Of all of the factoids bequeathed to us by departing treasurer Joe Hockey, the most dangerous is that the Australian population can be divided into two: "lifters" and "leaners".

Hockey was following in the footsteps of United States presidential challenger Mitt Romney when he used the words in his first budget speech. Romney had claimed the US could be divided into "the 47 per cent" who were dependent on the government, and everyone else who did the work.

Outgoing Treasurer Joe Hockey. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Hockey's opposite number in Britain, George Osborne, made the same point about "strivers" and "skivers".

"Two groups need to be satisfied with our welfare system," Osborne said. "Those who need it – who are old, who are vulnerable, who are disabled, or have lost their job. And there's a second group – the people who pay for this system, who go out to work, who pay their taxes and expect it to be fair on them too."