Politicians love to talk about the "Aussie battlers" who want "a fair shake of the sauce bottle", the "mum and dad investors" just wanting a fair go or the "drought-stricken farmers" who are the country's "backbone".
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Both sides are claiming their budget priorities and election policies will make life easier for "real Australians".
But within minutes of starting his budget speech, Josh Frydenberg was slamming Labor, and within minutes of his speech being over Labor was slamming the Coalition.
And suddenly the "Aussie battlers", the "mum and dad investors" and the "drought-stricken farmers" are simply cliched characters in a pantomime performed for the other side of the parliament.
The federal budget defines our country.
It defines our priorities and it reflects, or it should reflect, what we value as a society, what we want to see in our future.
Despite all its cringeworthy pomp and showmanship - from the raucous "hear, hears" to the derisive chortles - the budget really does matter to everyday Australians.
But somewhere in this political climate, where unofficial election campaigns begin the moment one side wins power, this fact seems to have been lost on those in power.
It is hard to believe that the Coalition or Labor are focused on Australians, when they can't stop talking about what the other side is doing.
The federal budget matters.
It matters to the sick who rely on health funding to prop up the facilities they frequent.
It matters to children whose schools it funds.
And it matters to everyone because it informs the trajectory of our country.
It matters too much to be an election tool, flogged from pillar to post by both sides of politics in a spectacle that ensures what's best for the country is lost somewhere between scare campaigns and political jargon.
People watch the budget announcement in anticipation of how funding will affect their jobs, families, income and benefits.
And time after time, the average Australian is left feeling underrepresented or forgotten.
We need budgets focused on the long-term needs of our country and to provide certainty in our economy.
We need policies and planning that won't be repealed as soon as the new guys gets in.
We need our politicians to focus on us, not each other.
