Australian Left Review
Article Title
Notes on the Economy: ALR 33
Abstract
That Budget and the Domestic Economy
WHAT IS THERE L EFT TO SAY on the Budget? Not much. At the time of writing (mid-September) the first signs that the government had over-reacted were becoming evident. In a week of gobbledy-gook statements, Mr. McMahon attacked the prophets of gloom and denied that unemployment would rise above 100,000. He then announced tha t of course it would rise above 100,000 at the beginning of 1972, pointing out that it nearly got there last January (as if that made it OK). Careful questioning in Parliament and on TV has now revealed that the extra 50c for pensioners was not nearly as good as it looked (40% of pensioners don’t get a rise) and it looks as if the Wool Commission is well on its way towards implementing the final and logical step of various Australian government policies towards agriculture . . . protection all round (at least double the budgeted cost).