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While ScoMo's spouting his whole living within our means schtick here's something I wrote four years ago about why this whole narrative is incredibly destructive to the economy and to the prosperity of the population:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-08/the-great-living-within-our-means-con/8064268.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-08/the-great-living-within-our-means-con/8064268.
The government is not a household. The budget is not a credit card. The RBA doesn't borrow to spend. It's our currency. So long as supply does not exceed demand (affecting inflation), government spending is not destructive. In fact it is essential.
Done correctly, government spending pays for itself by orders of magnitude and across generations. But nobody wants to hear it. Not sure what it will take to get more perspectives and critiques on the lines used to sell austerity. It's so tiresome.
Also, despite significant QE and monetary interventions by the RBA, inflation has remained persistently below it's 2-3% target. There is a significant case for greater spending. https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/reserve-bank-reaches-the-limit-to-what-it-can-reasonably-do-20190602-p51tqj
I'm repeating myself but Philip Lowe has repeatedly said interest rates has reached the limit of its effectiveness and has emphasized the urgency of fiscal stimulus (spending). And that was before the pandemic hit our shores.
https://www.bis.org/review/r190826a.htm https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/why-the-pm-keeps-ignoring-the-rba-governor-20200206-p53yfz
https://www.bis.org/review/r190826a.htm https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/why-the-pm-keeps-ignoring-the-rba-governor-20200206-p53yfz
Do yourselves a favour, Australia. Pre-order a copy of @StephanieKelton's The Deficit Myth. Absolutely essential reading, based on decades of research busting the 'how do we pay for it?' paradigm with facts and evidence. https://dymocks.com.au/book/the-deficit-myth-by-stephanie-kelton-9781541736184
