Budget night: when Australia's political class pretends it controls the economy | Tim Lyons

This year's budget was all about having a go, 'Tony's Tradies' and signalling to the base - oh, and maintaining a useful conceit

"Cut anything into tiny pieces," said the Roman philosopher Seneca, "and it all becomes a mass of confusion."

The federal budget is a bit like that. Budgets are reported on and analysed exhaustively, with more commentary than an Ashes series and more statistics than Wisden. But it's a thing cut into a confusing mass of tiny pieces, an event about naked politics and rubbery numbers.