Ian McAuley: Taking the wrong road to a surplus

Deep within the budget is a glimmer of traditional Labor principles. Gillard and Swan have made some cautious moves to wind back middle class welfare payments and tax breaks, which have been putting pressure on other areas of public expenditure.

But so long as the Government feels it cannot raise more revenue, Australia is facing a continuation of severely constrained expenditure on public services, with the occasional short-lived boost from a Keynesian stimulus.

Read Ian's full piece online at The Drum here.