Federal budget surplus a lie

[Slax]

The federal budget surplus has been shown to be a lie as the surplus has been based on some return on investment figure that are incorrect. The main one vales the Telstra shares at $5.25 a price they haven't seen in a couple of years and will not see this year.

This valuation means actually that the government is in breach of the ASIC regulations, corporations law and accounting standards which all state that valuation of assets in a budget or financial report must be at current market value not future value. The other alternative is to list them at purchase price but as the government never purchased them it can't do that.

 

[Generalissimo]

The Liberals lying to make themselves look good. Who would have thought? Next you'll be telling me the Earth is round.

 

[Frodo]

Such knowledge.



Remember that thread about a yewar ago about the huge Costello hidden loss of $$$billions....because a third of our reserves were in USD?

Well now we've gone from 45c to 65c the paper profit is about the same amount. $$$Billions of profit MADE by Costello...where';s the congratulatory thread? Ahhh...sadly missing my Stalinist friends.

 

[Dippers Donuts]

More smoke and mirrors from Costello.

The biggest furphy from this budget was the tax cuts.

Reap an extra 14billion in income tax and pass back just 2.4b of that.

Real nice Costello, real nice.

 

[London Dave]

This govt. inherited $104 million debt, and Costello claimed in several interviews post budget that debt has been reduced by asset sales to the tune of $63 million. It's a sum anyone could do, 104 - 63 = 41, yes?

(And that 104 billion level of debt was not in any stretch of imagination a 'crisis'. At it's worst, it was still less than half of OECD average. It's unfortunate the 'deficit' fetish has reached this point, whereas the running of a country is equated to running a household budget. You need debt financed growth, IMHO, but that's a little off topic here.)

Net debt is actually 62 billion, so whilst the debt has been reduced markedly, whats happened to the missing 18 odd billion from the sale of OUR assets?

Has it gone in tax cuts??? No, tax up $11 billion a year, to continue the trend of the HIGHEST TAXING GOVERNMENT IN AUSTRALIAS HISTORY!

Has it gone into investment? Nope, investment cut by 3 billion lasy year alone!

So where exactly has it gone, we don't know, and probably neither does the government, which has not had a clear budgetary picture since 1997, when they abandoned the use of consolidated revenue fund and the auditing of it, despite that being a constitutional requirement.

Where did it go? I'd say a bit of it has gone to fund the 'economic' miracle Frodo makes of the currency dealings. Your explanation of the intricacies of currency swaps is astounding Frodo, such knowledge!, do you do children's parties? The phrase advertising one's ignorance comes to mind with your 'explanation'. Bravo old chap!

The rest, well, we may find out eventually, but only if the government actually enforces the financial reporting requirements on itself that it expects from others.

 

[Frodo]

As inflation is ever present and wages go up every year isn't it bloody obvious that every government will be the HIGHEST TAXING GOVERNMENT IN AUSTRALIAS HISTORY

 

[London Dave]

as a % of GDP Frodo!

 

[knuckles]

Originally posted by London Dave
Your explanation of the intricacies of currency swaps is astounding Frodo, such knowledge!,

You might want to do some homework on swaps also. Their mistake was NOT swapping out periodic inflows/outflows. Had they swapped originally, no problem. Happens when you get public servants to do a mans job.

 

[Generalissimo]

Originally posted by Frodo
my Stalinist friends.

Are you calling me that because my political leanings are more towards the left than yours? Well, compared to me you're very right wing, does that mean I should call you a fascist?

 

[London Dave]

Originally posted by knuckles
You might want to do some homework on swaps also. Their mistake was NOT swapping out periodic inflows/outflows. Had they swapped originally, no problem. Happens when you get public servants to do a mans job.

Never said currency swaps were a mistake, lots of organisations, use them to limit damage that could be done by 'sudden' changes in exchange rates, my point being...and I'll put it in capitals so it's easier for you to read...

WE WILL NEVER KNOW IF A PROFIT OR LOSS WAS MADE ON THESE SWAPS BECAUSE THIS GOVERNMENT HAS CHANGED THE RULES ON THEIR FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES.

I'll leave it up to you to decide why a government excpects more 'disclosure' of anyone else than themselves, but I would reckon it's not to hide 'good news'.

 

[Mossie]

Originally posted by Frodo
As inflation is ever present and wages go up every year isn't it bloody obvious that every government will be the HIGHEST TAXING GOVERNMENT IN AUSTRALIAS HISTORY

And I thought that the 40 or so charges and levies bought in by Howard
eg: sugar levey, Ansett levy, high income super levy, medicare surcharge levy etc
would have helped.

Thank god Fido that you have shown me the right (and I mean right ) way to look at things.

 

[mantis]

Mossie, get with the program, it's those bloody workers wanting to be paid that are the cause of all the taxes & levies.

 

[skilts]

Originally posted by mantis
Mossie, get with the program, it's those bloody workers wanting to be paid that are the cause of all the taxes & levies.

Let them eat stake. They ARE bloodsucking vampires.

 

[dreampolice]

Bet the Budget lies will get a full airing on the ABC!
Not if they want any funding at all !!!

And this from Costello the man who will lead Australia when Howard retires after the next election (who will pay for the by-election? Yep us suckkers!)

 

[Frodo]

Originally posted by London Dave
as a % of GDP Frodo!

Fairy snuff

But as people are living longer pensions are going up and the medical costs of caring for pensioners is going up. Add to that the increing % of the population that are pensioners then the costs must go up considerably and therefore the tax as a % of gdp to cover these costs must go on unless 'carousel' is implemented.

 

[Slax]

With continued selling off of government assests as said by London Dave the taxes will continue to rise because the government has lost the revenue it obtained from these services.

 

[knuckles]

Originally posted by London Dave
Never said currency swaps were a mistake, lots of organisations, use them to limit damage that could be done by 'sudden' changes in exchange rates, my point being...and I'll put it in capitals so it's easier for you to read...

WE WILL NEVER KNOW IF A PROFIT OR LOSS WAS MADE ON THESE SWAPS BECAUSE THIS GOVERNMENT HAS CHANGED THE RULES ON THEIR FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES.

I'll leave it up to you to decide why a government excpects more 'disclosure' of anyone else than themselves, but I would reckon it's not to hide 'good news'.

Childish response and wrong. I said their mistake was NOT swapping out the in/out flow positions.

 

[Frodo]

Originally posted by Frodo
Such knowledge.



Remember that thread about a year ago about the huge Costello hidden loss of $$$billions....because a third of our reserves were in USD?

Well now we've gone from 45c to 65c the paper profit is about the same amount. $$$Billions of profit MADE by Costello...where';s the congratulatory thread? Ahhh...sadly missing my friends.

Now over 72c......Even more $billions made for Australia, come on those that bagged him...where are your praises now?

 

[1jasonoz]

As of 2002/2003 the government had a net debt postition of
-$85.741 billion. That has changed from the previous years position of -$82.4 billion.

The government has major problem on their hands, in that they owe $89.386 billion in UNFUNDED employee superannuation. The government goes against their own policy of requiring people to provide for their own retirement, by refusing to fund this employer superannuation liabiltie until it falls due. This goes against the entire idea of superannuation, in that it should reduce the requirment for future generations to support current workers in their time of retirement.

The government actaully asked for submission on what they should do with future surpluses. Quite afew organistions, like the RBA stated that the government should look at some sort of funding arrangement for this liability, but the government has refused.

 

[Mr Q]

Originally posted by Frodo
Such knowledge.



Remember that thread about a yewar ago about the huge Costello hidden loss of $$$billions....because a third of our reserves were in USD?

Well now we've gone from 45c to 65c the paper profit is about the same amount. $$$Billions of profit MADE by Costello...where';s the congratulatory thread? Ahhh...sadly missing my Stalinist friends.

Maybe its just me, but that maths seems all wrong to me.

Say we had US$1 billion. We bought them at (say) 60c - so they cost us A$1.67b to buy.

The Aussie dollar drops to 45c. So our US$1b is suddenly worth A$2.22b (that's a profit of $550m). Then the Aussie dollar turns around and is worth 72c - our US$1b is worth A$1.38b - a net overall loss of A$290m, and a loss of $840m from the high point

However its all paper - in the US the US$1b is still US$1b.

 

[Tim56]

Idiotic supposition as seen from Slax does not deserve to be dignified with an answer.

 

[Mossie]

Originally posted by Frodo
Now over 72c......Even more $billions made for Australia, come on those that bagged him...where are your praises now?

ALL HAIL HOWARD OUR SAVIOUR!!!

(plenty more where that came from and to think all the silverware is nearly all sold



; GST; ; tax on interest earned on savings; fringe benefits tax; payroll tax, which pushes up the cost of products; petrol tax (about half the price); Ansett bailout tax on tickets; noise abatement tax; airport departure tax; high-income superannuation surcharge; tax on super payments; tax on super interest; Medicare surcharge for high-earners without private health cover; HECS; Customs duties; capital gains tax on land or shares; wool tax; stevedoring levy; terminations payment surcharge; probable gun buyback levy; milk levy 11¢ a litre; upcoming sugar levy; luxury car tax; wine equalisation tax.

 

[bunsen burner]

Originally posted by Generalissimo
The Liberals lying to make themselves look good. Who would have thought? Next you'll be telling me the Earth is round.

Are you inferring that the ALP doesn't tell lies?

This makes me laugh. When the Libs are in power, all the diehard ALP supporters spend the whole time whingeing like the ALP's sh@t don't stink, and when the ALP is in power, all the diehard Liberal supporters spend the whole time whingeing as if the Liberal Party's sh@t don't stink.

Let me give you a tip:

This is politics. Same all over. They all lie, twist the truth, try to make things appear better than they really are, and spend hald their time discrediting the opposition.

Unfortunately, some people are brainwashed by their parents from a young age that the political party that they don't support are complete scum. To think that every single Labor PM candidate must be better that every single Liberal PM candidate (or vice-versa) is ludicrous.


For all you Howard whingers:

- No PM can have policies that please everyone
- There's always going to be policies that you (strongly) disagree with no matter what party and leader is in charge. If you don't think this, there's a good chance you are brainwashed.
- Although Howard has had heaps unpopular policies, he has lead this country through propsperous economic times - plenty of jobs, low inflation. If you haven't taken advantage of this, you shouldn't begrudge others who have
- Yes, the taxes are high. Has anyone really noticed it? Has it put anyone on skid row?
- If people are so disgruntled with Howard, who would they prefer? Crean?


We have a democratic system and that's who the people want. There's plenty of policies of his I dislike, actually, some I reallt dislike, but at the end of the day, he has provided prosperous times for the average Australian.

Unless people think Simon Crean will have policies that please everyone, some of you people should get the f$%$ over it. And if you do think Crean has these policies, check yourself into the nuthouse now.

 

[understudy]

Highest taxing? lmfao

labor under hawke and keating has that title in 1986-87.

please dont make silly statements - back up statements with evidence.

www.budget.gov.au

ps cant wait for labor's big tax cuts and huge budget surpluses.

 

[anonymous Joe]

can't wait til a rise in Interest rates means personal debt level and house afforadability/ repayments go through the roof.