John Passant

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Miniposts

The Greens: Opportunities for the Left?
The swing of 3.7 % to the Greens gives them almost 12% nationally. It offers the left an opportunity to argue our case with those who will become disillusioned with the Greens and their incapacity to fundamentally change anything. They support the profit system which is the root cause of our problems – climate change, war, poverty. They are unwilling to mobilise mass support in the streets for climate change, refugees, jobs. I hope I am wrong. However I made the same point about Obama before he was elected. I was right. (0)

Some questions for Abbott and Gillard
And when the boats keep coming (a good thing), and interest rates go up, and unemployment skyrockets, and GDP falls, and climate change wreaks more and more havoc on our planet, and the Taliban win in Afghanistan, what then? A retreat further into reaction and the politics of fear and attacking the victims even more? (2)

There is no red ink
‘In an old joke from the defunct German Democratic Republic, an engineer gets a job in Siberia. Aware of how all mail will be read by censors, he establishes a code with his friends: “If a letter is written in blue ink, it is true; in red ink, false.” ‘His first letter, written in blue ink, began: “Everything is wonderful: stores full, food abundant, apartments large and heated, movie theatres show films from the West – the only thing unavailable is red ink.” ‘ Zizek: The colour of truth. (0)

Tax the mining companies to keep interest rates down

One of the best ways to keep interest rates down would be to properly tax resource rents. Thanks for the forthcoming interest rate rises Julia and Tony and Markus, Tom, Twiggy and Clive.
(0)

What will socialism be like?
 There is a beauty in not having to rush to work but rather enjoy the morning at human pace, not capitalism’s pace. Holidays are what socialism will be like, I imagine. Minus all the democracy. (0)

Greece: what is happening?
Under threat of civil conscription Greek truck workers voted narrowly to return to work. Rhys Williams gives his thoughts.  

I don’t think this outcome actually constitutes a defeat. The level of struggle in Greece is increasing every day and the drivers’ vote to return to work was only taken due to the fact that the drivers feared that a continued strike would result in the Government’s civil conscription of drivers and use of the Armed Forces. Reports from the drivers seem to suggest that they are still incredibly militant and ready to strike again if needed. The drivers stopped their strike not out of defeat but because of tactical considerations. Other strikes are coming up in the next few weeks and I hear another general strike is planned. Workers in Macedonia , Slovakia, and elsewhere across the Balkans are also beginning to strike in solidarity with Greece and due to their own austerity measures . Interesting things are also developing in Spain, France, Britain and Germany. The fight back across Europe is entering a new phase. It is not, however, slowing down.
(0)

Unscripted?
So Julia Gillard is going to tear up the script and be herself. I can’t help but think this is a scripted campaign to be unscripted, probably the result of focus group analysis. (0)

Blood on Gates' hands
A headline from today’s Australian: ‘Wikileaks may have blood on its hands already, says Gates.’ What, unlike Gates and Obama? (1)

Election 2010: There is no choice - build a socialist alternative
I will be talking about the elections at the University of Canberra on Wednesday 18 August at 1 pm in 22 B 25 (ie room 25 on level B of Building 22 above the retro cafe). Election 2010: There is no choice – build a socialist alternative. (4)

Gillard's gender pay gap
Evidently Julia Gillard has the interests of working people and retirees at heart.  So I ask her to explain her role as Employment and Workplace Relations Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for almost 3 years in addressing the gender pay gap? Under Labor it actually increased to 18.2%. So apart from platitudes, what will Prime Minister Gillard offer to redress the imbalance and cut the gender pay gap to zero by 2013 if she is re-elected? Or could it be that such a policy would be too costly for her key supporters – business? So she will talk about equal pay for equal work but do nothing.  Add equal pay to the mining tax, climate change. WorkChoices Lite, the Australian Building and Construction Commission and many other examples of Gillard and Labor not being prepared to upset their real masters – the rich and powerful. (0)

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Tax the rich: and so say all of us

Posted by John, January 18th, 2010 - under Rudd Government, Rudd Labor, Tax.

Australians think we should tax the rich and big business more and the poor and middle income earners less.  And we should spend more on health and education.

These are the unsurprising findings of a Per Capita tax survey of 1000 Australians released yesterday. Per Capita summarises its findings this way:

Australians believe in a progressive tax system and a society that invests in the provision of public goods and services…

Compare the desires of Australians with the actions of the Rudd Labor Government.  It has just received two reports into tax; reports it commissioned to justify more tax largesse to capital. 

One, by the Australian Financial Centre forum, recommends that government establish ‘an investment manager regime to reduce or eliminate the tax burden on non-resident investors using local managers, brokers or other agents…’ It wants less regulation of the foreign funds.

Once again finance capital has raised its dream of using our money to make Australia a regional – it used to be global – financial centre . New York. London. Sydney.  I don’t see it.

In other words, set up a tax haven in Australia for Wall Street.  That’s a good strategy. Import the thinking that gave us the global financial crisis into the country.

At the height of the impact of that crisis in Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd railed against ‘extreme capitalism and bankers’ greed’. If he adopts this report’s recommendations then he will have, unsurprisingly, joined them.

Labor’s policies are neoliberalism with a keynesian tinge.

This is a government that says one populist thing after another and then implements policies for its rich mates.

The second report is the Henry Tax Review. Henry is the head of Treasury and has been arguing for less taxes on capital. Labor will agree, perhaps adding in a few tax cuts for low income earners. Neoliberalism with a keynesian tinge can do little else.

Yet this lessening of tax on capital will only, in the long term, exacerbate the problems of capitalism. As I wrote in Real tax reform: a love letter to Ken Henry:

…my proposals relate to the tax system as it is, but from a perspective that recognises that within the exploitative relationship there is a need to understand and recognise that labour creates all the wealth of society in the productive sector.

For that reason taxation should fall lightly on the labour of workers (if at all) and heavily on capital and the income of capital and their managers.

Of course Labor won’t tax the rich. They rule for them. As I wrote in Why won’t Labor tax the rich?:

Labor won’t tax the rich because it believes in the primacy of profit and the lie of the trickle down theory – what’s good for the rich is good for the rest of us.

Listen to voters, Labor, and not your big business mates. Tax the rich, tax big business, tax the polluters. Spend the extra money on health and education.

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Comments

Pingback from En Passant » Tax the rich: and so say all of us | antarcticas
Time January 19, 2010 at 12:41 am

[...] of a Per Capita tax survey of 1000 Australians released yesterday. … See the rest here: En Passant » Tax the rich: and so say all of us Share and [...]

Comment from Ben Courtice
Time January 19, 2010 at 9:30 am

It’s always worth pointing out how much Hawke and Keating cut business taxes… I believe I saw a figure once for just how much per year that lost the Australian treasury, it would easily compensate for (say) getting rid of the GST.

Comment from Marco
Time January 20, 2010 at 6:15 pm

Today our beloved Peter “Humility” Costello, the greatest Treasurer in human history and likely to be the second coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ, posted a note at the National Times supporting what I believe is the Australian Financial Centre report.

It does make sense to put AUD 1.2 trillion in superannuation in the hands of a bunch of psychopaths, so that they can gamble that money in CDS and other “exotic” derivatives.

What I am going to ask may sound strange, coming from a self described agnostic as yourstruly, but didn’t the book of Revelations mention false prophets and a false mesiah?