Pity poor Diamond Joe Hockey. Earlier this year he was cock-a-hoop, with a big important job in a shiny new government, a lovingly written biography on the shelves positing that he was on track to be the prime minister he knew was his birthright, and about to unveil a budget that really stuck it to everyone who ever wronged him.

And he was especially privileged since he's the Treasurer for a government that firmly believes that its entire job begins and ends with prodding the economy. Nation building? Where's the profit in that? Health, education, the environment and welfare? Expensive luxuries! Now, let's remove taxes on the mining industry. Now there's a boom that will never burst!

Of course, the problem with arguing that absolutely nothing is more important than the economy is that it only works if you're doing a bang-up job of managing the economy in question. And Joe, with the best will in the world, has not. 

It's been partially because of an unpassable budget, and partially because of the sorts of external economic forces that were absolutely the government's responsibility when Labor were in power but are clearly not the government's fault now. However, in any case, Diamond Joe's about to unveil a massive further deficit with no possible surplus in sight in tomorrow's midyear fiscal and economic outlook.

And, again, that would be reasonable except that that Hockey's entire pitch for the gig was that he had miraculous powers of economic sorcery. It doesn't help that he mercilessly hammered former treasurer Wayne Swan for relying on pathetic excuses like the existence of the Global Financial Crisis. 

Needless to say, opposition leader Bill Shorten is in a revengey sort of a mood.

"Joe Hockey said, when he got to power with Tony Abbott, that they would be in surplus within the first year, then within the first term," he said yesterday. "I'm surprised they haven't said 'the cat ate my homework' before Monday's mini-budget." 

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/view-from-the-street/view-from-the-street-can-joe-hockeys-cat-fix-the-economy-20141214-126r0z.html

And remember: the poor don't drive cars... Idiot

Two years ago, capital spending on major resource projects was a touch under $70 billion. Within two more years, it is forecast to be around $10 billion.

Some election promises have hurt too.

Take the carbon tax. Instead of $6.5 billion a year flowing in, the Government will spend $2.55 billion over three years on its on Direct Action policy.

And don't forget the $9 billion the Treasurer handed over to the Reserve Bank.

Joe's dilemma? The cash is evaporating. But the economy's so fragile, aggressively hunting down other income sources could do more harm than good.

About the only thing that may ease the pain is a tumbling dollar that could help revive other parts of the economy, like our struggling manufacturers.

Even so, Australians will not be as wealthy as before. And we will emerge from a once-in-a-century resources boom with precious little to show for it.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-14/myefo-plunging-iron-ore-price-punches-massive-budget-hole/5964654

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Though most manufacturers were hurting because of the high dollar during the Gillard government, they held on faithfully hoping that the dollar would go down a bit... The national market was also helped by some necessary subsidies such as the car manufacturers, as has been the practice of all governments around the world (Germany, France, the US all subsidise their car industry with various means). But as soon as this mob of incompetent infantile screw-loose idiots came in, they decided to stop supporting industries, they decided to kill public scientific research and decided to get rid of all the economic social glue that keeps the poor and the middle class together in this country. Thus as the dollar tumbled and industry would benefit from it, this government of ning-nongs led by the Abbottoir, had within a few months, basically destroyed the backbone of manufacturing, not only by lack of support but also by investing stupidly into making "free"-trade deals with other countries — deals that are counter productive for Australia. They are first class idiots... I don't know who is advising them, but certainly, if they get advice from someone, this someone should be sacked.

But I am prepared to believe that they think the ant's pants is shining out of their arse, and don't take advice kindly but still blame others for their grandiferous mismanagement, thus we shall kick these with all our might till republican kingdom come.

The treasurer suggests he is allowing the budget’s “shock absorbers” to cushion the economy from the impact of what looks like being the sharpest fall in the terms of trade since at least the 1960s.

This should mean fiscal policy is adding to economic growth, but Myefo encapsulates a policy agenda entrenched in the deficit reduction obsession, with little regard to the challenges unfolding in the real economy. Those challenges are a slowing growth rate, falling national income and rising unemployment.

Hockey is a long way from using fiscal policy as a shock absorber for the economy when he is forecasting the unemployment rate to reach fresh highs over the next two years.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/dec/15/coalition-addiction-cuts-ignores-australia-growing-economic-problems

See also: at your manly library...

and: stand up comics...

The mid-year economic and fiscal outlook (Myefo) released yesterday was a case of the karma police arresting Joe Hockey and reading him his rights. The Myefo revealed a large write down in taxation revenue which saw the budget deficit for 2014-15 increase by $10.6bn – from $29.8bn to now, $40.3bn. Revenue problems were a habitual concern for Wayne Swan while treasurer. But during that time, Hockey never gave him any of the sympathy he now believes he is entitled.

While this year sees a $10.6bn larger deficit, the following three years are just as bad.

In 2015-16 the deficit is $14.16bn larger than forecast in the May budget, it’s $10.3bn bigger in 2016-17, and $8.6bn greater in 2017-18. All up it comes to a total increase of $43.7bn in cumulative deficits over the next four years.

Not only is it worse than was predicted in May, it is worse than was predicted in last year’s Myefo – which saw Joe Hockey trying his very best to make the situation look as bad as possible in order to lay the blame of the deficits on the ALP:

read more: http://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2014/dec/16/the-coalitions-rhetoric-on-the-budget-have-come-back-to-haunt-them

Meanwhile Chris Berg, the senior fellow of the IPA "wants a surplus now"... He of course has no idea on how to do it. I suppose he wants lower taxes for the rich and businesses and no welfare... That has been his kind of song at the IPA — a very small-minded place where global warming does not exist... I suppose too he would be in favour of increasing the size of the police three times, because once you stop welfare, a revolution from the unwashed is on the cards.