Posted: July 24, 2006

More jobs a better start!

Australian Federal Treasurer Peter Costello has once again extolled the virtues of having more children as a solution to what he thinks is an impending crisis of skill shortages and fiscal blowout. He was speaking at an ABS function launching the 2006 Population Census today and said (as reported by the ABC radio news) that "an increased fertility rate would balance the immigration program and make it easier to maintain the defence force and living standards."

With nearly 1.9 million Australians without enough work and at least half of that number without any work at all it would be better that the Treasurer went back to the drawing board and ensured net government spending (deficit) was sufficient to generate the jobs that these people require. That is the best way of increasing income and self-reliance and a trove for future exigencies. The problem is that this government is actually undermining our future by keeping that many people out of work on a systematic basis.

Blog entry posted by bill