Every day, we publish a selection of your emails in our newsletter. We’d love to hear from you, you can email us at yoursay@theconversation.edu.au
Monday August 18
Lazy tax
“The idea of taxing the family home is an intellectually lazy and naive idea, especially if we want to raise taxes. As Ross Gittins has said, we extract more money from university students than we do from petroleum rent taxes or gas export levies. There is a need for balance between development and stability for families who have struggled to buy a home. Negative gearing beyond the family home should be taxed accordingly.”
Gerry White
It’s not just the US, it’s us
“Regarding Australia’s changing relationship with the US, it’s not so much the fact that the US is changing, but more the failure of successive Australian governments to stay ahead of the game when it comes to making relevant foreign policy. Do we want to be like the British, the Americans and the Europeans who are interested only in military containment of Russia and China, or do we want a peaceful existence built on diplomacy and trade?”
Tom Filipcevic
Why are we obsessed with highways?
“Great article on Australia’s highway obsession. It’s much better for governments to focus on mass transport with more rail and metro lines not only from outer suburbs into city centres but also radially across suburbs which can then connect. This would move more people at costs much less than highways over the longer term.”
Joe Phillips
Tuesday August 19
Not so Universal Basic Income
“Discussions of universal basic income never seem to address the issue of housing. If you already own a dwelling or have somewhere reliable to live (such as with family), a universal basic income may cover day to day expenses. However, what level of universal basic income would be required to cover housing? What existing social support payments would be replaced?”
Rhonda Daniels 
What a waste
“In our suburb in inner city Brisbane, people are spending upwards of $2 million on older homes that they then raze to the ground, only to build an architecturally uninteresting monstrosity (or two), which then must be sold for more than $4 million to recoup the cost. This behaviour – condoned by governments and rarely mentioned as a reason for escalating prices – is destroying the character and liveability of our cities, creating unnecessary waste, consuming scarce resources and driving up the cost of housing.”
Anita West
Trust in news
“I wasn’t surprised to see the data showing trust in news is declining. As a consumer of news from multiple sources, I have found that some sources have been steadily replacing well-researched and independent news with ideology. This includes over/under-reporting certain issues and, in some cases, attempting to ‘create’ or ‘steer’ the news. I miss being able to trust news sources.”
Karin Mogg
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
