speech on the government’s fiscal challenge repeated Labor’s bizarre claims that it understands that Aussie families are “doing it tough” due to “cost of living pressures” — which the government knows is nonsense.

As revenue writedowns become apparent in the federal budget, keep in mind the lessons from austerity offshore. Crikey writers Glenn Dyer and Bernard Keane report.

Health spending and health employment are surging in Australia. But it’s not inevitable, as the experience of other countries shows. And it’s not necessarily being driven by the ageing population.

Australia’s in no danger of entering “a European-style debt quagmire”, despite the hysteria from surplus fetishists and the conservative commentariat.

With the Aussie dollar refusing to fall, it’s important we make sure fiscal policy can effectively respond to economic challenges. And even the pollies are finally facing up to that difficult reality.

The Coalition’s acceptance that it won’t return immediately to surplus contradicts its silly rhetoric. But it’s sensible and realistic, writes Bernard Keane and Glenn Dyer.

The global recovery and the sharemarket’s bull run might be coming to a close — and that has disturbing implications for fiscal policy here.

It’s predictable that media outlets aimed at the wealthy would defend the current superannuation tax rorts, which see the poor boost the retirement savings of the very rich. So why is Simon Crean defending it?

The real story of government debt is much more complicated than News Ltd papers claim. And there’s a deep irony in their campaign against it, write Bernard Keane and Glenn Dyer.

Now that we’re clear that slashing public spending does real damage to the economy, what do we know about the Coalition’s fiscal policy? Not much.

The May Budget should be focused on ensuring the transition to a post-boom economy. It currently looks like anything but, report Glenn Dyer and Bernard Keane.

Having finally shifted to policy rather than smear campaigns in question time, the Opposition yesterday found unexpected success.

Labor’s commitment to manufacturing differentiates it from the Coalition on economic policy, but both sides will face the same challenge no matter who wins the election. Bernard Keane and Glenn Dyer report.

The Australian economy may not look significantly different under an Abbott government, despite the Coalition’s rhetoric. Bernard Keane and Glenn Dyer with the Crikey crystal ball.

Voters quite like Julia Gillard’s decision to name the election date well in advance — but they still don’t want to vote for her, today’s Essential Report finds.

Wayne Swan’s abandonment of the surplus commitment isn’t the opening of the fiscal floodgates, but it’s a great gift for Joe Hockey. Perhaps voters will be smarter than either major party on this vexed issue.

The latest OECD report on the Australian economy is positive towards many government policies, but makes some politically unpalatable suggestions about future reform. Is the hand of Treasury at work here?

The Reserve Bank has identified “spillover” from quantitative easing as a key concern as the Australian dollar climbs higher. Glenn Dyer and Bernard Keane report on the danger.

The fantasy of surpluses peddled by the Coalition becomes dangerous when it substitutes for actual thinking about the economy.