Most politicians think that you are dumb as shit. It’s not very nice, but it’s true (true that they think that, not that you are). They view the average voter with the same sort of lazy wariness you might view a child running around with your car keys or a cow holding a knife in its mouth— confident that they don’t quite know enough to do any real damage on purpose, but worried what they might do accidentally.
[jwplayer 2DMLfDmo]
Sometimes this condescension is subtle — mainly visible in the things they reckon they can get away with. Sometimes they smack you right in the face with it:
Yes, that right there is the actual name of the tax bill the government introduced today as part of an election promise to both provide some tax relief to low income earners while also flattening out (and reducing) the tax rate for middle income earners and raising the threshold for tax on high-income earners.
The tax relief part of the bill comes in the form to an increase in the low and middle income tax offset rates for the 2018-19 financial year. The rest of it comes from a gradual change in the income tax brackets from 2019-20 through to 2024-25, which will eventually see the two middle income brackets (32.5% for income between $37,000 and $90,000 and 37% for $90,000 to $180,000) consolidated into one 30% bracket for income between $45,000 and $200,000.
This has raised the lower threshold for the 45% tax rate by $20,000, which I’m sure will please federal politicians, who just had their pay increased to about $207,000 a year.
Labor initially indicated that they might oppose the bill, hoping to separate the tax offset component from the tax changes for high income earners, but opted to support it regardless even after all of their amendments were knocked back. Even this one:
Pretty funny stuff, except it now just kind of makes it seem even more strange that they voted for it.
Just me and @AdamBandt voting against the Government’s unfair tax plan that gives MPs and other high income earners a handsome tax cut. After all their complaining, Labor rolled over – again – and sat with the Government. #auspol #politas pic.twitter.com/xkuwRfqXNP
— Andrew Wilkie MP (@WilkieMP) July 2, 2019
