Sunday 24 May 2020

Recovery bonds

How governments address funding  of the forthcoming fiscal stimulus  is yet to be seriously tackled. My last blog Staving off recession concluded with the observation:

The future will be one where if governments aren’t directly funded by the RBA, the RBA will own some government debt. And that should include State government debt. Money owed to ourselves won’t be a burden. It’ll be our salvation.

Bill Kelty former Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) secretary and former Reserve Bank board member, was reported to be working on a recovery plan.

Tuesday 19 May 2020

Staving off recession

WITH the release of the Economic and Fiscal Update Report on Friday, Premier Gutwein didn’t try to sugar-coat the economic reality the state is facing. But he persisted with the myth that he had fixed the budget prior to COVID-19.

The government’s own Revised Estimates Report in February painted a very bleak picture. Cash deficits for this year, 2019-2020, and the next three years were estimated at $1.8 billion.

The latest update shows how much the situation has deteriorated in three months.

This year spending is expected to exceed revenue by $1.2 billion. Next year, 2020-2021, the cash deficit is projected to be $1.7 billion. This year we’ll spend $1.19 for every $1 in revenue. Next year the figure will be $1.29.

Tuesday 12 May 2020

Don't forget the States

DON’T FORGET THE STATES

All the post Covid-19 recovery talk centres on the Commonwealth government’s fiscal position and its unprecedented deficits for the foreseeable future.  How are States going to fund their share of the required spending? Hoping the current Commonwealth government will continue to run deficits to help fund State budgets seem somewhat forlorn at this stage.

The Commonwealth provides 40 per cent of State government revenues with approximately half of that coming from GST. Local governments receive 10 per cent of their revenue from the Commonwealth, not directly, most comes via the States.

The Commonwealth government being in control of the currency, with a central bank (RBA) to assist, and with fiscal policy that raises over 80 per cent of the nation’s taxes, can easily attend to its own needs. If it wasn’t for the States that is.

State government do not have the same flexibility as the Commonwealth and are more inclined to austerity. Erring on the side of austerity is likely to make any recovery slower and more painful for all those affected, potentially scarring a whole generation.

Where the money will come from in the case of State governments needs to be addressed at the same time as for the Commonwealth.

We need a plan for the Federation.

The starting point for a discussion about any entity’s future must include an understanding of existing balance sheets. If that entity is a country then it must include an understanding of the nation’s balance sheet, its assets and liabilities.

The only balance sheet item that gets mentioned is the debt figure for the Commonwealth. In other words, the level of borrowings of the general government sector. So, we’ll start by having a look at the balance sheet for the Commonwealth General Government. This will lead to a look at the consolidated balance sheet for the Commonwealth, which includes government businesses, particularly its wholly owned bank, the RBA. It is crucial to include the RBA in any discussion about Commonwealth finances.

The consolidated balance sheet leads to a closer look at the Commonwealth’s debt and borrowing, how spending, money creation, debt and QE (quantitative easing) impacts the Commonwealth’s balance sheet. Understanding the mechanics of the system must be a prerequisite for policy making.

A more nuanced view of debt will lead to a look at the consolidated balance sheet for the nation’s public sector. It is only with a more realistic view of debt that the Federation’s problems can be properly addressed.  The Commonwealth/RBA needs to allow States greater access to the RBA to organise debt and spending in the same way as is possible for the Commonwealth. If the government via the RBA can provide liquidity to private banks by acquiring their assets, if the RBA can led $90 billion to banks at 0.25 per cent to onlend to SMEs because the banking system is not up to the task, it can provide liquidity to States by acquiring their bonds. QE for States with RBA holding State government bonds will mean the overall total public sector debt need not produce insomnia for policy makers or burden our grandchildren.