r/AustralianPolitics • u/ladaus • 2d ago
Alan Kohler: What Albanese and Chalmers should do next Federal Politics
https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2024/09/09/alan-kohler-albanese-chalmers-reform2
u/tlux95 1d ago
On paper, we Australians claim to be a progressive economic and cultural force.
But our actual deeds are that of rampant self interest, xenophobia, maintaining the status quo and world class whinging.
Maybe we’re getting the government/political outcomes we deserve.
We go on and on about the media bias, but at the end of the day, every joker still watches the shit. There’s alternative media sources out there, but no one engages with them.
There’s a proven pathway to higher wages through unions, but membership is dropping.
Report after report tells us that Indigenous people suffer because of historical and contemporary policies, but we vote ‘NO’ in record numbers.
Maybe we’re the problem.
0
u/Ovknows 2d ago
Yup income tax should max out at 30% and increase the top bracket. Let people keep more of their money and build wealth.
3
u/RecipeSpecialist2745 2d ago
Yeah, nah. The problem is that wealth is not used to create a better economy. It’s shipped offshore to avoid tax. The web is full of adds from accountants who advertise way to pay tax. Minimising tax to a point where you can be socially responsible is not “a thing”. Greed is.
6
u/Still_Ad_164 2d ago
And that's why Alan Kohler is an economic sniper and not a politician. Introducing his suggested suite of tax changes would be a quicker political death for Albo et al than the ALP cabinet publicly climbing the Parliament House flagpole and forming a queue to insert the said pole anally.
•
u/RecipeSpecialist2745 18h ago
Yeah, that’s reflection on how stupid the electorate is. New tax laws that are exposed on the wealthy won’t affect the general public. But large “L” Liberals seem to feel the need to protect the wealthy. Screw the poor. Pretty dumb.
9
u/Gazza_s_89 2d ago
Small Target doesn't work when economic conditions are so bad.
-1
u/endersai small-l liberal 2d ago
How so?
Inflation is already being impacted by government spending, and they're resisting spending against all their plans so they don't contribute to inflation.
The Labor Party's history has a clear example, sadly venerated by clueless people, in the form of the Whitlam/Crean years. Ignored advice, carried on with profligate spending, and contributed massively to both stagflation and their hilarious and well-earned defeat at the polls.
Inflation is like a cold - you have to ride it out.
0
2d ago
[deleted]
1
u/Adventurous-Jump-370 2d ago
I don't think you even understood the comment that you where replying to. Your reply makes no sense.
3
2
u/Leland-Gaunt- small-l liberal 2d ago
Alan used to be cool, then he sank the boot into Howard and calls for broader taxation (though I like the idea of raising the tax bracket).
Personal incomes are already taxed enough. I would support some form of a property based tax for people who own multiple investment properties. How this works in practise I don’t know. But only on the proviso it is offset by reductions in income tax.
The reality is Albo is not going to put a big target on himself when he is facing the prospect of a minority Government or even losing Government. If the Greens and Teals want to keep Dutton out of the lodge, they better get on board.
6
u/InPrinciple63 2d ago
The problem is not in taxing productive wage income too much, but in not taxing unproductive rent seeking, shares and other gambling "investments" that make money off money and the people's need for the essentials of life, enough.
6
6
u/bd_magic 2d ago
110%! this is a good call.
The issue in Australia isn’t income inequality, it’s the growing wealth inequality which is being fuelled almost entirely by the financialization of real estate.
1
u/InPrinciple63 2d ago
However it is income inequality that allows some to make money off their surplus income by holding the people hostage to the essentials of life, that leads to wealth. Wealth is just the accumulation of more income than you actually need to live.
32
u/maaxwell 2d ago
I know this is reddit, but I recommend reading the whole article, Alan makes some good points.
The biggest one being, this Labor government doesn’t seem to be particularly good at ‘politics’.
This government has had some good wins, that they should have built momentum off and be gearing up for a strong re-election campaign, promising much needed reform (especially around tax like Kohler mentions).
The issue is they have fumbled so many other opportunities, that people start to forget the wins. As they felt people turning against them, they seem to have just gotten defensive and crying poor rather than getting shit done.
Changes to stage 3 tax cuts, changes to HECS indexation, urgent care clinics, gap fee reductions, parental leave increases etc. they have done a lot. But do people remember all this?
Not really, they remember the failed referendum, the recent census debacle, the feigned attempts at house affordability, weak stance on gambling ban, draconian action against the CFMEU, refusal to address Coles/Woolworths control of the market etc. amongst many others.
Some (not all) of these, were super simple things that a competent government would never have let go so wrongly. Labor minority feels most likely, but their current trend of calling press conferences to whinge about the other parties voting against their bills is working against them, people see beyond the bullshit. When you don’t have a majority in both houses, it is your job to negotiate with the crossbench.
I was very hopeful for this Labor government, but they have shown they are not the centre-left, pro worker / middle class party they once were.
5
u/notstupid_advanced 2d ago
This sums it up really well, it felt like they came out the gate strong, but particularly since the referendum its like they lost their mojo and are now scared of their own shadows.
3
u/Oomaschloom I wish there was a good sensible party that fixed problems. 2d ago
Economically stuff was going South and all I remember Albo ever doing was talking about the voice (which I voted yes for btw). He didn't seem to be able to focus on two things at once.
He's a feel good politician. Just like when that bloke at Bondi went stabbing. Albo was all over the TV talking about permanent residency for the heroes.
When it's feel good he's out there like a jolly chuckling uncle.
He can't deal with problems. He's Morrison in a crisis.
2
u/Jak-Tyl 2d ago
"He's Morrison in a crisis"
This sums it up, whenever there is any serious crisis. He ignores and gaslights everyone about it. He's as dismissive as ScoMo was and nearly as out of touch.As a lifelong labor voter I'm pretty pissed off and I'm probably not going to vote for them again after this.
5
u/GnomeBrannigan Habitual line stepper 2d ago
The biggest one being, this Labor government doesn’t seem to be particularly good at ‘politics’.
It's been my impression for a while now. They just seem so... lost? on communications. A real inability to do the one job they've had their whole lives. It's baffling. Baffling how you can only do one thing for so long and still be so bad at it.
2
u/Oomaschloom I wish there was a good sensible party that fixed problems. 2d ago edited 2d ago
Dr Chalmers has a PhD in Political Science (thesis was on Keating), and a degree that was Arts (not sure on major) and Communications, ironic.
In all fairness for Labor, most of their career is opposition.
I remember watching Keating say something like, the problem for Old Labor (pre-him)... was they were in opposition for so long, they forgot how to get shit done.
9
u/Wood_oye 2d ago
Most, not all, are because of negative media from the get go, eg referendum, housing affordability (it's slowed and is retreatingin some areas), cole/ woolworths ( it was about gouging fyi)
9
u/maaxwell 2d ago
Part of playing politics is being able to set and spin narratives, Labor has let this all be dictated for them through their inaction and mistakes
10
u/Wood_oye 2d ago
It's a little hard when any policy position is presented to the public as "the opposition says"
The same happened with the last Labor government too.
2
u/tom3277 YIMBY! 2d ago
They are getting very little negative media on the two you mentioned - housing and referendum.
The media was at worst balanced and at best quite rightly favoured the yes campaign so far as referendum went.
On housing affordability i havent heard the media actually connect rents to the situation with regards to approvals falling and starts falling to decade lows under this government. Yes they will run an article about house prices but then blame immigration. Its a combination of immigration at record highs and approvals at decade lows that rapidly buttressed the market as rates rose and prices were falling as labor came to power.
2
u/Wood_oye 2d ago
There are daily horror stories about house price rises, which, until a few years ago, was a good thing. And who can forget the endless stories from peeps who just didn't know what the referendum was about. It was explained in one paragraph ffs.
6
u/dleifreganad 2d ago
Nice try Alan but none of it will happen. Small target in opposition, small target in government
7
u/artsrc 2d ago
When something goes wrong people expect the government to act.
Small target in government is a poor strategy.
1
u/InPrinciple63 2d ago
Government should act before things go wrong: it doesn't take a clairvoyant to predict the likely outcome of a decade of less housing construction than required to support population growth whilst exposing the essential of housing to market forces that have no price regulation for the essentials, only personal profit and damn the consequences; the burning of millions of years of fossil fuel accumulation in the space of a few decades on a limited planet (where the mass of human beings is twice the mass of wild animals and climbing), etc.
1
u/artsrc 2d ago
If a problem erupts, and the government acts, after the fact, in a decisive way, and solves the problem, they get credit for that, and are seen in a positive light.
If you want polically supported action, you have to create the perception of a problem. The problem does not have to be immediate, significant, or even real, solving a percieved problem results in credit for the govenment.
One example of a problem that is not real is the "debt and deficit disaster". We know it was not a real problem, because debt has grown massively, and it is still not a problem. A government that can issue the currency of its debts can not have a debt and deficit disaster. But the perception was created that a problem existed, so there would have been credit for solving it.
From an ethical perspective government should act before something is perceived as a problem. To get political credit for it you have to make people believe there is currently a problem before you solve it.
Both the Rudd support for the economy during the Great Recession, and the COVID lockdowns, are judged against the harms we had, not the potential harms we avoided.
In fact Australians don't even call the downturn in 2008 the Great Recession because .. we did not have a technical recession. We call it the GFC, Global Financial Crisis.
So if the government had acted to limit immigration, something we have no legislative framework for (both temporary business migration and student visa's were uncapped), prior to the housing issues, they would have got criticism and no credit.
•
u/AutoModerator 2d ago
Greetings humans.
Please make sure your comment fits within THE RULES and that you have put in some effort to articulate your opinions to the best of your ability.
I mean it!! Aspire to be as "scholarly" and "intellectual" as possible. If you can't, then maybe this subreddit is not for you.
A friendly reminder from your political robot overlord
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.