ASIA PACIFIC TODAY. Australia’s post-pandemic debt risk & Biden's Covid Relief Package

Robert Carling & Australia’s post-pandemic debt risk & Biden's Covid Relief Package with Blake Christian.

Today we are doing what we do for each show. We talk to experts about hot topics and share their information. This is apparently inappropriate now with certain members of Parliament or certain topics.

In Australia, it’s the former Liberal Party’s Craig Kelly talking about early treatment of Covid-19. One of our interviews with Craig was removed by YouTube soon after it was posted. We immediately appealed this decision and received a two word answer. Appeal rejected. No reason. Just Appeal rejected.

That interview is available on the free speech platform rumble.com - look for Asia Pacific Today. We urge you to watch the interview and come to your own conclusions about censorship in Australia. The Australian Government, and most of our leaders have apparently not woken up to the fact that Mainstream Media and Big Tech are flexing their muscles on censorship.

By the way, Graig Kelly MP is now an independent, leaving a hole for the Morrison Government and a lot less backbone.

While politicians, public servants and many in big business have done well during the Pandemic, the livelihoods of many in small business have been decimated.

Aside from the incalculable human cost of the lockdowns, losses have been large in trade exposed sectors such as Tourism and Hospitality, Higher Education and Agriculture. We have also seen a large rise in Federal and State Government debt to meet the costs of the Pandemic and to support employment.

No great reforms are likely with yet another State election due and a looming Federal election. In spite of some good economic news, Australia has much to be concerned about. It seems the vaccine will not avert future lockdowns and external border restrictions continue to constrain growth.

Is bad policy, growing debt and big Government here to stay? We catch up with Robert Carling, a Senior Fellow in the Economics Program at the Centre For Independent Studies. Robert has recently published an article "The Looming Iceberg: Australia’s post-pandemic debt risk"

Prior to joining the CIS, Robert was Executive Director, Economic and Fiscal at the New South Wales Treasury from 1998 to 2006. Previous position have been with Commonwealth Treasury, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. He holds academic qualifications in economics and finance from the London School of Economics and Political Science, Georgetown University and the University of Queensland.

In the US, as in Australia, there is little focus on debt and runaway spending. To support businesses hit hard by the lockdowns, hundreds of billions in loans have been made available through the Paycheck Protection Program.

The Biden Administration is seeking to pass it’s $1.9 Trillion Covid Relief Package containing further measures for small business, however Covid relief makes up a mere 9% of the entire package. Expensive pet projects and generous handouts to Democratic supporters and states are included.

We're joined by Blake Christian, a Partner at Holthouse Carlin & Van Trigt who discusses Joe Biden's Relief Package and the Paycheck Protection Program.

Blake, a national Top 25 OZ influencer, is a tax partner at HCVT in Long Beach, California, and Park City, Utah. Blake has over 35 years of experience providing tax consulting and compliance services to clients that include multinational, publicly traded corporations, as well as closely held owner-managed businesses. He is a specialist in federal, state and local tax incentive programs, and is leading the firm’s efforts in providing tax consulting services for Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZs).

Blake's industry experience is broad and includes manufacturing and distribution, service companies, restaurant, shipping and transportation, energy and health care.

Asia Pacific Today. February 25, 2021