Posted by John, January 12th, 2011 - under Queensland, Tax, Tax the rich, The floods.

Tags: Defence

Warwick McKibbin is a respected bourgeois economist and member of the Reserve Bank of Australia. He reckons the costs of the Queensland floods could be up to one percent of Gross Domestic Product. That’s $13 billion.

Who is going to pay for this? The rich and powerful or you and me? Silly question isn’t it? In a society divided by class and ruled by the rich and powerful it will be you and me.

Here’s what neoliberal deficit fetishist and Labor Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, said: ‘We will bring the budget to surplus in 2012-13, and yes that will entail some tough choices.’

Tough choices? With a hit of an extra $13 billion to the budget bottom line tough choices measn making workers pay. That means taking the razor to social and public services like public health, education and transport. Maybe the maternity leave scheme is in their sights. And will they now openly welch on equal pay for equal work.

We can’t afford it will be their cry to every vaguely progressive proposal already in place and future ones.

More public housing in safer areas? Can’t afford it. It’s the floods in Queensland you know.

More money for the Bureau of Meteorology to improve their predictive capacities? Can’t afford it. It’s the floods in Queensland you know.

More money for State Emergency Services? Can’t afford it. It’s the floods in Queensland you know.

Money for protection in flood prone areas? Can’t afford it. It’s the floods in Queensland you know.

Public service jobs and pay increases? Can’t afford it. It’s the floods in Queensland you know.

Improving public education funding? Can’t afford it? It’s the floods in Queensland you know.

Addressing climate change? Can’t afford it. It’s the floods in Queensland you know.

Better public transport? Can’t afford it. It’s the floods in Queensland you know.

Better pay and conditions for nurses? Can’t afford it. It’s the floods in Queensland you know.

Equal pay for equal work in the community sector? Can’t afford it. It’s the floods in Queensland you know.

A generous maternity leave scheme? Can’t afford it. It’s the floods in Queensland you know.

And on and on they will go. Can’t afford it, can’t afford it, can’t afford it…

I have a few suggestions.

Bringing the troops home from Afghanistan and cutting the defence budget by only 50 percent would save $13 billion easily. Put people before guns.

Taxing the super-profits of all the miners would bring in that amount with another ten billion left over to fund social spending. Taxing the super profits of all big business would produce even more. Tax the rich.

No doubt readers can suggest a range of options for making the rich pay for the crisis in Queensland.

Make the rich, not us, pay for the cost of the floods.

Readers might also like to look at The Queensland floods, community and profit and Capitalism and the floods in Australia.

I think Socialist Alternative gets it right in its article ‘Government should rethink priorities to deal with flood region’ when it says:

All those who have lost their homes need a guarantee that they will have another rebuilt at no cost. All those who have lost their jobs should continue to receive their full pay, or where that is not possible, should be guaranteed a job through the government. All those who were unemployed and wanting work should be given a full-time well-paid job assisting the clean up. That’s just for starters.

The government won’t go close to it. It continues to commit itself to putting the budget into surplus. It should stay in deficit. If there are financial trade-offs, “sacrifices” to be made, let them be borne by those who can afford it:

The Afghanistan war cost $1.2 billion last financial year – scrap it.

Gross operating profits of business totalled $248 billion over the last year – tax it.

The coal industry receives subsidies equivalent to around $1 billion per year – stop them.

Private schools will receive $28 billion in government funding between 2009 and 2012 alone – end it.

Put those savings and extra revenues into development projects that are desperately needed.

The Maritime Union of Australia – many of whose members have been affected by the floods – has set up a flood appeal fund:

BSB Number: 062-006

Account number: 1001 0464

CBA Swiftcode: CTBAAU2S

Bank Address: George Street, Haymarket, NSW, 2000

Reference for lodgement: Flood Appeal