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By avoiding means testing, the government is giving handouts to the rich (theconversation.com)

submitted 2 days ago by arbilp3@aussie.zone to c/australianpolitics@aussie.zone

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Australia is a global success story. The structural reforms in the 1980s and ‘90s of liberalising trade, floating the dollar and reducing government involvement in the economy ignited an unprecedented period of growth...

Crucially, this happened without a massive spike in inequality. A 2024 report from the Productivity Commission affirmed that our tax and transfer system played a significant role in redistributing income.

And while the size of government ballooned in Europe, with government expenditure soaring to around 50% of GDP (gross domestic product) in the EU, it has remained comparatively lean in Australia, staying around 24%.

Yet, unlike the US, Australia did not gut its social safety net. We deliver top-tier health outcomes, provide robust support to low-income earners and maintain a high-quality public education system.

How did we pull off this exceptional outcome? It’s largely because of something the current government seems to want to do less and less: means testing. We can see this in action with policies such as student debt cuts and electric vehicle tax concessions.

The shift towards universal policies may seem fair, but it’s creating a system that gives to the wealthy at the expense of the poor.

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[–] arbilp3@aussie.zone 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Could those that disagree, and there seems to be a few of you, give your reasons so that we can have a discussion?

[–] vividspecter@aussie.zone 0 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I wouldn't say I disagree per se, but I do have some issues with the argument.

EV tax concessions and student debt reductions may benefit the well off more, but they also encourage greater uptake in education and help address climate change. Everyone is fucked if we don't address climate change quickly enough, and so speed is paramount.

On education, I would consider it a failure of society if only people from well-off families are attending university. We need a highly educated populace to counter the rampant misinformation and disinformation that permeates the world today, and to participate in a society and economy that is becoming increasingly complex. I'd prefer a move back to free university to be honest, but by the authors argument, this would be even more unfair.

And on universal vs means testing, a separate argument against it is that these systems become very punitive. Our welfare system is decent on balance, but people who access it can end up being treated like a criminal and have to jump through excessive hoops because of the enforcement mechanisms to deal with purported abuse.

That all being said, I do think governments should try to address inequality as much as possible, so if policies can thread the needle of means testing that is restrained and not punitive while keeping costs reasonable, I'm all for it.

[–] arbilp3@aussie.zone 0 points 1 day ago

That all being said, I do think governments should try to address inequality as much as possible, so if policies can thread the needle of means testing that is restrained and not punitive while keeping costs reasonable, I’m all for it.

And I'm with you!