Bazz,

Technology is improving; so too should our standard of living.

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ttbn,

The reason you think I'm totally ignorant of economics is because what I say contradicts what you believe to be true. Indeed it contradicts some things that I believed to be true a decade ago, but I have since improved my understanding of economics. I suggest you do likewise instead of smugly assuming your understanding to be perfect. Start by googling "sectoral balances".

"Borrowing is borrowing"
Borrowing for unproductive investments differs from borrowing for productive investments.
Borrowing when you know you can service your debts differs from borrowing when you don't.
Borrowing when you're planning to retire differs from borrowing when you'll always be working.
Borrowing when you have limited credit differs from borrowing when you have unlimited credit.
"you are just a political bigot"
Funnily enough that's the opinion I hold of you, despite your disillusionment since Turnbull took over. Tell me, what party do you think I'd always support?

"Low interest rates merely encourage people who can't afford to borrow to spend more via borrowing"
No, they also increase the amount that people (and more importantly, businesses) can afford to borrow. Hence they make long term investments profitable.

"while punishing savers and self-funded retirees"
Not punishing them; just not rewarding them. I know the usury lobby thinks the world owes them a living, but I disagree.

However, if you do want interest rates to rise, the solution is to support more government deficit spending so that less private borrowing is needed to get money into the economy. Because if you're not getting money into the economy, businesses can't afford to afford to employ enough people, people spend less, share prices fall, so the self funded retirees are likely to lose a lot more money (and tax revenue also falls so the government ends up in deficit anyway).

(TBC)

ttbn (continued)

"As for 'borrowing in Australian dollars', of course we do - converted from the yuan and other foreign currencies. It has to be repaid. Your 'economic sovereignty' is a load of ignorant BS."
But we only owe them Australian dollars. They chose to buy Australian dollars because they thought it was a good investment. If our dollar falls we don't have to increase our payments to them; if they lose money that's their problem not ours.

The need to make foreign currency repayments introduces a risk of hyperinflation (indeed that was part of the reason why the Bolivian Peso collapsed). Not borrowing in foreign currencies eliminates that risk for countries with floating currencies (unless they have to make foreign currency payments for another reason, such as war reparations).

If in any doubt about the socialists;
Venezuela Doesn't Have Enough Money to Pay for Its Money

It cannot afford the paper to print its money !
Now that is what I call inflation.
The cash arrived in dozens of 747 jets and chartered planes.
Under cover of security forces and snipers, it was transferred to
armored caravans where it was spirited to the central bank in dead of night.

The note printers are not being paid.

Also, electricity is being rationed.

ttbn said;
Technology is improving; so too should our standard of living.

Now there is a classic misunderstanding of the real world.
I am afraid that ttbn has a very common belief, and our pollies also
have that attitude. No thought that if we have money to improve
our standard that we should instead get rid of some of our debt.

All in all we are heading for a problem that no one wants to to talk
about or even consider to be a possibility.

Bazz,

The socialists of Venezuela are fools; not because they're socialists but because they failed to float their currency, instead keeping it fixed against the US dollar.

When the price of oil was high, they were OK. But when oil prices crashed, they were in trouble. A wise government would've avoided the problem by floating the Bolívar. An unwise but competent government would've addressed the problem by immediately devaluing the Bolívar so that Venezuela could export its way out of trouble. But instead the Venezuelan government officially kept its currency at the old value until this year (and then only devalued it slightly) even though it was actually worth far less. The catastrophic collapse of its unofficial value shows they can't deny reality for ever.

'Twas I who said improving technology should result in improved standard of living. And I stand by that comment. Even on an individual level there's often more productive things we can do with money than paying down debt. But governments also have to consider the macroeconomic results of their actions. And unlike people, governments will never need to be debt free. Governments may sometimes find it desirable to run surpluses to control inflation, but they never have to worry about the debt itself as long as it's in their own currency.