Reposted by Harvey
I've long criticised the dehumanising and patriarchal partner income test embedded everywhere in the Australian welfare state. The tax on love really does hurt families, and has a real impact on relationship formation or termination.
www.reddit.com/r/Centrelink...
www.reddit.com/r/Centrelink...
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Explore this post and more from the Centrelink community
www.reddit.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:39 AM
I've long criticised the dehumanising and patriarchal partner income test embedded everywhere in the Australian welfare state. The tax on love really does hurt families, and has a real impact on relationship formation or termination.
www.reddit.com/r/Centrelink...
www.reddit.com/r/Centrelink...
Reposted by Harvey
For decades Aus has cut marginal tax rates, largely on high earners, based on exaggerated claims about work disincentives.
Meanwhile, over the same period, we've set up *genuinely* punitive (at times > 100%) effective marginal tax rates on low-middle income earners.
www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...
Meanwhile, over the same period, we've set up *genuinely* punitive (at times > 100%) effective marginal tax rates on low-middle income earners.
www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...
The Australians getting hit with up to 122 per cent tax
Some Australians who are eager to take on more work are being held back by the prospect of giving up most of their additional income – and in some cases, even paying to work.
www.smh.com.au
September 11, 2025 at 10:44 AM
For decades Aus has cut marginal tax rates, largely on high earners, based on exaggerated claims about work disincentives.
Meanwhile, over the same period, we've set up *genuinely* punitive (at times > 100%) effective marginal tax rates on low-middle income earners.
www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...
Meanwhile, over the same period, we've set up *genuinely* punitive (at times > 100%) effective marginal tax rates on low-middle income earners.
www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...
What happens when you combine growth in spending on older Australians (pensions, health, aged care) with significant growth in their concessionally taxed super + housing?
A big shift in relative generosity of net transfers and final incomes for different age cohorts
Interesting paper
A big shift in relative generosity of net transfers and final incomes for different age cohorts
Interesting paper
August 12, 2025 at 12:30 AM
What happens when you combine growth in spending on older Australians (pensions, health, aged care) with significant growth in their concessionally taxed super + housing?
A big shift in relative generosity of net transfers and final incomes for different age cohorts
Interesting paper
A big shift in relative generosity of net transfers and final incomes for different age cohorts
Interesting paper
Reposted by Harvey
people on the other site are doing "is living in denmark better than living in the us" discourse based on that one paper about wealth and mortality and all reasonable interpretations aside, if your metric of wellbeing says that living in mississippi is better than denmark then it's a stupid metric
April 11, 2025 at 12:18 AM
people on the other site are doing "is living in denmark better than living in the us" discourse based on that one paper about wealth and mortality and all reasonable interpretations aside, if your metric of wellbeing says that living in mississippi is better than denmark then it's a stupid metric
Reposted by Harvey
treating data as a plural is almost as quaint and kooky as ‘fora’ and ‘stadia’
March 27, 2025 at 11:16 PM
treating data as a plural is almost as quaint and kooky as ‘fora’ and ‘stadia’
Reposted by Harvey
fun quirk of the discourse:
giving $x to everyone *except the poorest* via the tax system is called "targeted" and "progressive"
giving $x to everyone *including the poorest* via the payments system is called "untargeted", "regressive" and "middle class welfare"
giving $x to everyone *except the poorest* via the tax system is called "targeted" and "progressive"
giving $x to everyone *including the poorest* via the payments system is called "untargeted", "regressive" and "middle class welfare"
March 26, 2025 at 6:06 AM
fun quirk of the discourse:
giving $x to everyone *except the poorest* via the tax system is called "targeted" and "progressive"
giving $x to everyone *including the poorest* via the payments system is called "untargeted", "regressive" and "middle class welfare"
giving $x to everyone *except the poorest* via the tax system is called "targeted" and "progressive"
giving $x to everyone *including the poorest* via the payments system is called "untargeted", "regressive" and "middle class welfare"
Reposted by Harvey
Germany’s ‘whatever-it-takes’ spending push to end years of stagnation - on.ft.com/3R7j4fX
Can't help wondering if doing this a few years ago might have been clever
Can't help wondering if doing this a few years ago might have been clever
Germany’s ‘whatever-it-takes’ spending push to end years of stagnation
Europe’s largest economy could return to pre-pandemic growth trend
on.ft.com
March 6, 2025 at 6:38 AM
Germany’s ‘whatever-it-takes’ spending push to end years of stagnation - on.ft.com/3R7j4fX
Can't help wondering if doing this a few years ago might have been clever
Can't help wondering if doing this a few years ago might have been clever
I really like this 2021 paper from Norway showing the elegance of universal child benefits compared to kludgy income-tested ones
Clear wins for achieving horizontal equity, boosting labour supply, smoothing consumption, reducing exclusion errors
Clear wins for achieving horizontal equity, boosting labour supply, smoothing consumption, reducing exclusion errors
February 15, 2025 at 2:40 AM
I really like this 2021 paper from Norway showing the elegance of universal child benefits compared to kludgy income-tested ones
Clear wins for achieving horizontal equity, boosting labour supply, smoothing consumption, reducing exclusion errors
Clear wins for achieving horizontal equity, boosting labour supply, smoothing consumption, reducing exclusion errors
Reposted by Harvey
The Accepted Manuscript version of my review of Spies-Butcher's new work 'Politics, Inequality and the Australian Welfare State After Liberalisation' is now on my blog if anyone's interested the complex process of liberalisation reforms.
www.bevansadvocate.com/p/politics-i...
www.bevansadvocate.com/p/politics-i...
February 12, 2025 at 10:33 AM
The Accepted Manuscript version of my review of Spies-Butcher's new work 'Politics, Inequality and the Australian Welfare State After Liberalisation' is now on my blog if anyone's interested the complex process of liberalisation reforms.
www.bevansadvocate.com/p/politics-i...
www.bevansadvocate.com/p/politics-i...
Reposted by Harvey
Two new studies show a briny, carbon-rich environment on the parent body of the Bennu asteroid was suitable for assembling the building blocks of life.
New analysis of asteroid dust reveals evidence of salty water in the early Solar System
theconversation.com
January 29, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Two new studies show a briny, carbon-rich environment on the parent body of the Bennu asteroid was suitable for assembling the building blocks of life.
Reposted by Harvey
"This tax-and-transfer insurance effect—or the role of the state in reducing adult disadvantages that stem from childhood poverty—matters more than other oft-studied characteristics, such as parental education or marital status, in shaping the U.S. disadvantage compared with peer nations."
Child poverty in the U.S. is four times as likely to lead to adult poverty than in Denmark and Germany, and twice as likely than in the UK and Australia. Why? I write about our findings on "the intergenerational persistence of poverty" today in The Atlantic:
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Why Poor American Kids Are So Likely to Become Poor Adults
Most scholarship on the subject focuses on conditions during childhood. But government support during adulthood plays the biggest role.
www.theatlantic.com
January 9, 2025 at 5:01 AM
"This tax-and-transfer insurance effect—or the role of the state in reducing adult disadvantages that stem from childhood poverty—matters more than other oft-studied characteristics, such as parental education or marital status, in shaping the U.S. disadvantage compared with peer nations."
2024 tax expenditure statement showing super concessions estimated to reach an eye-watering $55 billion in 2024-25, billions higher than the previous estimate
Even bigger difference for the forwards too - $63 billion by 2026-27!
Even bigger difference for the forwards too - $63 billion by 2026-27!
January 3, 2025 at 1:55 AM
2024 tax expenditure statement showing super concessions estimated to reach an eye-watering $55 billion in 2024-25, billions higher than the previous estimate
Even bigger difference for the forwards too - $63 billion by 2026-27!
Even bigger difference for the forwards too - $63 billion by 2026-27!
WA GST situation is crazy
December 29, 2024 at 11:19 AM
WA GST situation is crazy
Limitations of markets due to public goods and market failures are well-known, but I really like this framing by Amartya Sen that many of the most significant things in life are not suitable for marketisation
December 15, 2024 at 1:51 AM
Limitations of markets due to public goods and market failures are well-known, but I really like this framing by Amartya Sen that many of the most significant things in life are not suitable for marketisation
Reposted by Harvey
Reposted by Harvey
A thread of mystifying and hilarious data visualisations from the "Australians" books, published in 1987 by the Australian Government. (originally brought to my attention by @mikejbeggs.bsky.social )
#ausecon #chartcrimes #dataviz
1. Spikes
#ausecon #chartcrimes #dataviz
1. Spikes
December 4, 2024 at 11:59 PM
A thread of mystifying and hilarious data visualisations from the "Australians" books, published in 1987 by the Australian Government. (originally brought to my attention by @mikejbeggs.bsky.social )
#ausecon #chartcrimes #dataviz
1. Spikes
#ausecon #chartcrimes #dataviz
1. Spikes
Reposted by Harvey
There have been two economic charts going semi-viral— or at least what counts as viral for ABS statistics—in the past couple of weeks.
Both claim to show a dramatic fall in living standards in Victoria and Australia. Both are wrong.
gross.substack.com/p/mean-charts
Both claim to show a dramatic fall in living standards in Victoria and Australia. Both are wrong.
gross.substack.com/p/mean-charts
Mean Charts
On Wednesdays we calculate the median wage statistics
gross.substack.com
December 2, 2024 at 2:13 AM
There have been two economic charts going semi-viral— or at least what counts as viral for ABS statistics—in the past couple of weeks.
Both claim to show a dramatic fall in living standards in Victoria and Australia. Both are wrong.
gross.substack.com/p/mean-charts
Both claim to show a dramatic fall in living standards in Victoria and Australia. Both are wrong.
gross.substack.com/p/mean-charts
Really interesting bit of research on actual vs publicly preferred tax rates in Norway. The gap is mainly driven by changing composition of (differentially taxed) income across the earnings distribution
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
November 23, 2024 at 1:05 AM
Really interesting bit of research on actual vs publicly preferred tax rates in Norway. The gap is mainly driven by changing composition of (differentially taxed) income across the earnings distribution
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Incredible chart showing how age influences the amount of tax you pay for a given level of income. Difference driven in large part by super concessions/investment earnings
Regressive, expensive and without any compelling equity justification
Regressive, expensive and without any compelling equity justification
November 22, 2024 at 7:32 AM
Incredible chart showing how age influences the amount of tax you pay for a given level of income. Difference driven in large part by super concessions/investment earnings
Regressive, expensive and without any compelling equity justification
Regressive, expensive and without any compelling equity justification
Reposted by Harvey
Excellent Amartya Sen passage on the key question of equality, 'Equality of What?' Almost all normative theories are based on a form of egalitarianism, they just differ on what they focus on providing equal an entitlement of
November 21, 2024 at 11:07 AM
Excellent Amartya Sen passage on the key question of equality, 'Equality of What?' Almost all normative theories are based on a form of egalitarianism, they just differ on what they focus on providing equal an entitlement of
Amazing chart. Wheat prices way down from where they were in 1264!
Wheat prices are low.
My favourite chart from @episode3net.bsky.social. It tracks the price of wheat from 1264 to 2023.
When we consider inflation, the price of wheat is only narrowly off record lows. Agriculture has been great at increasing supply, and keeping prices low
#econsky #foodhistory
My favourite chart from @episode3net.bsky.social. It tracks the price of wheat from 1264 to 2023.
When we consider inflation, the price of wheat is only narrowly off record lows. Agriculture has been great at increasing supply, and keeping prices low
#econsky #foodhistory
November 20, 2024 at 2:57 AM
Amazing chart. Wheat prices way down from where they were in 1264!
Reposted by Harvey
New research in Australia on "Income inequality and democratic resilience – Impacts and policy choices" from Nicholas Biddle and Matthew Gray csrm.cass.anu.edu.au/sites/defaul... 1/ of a few
csrm.cass.anu.edu.au
November 18, 2024 at 11:47 PM
New research in Australia on "Income inequality and democratic resilience – Impacts and policy choices" from Nicholas Biddle and Matthew Gray csrm.cass.anu.edu.au/sites/defaul... 1/ of a few
Australia's once universalist family payments system has gradually wound down to a more residualist one through changes to indexation and eligibility.
From ~100% coverage in the 1970s to below 50% coverage in the 2020s 😬
From ~100% coverage in the 1970s to below 50% coverage in the 2020s 😬
November 18, 2024 at 11:30 AM
Australia's once universalist family payments system has gradually wound down to a more residualist one through changes to indexation and eligibility.
From ~100% coverage in the 1970s to below 50% coverage in the 2020s 😬
From ~100% coverage in the 1970s to below 50% coverage in the 2020s 😬