Missing a rich vein

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Cartoons of Kevin Rudd as a dashing Robin Hood, flanked by his blushing maid, Wayne Swan, became a feature of pre-budget speculation, happily cultivated by the spin masters, even if reality often falls short of the rhetoric.

But the debate about rich versus poor is real. The global economic crisis has ripped a giant hole in government revenue, forcing a fundamental reconsideration of whether the state can afford to support those who can support themselves.

It has raised the vexed question: what does it mean to be rich in Australia today?

Both Rudd Government budgets introduced income tests on a range of welfare payments, fuelling talk of "robbing from the rich to give to the poor". Last year a cap was imposed on t…   [Read Full Text]