Did the stimulus package work? That’s the only economic debate the Opposition and much of Australia’s media are mired in. But a lot more went down at G20 over the weekend. Like the Rudd government’s vindication.
Stimulus package
Australians get stimulated: where the money went
Do stimulus packages work? To answer the question, you need to know what people do with the government handouts. Andrew Leigh looks at what Aussie households did with their $12 billion.
The Dyer Index: Black is back for GDP
Business conditions are looking up with business confidence bouncing back to nearly its long term average, the latest NAB survey finds.
Big steps by Big Government saves US economy
The US economy might still be struggling, but it’s not the Great Depression II that was feared. Paul Krugman says it’s all thanks to one thing: Big Government.
How rate cuts and a little stimulus saved Myer
Without the $432 million in government stimulus spending that Myer received, the company would still be struggling under a mountain of debt.
Feds build 1000th home in three months… in Rudd’s electorate
Stimulus package housing is one thing, intervention housing quite another, writes Chris Graham.
Time to stimulate jobless, whatever conservatariat thinks
The new issue is whether things are going well enough that the Government could actually ease off on the stimulus package. Not so fast.
Dishonesty, hypocrisy, stimulus and The Australian
The Australian newspaper’s current campaign against the Government’s stimulus package has to be one of the more dishonest and hypocritical of recent years.
Why Australia’s economists are wrong about the stimulus
Should it turn out that the stimulus packages have been quack remedies, writes Steven Kates, we are soon going to know. Economists don’t need to write a letter about it.
Crikey Says: The results are in: Labor’s stimulus worked
The Government targeted retail and construction, two of the biggest-employing sectors, and bombed them with cash, and it has worked.
From Costello Land to Wayne’s World of Shopping
Economic models are as vacuous as fashion models: they look good but that can’t tell you anything that matters, writes Paul Comrie-Thomson.
Budget deficits and the grand hypocrisy of Peter Costello
The biggest public policy issue in Australia at the moment is the size of our budget deficit. The man most responsible is Peter Costello.
Obama should to take a look around to succeed in the next 100 days
In his first 100 days, Barack Obama has hit the ground sprinting and hasn’t stopped. Robert Reich looks at how he can succeed for the next 100, and beyond.
Education revolution brings stress and strain with the largesse
Schools across the country are suffering unexpected strain from their share of the government’s largesse.
ATO stuff-up could pull $22 out of your stimulus
A problem at the ATO is the reason why many Australians haven’t got their $900 tax bonus from the Federal Government yet, says Crikey intern Elly Keating.
The creativity stimulus they had to have
In the United States, government funding of popular culture is back on the table. But decades of neglect means the restoration of real creativity could take years.
Crikey Says: From The Chicago Tribune of 1934
The more things change…
Rudd’s Package III: Stimulate with a Vengeance
This might be the most difficult budget in decades, but at the moment, there’s no Opposition worthy of the name to pressure the Government.
South Korea lights the way on emissions cuts
Seoul’s huge financial stimulus package pledges 81% for a swath of environmental projects. But activists fear a wave of construction may increase the country’s carbon footprint.
KRudd stimulates Facebook and Twitter
A growing number of Facebookers are using the social networking site to express their gratitude, or frustration, with Rudd and his $900 stimulus hand outs, writes Crikey intern Elly Keating
High Court rejects challenge to $900 bonus payment
Australia’s $42 billion recession-fighting stimulus package has survived a court challenge. Cue rejoicing on the streets.
Malcolm Turnbull, king of nuance
Malcolm Turnbull’s nuanced economic message has more nuance than, well, Nuanced Jack McNuance, winner of this year’s Mr Nuance competition, writes Bernard Keane.
