http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/37-million-a-day-just-to-pay-nations-interest/news-story/fea57903323442b60a190cfa868a30b6


Quote:

AUSTRALIANS will spend almost $37 million each day just to pay the interest on the nation’s borrowings, as the Government’s debt burden balloons. But in releasing figures showing the budget deficit has blown out by $2.3 billion, Treasurer Scott Morrison says the Federal Government will hold its nerve and continue its “patient” rescue of a struggling economy. Those figures show that the national debt, now at $278 billion, will climb to $364.5 billion in four years’ time. It will cost taxpayers $1.1 billion a month - or $36.9 million a day - to pay the interest on that debt. The Government’s Mid Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook statement shows the deficit will be $37.4 billion for 2015-16 and that the budget is likely to remain in the red until 2021. Australians could be saddled with the equivalent of $30,000 of debt each unless steps are taken to prevent Gross Government Debt from breaking the $647 billion mark within a decade. Mr Morrison on Tuesday announced $10.6 billion worth of spending cuts, including reductions in bulk-billing incentives for pathology, funding for aged care providers and tougher means-testing of childcare benefits. The cuts more than offset $10.2 billion worth of additional spending the government has committed to since the May budget. Mr Morrison said the Government was taking a “patient’’ approach towards repairing the budget because it did not want to risk damaging the economy or job creation. “We’re not there yet but we’re not going to take detours, we’re not going to take short cuts,’’ he said. “We’re not going to put the safety of the passengers at risk and those passengers are growth and jobs of Australians. “That’s why we’ll remain very focused on this workmanlike approach to delivering on this task.’’ Mr Morrison’s approach is in contrast to former treasurer Joe Hockey’s failed attempt in 2014 to persuade the Senate to back harsh spending cuts. The end of the mining boom has contributed to a $33.8 billion writedown in government revenue projections. Government debt is projected to hit $552 billion in 2019, or $346.5 billion when measured on a net basis. The pre-Christmas budget update, released in the middle of the financial year, included a downgrade in economic growth projections from 2.75 per cent to 2.5 per cent this financial year. The national unemployment rate is expected to peak at 6 per cent next year. But this will be of little comfort to residents of South Australia, where the official jobless rate was 7.8 per cent last month. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten criticised the Government for making cuts to health funding instead of doing more to tackle multinational tax evasion or closing superannuation tax concessions for high-income earners. “The Liberal government’s budget is on a road to nowhere, with no prospect of improving,’’ Mr Shorten said. Business groups said the MYEFO document demonstrated the need for government spending to be brought under control and the tax system to be overhauled. Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Kate Carnell said the budget update had confirmed that “the good old days’’ of windfall tax gains from strong commodity prices were over. “We risk living in a fool’s paradise if we think we can afford to keep the high level of public spending we locked in during the boom years,’’ Ms Carnell said. The Government will forgo $4.1 billion in tariff revenue over the next four years as a result of the free trade agreement with China. But Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the deal would benefit Australian exporters and consumers who could purchase cheaper Chinese goods. Whats been hit Health and aged care ■ $639 million from Medicare by scrapping bulk-billing incentives for pathology services, and changes to bulk-billing incentives for GP services and magnetic resonance imaging. ■ $472 million cut to aged care providers by changing the formula used to determine payments. Working families ■ $441 million from childcare by reducing subsidies for families who earn more than $250,000, capping places in a subsidised nannies program and closing an affordability program. ■ $125.7 million over three years from Family Tax Benefit A by continuing to freeze the income level at which a means-test kicks in at $94,316. ■ $105.1 million over three years by treating parental leave payments as “income” when assessing eligibility for other payments. Social Security ■ $2 billion from recovering welfare overpayments and cracking down on social security rorting. The environment ■ $317.5 million from the Green Army by capping projects at 500 per annum. Police ■ $65.8 million from Australian Federal Police through efficiencies from international deployment group program and returning unspent funds to Treasury.

It was zero when Rudd won office the first time.

I don't know why you persist with this nail ... the adults are in charge now and there is no longer a budget emergency.


Try to keep up.

Thank goodness the Libs are in charge "we have a plan the plan is working and we're sticking with the plan''.

oh dear wrote on Dec 18^th, 2015 at 9:45pm:

Thank goodness the Libs are in charge "we have a plan the plan is working and we're sticking with the plan''.

the plan is to have no plan :D LOL

John Smith wrote on Dec 18^th, 2015 at 9:44pm:

I don't know why you persist with this nail ... the adults are in charge now and there is no longer a budget emergency. Try to keep up.

I was just mesmerized by the 37 mill a day in interest payments alone !! Never mind the principal :(

Quote:

“We risk living in a fool’s paradise if we think we can afford to keep the high level of public spending we locked in during the boom years,’’ Ms Carnell said.

yes, Tony Abbott said this some time ago.
it is not rocket science and he does have a degree in economics.
He said "We are not paying off the interest on our debt, and if you do not do that you are stuffed."

If only we'd had someone even half-competent as Treasurer during Labor's six disastrous years in office. Such a pity we got that economic illiterate/vandal Wayne Swan...

Armchair_Politician wrote on Dec 18^th, 2015 at 9:51pm:

If only we'd had someone even half-competent as Treasurer during Labor's six disastrous years in office. Such a pity we got that economic illiterate/vandal Wayne Swan...

you mean Wayne Goose :D LOL

As equally useless compared to what we have now !!

Armchair_Politician wrote on Dec 18^th, 2015 at 9:43pm:

It was zero when Rudd won office the first time.

A glitch brought about by selling off the furniture to turn it into firewood so the people could buy it back while freezing, thus paying twice for what they once owned outright ...........

This was a deliberate minefield set for any Labor government, and any other government as well.... or just plain societal/ecnomic incompetence.

Yeah your right the guy took quick action when faced with the GFC which left Australia relatively unscathed.

John Smith wrote on Dec 18^th, 2015 at 9:44pm:

I don't know why you persist with this nail ... the adults are in charge now and there is no longer a budget emergency. Try to keep up.

Emergency or not, 3/4 of the 1.1 Billion per month leaves our shores never to be seen again ... over a decade, that's $750 million x 12 x 10 = $90 billion ... gone!

John Smith wrote on Dec 18^th, 2015 at 9:44pm:

I don't know why you persist with this nail ... the adults are in charge now and there is no longer a budget emergency. Try to keep up.

Emergency or not, 3/4 of the 1.1 Billion per month leaves our shores never to be seen again ... over a decade, that's $750 million x 12 x 10 = $90 billion ... gone!

Armchair_Politician wrote on Dec 18^th, 2015 at 9:43pm:

It was zero when Rudd won office the first time.

..........oops.....an inconvenient truth  :D

Swagman wrote on Dec 18^th, 2015 at 11:30pm:

Armchair_Politician wrote on Dec 18th, 2015 at 9:43pm: It was zero when Rudd won office the first time. ..........oops.....an inconvenient truth  :D

Not true. There were still $50 billion worth of outstanding bonds.

Bias_2012 wrote on Dec 18^th, 2015 at 10:14pm:

John Smith wrote on Dec 18th, 2015 at 9:44pm: I don't know why you persist with this nail ... the adults are in charge now and there is no longer a budget emergency. Try to keep up. Emergency or not, 3/4 of the 1.1 Billion per month leaves our shores never to be seen again ... over a decade, that's $750 million x 12 x 10 = $90 billion ... gone!

Where do you form the idea that $1.1 billion / month leaves our shores never to be seen again.

Sir lastnail wrote on Dec 18^th, 2015 at 9:49pm:

John Smith wrote on Dec 18th, 2015 at 9:44pm: I don't know why you persist with this nail ... the adults are in charge now and there is no longer a budget emergency. Try to keep up. I was just mesmerized by the 37 mill a day in interest payments alone !! Never mind the principal :(

Peter Jean ( the author ) hasn't the foggiest idea about what he's banging on about. In real terms the feds pay no interest at all.

crocodile wrote on Dec 18^th, 2015 at 11:37pm:

Swagman wrote on Dec 18th, 2015 at 11:30pm: Armchair_Politician wrote on Dec 18th, 2015 at 9:43pm: It was zero when Rudd won office the first time. ..........oops.....an inconvenient truth  :D Not true. There were still $50 billion worth of outstanding bonds.

So?  Balance sheets have debits and credits.  The net figure is the pertinent one....

Just think of all the anti-terrorism.ads Mr Abbott could fund with that.

Sprintcyclist wrote on Dec 18^th, 2015 at 9:50pm:

Quote:       “We risk living in a fool’s paradise if we think we can afford to keep the high level of public spending we locked in during the boom years,’’ Ms Carnell said.       yes, Tony Abbott said this some time ago. it is not rocket science and he does have a degree in economics. He said "We are not paying off the interest on our debt, and if you do not do that you are stuffed."

But good on him for doubling it anyway.

Karnal wrote on Dec 18^th, 2015 at 11:51pm:

Just think of all the anti-terrorism.ads Mr Abbott could fund with that.

Who?

Swagman wrote on Dec 18^th, 2015 at 11:46pm:

crocodile wrote on Dec 18th, 2015 at 11:37pm: Swagman wrote on Dec 18th, 2015 at 11:30pm: Armchair_Politician wrote on Dec 18th, 2015 at 9:43pm: It was zero when Rudd won office the first time. ..........oops.....an inconvenient truth  :D Not true. There were still $50 billion worth of outstanding bonds. So?  Balance sheets have debits and credits.  The net figure is the pertinent one....

That may be so but it wasn't zero. Just a stickler for detail. In any case, without a debt market how would the RBA possibly manage monetary policy and set interest rate targets.

Karnal wrote on Dec 18^th, 2015 at 11:54pm:

Sprintcyclist wrote on Dec 18th, 2015 at 9:50pm: Quote:       “We risk living in a fool’s paradise if we think we can afford to keep the high level of public spending we locked in during the boom years,’’ Ms Carnell said.       yes, Tony Abbott said this some time ago. it is not rocket science and he does have a degree in economics. He said "We are not paying off the interest on our debt, and if you do not do that you are stuffed." But good on him for doubling it anyway.

:)

Yeah, $70Bn debt was paid by selling at firesale prices public assets.

Then we had the boom and the profligate twins Howard and Costello blew the boom revenue on tax cuts and pork and built that into the Budget.

We know from MYEFO the stupid Libs have no intention of removing that profligacy from the Budget. But the Shorten Labor govt will from next year start doing just that.

Howard left like a $700Bn infrastructure deficit.

Sir lastnail wrote on Dec 18^th, 2015 at 9:41pm:

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/37-million-a-day-just-to-pay-nations-interest/news-story/fea57903323442b60a190cfa868a30b6 Quote: AUSTRALIANS will spend almost $37 million each day just to pay the interest on the nation’s borrowings, as the Government’s debt burden balloons. But in releasing figures showing the budget deficit has blown out by $2.3 billion, Treasurer Scott Morrison says the Federal Government will hold its nerve and continue its “patient” rescue of a struggling economy. Those figures show that the national debt, now at $278 billion, will climb to $364.5 billion in four years’ time. It will cost taxpayers $1.1 billion a month - or $36.9 million a day - to pay the interest on that debt. The Government’s Mid Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook statement shows the deficit will be $37.4 billion for 2015-16 and that the budget is likely to remain in the red until 2021. Australians could be saddled with the equivalent of $30,000 of debt each unless steps are taken to prevent Gross Government Debt from breaking the $647 billion mark within a decade. Mr Morrison on Tuesday announced $10.6 billion worth of spending cuts, including reductions in bulk-billing incentives for pathology, funding for aged care providers and tougher means-testing of childcare benefits. The cuts more than offset $10.2 billion worth of additional spending the government has committed to since the May budget. Mr Morrison said the Government was taking a “patient’’ approach towards repairing the budget because it did not want to risk damaging the economy or job creation. “We’re not there yet but we’re not going to take detours, we’re not going to take short cuts,’’ he said. “We’re not going to put the safety of the passengers at risk and those passengers are growth and jobs of Australians. “That’s why we’ll remain very focused on this workmanlike approach to delivering on this task.’’ Mr Morrison’s approach is in contrast to former treasurer Joe Hockey’s failed attempt in 2014 to persuade the Senate to back harsh spending cuts. The end of the mining boom has contributed to a $33.8 billion writedown in government revenue projections. Government debt is projected to hit $552 billion in 2019, or $346.5 billion when measured on a net basis. The pre-Christmas budget update, released in the middle of the financial year, included a downgrade in economic growth projections from 2.75 per cent to 2.5 per cent this financial year. The national unemployment rate is expected to peak at 6 per cent next year. But this will be of little comfort to residents of South Australia, where the official jobless rate was 7.8 per cent last month. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten criticised the Government for making cuts to health funding instead of doing more to tackle multinational tax evasion or closing superannuation tax concessions for high-income earners. “The Liberal government’s budget is on a road to nowhere, with no prospect of improving,’’ Mr Shorten said. Business groups said the MYEFO document demonstrated the need for government spending to be brought under control and the tax system to be overhauled. Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Kate Carnell said the budget update had confirmed that “the good old days’’ of windfall tax gains from strong commodity prices were over. “We risk living in a fool’s paradise if we think we can afford to keep the high level of public spending we locked in during the boom years,’’ Ms Carnell said. The Government will forgo $4.1 billion in tariff revenue over the next four years as a result of the free trade agreement with China. But Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the deal would benefit Australian exporters and consumers who could purchase cheaper Chinese goods. Whats been hit Health and aged care ■ $639 million from Medicare by scrapping bulk-billing incentives for pathology services, and changes to bulk-billing incentives for GP services and magnetic resonance imaging. ■ $472 million cut to aged care providers by changing the formula used to determine payments. Working families ■ $441 million from childcare by reducing subsidies for families who earn more than $250,000, capping places in a subsidised nannies program and closing an affordability program. ■ $125.7 million over three years from Family Tax Benefit A by continuing to freeze the income level at which a means-test kicks in at $94,316. ■ $105.1 million over three years by treating parental leave payments as “income” when assessing eligibility for other payments. Social Security ■ $2 billion from recovering welfare overpayments and cracking down on social security rorting. The environment ■ $317.5 million from the Green Army by capping projects at 500 per annum. Police ■ $65.8 million from Australian Federal Police through efficiencies from international deployment group program and returning unspent funds to Treasury.

Good post sir Nail,
notice how the Govt. always goes after the weak & disadvantaged for cutting costs & more tax -

never the big companies like Apple & Google for tax?

Typical neocon behavior, Bobby.

Armchair_Politician wrote on Dec 18^th, 2015 at 9:43pm:

It was zero when Rudd won office the first time.

Debt has ballooned thanks to the Liberals and Nationals.  Incompetent!!!!!!

Jovial Monk wrote on Dec 19^th, 2015 at 5:41am:

Typical neocon behavior, Bobby.

Yes Jovial - punish the weak & easy targets -

let the big guys get off scott free.

Karnal wrote on Dec 18^th, 2015 at 11:51pm:

Just think of all the anti-terrorism.ads Mr Abbott could fund with that.

Given what happened in Paris, it'd be money well spent.

Jovial Monk wrote on Dec 19^th, 2015 at 4:34am:

Yeah, $70Bn debt was paid by selling at firesale prices public assets. Then we had the boom and the profligate twins Howard and Costello blew the boom revenue on tax cuts and pork and built that into the Budget. We know from MYEFO the stupid Libs have no intention of removing that profligacy from the Budget. But the Shorten Labor govt will from next year start doing just that. Howard left like a $700Bn infrastructure deficit.

If you're referring to the debt when Howard took over, it was $96 billion, not $70 billion. As for this fictional deficit you constantly and wrongly refer to, there was no deficit when he left office - only a $22 billion surplus.

Not fictional, Armpit, structural.

I will keep it simple for the RWNJs here.

The boom we had 2001–7 generated boom revenues. Do you disagree, Armpit? Good economic management would have seen the govt book the surpluses, do some work on infrastructure, education etc to boost productivity. Not the idiots Howard & Costello.

Into the boom they poured fuel, tax cuts for the rich, pork, wealthfare and the like.

Instead of spending on infrastructure Howard raided the infrastructure Budget to get bigger “surpluses” so he could spend more on buying elections. The boom grew bigger, as did inflation. Borrow to spend became the catchcry and credit cards, personal loans and mortgages were raised and increased with gusto.

These tax cuts etc were built into the Budget—you cannot deny that we are still paying the Costello tax cuts, right Armpit? And the super tax concessions, estimated to cost the Budget $170Bn over the forward estimates. Do you think these are imaginary, Armpit?

CGT excemption, Health Care Rebate etc etc are still being paid too, aren’t they Armpit? These exist (look up Tax expenditures and you will see them in the 2015/16 Budget.

What is missing tho now compared the boom times of H&C? Can you answer that, Armpit? It is boom time revenue, right Armpit? We are paying tax cuts and other items (rorts) that we now do not have the revenue for.

Not only that, the end of the boom saw households realise that they were in debt up to their eyeballs and no more big increases in house values. The savings ratio shot up as housholds deleveraged (paid down mortgages, personal loans and credit cards.) Households also disleveraged, built up savings.

The deleveraging is still going one, John Smith reported people were about 3 years ahead on their mortgage payments.

Into this situation abbott and hokey drew up their disastrous 2014 Budget. The result—the savings ratio increased again, spending fell.

Now we have low wages growth, increasing unemployment (whatever nonsense the ABS figures show) and Morriscum is trying to apply austerity.

We will never dig ourselves out the pit the Howard/Costello, abbott/hokey and turncoat/morriscum have dug without a change in government next year!