I hope you are on statins otherwise I can see you keeling over after reading yet another story that doesn't shower glory on the dear leader.
I guess there are a few ways at looking at this.Would have thought Hillary was better than that: http://www.theage.com.au/federal-po...d-faced-outrageous-sexism-20140610-zs2uf.html
Or at least better researched. Or less gender bigoted.
I might have thought about being supportive of her tilt, but ho hum, too predictable.
I agree with you, Logique, but - depending on who the Republican candidate is - I still think she'd be a pretty good President, at least compared with some in the past. Rumour has Jed Bush as being the Republican nominee. Pretty funny if there's another Bush/Clinton contest.
Where there's smoke there's fire. Clive Palmer..like a fox. Malcolm knows.''.....''Criticism of our strategy has been political in nature and has drifted to 1970s class warfare lines, claiming the budget is 'unfair' or that the 'rich don't contribute enough'.
''I would argue that the comments about inequality in Australia are largely misguided, both from an historical perspective, and from the perspective of the budget.''...
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/call...-joe-hockey-20140611-39xsd.html#ixzz34MHDK8hg
If the Abbott Government is truly thinking like this then they've certainly lost the centre. In a slowing economy with rising unemployment I'd like Hocket and Abbott to explain how removing support for those under 30 is in any way going to increase youth and the under 30s employment levels.
The Abbott government has burned much of its political capital for little gain with budget measures characterised by “obvious inequity”, the former Liberal leader John Hewson has argued.
Hewson made the forthright comments about the disproportionate impact of the budget on the poor while launching a new report that points to rising income inequality in Australia.
“Even though the Abbott government were at pains prior to the budget to argue that ‘fixing the budget’, one of those dot points that they took to the election, would be done by sharing the burden of adjustment, the electoral backlash was driven by the obvious inequity of many of the budget measures that were proposed,” Hewson said during an event at Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday.
“The budget proposed in simple terms a cut of some 12% to 15% in the disposable income of the lower-income groups, single-income families, families with children, but only less than 1% cut in disposable incomes for those on higher incomes.
“Moreover the government has burnt much of its political capital for little gain, in my view, in terms of ‘fixing the budget’, especially when the unfunded challenges of meeting some of those very large expenditure commitments in the out years still persist.”
Don't you think it's a little premature to make such a prediction, Logique? They have more than two years to go.One term, it is increasingly apparent.
There are two notable features about John Hewson:Seems everyone is lining up to put the boots in
John Hewson criticises 'obvious inequity' of budget measures
Agreed with your logic although in this case Hewson's actual comments are pretty much spot on in my view.I'd rather take notice of someone who was successful like Paul Keating or John Howard.
Agreed with your logic although in this case Hewson's actual comments are pretty much spot on in my view.
Abbott has alienated a disproportionate number of people relative to the budget gains achieved. Whether or not it's good economics (and I doubt it), it's not smart politics in the long run.
As for alternative options, first thing I'd be looking at is closing the loopholes. If the tax rates are intended to be x then that's what they should be. No loopholes available only to those for whom finding them saves a fortune. If it's x% tax then it's x% tax, end of story. How much it would actually save I don't know, but it would look a lot better politically to be targeting tax avoidance prior to cutting in other areas etc.
I'd rather take notice of someone who was successful like Paul Keating or John Howard.
Perhaps, along with Malcolm Fraser, Dr Hewson should consider quietly retreating into anonymity instead of insisting he has wisdom to impart to present governments and oppositions.
Tony Abbott has escalated a diplomatic brawl with Arab countries that threatens billions of dollars worth of farm exports, standing by a "provocative" adoption of more pro-Israel language.
Speaking to The Weekend West in Washington yesterday, the Prime Minister rejected as "far-fetched" threats by Arab League nations to stop taking Australian exports over what he described as a "slight change in terminology".
The trend towards greater self-reliance ”” driven by the productivity gains of the 1990s and the resources boom ”” cuts across Joe Hockey’s argument that tough budget measures are necessary to tackle a culture of “entitlement” that has developed in Australia, with people more dependent on welfare than in other countries.
Survey director asso*ciate professor Roger Wilkins said it highlighted the effect of welfare reforms aimed at increasing participation in the paid workforce.
“The clear overall trend over the last 20 years has been one of declining welfare reliance among both working-age people and retired people,” he said. “Even the recent economic slowdown does not appear to have arrested this trend. It’s therefore hard to argue that excessive welfare dependence is the burning issue of the day.”
The Treasurer argued last week that Australia had more *people in the poorest fifth of the population entirely dependent on welfare than any other country and that the welfare system needed to be reined in.
“Our welfare system is unsustainable in its current form and it is not well targeted to those who really need our assistance ... payments are too broadly available to too many people,” he said.
One result has been a dramatic fall in the numbers living in poverty. The survey shows the share of the population unable to provide adequate food, clothing and shelter for themselves has dropped from 12.8 per cent to 5.7 per cent.
Fewer people are claiming unemployment and parenting benefits, the Age Pension or most other forms of welfare support. The big exception is the disability pension, where repeated rounds of reforms since 2006 designed to make it more difficult to obtain appear to have had no sustained effect.
''The government is open to criticism and debate about our budget. However, we owe it to the community to set the facts straight and articulate the reasoning behind our decisions,'' the Treasurer said.
''Criticism of our strategy has been political in nature and has drifted to 1970s class warfare lines, claiming the budget is 'unfair' or that the 'rich don't contribute enough'.
''I would argue that the comments about inequality in Australia are largely misguided, both from an historical perspective, and from the perspective of the budget.''
''But a just and fair society must not seek to penalise those who aspire to be better. We must reward the lifters and discourage the leaners,'' he said.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/call...-joe-hockey-20140611-39xsd.html#ixzz34MHDK8hg
If the Abbott Government is truly thinking like this then they've certainly lost the centre. In a slowing economy with rising unemployment I'd like Hocket and Abbott to explain how removing support for those under 30 is in any way going to increase youth and the under 30s employment levels.
The ABC, Fairfax and the Labor Party, in particular the shadow Foreign Minister, should now hang their heads in shame after portraying Abbott's overseas trip a failure which we all know is far from the truth.
The Shadow Foreign Minister mad a stupid statement to the press that Abbott had no friends overseas....now it has come back to bite her on the *um.......She is as big a liar as is her boss.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opi...crediting-abbott/story-fn558imw-1226955140286
Critics obsessed with discrediting Abbott
TALKING POINT
The Australian
June 16, 2014 12:00AM
TONY Abbott returns from a very successful overseas tour during which he held court with numerous overseas heads of state, most notably the President of Indonesia, the Prime Minister of Canada and the President of the US. I have no doubt that Abbott would win the approval of those with whom he met, just as he did on his recent trip to Japan and China.
Abbott may not be the world’s greatest showman, but what you see is what you get: sincerity with a straight forward presentation.
What is concerning, however, is that his Labor and Greens opponents, along with the ABC and Fairfax media, seem obsessed with discrediting Abbott domestically. These people want Abbott, the individual, to fail simply because he is Abbott, not because of what he stands for.
We will become the only country in the world that will not have the main government controlling the environment. The Barrier reef for instance belongs to all Australians. We deserve a say.
CLIVE Palmer’s Queensland nickel refinery poses a serious environmental threat, with nitrogen concentrations in its ponds more than 150 times the maximum for sewage discharge in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, according to a high-level federal government report.
The threat of another major discharge from the ponds to the ecosystem of Halifax Bay in the World Heritage Area in northern Queensland has been described in internal documents as “similar to the daily discharge of treated sewage from a city of seven million people”.
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