Why is the participation rate falling?

In late 2010, we set an all-time record for the Australian economy: nearly 66% of people aged 15 and over were either employed, or were actively looking for work. To put that in perspective, the labour force participation rate has averaged 63.2% since 1980.

The carbon price package and low-income earners

Warning: this is a non-technical, but fairly wonky post about tax

Will there be wailing and gnashing of teeth on Sunday? There will if the Coalition’s voluminous prognostications about the carbon price package are correct. There will also be a reduction in the effective tax rates faced by low-income earners, but that doesn’t fit so easily into a glib slogan.