• Zagorath
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    1 year ago

    Yeah that’s a really weird response, considering having the referendum was literally a major election promise.

    • naevaTheRat@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      1 year ago

      It’s also like peanuts on the nation state level. Like one of my neighbours complains about what the 4 million dollars on the yes campaign could have done and it’s like, well, not much?

      Obviously it’s enough to change the lives of like 40 people dramatically but that’s a) not a lot and b) not how it would be used. We regularly spend BILLIONS repairing roads, subsidising millionaires, subsidising landlords, shit we lit several billion on fire just to appease the usa and get their subs.

      I don’t think people grasp that the difference between a million and a billion is a billion dollars. Or that the state of Australia spends about 700 billion in tax revenue (which is already kinds laughably low on the big end of town with a lot going straight back in upper class welfare) every year.

      • Ilandar
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        1 year ago

        You’re absolutely right, people don’t really stop to think about how far a figure of money reported in the media would actually go on a national scale. It’s the reason why the “taxpayer money” line gets used constantly by the opposition.

        • naevaTheRat@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          1 year ago

          Yeah it’s pretty frustrating. I get annoyed when there’s some hit piece that’s like “$pieceOfCrucialLifeImprovingInfrastructure to cost 10 million”. So? shit costs money, some people spend that much on a fucking house + mortgage as private individuals. Meanwhile there’s some slightly widen a road project next to it which will cost 2 billion and serve like optimistically 10 times as many people and have higher maintenance costs.

          Shit like public transport, cycle ways, clean water in rural areas, healthcare etc get hit by this shit all the time and it’s nonsense.