It's hard not to dispair when listening to the budget summaries. I'm reminded of a colleague who once remarked that it was "democracy run fucking mad". That was from a man who later served as a Minster in the Hawke Government and I wonder what he would think about modern day politics.
Everyone is having a say and in the chatter and vested interest clamour one can conclude anything one wants to believe, probably based on how the budget impacts on them. What did you get for Christmas (and is there a return policy)?
I particularly like the expert shock jocks who feast over the stuff as if they have some foresight denied the rest of us. We are being taken as fools without the ability to rationalise of see the context of arguements let alone the net effect of such an important day each year in our nations heath.
Maybe they are right? What do you think when some smart advertising campaign suggest that the new drink is lemon flavoured? I know my reaction; "no fucking lemon". You can take much of the punditary the same way.
Joe Hockey was partially right when he used the word confused (the irony being that his contribution didn't clarify anything, but clouded the issue). How, well having been so bold, predictably, to diride the Government's economic management credentials, he then refused to suggest what the coalition might do differently. Except his hack line about cutting the public service. So much for clarification in our political debate.
So what to do?
I look forward to one of our jounalised suggesting what a coalition government's budget would have looked like. That might give us a point of comparison to better understand what the government has delivered.
Meanwhile, I'm off to look for fairies at the bottom of the garden
