Is the so-called “Future Fund” a fraud or just another tax on Australia’s struggling taxpayers?
Today’s announcement of the A$14.5 billion contribution of “your Telstra” to the “Future Fund” is in addition to the A$18 billion of taxpayers’ funds contributed on May 5, 2006, and it is only just beginning.
The initial error made by the Federal Government was to implement an unsustainable over-generous superannuation scheme for federal politicians and public servants.
Rather than “unwind the unsustainable” the federal government is going to hit you in your pocket to maintain the Public Service access to super funds beyond your wildest dreams.
So, is the Future Fund a fraud or just another tax? First ask yourself, “Is playing the stock market a legitimate role for government?”.
I can’t see “gambling with taxpayer’s money” anywhere on the “job specification” for the Federal Government, so the Future Fund (despite the quality of people selected to run it) is starting to look like a fraudulent attempt to overcome the unsustainability of over generosity to Australia’s public servants.
Peter Saunders (Social Research Director at the Centre for Independent Studies) succinctly passed judgment on the Future Fund (The Australian, 2nd Jan. 2006) as follows: –
“As the receptacle for future budget surpluses and proceeds from the Telstra privatization, the Future Fund is expected to reach $62 billion as early as 2007. But these budget surpluses belong to taxpayers, and the receipts from the sale of Telstra should be remitted to the public, which owns these assets. If all of this money was handed back rather than hoarded, $62 billion would give every adult and child in Australia an initial $3,000 of savings. Rather than one Future Fund, we could have 20 million.”
“A truly liberal government would denationalise the Future Fund and reallocate the money to its rightful owners.” Why the silence from those who know how wrong the Future Fund is? Perhaps they are looking forward to the extra weight of money stirring the stock market even further.