Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s “big-spend” budget is noteworthy, not for its economic stimulus, but for its failure to direct expenditure to where it is most needed and would most benefit the economy. Nor are its tax cuts directed to where they are most likely to be spent and stimulate the economy. Instead, the budget put forward will increase inequality and add to the ranks of the unemployed and underemployed.
The budget reads more like a corporate budget as if the government itself were being privatized. By far, most of the spending spree is directed to the private sector. The $213 billion deficit and the debt approaching $1 trillion by 2024 are massive, but they are not an issue with interest rates so low. Or they would not be if the government were spending this money wisely. It is not.