AA said

'Don't believe what you read in The Australian, SM, or on papers written by shonky academics who get their raw data from The Australian.

That is not the way to wisdom or truth, is it?'.

Just as I predicted you would say. It is almost defamatory, pity you don't live here.

<< …spending on selective infrastructure is well worth borrowing for. i.e., dams that over time, earn much more than their original capital outlay! >>

Rhrosty, let’s be careful about that. Firstly, they are not worth borrowing for if we have already borrowed a lot, are paying a big interest bill, have very poor prospects for paying back our debt… and continue to have rapid population growth which demands more and more produce from water provided by new dams just to struggle to maintain the same standard of living for evermore people.

If we continue to have rapid pop growth and thus an ever bigger demand to spend money on essential services and infrastructure, then we're not likely to be able to service our debt, let alone pay it off, if we continue borrowing.

There might be some merit in borrowing for big infrastructure projects, IF it is part of a no-pop growth or at least much lower growth sustainability-oriented paradigm. But if it is part of the current facilitation of never-ending rapid expansionism, then NO, it would not be a good idea at all.

You have got lots of great ideas about technological advances and improvements in efficiency. We should definitely be implementing many of them.

But, even if we had a very high level of success, we would still be battling to secure enough improvements to counter the constant huge negative factors of rapid population growth.

continued

Look at the amazing mining boom. The most extraordinary wealth was generated over at least the last couple of decades, and basically continues, just a little back from the peak production/income.

But that didn’t cut in terms of significant improvements. We have a massive need for more infrastructure and services… and we are going rapidly further into debt. What the mining boom did do was facilitate absurdly high immigration.

I couldn’t imagine that even our most successful technological / value-adding / efficiency-improving advances could reap us as much return as the mining boom…. or even keep up the same level of overall returns as profits from mining decline….. unless we address the demand for everything as well.

We critically need to reduce the rate of growth in demand.

What we absolutely fundamentally and critically need, in conjunction with all your good ideas, is a very big reduction in immigration and a plan to head quickly towards net zero immigration and a no-growth population.

Alan, I know you never take a step backwards, so how about repeating what you said in response to my piece on the BER, and please refer to my name to make it official.

You said

'Don't believe what you read in The Australian, SM, or on papers written by shonky academics who get their raw data from The Australian. That is not the way to wisdom or truth, is it?'.

Go on Alan, please. Let us see you put your words to the test, now you have said this on a public forum. Go on, big man

Alan, living in France makes it easy to say what you like.

But, I can promise you this, if you were here, and you said what you said assuming you had the courage to mention my name, I would easily win a case in a civil court for talking through your ass and making completely false assumptions.

You really a dropkick, and I can't believe anyone takes you serious.

As SM said, it was a peer reviewed paper, as was the HIP, and anyone (well most) would conclude that I (and others) conducted myself in a reasonably objective way in response to the evidence.

Now don't take this the wrong way. I am not that upset. It is just with you i would enjoy ripping your arguments to pieces anywhere I could get the chance. And what a better way than legal action to embarasss you.

Chris,
that's speaking straight from the shoulder!
On second thoughts, all those who speak straight from the shoulder, should try doing it from a little higher up.
Back on topic, the worst and best economies, we are in for a very rude awakening!
China, which we depend on for 25% of our own economy, is facing a huge economic crisis!
That could send the world back to even greater dizzying lows.
The debt burden in China is double their economy!
15% of their housing is empty, and there is a housing bubble far bigger than that that occurred in America, which was the financial straw that broke the camel's back. Moreover, China has, created more derivatives, than that which caused the first GFC.
The days of credit rescues are numbered, and or simply printing more money, to pay for this or those excesses?
One can see the whole thing tumbling into an almost unrecoverable ruin, as the world finally gets wise and stops relying on the USD as the reserve capital!
Nor will a similarly problematic yuan replace it, with the only Gold remaining the only safe haven worth having, given, nobody, however clever, or economically astute, can print any more of that!
We for our part, are rather reminiscent of the warm and comfortable frog, in financial water that is very gradually being brought to the boil, and only aware of the lethal threat to our financial well-being, when our financial goose is well and truly cooked.
We built a huge trade reliance with China, and all but ignored an equally populous and younger India! Which is even closer, and still a democracy!
We encourage foreign capital, that is invariably coupled to problematic foreigners, who fund their purchases with tax avoiding debt instruments, we are supposed to service/repay!
And we continue with the mad hatters madness, of trying to fix the structural deficit, by selling revenue earning infrastructure and or assets, which then simply compounds the structural deficit problems!
Rhrosty.