New research suggests a big chunk of the Australian population is now “voting for a living,” rather than working for it.

With ABS figures suggesting half of all Australian households receive more in government benefits then they pay in taxes, it seems the beneficiaries of government largesse now collectively constitute a political force that’s big enough to bias policy outcomes.

And it seems they’re biasing it in favour of the existing welfare state status quo, to the detriment of fiscal responsibility and budget surpluses.  

“This is sort of distorting the system, skewing it in favour of the protection of existing benefits or the creation of new benefits,” says Robert Carling from the Centre for Independent Studies.

“There is a strong resistance to any withdrawal of existing benefits.”

It’s thought this pattern is making the task of reining in the debt harder, with government’s now using money as a way to incentivise votes, especially in key marginal seats.

“The political parties know this political force is there and policies increasingly are catered towards this group.”

“So we have political parties behaving as if the dollars spent on something is the most important thing and a measure of their commitment to it, rather than trying to make the existing amount of expenditure more effective.”

Michael McLaren says this begs the question of whether it’s government who’s responsible for the deficit, or whether we should be laying the blame on ourselves.

“So is this the political classes fault, or is it our fault as voters?”

New research suggests a big chunk of the Australian population is now &ldquo;voting for a living,&rdquo; rather than working for it.
With ABS figures suggesting half of all Australian households receive more in government benefits then they pay in taxes, it seems the beneficiaries of government largesse now collectively constitute a political force that&rsquo;s big enough to bias policy outcomes.
And it seems they&rsquo;re biasing it in favour of the existing welfare state status quo, to the detriment of fiscal responsibility and budget surpluses.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;This is sort of distorting the system, skewing it in favour of the protection of existing benefits or the creation of new benefits,&rdquo; says Robert Carling from the Centre for Independent Studies.
&ldquo;There is a strong resistance to any withdrawal of existing benefits.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s thought this pattern is making the task of reining in the debt harder, with government&rsquo;s now using money as a way to incentivise votes, especially in key marginal seats.
&ldquo;The political parties know this political force is there and policies increasingly are catered towards this group.&rdquo;
&ldquo;So we have political parties behaving as if the dollars spent on something is the most important thing and a measure of their commitment to it, rather than trying to make the existing amount of expenditure more effective.&rdquo;
Michael McLaren says this begs the question of whether it&rsquo;s government who&rsquo;s responsible for the deficit, or whether we should be laying the blame on ourselves.
&ldquo;So is this the political classes fault, or is it our fault as voters?&rdquo;

Australia Overnight with Mike Jeffreys, 12am – 4am weekdays.

Wake Up Australia, 4am - 9:30am weekdays.

Australia Overnight with Mike Jeffreys, 12am – 4am weekdays.
Wake Up Australia, 4am - 9:30am weekdays.

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