Ross Gittins

This is no Sunday school: prosperity comes with pain

Ross Gittins Discord and suffering are the price we pay for getting richer.

Ross Gittins

O'Farrell will need better luck next time

Ross Gittins THERE has never been reason to doubt Barry O'Farrell's skill as a politician, but it helps for a pollie to be lucky and, failing that, for him to have the steel to make his own luck.

Ross Gittins

Dear prudence, you've come back to stay

Ross Gittins It's better for businesses to adapt to the way the world now works.

Comments 310

Ross Gittins

Prudence is back - and it's about time, too

Ross Gittins One of the first lessons economists teach us is that the economy moves in cycles of boom and bust. A second, trickier lesson is that although most of the changes going on in the economy at any moment...

Bad-luck budget won't win any friends, but nor should it

Ross Gittins This is a deceptively tough budget. It won’t impress people – either with its parsimony or its generosity - but that’s not the measure of a good budget.

Ross Gittins

Hedging bets makes sense

Ross Gittins FOR those inclined to worry, what has been brewing in the rest of the world, particularly Europe, in recent days is quite worrying - though, as yet, nothing too terrible has actually happened.

Ross Gittins

Prescription for better health: give the have-nots a hand up

Ross Gittins It's a well established fact and most of us have at least heard of it. It's also a surprising fact. But it's a fact that doesn't get nearly as much attention as it deserves - not from our...

Comments 174

ROSS GITTENS

Messy end to spend after fiscal bulimia

Ross Gittins It's taken me too long to realise it, but when I retired for a quiet meal after the federal budget lock-up this month, it struck me: there's truth to the opposition's charge that Labor is a big...

Ross Gittins

With fingers down the throat, Labor gorges and splurges into the future

Ross Gittins A thirst to spend and a desire to stay in surplus cohabit uneasily.

Comments 210

Ross Gittins

Self-interest at heart of super industry gripe

Ross Gittins Politicians must steel themselves to fix a mess that will keep growing.

Ross Gittins

Bitter tears hide super self interest

Ross Gittins Have you noticed? Our guardians in the superannuation industry have come out swinging to defend us against the changes to superannuation announced in the budget.

Comments 95

Ross Gittins

Spreading the love to buy votes? So what, it was about time

Ross Gittins Despite its critics, this budget is the most redistributive in years.

Comments 397

Ross Gittins

Robin Hood budget not before time

Ross Gittins So, has the budget led to an outbreak of class warfare? Only if Julia Gillard's a lot luckier than she's been so far. That is, I doubt it.

Ross Gittins

A few nasties, but the budget is OK overall

Ross Gittins If you are having trouble seeing the horror budget we were told to expect, that's according to plan. This government has always wanted to be tough in principle, but never in practice.

Ross Gittins

The elusive sweet spot in the middle

Ross Gittins Individualism or state interference? A mix of both is desirable in life.

Ross Gittins

Jump off the policy pendulum

Ross Gittins I like Americans. I have American friends, and I remember a trivial incident that endeared me to Americans forever.

Comments 188

Ross Gittins

It's too soon to crow at the Reserve's big surprise

Ross Gittins IF YOU are a borrower, don't be too cock-a-hoop that the Reserve Bank has cut its official rate by half a percentage point rather than the usual quarter.

Comments 54

Ross Gittins

Putting the weekend to death

Ross Gittins The push for a 24-hour, seven-day work week is on again. It might be good for business, but is it good for us?

Ross Gittins

Workers pay the penalty for one-way flexibility

Ross Gittins Whether or not they realise what they're doing, Australia's business people, economists and politicians are in the process of dismantling the weekend and phasing out public holidays.

Comments 379