Company tax cut a pain for most Australians

Bob (not his real name) has been waiting to have both his hips replaced for the last 12 months. Despite being told his surgery would take place last June there was no available bed at a major Sydney hospital. Bob has been given no reason for the delay and has had no contact with the hospital since August. He trundles on in daily pain.

Bob's story is not uncommon and is symptomatic of a health system under pressure after cuts to funding from the Abbott and Turnbull governments and years of a Medicare rebate freeze.

Many Australian families are struggling. They feel they are losing the cost-of-living battle.

After mortgage or rent payments and dealing with ballooning electricity prices, rising childcare and private health insurance costs there is not much left in most household budgets.

More than 330,000 pensioners have seen a cut to their age pension following changes to the pension assets test. On top of that the Turnbull Government is trying to axe the Energy Supplement, a support designed to help vulnerable Australians with the cost of utilities.

Recently the incomes of most Australians have not kept pace with the cost of living. Annual wage growth across the nation has been stuck at close to 2 per cent for many years. With prices for most goods and services rising by a lot more it's understandable that people aren't feeling rosy about the current economy.

For a lot of Australian businesses, particularly large multinational corporations, it's a different story.

Over the last couple of years the profit share of income in Australia has risen by about 2 per cent, but the wages share of the pie has fallen by about 2 per cent.

Corporate profits are up, workers real wages are down.

This explains why most Australians feel their financial situation has deteriorated in recent times.

It also explains why they are angry with the Turnbull Government's tax cuts for big business.

As workers, families and pensioners struggle to make ends meet they face a tax increase thanks to the Turnbull Government's 0.5 per cent increase in the Medicare levy, yet large multinational companies, that have been making strong profits recently, are being given a corporate tax cut.