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Political theorist Isaiah Berlin argued that nationalism manifests most strongly in communities that have suffered some wound. In a period of unparalleled wealth, in which most Australians are far removed from war, Anzac Day is a way of instructing ourselves about the place of suffering in Australia's history.
Mining in Australia has assumed the mantle of the untouchable, so much so that taxing its proceeds is deemed by some to be unpatriotic. What matters to Swan is maintaining the idea, however illusory, that Australia remains an equal country.
The current private health insurance subsidy has the poor paying for the wealthy. The proposed means test will make health funding a little fairer, but it won't do much to change inequities in the health system as a whole.
The main characteristic of giving is that it is an act of free will that comes from the heart. Yet Christmas gift-giving is often the product of a perceived need to conform to expectations. Bill Gates' decision to give away more than a third of his wealth is the reverse of this.
Shay has escaped from her abusive stepfather into a life of prostitution. Holly has accumulated wealth as a high-class call girl. Their work is more dangerous than either had imagined. For them, if there is a God, he simply watches, rather than watching over.
A third of taxpayer-funded superannuation concessions — around $10 billion a year — are directed to the top 5 per cent of income earners. People living on or below the poverty line get no such support. This week's Tax Forum must ask: Are we proud of how we redistribute our national wealth?
The GST appears unfair, as it hits the poor much harder than it does the wealthy. But that's due to the way it is implemented, and it doesn't need to be that way. The St Vincent de Paul Society would like to see it increased, but with a more sophisticated and fairer compensation mechanism.
While we have have East Timorese students coming here to learn about how to look after their oil sector, Australia should be sending people to East Timor to look at their outstanding example of how to safely and wisely preserve oil revenue for future generations.
Because the Government will provide compensation for higher fuel bills, there is little incentive to use less electricity. While the Government is to be commended for its attempt to use carbon pricing to redistribute wealth, it is likely the poor will share the greater part of the burden of carbon pricing.
Unless countries are prepared to implement draconian birth-control policies like China's, realistically there is no alternative but to prepare for a world of 9 billion people. But the increase in global population need not provoke a catastrophe.
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