My favourite quote is: “Politics is not the oldest profession, but the results are the same.”

The Global financial system no longer serves a useful social purpose.

The cost to society of the private financial system is very high with the financial crisis, now four years old, going to cost the world economy between $60 trillion and $200 trillion in lost GDP. If you understand US GDP is about 15 trillion, this is telling us the crisis will end up costing real income loss of between 4-13 times the current US GDP. This could turn out to be an optimistic forecast.

The large economic loss from the financial crisis is still unprecedented; the enormous cost of the financial crisis has one single source, financial deregulation.

Deregulation is likely to prove to be the mistake that destroys our Global economy; it is financial deregulation that is destroying us, with help from jobs off-shoring and has dangerous and adverse consequences.

It ensures the public to absorb the costs of the banks’ mistakes and reckless gambling and permits banks to leverage a small amount of capital with enormous debt to maximise return on equity, thereby maximising the instability of the financial system and the cost to society of the banks’ bad bets.

It has allowed financial institutions to sweep aside the position limits on speculators and to dominate commodity markets, turning them into a casino and driving up the prices of energy and food.

What happens if Greece exits the EU on its own or by the German boot? What happens if the other EU members reject Chancellor Merkel’s austerity, as the new president of France has promised to do? What is the policy steps needed to deal with a cooling China? Answer me that Julie.

The problem is correct economic policy is blocked by the enormous influence made to political campaigns.

A few people, particularly in and around the financial system, have become too powerful. They were allowed to take a lot of risk, and they continue to do damage to the Global economy.

If the opposition were to reveal their policies this far out from an election I would think them extremely stupid. I wonder how many footy teams send a copy of them game plan to the opposition ahaed of the game just so they can be prepared? This is a ridiculous line from the government. Its not up to the opposition to give them ideas, it is up to the to deal with the mess they are in.

Julie, Thank you for being there, I have noted a lot of people asking for Coalition policy outlines and outright asking for the policy itself. These people are obviously not poker players, I would not trust my policies to be trashed by this current government. Trashed and with possible minor alterations trotted out later as one of their own. Wait till the election campaign begins and then start trotting them out. No team sends its game plan to the other side before the game!

Yes, i agree that policies will be released late.

However, the overall strategy will have to be much more than a message of living within our means

Davelon and Uaskt - welcome to the forum.

The two newest users to OLO, then two subsequent posts within 15 minutes of each other, both on the same comment thread and both saying almost the same thing... including the 'team' and 'game' reference!

What are the chances? Amazing, but not subtle.

Come on you Labor supporters!

If the opposition were to telegraph any of the ways they well go about fixing the economy, what do you think would happen?

Knowing that She is about to be told to get on her bike, & POQ out of here, that vicious vindictive bitch would put in place every nasty bit of legislation/regulation she could come up with, to make the repair job as difficult as possible.

In the same way she has gone to pains to make unraveling her fool carbon[dioxide] tax as difficult & damaging as she can.