Tristan, your whole article and your follow up's with OLO's regulars predicate your "superior" morality on the fact that you think money grows on trees. The most incredible aspect of the green/left point of view, is that they seem to hate the productive people from whom they extort the money to give to their electorate, who are the dependant, the unproductive, and the counter productive.

Your position appears to be, that Tony Abbott is just a big meanie who loves taking milk from needy babies even though the fridge is full of milk. Get it through your overly thick cranial cavity that this country is now $300 billion in dept to the money markets and that is going to blow out to $500 million before Abbott's cuts start to make a difference.

Twenty years ago, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus and Greece must have been full of home grown Tristan Ewins who told their gullible electorates that there was plenty of money around to give them for free. These particular Tristan Ewins studiously refused to admit that you can't spend money forever buying votes. Could you please give me your addresss so that I can send you a copy of "The Golden Goose?"

You are probably going to win this one, Tristan. Because if there is something that a compulsive spender with a new credit card wants to hear, is that the credit is endless, so shop till you drop. Abbott will probably get chucked out by the electorate because they want to believe your message that there is plenty in the kitty and nothing to worry about.

I just hope that I am dead before the bill comes in.

I hear that the Greeks are now clamouring around the Australian embassy in Athens looking for visas. Reality bit hard in Greece and the party is over, but your message that the party is still going on in Australia has gotten through to the Greeks. And the Spanish. And the Muslims. And everybody else.

LEGO; the paper money does grow on trees, it is the debt money that banks create from nothing that is the real big danger to us all. This money is not going into the real economy but blows up the share market bubble and our Govts are too scared to tax it.

Our super elite have a gambling monopoly game, making money on money and not making money backed by real productivity. How can the USA have any growth with rising unemployment, falling production and 50 million on food stamps?

The only thing that grows in our economy is the share market, house prices and thus the debt. Without Govt Banks ,we are stuffed.

You make some very interesting observations and points with regard to banks Ajay! And probably points to many of the high powered reasons, there's so much entirely unwarranted resistance to either a transaction tax or an expenditure tax; and, the most compelling reason we should have a new bank, a peoples' bank!
Not only banks create huge plucked from thin air turnover, but traders making very high frequency deals on the stock markets of the world; which badly skews the markets, and indeed, good places for ordinary mums and dads, and super funds to stay away from.
We should have laws that outlaw this practice and short selling!
Both of which steal money from the honest investor!
Notice I've used the singular rather than the plural, given the honest investor is an endangered species!
All the country really needs is an honest government populated with honest politicians, ready willing and eager to put the people and the national interest first, rather than themselves, and this or that vested interest!
And wouldn't that make a pleasant change, along with an empty ICAC, with no work to do!
Rhrosty.

LEGO, I do not 'hate' anyone. But I believe a balance needs to be struck - between reward and incentive for effort; just redistribution to correct market forces in labour; provision for the needs of the most post and vulnerable.

I also believe a balance needs to be struck between peoples free determination of their needs structures through private consumption; And the more-efficient and egalitarian determination of means structures through collective consumption.

That is hardly 'fully fledged state socialism'. Though some don't seem to be able to distinguish between that and what I would call a 'democratic mixed economy'.

Up yours trissy boy.

I'm 51 semi retired and live off the proceeds of businesses I've built.

I've started to invent, write and become involved in the arts.

I've always paid people their worth. I've paid more tax than you and most others.

I also for years worked 7 days a week and more hours per day than most of your feeble mates work in a week.

Don't think you have a right to lecture me with your sharing crap.

All you want is to take from me the benefits I have worked bloody hard to earn and give them to a bunch of no hopers who don't work and are currently getting exactly what they deserve.

Your stupidity says I don't deserve all I have earned and that I should share it with them simply because they haven't done as I have done.

Go to hell and hobnob with your socialist mates Hitler Stalin and Mao.

Egalitarianism is one of my basic values and an Australian tradition.

It has noting in common with your socialist tripe.

Like liberalism, why are you trying to steal it.

That trissy boy is just another grubby tactic of you stupid socialists.