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The Forum > Article Comments > Cost of living just the symptom > Comments

Cost of living just the symptom : Comments

By John Coulter, published 12/4/2012

Living costs are rising faster than inflation because of a failure to deal with the underlying causes.

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Ah former Democrat Senator Coulter who accused the Government of not charging a tax on airfuel and then was filmed jumping on board a Canberra flight to Adelaide. We must live within the boundaries of our own hypocrisy.

Not much democratic about the nasty anti-immigrant rant from the Doc. But good on the Doc for mentioning the rising cost of power infrastructure and how in Queensland, NSW and SA the network is 40 years old.

You know, once upon a time, according to classical economics, the more people who use or purchase a product has a deflationary effect on price but not on the cost of upkeeping an old network.

I'm wondering if the Doc and Michael in Adelaide have anything in common, say the Doc being Vice Pres of the People for Unsustainable Population? Another ZPG front.

Of all the angles to take such as supply/demand/competition policy/dollar value/efficiency/ trade positions/ depreciation of plant, etc, etc, the ZPG lobby have decided to simply blame the number of people. Single lens theory in action.

I suspect the ZPG lobby have got antsy lately as their precious enforced depopulation agenda has slipped completely off the media radar. Why? Because the media only call them when they want a barking mad quote.
Posted by Cheryl, Thursday, 12 April 2012 4:27:23 PM
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Oh,I forgot, female fertility is 1.9 not 1.4.

Australia's population like western Europe and SE Asia, Russia and America is slowing at a dramatic rate. The problem is a lack of population tax base to fund future infrastructure projects.

The ZPG lobby would be better off looking at how urban design can help alleviate congestion in our cities. But fundamentally, you are fundamentalists who are love-locked in a mutual appreciation society.

You guys didn't get picked to play sport at school did you and now you're taking it out on the rest of us.
Posted by Cheryl, Thursday, 12 April 2012 5:15:57 PM
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One aspect of this argument puzzles me.

When I was looking at setting up a business back in the eighties, I was repeatedly told that the market here was too small to sustain the pricing structure that I had in mind. Production volumes would be too low to enable me to set a competitive price.

So tell me, whatever happened to economies of scale?

"...these costs would continue to rise, presumably because governments continue to pursue polices of high population growth."

Why is it taken for granted in this article that an increase in population generates higher per-unit costs? Surely, the normal laws of economics apply, where the marginal cost decreases with volume.

What am I missing? Can someone explain?
Posted by Pericles, Thursday, 12 April 2012 5:32:04 PM
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I've been wondering how long it would be for those who can offer nothing positive to the debate to turn up. We've had quite a nice discussion until now. But Cheryl has emerged to make the usual libellous ad hominem arguments rather than offer anything substantial to the issue. Does he/she have evidence that population growth is NOT adding to the cost of electricity and other commodities? Does he/she have evidence that Sustainable Population Australia is anti-immigrant? Anti-high immigration yes, but not anti-immigrant. It's not a 'front' for anything - Zero Population Growth does not exist as an organisation any more but certainly many policies are common to both. What is your problem Cheryl with ZPG anyway? Don't you understand that we live on a finite planet with finite resources and that at some point the growth has to stop? Go away Cheryl and take your nastiness with you.
Posted by popnperish, Thursday, 12 April 2012 5:36:06 PM
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Pericles
You wonder why economies of scale don't work with more people and electricity prices. Because of the need to build more power stations and power lines to cater for the ever-growing population, that's why. It's really not that hard. Just every now and again you have to give up some old economic theories that don't work in the real world.
Posted by popnperish, Thursday, 12 April 2012 5:43:12 PM
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Totally disagree. The cost of living is being driven by unnecessary Govt debt and taxes.The Green movement is driving us into poverty while China and India booms with our energy and resources to facilitate it.

The Green movement's agenda is a communist world Govt,destroying the middle class while they the political/ banking elites live like kings.
Posted by Arjay, Thursday, 12 April 2012 6:36:20 PM
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