WHO GOT TO THEM?

“A simple yet sovereign remedy which will raise wages, increase and give remunerative employment, abolish poverty, extirpate pauperism, lessen crime, elevate moral tastes and intelligence, purify government and carry civilization to a yet nobler height, is to abolish all taxation save that on land values.”

• Fifth Inter-Colonial Congress of Trade Unions (Barnard, History of Australia, p.417)

Unions have now descended into expropriating a greater proportion of wages to invest into superannuation funds “for workers’ retirement”. ‘Financialisation’ of workers and a tax gift for the uber-wealthy? The Commonwealth government was going to run out of money for pensions? How? Or maybe can’t deliver a universal income? Why?