ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
A local taxpayer says last night’s federal budget should have cut his taxes, reduced inflation, stimulated the economy, and delivered a surplus all at once.
Mick Robertson, 49, earns just over $180 000 a year and owns a home he bought for $320 000 in 2006 that is now worth more than $1.5 million. He says the budget does nothing for ordinary Australians like him.
“We are the new normal. It’s normal to have bought a home 20 years ago and it’s normal to enjoy the fruits of that sacrifice. We matter. This government reckons it’s all about easing the cost of living, but I didn’t see anything in there for blokes like me,” he said.
The budget included small tax cuts for all workers, electricity subsidies, and rent relief for people who are either lazy or have poor parents or both. Treasury officials say any further stimulus could push inflation higher. Robertson says that’s not his problem.
“They’re always saying we can’t spend too much because of inflation. But when the other mob was in, we got tax cuts, cash handouts, and stimulus packages. It was truely a fiscal Soggy Sao and we gobbled it all up and now we want more. Then as soon as Labor takes over, we’re told the economy’s on fire and we’ve got to be careful,” he said.
“No more Soggy Sao. We have to go back to a soggy slice of devon!”
Robertson says he wants a budget that does everything at once.
“They should be cutting taxes, spending more on infrastructure, and bringing the cost of everything down, all while balancing the books,” he said.
“That’s what the Coalition used to do. And if it turned into an economic tractor fire later, well, at least we got a few good years out of it. Blokes like me did anyway.”
More to come.
