What influences your vote...?

[silentC]

They are a bad thing when people lose their houses because of them.

Look at it this way: say the government decided to spend their surplus on improving services. They're still injecting money into the economy, which is what fiscal policy is all about, by paying more wages and building more infrastructure. It creates jobs, gets borderline unemployed off the books, and most importantly, helps people who need those services but are currently missing out.

On the other hand, if they give us a tax cut, that means that middle to high income earners get an extra wad of disposable income, which they will happily spend on satisfying their own whims. How many people actually put the extra on the mortgage? A few might but I bet that the type of people who will benefit most from tax cuts will use the money for other things. People on low incomes will get bugger all, if anything.

I think anybody who buys it is gullible in the extreme.

[glock40sw]

G'day,

A strong history of economic management - only only party offers that , the other yobbos had my folks paying 19% on their home loan.

If the economy is in the right hands everything else follows after that.

G'day.
I'm with Waldo on this one. Even though Jackboot Johnie took away some of my Guns, The country does seen to be more prosporous. Hell Unemployment is so low, we cannot get staff. We need about 5 people ASAP with virtually no-one looking for a job. Up until a few months ago, we were inundated with jobseekers. Now?....Nothing.
Anybody want a job???

Climate change is a furffy. Just a touchy feely warn and fuzzy for the do-gooders.
Workchoices....All our people have signed up and all are very happy with the result. A lot depends on the honesty of the employer and employee. I don't trust the Unions as far as I can spit. The only time we see a union rep is when an election is due or when they want to put union fees up.

[silentC]

Climate change is a furffy

I wouldn't say it's a furphy. It's pretty much a proven fact that the climate is changing. The only debatable issues are whether we are contributing and whether we can do anything about it.

[Sebastiaan56]

So Hospitals and schools are a state issue. Well fix it, federalise it. what are we one country or or 6 ? While we are at it federalise the police and road laws.

I agree Gra, Australia would work a whole lot better if we did get rid of a layer of government. The whole "L" stand off between the states and feds is an embaressment and impediment. All sides are guilty of politics first, Australia second. If they really had a service mentality they would have worked out how to get along. This forms an essential part of kindergarten education, I am stuck explaining to my kids why they argue so much when its not OK to kick your brother....

He and Costello have done a good job (I hate to admit) with the economy, and we can all feel that. But we have Johnny metaphorically racing around like a boxer trying to smash Kevin Rudd's face instead of maintaining his dignity as a very successful prime minister. I for one am disappointed.

Agree Ross, after how many years he still appears to prefer the day to day infighting to behaving as a senior statesman. A pity really as he has given so much of his life to the country but doesnt seem to be able to move on with dignity. If he wins the stoush over leadership will be on again and I reckon that the leadership change will become a "non core promise". Wonder how long Kev can maintain the pretense of dignity. Maybe Sunday night will tell.

Climate change is a furffy

The Northwest passage opened this year for the first time in recent history, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...t-passage.html One heck of a furphy, sorry no links to the ABC this time,

[silentC]

When I see Kevin Rudd being interviewed, I'm just not convinced. He always sounds as though he is reeling off a pre-prepared comment. There's something a bit contrived in the way he talks. Maybe it's just the way he is.

[Waldo]

Wonder how long Kev can maintain the pretense of dignity.

He's a smug git in my book, with broad grand plans but no detail. Who pops the word "fair dinkum" in every phrase tryng to appeal to the "masses" - I hope Australia is a lot smarter than that.

[HappyHammer]

Yes, if the missus had taken on a full time job, our combined income would have increased to the point where we'd be getting virtually no assistance from the goverment for child care and it would not be worthwhile.

I'm pretty sure we're in the same boat as you and we got a nice surprise in our tax return this year for the childcare we'd paid, two kids 5 days a week.

HH.

[silentC]

Trouble is it can go both ways. One year I earned more than expected and so we had to pay some back - deducted from the tax return. It wasn't very much, but it was still unexpected.

[HappyHammer]

Don't think you have to pay child care benefit back I think there are only two ranges....


If your family income is $35 478 or less you may be able to get the maximum rate of Child Care Benefit for approved care.

Table 1:
Maximum rate for non-school child

Number of children in care	Per week (for 50 hours of care)	Per hour for each child
1	$168.50	$3.37
2	$352.17 ($176.08 per child)	$3.52
3	$549.63 ($183.21 per child)	$3.66

Maximum rate for a school child is 85 per cent of the maximum non-school child rate.

The minimum applies if you are over one of these bands

Table 2:
Income limit beyond which only the minimum rate of Child Care Benefit is paid

Number of Children in care	Yearly family income
1	$108 434
2	$115 900
3	$131 570 add $23 031 for each extra child in care

The minimum is....

Table 3:
Minimum Rates of Child Care Benefit - Non-school child

Per hour each child	Maximum per week for each child (for 50 hours a week)
$0.564	$28.20

So everyone gets something.

HH.

[silentC]

I don't deal with the details, so not really sure what it was all about. All I know is that she has to tell them how much my salary is expected to be and from that they determine the amount of the payment. One year we got it wrong and had to pay some back. Maybe it was something else, but definitely child-related.

[HappyHammer]

When I see Kevin Rudd being interviewed, I'm just not convinced. He always sounds as though he is reeling off a pre-prepared comment. There's something a bit contrived in the way he talks. Maybe it's just the way he is.

This is my view as well sounds wooden like he's reading from a script...

Unlike Costello when he stumbled over "That means more money in peoples pockets..that's good."

HH.

[Gra]

I don't deal with the details, so not really sure what it was all about. All I know is that she has to tell them how much my salary is expected to be and from that they determine the amount of the payment. One year we got it wrong and had to pay some back. Maybe it was something else, but definitely child-related.

Yeah if you guess you income incorrectly they make you pay some back... We solved the issue by claiming it as part of our tax return. It means you get a lump sum at the end of the year

[silentC]

That's OK if you have the spare cash to pay the child care throughout the year!

[HappyHammer]

It's all changed now anyway and in the future you have to claim it from the Family Assistance Office rather than as part of your tax return. This can be as a lump sum or as a monthly payment.

HH.

[q9]

They are a bad thing when people lose their houses because of them.

I still don't understand why we are so tuned to owning our own home as the be all and end all of life?

Anyhow, I find it amusing that we shower the government of the day with either horse dung or praises over the handling of the "economy", when most aspects of the modern Australian economy are independant of the government.

Government policy can influence interest rates, but generally only very slightly. The boom in resources which is driving the current good economic cycle would have happened if Wayne Goss's dog was PM Similarly the recession of the 90's was a world wide event, yet we were supposed to be immune for some reason?

I also find it funny some people are getting excited about getting some more tax cuts - basically rewarding the government for overtaxing them in the first place

Ah...it's a funny old world.