Is it More important to have a tax cut, or build public transport infrastructure?

Question

There is a critical lack of public transport throughout Aust. and handing me back 30 or so dollars a week is not going to solve anything for me personally. The government should be more forward thinking than just this election and start to consider what they would really like to leave there own kids for the future!!!

Answer 1

public transport should be free
or a token cost
if you are getting tax back
then the tax is too high in the first place

Answer 2

If we do not invest in this type of infrastructure, and also spend some of our present abundance on 'mainenance' of existing infrastructure, we will face difficulties down the track (no pun intended, lol).

At the moment we have boom times, which is great. Praise whoever you like for it, but the fact is, booms only last so long, eventually things will slow down.

Careful management can delay this, and make the landing a soft one, but we would be foolish to bank on never ending good times and always plan to look after the basics 'later'.

That's not the way anyone would do it with a household budget, and we shouldn't do it with our national budget either.

At the moment, we have a large surplus, and it has been gainfully invested to bring a good return. But much of the surplus has been acquired through holding off on basic maintenance issues.

Tax cuts are nice, but $30 each isn't going to get us much ~ whereas add it all together and you have a very nice amount for a large-ish public project.

If we can invest in our nation's future by providing sound and necessary infrastructure and maintenance, and still have a tidy sum left over in the savings account, that's what we should be doing.

Public transport will save money in the future, for example through less wear and tear on roads, lower fossil fuel consumption and reduced pollution. And, good public transport services attract higher fares, so should repay the initial investment to some degree.

It only takes the foresight to do it.

Cheers :-)

Answer 3

Wait, I have to stop laughing... Neither of them have an economic plan of any substance or value. Did you forget they BOTH voted for the Bailout???! Oh, that was a real smart economic plan wasn't it? Bailout the banksters so more people can go further into debt. And they voted for it AGAINST THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE!!! They essentially gave us the finger! The stock market is crashing, WORLD WIDE... this isn't just about America, but the entire world is involved. You simpletons that have fallen for the right/left paradiagm of politics are soon going to have a rude awakening to what is really going on. The real economists have been trying to warn you people, but you are listening to the wrong people. The economists that support McCain are idiots. They are dumber than either McCain or Obama. It is obvious, can't you see it? McCain and Obama are not economists, they have no clue how a economy is run. It certaintly isn't doing well under the present manipulation of the government, now is it? Governments can't run an economy, they don't know how and they aren't suppose to. The people and the free market determines the economy. DUH! Why do you people think government is here to save your sad butts? That is not the role of government. You run crying to the fricking government the minute you scrape your knees. So to shut you up they put a bandaid on it and kiss your sorry butts and promise everything will be fine. When they should've said, "You're Ok, you'll heal, brush yourself off and try again." Grow up America! Wake Up! Take responsiblity for yourselves!

Answer 4

Infastructure is more important, but $28 dollars can by a lot of cheap votes in an election year. Liberals are cheap! with little or no social concience. I will had an extra $50 tax if it goes to services such as nurses, education, hospitals, ridding the IR laws and providing a society that cares for all not only the ones that can afford it. Liberals are dividing this country into 2 classes the rich and the rest.

Answer 5

As far as I am concerned $30 a week put into a good public transport system would SAVE me money if it meant that I no longer need to run a car at the cost of $1.36 per litre of petrol, not to mention the upkeep of the car itself.

The costs of a poor public transport system impacts us all every day, and we are paying with our taxes to finance it right now in the following ways:

Huge spending on roads and highway maintenance.
Health care costs of treating those injured in driving accidents (which are far less likely to happen to those using public transport)
Heath care costs caused by vehicle pollution which include incidence of asthma, and in the long term - cancer. Exhaust fume pollution is likely a bigger killer than second hand cigarette smoke.
Environmental costs caused by burning fossil fuels and contributing to Global Warming manifest by increased risks of droughts and freak weather phenomena.
Health care issues related to the stress of driving (road rage, and heart trouble).

We Australians meet all these costs through taxation now, and better public transport would SAVE back that money given a little time.

Sometimes good policy also makes good economics.

Answer 6

Remember that the governenment isn't handing back 30 million dollars, their simply going to tax 30 million dollars less next financial year. So they are not throwing the money away. However, this money would be appreciated by families because the extra money will help them with living and educational expenses. It can even pay for a ticket on a train, bus or tram! Also, in victoria we are getting ten new trains funded by the state government. This leads me to believe that public transport might be a state responsibility if it only services metropolitan areas.

Answer 7

Aye, aye, Bosun! Couldn't agree more! Our public transport infrastructure is creaking under the strain of unprecedented volumes of passengers, and $30 a week from every Aussie could make a significant difference.

Answer 8

Where I live the trains are diesel and 2 carriages long and if that's not bad enough they only run every 2 hours. If I can't drive to the station it's a $30 cab fare to get there.
Hard to believe it is only 80 km from the CBD.
Tax cuts? Forget it, put it where it is needed, or put it where the sun don't shine!

Answer 9

Many will answer that infrastructure is more important in forums and polls but will continue to vote with their wallet . That is why our public infrastructure is almost non-existent.

Answer 10

They are not mutually exclusive. For one, tax cuts add money to the treasury due to increased spending and hopefully saving. For another, the budget could be greatly slashed by getting rid of pork/waste/ill conceived programs and by out sourcing leaving money for important items like road repairs.