Australians have an opportunity to re-set expectations for government spending and funding.

2 June 2022 by Glenn Barnes

Governance

As Jim Chalmers sets about his job as Treasurer, he is rightly pointing to the challenges of meeting community expectations in the face of the current levels of public debt.

For decades our politicians have known that demographic trends and growing community expectations for services and support have seen cost projections outpacing those for government revenues but have obfuscated the problem for political expediency.

We need to come together as a community and face economic reality and agree on reasonable expectations for the services we require from the government and how we will pay for these.

What do you think?

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Comments

IdeaSpies @ 2022.06.18 9:30 AM

Excellent article on what the new Gov needs to do to balance expectations

https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/why-albanese-needs-to-protect-capitalism-from-the-capitalists-20220616-p5aucl.html

Glenn Barnes @ 2022.06.18 9:56 AM

Thanks, Lynn.

Balance is critically important. Unbalanced capitalism and unbalanced government damage the economy and the electorate!

If Chalmers and Albanese are serious about drawing the community into a discussion of how we bring our country into a re-balancing of expectations, expenditure and revenue-raising, now is the time to start a process of informed dialogue. A citizens' convention (representing the whole community, not just the great and the good) or a citizens' jury on how we fund the Australian society we desire and can afford the government support for would be the ideal.

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