Budget surplus promise was fanciful - The Australian (blog)

AFTER having to endure for many months the iron-clad promise of a budget surplus, we finally have an admission from Treasurer Wayne Swan that economic reality has forced abandonment of what was a fanciful promise in the first place ("Labor exposed as Swan breaks surplus promise", 21/12). That admission now entrenches the belief of many that this government's management of our economy is sub-optimal.

Since the GFC we have spent many billions more than we should have, our debt is growing and so does the interest bill, and absolutely no provision appears to have been made for a nest egg. Sure, revenues have slumped but a prudent government would have provided for bad times. Put simply, the economic credentials of this government have taken a nosedive. And the practice of our Treasurer to adopt political spin in the face of economic reality is not only extremely tiresome, it should be considered an insult to the intelligence of the public. One can only hope that this latest dose of reality causes a change of course into safer economic waters.

Michael Schilling, Millswood, SA

IT is no wonder that the Labor Party cannot achieve a budget surplus. As a self-funded retiree with reduced interest on my savings deposits, my disposable income is reduced.

The tax I pay to the ATO is reduced and shopkeepers don't benefit by my lack of custom due to my lesser disposable income, resulting in less tax to the ATO as well. Multiply my predicament with that of other self-funded retirees and our economic downward spiral is magnified.

Perhaps Treasurer Wayne Swan and the Reserve Bank should reassess their strategy.

Juri Strante, Paradise Point, Qld

THE most worrying aspect of the Treasurer's admission is that he was the last person in the country to recognise the blinding obvious.

We only need to look at the coal support industry in the Hunter Valley. It has been in economic freefall for most of this year.

Bruce Williams, Newcastle, NSW

CONSIDERING the Left has relied on the politics of hope over reason and experience for decades, how did anybody believe that a Treasurer from Queensland Labor, the party that oversaw massive debt and deficit during a mining boom, was ever going to deliver a surplus?

Bryan Connor, Cloncurry, Qld

IT is obvious that Prime Minister Julia Gillard and a few others in the Labor cabinet were the only ones who thought a budget surplus was achievable in this financial year.

Gary Sheehan, Rivervale, WA

SO the Gillard government slashed defence spending to leave us with our lowest defence budget as a percentage of GDP in many years. This has greatly affected the efficiency and competency of the army reserves, due to insufficient and cancelled training opportunities. And all this so that the Gillard government may achieve one of its election promises of a budget surplus. Now we are told that goal will not be reached. Let us hope we do not have another Black Saturday requiring the support of the army reserves. They may not have the funding to support disaster relief.

Glenn Mitchell, Healesville, Vic

ALAN Kohler's recent television report included a graph that showed both government expenditure and revenue increasing, with expenditure continuing well in excess of revenue. Common sense would have shown that a surplus was never possible.

Peter Troy, Kingston, Tas

RATHER than worrying about whether or not the budget is balanced, we should think about what the borrowings are being used for. The level of local, state and federal government debt must be published daily.

Phil Tucker, Yorkeys Knob, Qld