Rudds CASH SPLASH WORKING

Labor was right liberal was wrong
STRUGGLING families are shaking off the recession blues to splurge millions of dollars they've received in stimulus payments.
In a boost for the Rudd Government's hopes of avoiding recession, retailers are reporting a surge in sales - just days after millions of families began receiving $3.9 billion in payments.

The Herald Sun can reveal some rural outlets doubled sales as families cast aside the threat of job losses to spend up big on "essential" items, such as clothing and shoes.
The first tranche of the Government's $42 billion stimulus package has sent cash registers into hysteria at leading retailers including Big W, Coles, Target and K mart.

The strongest results were also in key electoral battlegrounds, such as western Sydney, eastern Melbourne and outer Adelaide areas, raising hopes for the Government of a political dividend from its gamble to send the Budget into deficit.

Discount retailer Big W revealed that its national sales were one-third higher last Thursday compared with the same day last year, when the economy was trucking along.

Several NSW country stores reported a doubling in trade as families used the Government's $950 per child "back to school" bonus.

These were paid to 1.2 million families, while a further 1.5 million families received a $900 one-off bonus.

Michael Luscombe, CEO of Woolworths, which owns Big W, said the stimulus payments "certainly resonated very strongly in Big W as families stocked up on everyday general merchandise such as kids clothing".

Sales of kidswear products were 50 per cent higher on Thursday, compared with the same day last year.

Signs of a retail bonanza are good news for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who next week will meet US President Barack Obama and other world leaders to discuss the global recession.

Treasurer Wayne Swan last night seized on the retail figures to claim the Government's controversial $42 billion stimulus plan was working.

"It's great to see families stocking up on the basics because these cash payments are vital in helping stimulate economic activity in the short term," he said.

"They also show our strategy is proving successful, which makes it all the more disappointing that (Malcolm) Turnbull and the Liberal Party continue to oppose our efforts while making no positive suggestions themselves."

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Kevin
• rudd
• labor
• malcolm
• turnbull
• liberal
• stimulas
• package

[symons3569]

Hahaha.... This is no proof that ALL of the money handed out was spent on retail. Do you have any idea how much of this money was spent on mortgages or overseas holidays? Furthermore, the money went to dead people and expatriates! So goddamn inconsistent.

[australianews]

If you had half a brain and listen to the stats that have come out insted of listening to the washed up liberals

You would know that sales figures are up each month of this year so far.

And when i say up i mean up on last year.

That would not have happened without the payments .

More jobs would have been lost and you would be here bitching about that insted.

And the payments to the dead have also been spent so that is a NON issue.

[symons3569]

Money given to tens of thousands of expatriates is not a non issue. These results from the cash splash are very temporary, you do realise that? You can expect high taxes, high interest rates, and high inflation within a couple of years. Ask yourself, is it worth it? Do you agree with what Krudd says like an economically ignorant muppet, or is this what you think?

[australianews]

unlike you i go on facts and figures.

Second the liberals have allready said they would go into debt and joe hockey has said 25 billion less at least.

But we will never know the true figure coz they got voted out .

300 billion VS 275 billion still leaves us paying a debt DOES IT NOT?

So the point of debt payback is kind of stupid when the libs would have us in debt as well.

[marxian00]

Good analysis. But I have one thing I would like to correct. The full formula for the circuit of capital (including money capital) is:

M-C >LP...P...C'-M'-(M+ΔM) MP

[Catholicboy4life]

I admit that am NOT an expert on this issue, but I will not believe your claim that schools can not benefit from extra funding unless you can back it up with some real data and real argument, not just crap like "oh they are just gonna spend it on a gym floor".

Like I said, I admit that I am an idiot on this issue, but I have not seen anything out of you to convince me to hold your position.

[Catholicboy4life]

Did you read any of my last post at all?

You simply change the subject away from expats when your point on expats has been debunked?

In response to your questions on schools, I know nothing and I admit I am not an expert on the needs of Australia's secondary schools. You are asking me a question way outside my field and I have done zero research on the topic.

Where is your evidence that all resources are being spent on "gym floors"?

[symons3569]

And tell me, what about the poor allocation of school funding? Schools getting 6 million dollars when they don't need it?

Furthermore, how will a new gym floor increase year 12 results?

[Dellboy34]

MATE when was the last time you got laid

[Catholicboy4life]

One very brief clarification:

In the formula M-C-M; C= Commodities

In the formula for profit S/ (C+V)

C=Constant Capital (i.e. fixed means of production and raw materials) and V=Variable Capital (i.e. wages)

When I use C to talk of investment in fixed capital I refer to constant capital. Sorry about this minor omission, the character limits on youtube meant that I accidently left this out of the original post.

[Catholicboy4life]

I do not know how many expats there are; but I will go by your vague number that there are "tens of thousands".

I will give a generous estimate that there are 90 thousand expats that have paid enough tax to get the $950 bonus. That equates to $85.5 million dollars- this is next to nothing when considering that the total package is $12.7 billion (which roughly equates to about 0.6% total stimulus package)

[Catholicboy4life]

In the formula S/(C+V) ;the rate of C rises thus reducing profit. Furthermore V decreases thus affecting the total amount of exchange value in society:

V+S=W (V decreases, and thus W also decreases).

Since production in capitalism is directed towards exchange value and not use values, this creates economic crises as productive forces are adjusted to get back in line with overall exchange value.

In sum: Crises and economic instability is created internally by the system. Get it? Got it? Good

[Catholicboy4life]

In a sense, this clogs up the M-C-M circuit, as too much capital gets stuck and clogged up in fixed capital. In the global economic crisis we over accumulation in many different forms. Global retail sales are down and commodities are bunching up in warehouses, industries are closing factories and firing workers, there is an excess of credit unable to be paid off. In the above cases there is too much capital stuck somewhere in the circuit of capital that is unable to move to the next stage.

[Catholicboy4life]

As the industry loses its profitability, capital is withdrawn (often to socially devastating results) and those that stay in the industry have to invest more M into C in order survive.

Further tech innovation drive profits even further down as those that invested in large scale technology. As the demands to keep up with tech innovation rises, so do demands for capitalist to invest in C (thus eating into profit) as huge amounts of M gets invested into productive equiptment that become outdated.