Only a fool would believe that the West has true democracy. Private bankers and their affiliated corporations run our Govts.

Private banks create from nothing as debt, all the new money for our Govts and businesses to function. He who pays the piper calls the tune.

Only money that already exists should have debt attached to it. Newly created money represents increases in productivity and inflation. In other words private bankers own your productivity and loan it back to you as debt.

There is no democracy without monetary sovereignty.

'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' by L Frank Baum had a meaning we all missed until recently. It explains the financial crisis we are now living in. Bill Still has made 'The Secret of Oz' doco available free on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swkq2E8mswI

Arjay - Only a fool would believe that the West has true democracy.

True, however the powers that be have done a sterling job of pulling the wool over the eyes of the sheeple.

praxidice,
In Australia the sheeple are proud of being able to do that themselves. Look Mum I did it all by myself !

No Alan History won't judge. We Australians will in September and if you were to listen to ALL the media in Australia today you would wonder why, if this Gorvernemt is so successful, why are their elected members about to knife their second elected PM in 3 years?

History will judge that as the issue and not the economic judgements and divell of a few daisengaged foreigners.

You are correct, Arjay, Australia at least does not have a true democracy.

If it did, Australian would still have the death penalty, a restrictive immigration program, a policy of a 10 year probationary period for citizenship, the immediate deportation of foreign criminals who commit serious crimes in Australia, and a policy of deportation for any foreign national who aspires to be come an Australian citizen, but who is unable to find productive tax paying work after five years.

This policy alone would save tens of billions, and would reduce unemployment faster than you could say "parasite."

The billions saved, could be spend maintaining Australian universities so that they can train Australians, instead of them being Australian taxpayer subsidised universities full of foreigners who want our universities to train their young so that they can beat us.

If we had a true democracy, Arjay, we would have a Prime Minister who agrees with the High Court of Australia that the removal of at risk "stolen" aboriginal children from deplorable circumstances "was a humanitarian obligation."

If Australia had true democracy, Arjay, we would have a government committed to helping its own people instead of grandstanding in front of the world and helping every other nations people at the expense of its own.

We would have a government who had the guts to tell the stupid leaders of the Muslims and the Catholics to reform their idiotic religions and exercise strict birth control, just like the Chinese have done, instead of breeding like flies and sending their surplus populations to the Protestant West so that we will look after them.

And we would have a leader who had the courage to tell the Muslims that the reason they are living in poverty is because they have a religion which is so stupid in its medieval beliefs that it has condemned them to poverty forever.

We would also have a government that recognised that the boat people now flooding into Australia to loot our social security systems are all the result of the Indonesian government being complicit in their arrival.

G’day again.

Thanks for this further input. Some brief responses:

@Antiseptic, re 1: Are you really connecting New Zealand's welfare now with the Savage Government of 1935-40? The expression ‘long bow’ comes to mind.

Compare long-term jobless rates for both countries, Anti. New Zealand’s have been below Australia’s for all but the last five years. Other indicators show similar comparisons.

Australia has performed spectacularly better than New Zealand - and the rest of the world - only since 2008.

Re “2. Is Australia really so highly regarded?” The answer is yes, Anti. Ask any Australian ex-pat or overseas traveller.

Or any foreign economist.

Re 6, freedom index. You ask: “Have you got a more salubrious guest list?”

Australia ranks third in the entire world. You want more salubrious?

Re 8, interest rates: “What is "optimum" about that range?”

Okay. Well, lower than 1.75% gives no significant return on savings and hence no incentive to save. Above 4.75% makes repayments more burdensome and hence is a dampener on borrowing for investment.

Australia’s 2.75% is regarded generally as pretty right.

Re 10. Productivity, you suggest “What drove that figure was the mining boom.”

Nonsense, Antiseptic. Productivity has rocketed for the last seven quarters only. The mining boom started a lot earlier than that. In fact, some say it was over seven quarters ago.

Besides, Australia is not the only mineral exporter. Look at the dismal state of all other ore and coal exporters through the boom. It's pretty clear Australia’s economic progress since 2008 has been unique.

@LEGO, re: “Trying to present catastrophic failure as success …”

Failure, LEGO? So how did you go with the question earlier: Which nation anywhere in the world at any time past or present has had better economic management than Australia today?

@imajulianutter, re: “if this Government is so successful, why are their elected members about to knife their second elected PM in 3 years?”

How do you know, Keith? No, wait …. You’ve been reading Murdoch fabrications again, haven’t you? You know that is not the path to wisdom, don’t you?

Cheers,