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The Forum > Article Comments > 'It's the economy, stupid'. Or is it? > Comments

'It's the economy, stupid'. Or is it? : Comments

By Tim Grau, published 19/6/2007

The economic surge and Labor's poll surge are causing considerable consternation as to their implications.

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For the record. It was Howard and the Libs. who campaigned in 1983 on financial deregulation and IR reform. The ALP under Hawke and Keating opposed these reforms.Their subsequent conversion to modernisation and deregulation is well documented.
Hawke and Keating spent most of the '80's fiercely opposed to privatisation; then turned around and sold QANTAS and the CBA. Go figure.
Keatings IR reforms went beyond Liberal Party policy of the times.
Howard and the Libs supported the floating of the dollar(I can't remember whether the Libs. were there first or not).
Keating went further and faster than Howard would ever have done in the '80's; and we owe him for Super and for a courageous response to Mabo. We owe him for the makeover he gave the ALP, dragging it out of pit as he did.
Howard, for all his prevarication and dissembling is still recognisably the same man as he was in the early '80's. The ALP today is light years from the party it was in the early '80's.
A question from the dis-illusioned to the still 'rusted-on'- how does it feel to blindly(or not blindly) champion, on behalf of the ALP, policies that were proudly Liberal policies 5, 10, or 20 years ago?
Posted by palimpsest, Tuesday, 19 June 2007 9:02:51 PM
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Quarry Economics

Based on an argument by Dr Arthur Gibbs, academic and consultant government economist.

It’s the economy stupid, might really relate to the truth about the Howard Dynasty and the spin and subterfuge that describes a government that when it took over in 1996, it was warned by the IMF that reforms were expected, first up in the banking sector.

But before you could almost blink an eye, the Reserve Bank of Australia was granted independence from government, with the other banks not long after freed from oversight and government control of their activities.

So began Howard’s introduction to the Corporate Culture, meaning that Big Biz would decide the future money means of his government.

This meant of course, that the newly elected Australian government, without any mandate from the people, gave away the money half of the policy-making machinery it had been elected to use on their behalf - and then by relinquishing control over the remaining banks, further gave away the power to rein in the troublesome foreign debt, caused by Australia neglecting its own former innovative and rising secondary productive infrastructure - so sure of itself about the seemingly future bottomless Chinese and Indian demands for Aussie metallic pitstocks.

And so as time went on the foreign debt has risen despite the huge profits from the quarry-stock shipments of iron-ore, the minus mark reaching close to one half trillion Yankee dollars, Costello’s much praised about Future Fund battling to keep in line.

The down side of all this, according to Dr Gibbs, is that our nation is left only one blunt and ugly weapon to cool down an overheated economy.

And unfortunately that interest rate weapon could be already under the tough scrutiny of the International Monetary Fund.
Posted by bushbred, Wednesday, 20 June 2007 12:45:43 AM
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There is only one implication or conclusion we can draw from last night's news that MP's are about to vote themselves a nearly 7% pay rise (I thought inflation was under 3% Mr Howard so how could the Remuneration Tribunal make this "independent" decision?).

That is that all you Party barrackers are suckers. Suckers. Give yourself an uppercut and wake up before you are working the fields for the new Austrlain Ruling Class. MP's. Or perhaps you already are given the way you support every single thing one Party does or says.

If you must be so one eyed and barrack regardless then do it for sport where it doesn't matter.
Posted by DavoP, Wednesday, 20 June 2007 2:20:52 AM
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DavoP you truly need a better understanding of the subject 52% of voters have said they will not change the way they intend to vote.
In truth along with the true swinging voters we have very few who do not vote one party or the other.
Just think what a crimson mess we would have if we all voted for independents, truly think.
We would be like some real basket cases in the world ruled from day to day by headless direction less coalitions.
Get involved in the party nearest to your views and work for change but you will die waiting for another type of government.
As a start if you favor winning sides get to an ALP Branch and be part of the removal of a worn out old tell any lie government.
I want some like Arjay to remember the posts they put here one year after Rudd leads a good and popular government even higher in the polls.
Posted by Belly, Wednesday, 20 June 2007 7:21:32 AM
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you're onto something, davo, don't listen to belly.

we don't need parties, we need citizenship. assemble as many mates as you can, talk to them about democracy, when they're all fired up, provide a bag of empty beer bottles and drive to canberra, with the intention of throwing those beer bottles from the visitor balcony at any mps in the chamber. only empty bottles, mind, i'd hate to think those pollies caught full ones for personal use.
Posted by DEMOS, Wednesday, 20 June 2007 1:28:28 PM
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We all know that Howard retired government debt by selling government owned assets to overseas organisations. The government of Singapore owns more of Australia than the Australian government does. The Singapore government controls Defence Department communications and will control communications in the bush.

Meanwhile Australia's foreign debt has ballooned, our interest repayments are double our exports. This ballooning debt has been undertaken by the Four Pillars [Westpac, ANZ, NAB, Commonwealth Bank] to fuel the housing boom. It's one thing to borrow to build a factory, but residential real estate is dead money.

Like the USA we manipulate the statistics to gloat about the low unemployment rate while there is a marked increase in working poor as casuals get insufficient hours to earn a living wage. Workchoices has exacerbated this trend.

I would like to know where the ABS buys its petrol, food or pays its mortgage to, to calculate no increase in CPI.

Now all Australians have to do is wait for the foreign debt to be called in and we will see the house of cards that is the "robust economy" collapse.

As the author says, the electorate will vote Howard out because of his economic performance over the last decade.
Posted by billie, Wednesday, 20 June 2007 2:05:09 PM
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