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Election Fever
The Australian Federal election is today, and it increasingly seems that we'll have a change of government. Labor has been pretty brave in this election, ignoring the traditional "small target" strategy and has certainly suffered for it, upsetting some powerful media figures, the real estate industry, and opening themselves up to a scare campaign to retirees on franking credit reforms. The wisest economic minds have come out in favour of Labor, but when your economic policy is about targetting recent-seeking and maximising utility (which means more money to the poor), you're going to put some people off. But despite all this, the opinions polls have remained consistently in favour of Labor throughout the campaign and as the end draws near there's even a bounce further to their benefit.
For the own part, the Coalition has run a largely negative campaign focussing on claims of Labor's taxes and claims that they can't manage money, which is curious given that they've doubled net government debt. The major policies came out in the budget preceding the election which the major ticket is a $77bn tax-cut for those earning $180K+ pa and more. Certainly their record (astounding list compiled by Matthew Davis) is nothing to crow about; a succession of leadership challenges, a current prime minister who mocks climate change by bringing a lump of coal into parliament like it's a pet rock, and an parade of questionable contracts with their donors, and their trite slogans have been brilliantly mocked by The Weekly.
Almost on cue to generate a sense of pro-Labor nostalgia, Labor's longest-serving former Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, passed away on Thursday. The media was positively gushing with tributes of this "larrikin" prime minister, famous for holding the world record downing a yard-glass of beer. But it was the deep changes to the Australian economy and legislation which were his more significant achievements. Australia's universal health-care system, Medicare, is certainly one that is highly recognised. Tariff reform helped provide the international diversity of goods we enjoy. Social welfares expenditures were almost double the OECD average, and a slate of anti-discrimination legislation was implemented. Yes, Hawke did engage in a neoliberal agenda as well; union membership plummeted and with 'free riders' now the norm and there was a 'race to the bottom' with company tax cuts. But if you want to see a difference between the two, compare the UK's Thatcher with Hawke. When Hawke died, there is a collective sense of the loss of a favourite. When Thatcher died, people danced in the streets.
For my own part, I went to the impromptu memorial celebration at Trades Hall last night, having just missed Bill Shorten across the road at the pub (did catch up with Liz and Karl, which was awesome). Earlier in the week, I completed my letter-box run with Labor advertising (education and climate change pamphlets). Labor is lucky to get 20% of the vote where I live; it is well-to-do, to put it mildly, and something that was drilled into me as a child was that Labor was the party of the poor. I found myself reminiscing of where I started in life and where I've ended up, and how so few of the people in my locale have experienced poverty. They don't know the endless struggle of looking over basic utility bills and wondering how they will be paid. They don't know of hiding in a room in complete silence when the rent-collector is banging on the door because this week, again, there just isn't enough money to pay. They don't the shame of surreptitiously hiding your homework and claiming that you forgot to do it, because the task was to do a floorplan of where you live, and yours is 1/5th of everyone else around you. They don't know the indignity of begging a charity for a food parcel, just so there will be something on the table at Christmas. I do know those experiences, and whilst they are long in my past, they are deep and old scars.
For the own part, the Coalition has run a largely negative campaign focussing on claims of Labor's taxes and claims that they can't manage money, which is curious given that they've doubled net government debt. The major policies came out in the budget preceding the election which the major ticket is a $77bn tax-cut for those earning $180K+ pa and more. Certainly their record (astounding list compiled by Matthew Davis) is nothing to crow about; a succession of leadership challenges, a current prime minister who mocks climate change by bringing a lump of coal into parliament like it's a pet rock, and an parade of questionable contracts with their donors, and their trite slogans have been brilliantly mocked by The Weekly.
Almost on cue to generate a sense of pro-Labor nostalgia, Labor's longest-serving former Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, passed away on Thursday. The media was positively gushing with tributes of this "larrikin" prime minister, famous for holding the world record downing a yard-glass of beer. But it was the deep changes to the Australian economy and legislation which were his more significant achievements. Australia's universal health-care system, Medicare, is certainly one that is highly recognised. Tariff reform helped provide the international diversity of goods we enjoy. Social welfares expenditures were almost double the OECD average, and a slate of anti-discrimination legislation was implemented. Yes, Hawke did engage in a neoliberal agenda as well; union membership plummeted and with 'free riders' now the norm and there was a 'race to the bottom' with company tax cuts. But if you want to see a difference between the two, compare the UK's Thatcher with Hawke. When Hawke died, there is a collective sense of the loss of a favourite. When Thatcher died, people danced in the streets.
For my own part, I went to the impromptu memorial celebration at Trades Hall last night, having just missed Bill Shorten across the road at the pub (did catch up with Liz and Karl, which was awesome). Earlier in the week, I completed my letter-box run with Labor advertising (education and climate change pamphlets). Labor is lucky to get 20% of the vote where I live; it is well-to-do, to put it mildly, and something that was drilled into me as a child was that Labor was the party of the poor. I found myself reminiscing of where I started in life and where I've ended up, and how so few of the people in my locale have experienced poverty. They don't know the endless struggle of looking over basic utility bills and wondering how they will be paid. They don't know of hiding in a room in complete silence when the rent-collector is banging on the door because this week, again, there just isn't enough money to pay. They don't the shame of surreptitiously hiding your homework and claiming that you forgot to do it, because the task was to do a floorplan of where you live, and yours is 1/5th of everyone else around you. They don't know the indignity of begging a charity for a food parcel, just so there will be something on the table at Christmas. I do know those experiences, and whilst they are long in my past, they are deep and old scars.
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We need better discourse obvs; but we have to take into account that the average person will always have average opinions, average education and understanding, and an average amount of susceptibility to fascist overtures or right-wing tropes.
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I'm sure the precariat know what they have done to themselves. But if they don't, explaining it to them won't do folk like us any good, politically speaking. But my instinct is actually to explain in bone-crushingly boring detail until their eyes glaze over, and then force them to sit an exam on the subject; so I'm fortunate that it is obvious to me that my instincts and instinctive responses are not useful in the debate.
These voters are fragile people in precarious circumstances. Are the twin evils of poverty and financial uncertainty contributors to PTSD type collective self-harm? One assumes the precariat to be educated and struggling with debt accrued from that education. (Since becoming separated, I too understand the stress of never having quite enough money. Divorce lawyers cost a whole heap.)