2008-07-23

Malcolm Turnbull - idiot or misquoted?

From the department of it bodes ill for Malcolm if this was accurate:
The Opposition has blamed the Government's alcopop tax for pushing up inflation.

Figures released today show that inflation surged ahead in the June quarter to stand at 4.5 per cent for the year, well ahead of economists' forecasts.

Mr Turnbull says the tax increase on pre-mixed drinks, is adding to the rising cost of living because CPI figures show the price of spirits rose by 6.1 per cent in the June quarter.

"One thing the Government could have done was choose to not put up the price of alcohol but it did and it has flowed into the inflation numbers," he said.

The Government imposed the tax in what it said was an effort to curb binge drinking.

Mr Turnbull says planned increases in the cost of luxury cars and changes to the Medicare levy will also push up inflation.

"How can you be fighting inflation when you're putting up the price of alcohol, putting up the price of health insurance, putting up the price of motor cars?" he said.
If Malcolm Turnbull thinks that putting a tax on a small segment of alcoholic drinks is somehow responsible for pushing inflation up to 4.5% he's an idiot.

3 comments:

apodeictic said...

That would be one way of looking at the situation but you forget one very important fact: The man is first and foremost a politician and it is a mistake to assume that politicians actually say what they think. Anyone who does think that is probably just as guilty of being an idiot (of which you accuse Turnbull).

If Turnbull actually said that the tax on alcohol is responsible for the 4.5% inflation rate then I'm pretty sure he doesn't actually think that. Rather, he's making a simple political appeal to all the drinkers out there who'd rather pay less for their booze (which is most of them). Nothing more, nothing less. Don't accuse the man of being an idiot when he's just being a politician.

Neil Cameron (One Salient Oversight) said...

Don't accuse the man of being an idiot when he's just being a politician.

I find that sentence incredibly amusing!

I wonder if "being a politician" is in the DSM IV?

The Pook said...

ahh, but you must never underestimate the amount of alcopops consumed by the Coalition Front Bench!