"Super" Mining Tax

[fish]

Meanwhile nobody has answered this yet:

Just out of interest, what is the problem with having a "two speed" economy?

As in the rich getting richer and the poorer getting poorer?

Not sure what you mean Bat Pad. IIRC the super tax was proposed to counter the two-speed economy. What exactly is a two-speed economy and why is it not good?

[FlyingHigh]

Meanwhile nobody has answered this yet:

Just out of interest, what is the problem with having a "two speed" economy?

As in the rich getting richer and the poorer getting poorer?

Not sure what you mean Bat Pad. IIRC the super tax was proposed to counter the two-speed economy. What exactly is a two-speed economy and why is it not good?

fish, my understanding is that because so many of the economic indicators are based on nation-wide economic data, one area may be booming as WA and QLD have been with mining, and this covers over the cracks of lesser-performing states. While we do get data such as unemployment and GDP broken down by states, by necessity federal government policies and RBA decisions impact the whole nation. Whilst slowing down the economy in WA and QLD with interest rate rises might be desirable, it could send a teetering NSW for example into recession. With all the bickering in politics, can you imagine the kerfuffle if the federal government speficially introduced policies to help one state out of it's current economic mire at the expense of slowing another state?

This is my simplistic understanding, so if someone wants to poke holes in it, please do so i can learn too.

[fish]

fish, my understanding is that because so many of the economic indicators are based on nation-wide economic data, one area may be booming as WA and QLD have been with mining, and this covers over the cracks of lesser-performing states. While we do get data such as unemployment and GDP broken down by states, by necessity federal government policies and RBA decisions impact the whole nation. Whilst slowing down the economy in WA and QLD with interest rate rises might be desirable, it could send a teetering NSW for example into recession. With all the bickering in politics, can you imagine the kerfuffle if the federal government speficially introduced policies to help one state out of it's current economic mire at the expense of slowing another state?

This is my simplistic understanding, so if someone wants to poke holes in it, please do so i can learn too.

Cheers FlyingHigh that makes sense to me.

[Gozu]

For the shill:

BHP Billiton's record-breaking $US23.6 billion ($22.5bn) profit has been delivered with a blunt warning that rising wages are fuelling inflation and could hold back an economy already suffering from falling productivity.

The BHP result - the biggest profit ever delivered by an Australian company and almost double last year's $US12.7bn result - was driven by the same soaring iron ore and coal prices that two days ago prompted BlueScope Steel to announce it was ending the nation's steel exports.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/busines ... 6121605599

[Psyber]

Unfortunately companies like BHP are passing very little on to shareholders too.
Most of what doesn't go on expansion, or into reserves, seems to go to executives who are happy to cut out both shareholders and employees.

I am coming round to seeing the case for the mining super-tax.
Perhaps some concession could be considered in return for righting these wrongs..

[wycbloods]

Geez that mining tax will send them broke in no time

[bulldogproud2]

A key point of the mining tax is so that the whole of Australia can benefit rather than 5% of the community. It reallocates funds away from areas that are doing incredibly well to areas that are not doing quite so well. My students have just completed an Issues Study into this and have pretty much all turned around from anti the tax to pro the tax.
Cheers

[once_were_warriors]

A key point of the mining tax is so that the whole of Australia can benefit rather than 5% of the community. It reallocates funds away from areas that are doing incredibly well to areas that are not doing quite so well. My students have just completed an Issues Study into this and have pretty much all turned around from anti the tax to pro the tax.
Cheers

I guess you don't teach at St Peters or Prince Alfred then.

[bulldogproud2]

A key point of the mining tax is so that the whole of Australia can benefit rather than 5% of the community. It reallocates funds away from areas that are doing incredibly well to areas that are not doing quite so well. My students have just completed an Issues Study into this and have pretty much all turned around from anti the tax to pro the tax.
Cheers

I guess you don't teach at St Peters or Prince Alfred then.

No, I teach at the college which educated Christopher Pyne and Brendan Nelson amongst others lol
Also, the brother College of the one that 'educated' Tony Abbott, Barnaby Joyce and Joe Hockey, believe it or not!
Cheers

[dedja]

Good man ... Athelstone is God's country.

[bulldogproud2]

Good man ... Athelstone is God's country.

lol, Dedja, you got it in one!
What I can't understand is why all of our ex-students who turn to politics end up on the Conservative side. It sure is not coming from the majority of us teachers! lol
Maybe parents do still have a lot more sway than teachers overall! lol

[dedja]

Because it's conservative out here ... I'll had a Liberal State or Federal member for all but one term.

It's Labor country further north east.

[Gozu]

The mining industry was the only thing which stopped this country from feeling the full effects of the GFC last year. Even then, some mining companies almost fell over. Let’s not forget that 12 months ago there was no “boom”. God help us if another GFC ever happens again (history says it will).

Today in the Sydney Morning Herald:

NEW Treasury analysis has undermined the oft-repeated claim that mining kept Australia afloat during the depths of the global financial crisis, finding that it played only a minor role.

Instead, Treasury says service industries such as retail - which received a hefty boost from Kevin Rudd's stimulus package - were crucial in sustaining the economy during its darkest days.

In a paper published today, Treasury economists assess the contribution of different sectors during the worst of the global financial crisis between September 2008 and March 2009, when the economy grew by just 0.3 per cent.

Contrary to the mining industry's claim that it propped up Australia during the world recession, the report said mining added a modest 0.1 percentage points to economic growth over the period.

Agriculture and services each contributed 0.3 percentage points - three times as much as mining.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/mining-h ... z1WraUu2wt

[Psyber]

The mining industry was the only thing which stopped this country from feeling the full effects of the GFC last year. Even then, some mining companies almost fell over. Let’s not forget that 12 months ago there was no “boom”. God help us if another GFC ever happens again (history says it will).

Today in the Sydney Morning Herald:

NEW Treasury analysis has undermined the oft-repeated claim that mining kept Australia afloat during the depths of the global financial crisis, finding that it played only a minor role.

Instead, Treasury says service industries such as retail - which received a hefty boost from Kevin Rudd's stimulus package - were crucial in sustaining the economy during its darkest days.

In a paper published today, Treasury economists assess the contribution of different sectors during the worst of the global financial crisis between September 2008 and March 2009, when the economy grew by just 0.3 per cent.

Contrary to the mining industry's claim that it propped up Australia during the world recession, the report said mining added a modest 0.1 percentage points to economic growth over the period.

Agriculture and services each contributed 0.3 percentage points - three times as much as mining.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/mining-h ... z1WraUu2wt

That total of 0.7 percentage points sounds fairly insignificant.
So what did save us? Or were we never at risk?

[straight talker]

The mining industry was the only thing which stopped this country from feeling the full effects of the GFC last year. Even then, some mining companies almost fell over. Let’s not forget that 12 months ago there was no “boom”. God help us if another GFC ever happens again (history says it will).

Today in the Sydney Morning Herald:

NEW Treasury analysis has undermined the oft-repeated claim that mining kept Australia afloat during the depths of the global financial crisis, finding that it played only a minor role.

Instead, Treasury says service industries such as retail - which received a hefty boost from Kevin Rudd's stimulus package - were crucial in sustaining the economy during its darkest days.

In a paper published today, Treasury economists assess the contribution of different sectors during the worst of the global financial crisis between September 2008 and March 2009, when the economy grew by just 0.3 per cent.
GOZO have the treasury ever been correct??

Contrary to the mining industry's claim that it propped up Australia during the world recession, the report said mining added a modest 0.1 percentage points to economic growth over the period.

Agriculture and services each contributed 0.3 percentage points - three times as much as mining.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/mining-h ... z1WraUu2wt

That total of 0.7 percentage points sounds fairly insignificant.
So what did save us? Or were we never at risk?