Little Bit O' Vindication

One of my favorite diatribes against a clueles public official was aimed at former Australian Finance Minister Wayne Swan, who I might add is truly a fool. 

No worries, as they say, the Aussies have since shown the good sense to bounce the Labour Party, and Mr. Swan is once again a backbencher (a position loftier than he deserves, but so be it).

But, just a bit of a follow-up on the crazy mess that the likes of Mr. Swan foisted on the undeserving Aussies, which caused them to bounce these bufoons.

Twice as many civil servants than mining workers were hired in Australia’s 10-year resources boom, enlarging the bureaucracy and inflating public spending. Cutting back is now a priority for a government seeking budget savings.

In the 10 years through June 2013, 375,000 public sector workers were taken on compared with 173,200 mining workers, according to government data compiled by Bloomberg. Even as the mining boom boosted growth and tax receipts, the ballooning government wages bill added to strains on the budget and helped push sovereign debt to a record A$318 billion ($294 billion).

Two bureaucrats for every miner.  Excellent going Mr. Swan. 

Fortunately, the ship is being righted.

Ahead of its May 13 budget, Tony Abbott’s seven-month-old government has pledged 12,000 civil service cuts and commissioned a panel to audit public spending that’s due to deliver recommendations tomorrow.

First Canada, now the Aussies.  There is hope for us yet here in the US.