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The Forum > Article Comments > The irredeemable in pursuit of the insatiable > Comments

The irredeemable in pursuit of the insatiable : Comments

By Nicholas Gruen, published 3/9/2018

It’s not just the finance industry - there are scandals as far as the eye can see.

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Ain't 20-20 hindsight a wonderful thing.

Keynesian economic theory created the unprecedented post-war prosperity and we should have, after finding a model that produced unprecedented prosperity, stuck with it.

With the finance sector properly regulated or in co-ops/public hands. Things like destructive derivatives/short selling could have been as they still should be, outlawed.

Capitalism works best when the risk of investing remains and Is shared along with any benefits that accrue.

Yes, things have changed since the 50-70's But mathematical certainties and increasingly rare common sense remain unchanged.

Back in the 70's I could have bought 18,000 acres for $6,000.00. Just the other day, heard that a couple of shonks had a similar sized property on the market for one hundred million. And after they'd apparently shafted the taxpayer for millions?

I think we need to reform the entire economy and as a cooperative capitalism model. Without this now essential reform, all the factors that brought us to this place will take us ever further down this road to self-destruction/ruination.

One of the first reforms would be the removal of chapter 11 provisions and then allow those bound to fail to do so and on their own without, as some have, leaving a trail of bankruptcy and financial ruination in their wake!

When they could have saved their various enterprises by converting then into co-ops with employee participation/sacrifice?

We should have could have built and built on the unprecedented post-war prosperity And should start with reestablishing the gold standard. No question!

I mean that $6,000.00 worth of gold ($28.00 an ounce) in the 70's, that could have purchased 18,000 acres then, could still be the price for that same unimproved block today! (Maybe around 300 ounces) Ditto housing? See what I mean?

Which could do as it did, allow the market to function as the final arbiter of comparative values in every trade or reward for service/effort/innovation! Be it water, energy, land/housing or export incomes/trades!

Yes, I know that would kill off inflation! Well, what do you think created our post-war prosperity, inflation or its noticeable lack!
Alan B.
Posted by Alan B., Monday, 3 September 2018 12:17:09 PM
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Can't say I read all 4,600+ words.

All I can conclude is we're Doomed

Society's institutions will fall off this Earth under their own weight.
Posted by plantagenet, Monday, 3 September 2018 2:30:28 PM
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Alan B - Anytime the banks are involved in something eg Gold you the customer are going to loose.

The gold price should be way higher but it will take a major war for that to happen.

It defies logic that people buy gold from banks and are given a piece of paper that says you own x amount of gold, if everyone with this piece of paper tried to redeem it for gold NO way would there be enough.

They are even trying to get into the bitcoin business being revealed.

The whole system from most of the politicians down are in it for them self not the public.

Can't go one day without a new scandal involving big business or some other large entity.
Posted by Philip S, Monday, 3 September 2018 4:51:53 PM
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The gold price should be way higher but it will take a major war for that to happen.
Philip S,
I think the Gold price is quite ok, it's the salaries that are too high, particularly in the Public service.
Posted by individual, Tuesday, 4 September 2018 9:36:17 AM
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At the time of post-war unprecedented prosperity, CEO salaries were never more than 30 multiples of the salary or wage of the lowest paid factory or shop floor worker.

And we owned all the power companies some insurance companies several banks and the only telco in town. And a couple of airlines. As well as all essential cash cow service.

The income streams from these entities went a long way toward financing or entire social service budget. And we could rollout infrastructure ahead of new housing and industrial estates, which as a first consequence made housing far more affordable.

These were the days when housing, i.e., shelter remained a basic human right, not an investment vehicle that was coupled to massive negative gearing that simply forced the price of basic housing way past the means of the average battler and business operated on their own capital plus an overdraft.

Now even the inventory has to carry a commercial interest-bearing debt burden! Because these businesses are hardly viable and the operators are by and large incompetent managers? Who almost to a generic man were and remain, undercapitalised?

Lots of changes are needed before we can restart and progress a new golden era. And has to start with a cleanout of the self-serving dross now infecting our dysfunctional parliaments. Top heavy with academics who left uni and went straight in usually with a headful of untried untested intellectual concepts.

And today's word the result!?
Alan B.
Posted by Alan B., Tuesday, 4 September 2018 11:02:40 AM
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changes are needed before we can restart and progress a new golden era.
Alan B,
yes & a national service.
Posted by individual, Tuesday, 4 September 2018 2:25:53 PM
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The one major point is Australia's economy. In a nutshell, it's not great.
Too many have made big Dollars from literally nothing & now that the bandwagon's rolling to a full stop, the easy street brigade is panicking.
Public Service salaries are totally out of whack in comparison to the private enterprise revenue-making wage earners. These inequalities need to be levelled somewhat by either bringing down the public service pays or at the least freeze them for three terms of Govt at every change of Govt, Fed or State.
Retirement has already been very sensibly addressed by the new leadership. The next focus needs to be on Welfare.
Posted by individual, Wednesday, 5 September 2018 9:34:02 AM
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individual Quote "Retirement has already been very sensibly addressed by the new leadership."

"Sensibly", rubbish if Morrison and the Liberals were not in so much trouble they would have left it at 70, he is only vote buying in desperation.

"Public Service salaries" by that I hope you are including, federal Government, state Government and local government employees as most would get no where near the salary and benefits in a comparable position with private industry.
Posted by Philip S, Wednesday, 5 September 2018 12:24:21 PM
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PhilipS,
Rubbish ? If you think $200,000+ per year per public servant than I don't know what real rubbish is like. Super contributions etc.
Consider the hours per public servant actually being productive but being paid full time nevertheless. Facebook alone takes up considerable time every day. And, how about council CEO's on 300,000 grand base salary plus the EO's plus consultants plus this plus that.
Public servant are overpaid no if's no but's & they're costing us too much !
Especially bureaucrats sent to remote area are on over-the-top pay for what they're actally doing. Add airfares willy nilly, meetings, conferences, stuff-ups, sly contracts the list goes on.
Of course such revelation is unwelcome & therefore hottly disputed but dispute all you like, start dis-proving ! Good Luck !
Posted by individual, Wednesday, 5 September 2018 3:32:55 PM
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individual Please activate brain before commenting so as to refrain from putting foot in mouth.

Yours
Quote "Retirement has already been very sensibly addressed by the new leadership."

My reply
"Sensibly", rubbish if Morrison and the Liberals were not in so much trouble they would have left it at 70, he is only vote buying in desperation.

Notice the word Sensibly is in quotation marks and you only used it here, so my rubbish comment applied to that quote from you.

Then my next comment
"Public Service salaries" by that I hope you are including, federal Government, state Government and local government employees as most would get no where near the salary and benefits in a comparable position with private industry.

Notice again the quotation marks on "Public Service salaries" they are the first 3 words in your next part to which I commented "I hope you are including, federal Government, state Government and local government employees as most would get no where near the salary and benefits in a comparable position with private industry."
I am actually backing up your words and including the other forms of public servants sometimes people don't consider.
Posted by Philip S, Wednesday, 5 September 2018 6:08:17 PM
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Morrison and the Liberals were not in so much trouble they would have left it at 70, he is only vote buying in desperation.
PhilipS,
so, you admit that they came to their senses because they could sense 70 was wrong?
And yes, Public servants cost us too much.
Posted by individual, Wednesday, 5 September 2018 7:28:08 PM
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individual you said it was a sensible thing I disagreed and said in effect it was done in desperation, so NO I do not agree with you in that it was done in the name of being sensible.
Posted by Philip S, Wednesday, 5 September 2018 9:37:52 PM
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individual - He would becoming sensible if he reversed the $448 Million dollars going the the shonky barrier reef scammers, which is what Labor said they will do.
Posted by Philip S, Thursday, 6 September 2018 12:05:25 AM
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Philip S,
I totally agree & take the $28,000 payrise off those 30 staffers. But, as you should be aware of it is one thing to implement a bad policy but another to reverse it.
We can't expect Morrison to undo these Turnbull blunders just as we can't expect Shorten to undo the Rudd blunders & rectify the open door fiasco.
What we shoulb be able to fully expect from them though is rectifying measures & I'm somewhat hopeful that Morrison will act on the shonky policies now that Abbott's game of spanner in works is coming to an end. In the ALP it is Pliberseck & Burke who are the spanners in the works.
The mere presence of these people is causing disruption.
Posted by individual, Thursday, 6 September 2018 7:32:48 AM
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which is what Labor said they will do.
PhilipS,
Can you remind me of anything sensible Labor said & then did ? I'm raking my memory bank but can't come up with anything.
Posted by individual, Thursday, 6 September 2018 7:44:34 PM
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