John Linton
.......for the latest Labor government to run Australia into massive debt.
I doubt whether there have been so many fatuously wrong statements by an Australian government regarding the state of Australia's financial situation than have been made by the current one. Starting from their financially disastrous pronouncement that the 'GFC' would be disastrous for "Australian working families" (which hadn't affected Australia in any way at the time nor up until now) and how they would "prevent the worst effects" of it on Australia by a ludicrous set of spending and give away programs that not only turned an inherited surplus in to a deficit but did absolutely nothing except boost the economies of several Asian countries that make useless consumer goods. As all of the more conservative financial writers said at that time and ever since that time - the 'GFC' was a "wave" that had not yet reached Australia.
Well....the wave is almost on the horizon now:
http://www.theage.com.au/business/markets/stocks-sink-as-dollar-dives-20100521-vruu.html?autostart=1
and it seems highly likely that Australia will now become affected by the "GFC" (or should that be 'GFC2' like the 'NBN2'?). And what do those dim bulbs in government do in response? They insist their 'responsible fiscal management (i.e. throwing away 48 billion dollars) fixed the problem so they will now 'super' tax the generator of Australia's "protection" and slow it down just as the real impact of the "GFC" is about to slow Australia down for real. Oh well, perhaps every new voter that has never heard of Whitlam needs a lesson in basic economics. Enjoy the lesson - it comes at a massive price.
I was wondering at how people who have never experienced a regular event are so insouciant about the warnings from people who have? Is this some particularly human trait? Do you ever wonder about people who build houses on flood plains or in "idyllic" heavily wooded areas surrounding major capital cities or vote for Labor governments and then complain vociferously when the inevitable events like floods, bush fires and economic vandalism destroy their lives or in the very severe cases actually take their lives or those of people close to them? Should that old adage really be "There's no fool like a young fool".
What do the words "flood plain" mean to such people?
What do the words "severe bush fire danger" and remains of burned out houses mean?
Why have there been so few Labor governments in the history of Federation?
I suppose history is no longer taught in Australian schools and common sense has always been far from common.We also live in era where the word 'politician' is synonymous in credibility with the word 'criminal' or 'copy writer' in terms of personal ethics and public probity.
These thoughts came to me as I mulled over what the CEO was really trying to say in this piece of reporting:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703691804575254291099153212.html?mod=WSJ_Tech_LEFTTopNews
Now, firstly I never believe a word that is reported in the Australian media as, in my view, Australian media is so dumbed down for the sound bite generations it aims at and the roles of sub editor and editor seem to have disappeared, what is now printed in the broadsheets is little more than imaginative fiction. It's obvious that the current government wants to split up Telstra (20 years after the last time passed that could be done) but its equally clear that a "Telstra Retail" without a monopoly is a dead duck with no possible chance of survival - and it really doesn't matter how you wish to argue against that statement - Telstra's management and employees without the protection of sky high pricing and monopolistic shackled competition simply wouldn't know what to do.
So, after all the talk and the threatening and the bluster what will result? Telstra can't sell its assets without destroying itself. The current government can't build an 'NBN2' without ensuring Telstra can't compete with it. A federal election is very close. Hmmmm..... I guess the 'governed' will pay a very high price for this nonsensical situation.....but then the 'governed' always do....that's why they build houses where they do and elect governments they do....what else do they deserve?
Why is this so? I wouldn't have any real idea. I would venture a guess that 70 years of living in a world where "information" is actually propaganda has so completely removed truth from the public domain that 'governments' have been able to lead the 'governed' so far down the 'yellow brick road' that it's only when its much too late to avoid disaster that any of the 'governed' begin to get an inkling that some thing is wrong.
What other explanation can there be?
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