By Ross Greenwood - Economist


Right now the Federal Government is at pains to tell everyone - including us the mug-punters and the International Monetary Fund, that it will not exceed its own, self-imposed, borrowing limits.

How much? $200 billion. And here's a worry.

If you work in a bank's money market operation; or if you are a politician; the millions turn into billions and it rolls off the tip of the tongue a bit too easily. but every dollar that is borrowed, some time, has to be repaid. By you, by me and by the rest of the country.

How much? $200 billion. And here's a worry.

If you work in a bank's money market operation; or if you are a politician; the millions turn into billions and it rolls off the tip of the tongue a bit too easily. but every dollar that is borrowed, some time, has to be repaid. By you, by me and by the rest of the country.

Just after 5 o'clock tonight I did a bit of math for Jason Morrison ( Sydney radio presenter). But it's so staggering its worth repeating now.

First thought; Gillard, Swan, Wong, before that Rudd, all of the Labor Cabinet, call these temporary borrowings, a temporary deficit.

Remember Those Words: Temporary Deficit.

The total Government debt will end up around $200 billion.
So here's a very basic calculation. I used a home loan calculator to work it out ..... it's that simple.
$200 billion is $2 hundred thousand million.

The current 10 year Government bond rate is 4.67 per cent. I worked the loan out over a period of 20 years. Now here's where it gets scary .... really scary.

The repayments on $200 billion, come to more than one and a quarter billion dollars - every month - for 20 years. It works out we - as taxpayers - will be repaying $15.4 billion in interest and principal every year. $733 for every man woman and child - every year.

The total interest bill over the 20 years is - get this - $108 billion.

Remember, this is a Government, that just 4 years ago, had NO debt. NO debt.

In fact it had enough money to create the Future Fund, to pay the future liabilities of public servants' superannuation, and it had enough to stick $20 billion into the Building Australia Fund.

A note was sent to me which explains that the six leading members of the Government, from Ms Gillard down, have a collective work experience of 181 years, but only 13 in the private sector.

If you take out of those 13 years the number that were spent as trade union lawyers, 11, only two years were spent in the private sector.

So out of those 181 years:

- no years spent running their own business

So out of those 181 years:

- no years spent running their own business
- no years spent starting their own business
- no years spent as a director of a family business or a company
- no years as a director of a public company
- no years in a senior position in a public company
- no years in a senior position in a private company
- no years working in corporate finance
- no years in corporate or business restructuring
- no years working in or with a bank
- no years of experience in the capital markets
- no years in a stock-broking firm
- no years in negotiating debt facilities with banks
- no years running a small business
- no years at the World Bank or IMF or OECD
- no years in Treasury or Finance.

But these people have plunged Australia into unprecedented debt.

Well, in a way you can't blame them.
It's clear the electorate did not do their homework, because the Government is there by right.
Ah, but they are Labor and people vote for them because Labor is good for the working family - right???

If you have read this you may like to pass it on to your friends to help educate a little as you, them and I, will be repaying the above.

Don't worry - when Tony gets in he'll repay Labor's debt.

A f)*&%n Jew disguising himself as a NAZI!

lol, how low can you go??

  ::) ::)

Deathridesahorse...I'm a long tall texan, I ride a big white horse...he comes from Tecxas on a big white horse....

Now people look at me me and say...ooh ruh  ooh ruh..is you the law?

Australia's GDP is about 1.6 trillion. And our federal government owes approx one eighth of that.

What does Greenwood think about America and Europe's debt levels?  :-?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_by_public_debt

According to the above link the US has about 100% of debt to total GDP. We are one fifth of that.

Perspective.

Brendon 4 years ago our Country had National Savings which that dickhead Rudd magnanimously frittered away with 2 $900 cheques for everyone, who got them then went out and pissed them up against the wall.

4 years ago our Country had nil debt and nil borrowings.

Fast track to now and our Country has $200 billion dollars in overseas debt...in 4   f.......g years Brendon.

What have you got between your ears...cement?

red baron wrote on Mar 13^th, 2012 at 2:23pm:

Brendon 4 years ago our Country had National Savings which that dickhead Rudd magnanimously frittered away with 2 $900 cheques for everyone, who got them then went out and pissed them up against the wall. 4 years ago our Country had nil debt and nil borrowings. Fast track to now and our Country has $200 billion dollars in overseas debt...in 4   f.......g years Brendon. What have you got between your ears...cement?

You'd have to admit that running surpluses through the biggest recessions since the great depression would have been economic stupidity beyond belief.

Rudd/Swan pulled out all stops to keep us out of recession. A recession which would be spiraled into much larger debts and taxes which other countries have had to face up to.

For all their failings, that was an astute move.

Herr Docktor Jolly......The money that Rudd and Swan squandered to supposedly 'save this nation from the G.F.C. accounted for 3% of the G.D.P.

It had nothing whatsoever to do with the 'Government's attempts to save this Nation from the G.F.C.'

Our banks were only thinly exposed to the U.S. Housing meltdown, that coupled with a strong economy passed on by the Liberal Party to Labor had EVERYTHING to do with this Country coming through things nicely.

The only thing that Rudd and Co. managed to do was to squander our national savings then rapidly put us into China's debt at the rate of hundreds of millions of dollars a month.

Something which continues to occur. Do some reading moron!