Interesting Article.

Lets look at the top few issues in voters minds.

Work/family balance
Consumerism
Caring for kids/Discipline
Abortion
Family relationships/Divorce

Then this "We have never been richer, or fatter"

What is it about 'fatness' and 'richness' that we can learn from ?
Perhaps.. the idea behind this is a shallow perception of 'consequences' ? or.. that we value 'self satisfaction in the short term' (gratification) more than long term outcomes ?

Work/Family Balance. Interesting. We want 'less work' and 'more family'. Fine. Do we want 'cheaper commodities' i.e. cheaper TV's and Washing machines? You can be that the only way we will EVER have that, is by:
a) More effienct production in countries which currently produce them with virtual slave labor conditions.
b) Which of course would mean kicking those virtual slaves out onto the scrapheap of 'scrounge and survive, or die trying'.

There is little likelihood of 'more efficient' production methods, because the simple equation of 'Cost of Capital Outlay' vs 'Cost of Labor over x years' + "We can guarantee slave labor rates by virtue of a despotic/tyrannical/dictatorship government" will mean nothing much happening there soon.
So.. WE want more time with our families? hmmm if we had to pay the REAL price of goods manufactured at REAL just wages for REAL people.. we would have 2 choices.
1/ Lower the 'lifestyle to which we have become accustomed'(don't buy so much 'stuff')
2/ Pay MORE,=Work LONGER= Less family time.

Caring for kids/Discipline ? Good grief.. if we paid the real (just) price for consumer goods, we would have to work so much longer and harder to get that 'stuff' and the kids would go out the window in our flurry to 'get stuff'. (2nd car, Extension,Boat, Holiday place)

I'm painting a pretty simplistic picture here..yes. But there is enough truth in it to be of concern.

Abortion..... yep.. if a child is conceived at an 'economically inconvenient' time, kill him or her.. thats a workable solution, Just do it b4 they become human enough for us to worry about.

Rainier,

How are you? A little dated? Your joke isn't new it is an adaption of one told about Paul Keating many years ago. :-)

I think the authors assessment quite accurate and particularly his view on the recent intervention in Indigenous settlements. I'd love to gain some greater appreciation of Indigenous leaders views on that subject, besides the usual mainstream 'newsworthy' commentators, that is. I need some leadership to assist making up my mind. I'm not sure whether I agree with all or any of Brough's proposals.

regards

Arjay makes an interesting point. I'm wondering what others would say to the proposition that there's only one government, state or federal, that works in Australia, so why hand over federal power to the party that runs all those incompetent governments when the Coalition is doing a reasonable job?

Graham Y, stop "wondering what others would say to the proposition that there's only one government, state or federal, that works in Australia". Bracks has said he doesn't want to go Federal. Next best at doing a "reasonable job" would have to be Carpenter in WA or Rann in SA. Why not put it to them?

Seriously though, your article was deficient in the sense that you conceive of the economy in the traditional way the politicians and economists do - as a single entity with national indicators - when there are many economies in the nation.

From the point of view of voters, the one that matters most is the economy each voter experiences. That would include things like how hard they're finding it to get into the housing market, their level of credit card debt, the compulsion to sign an unfair AWA in order to keep their job, the tenuousness of being made casual with no penalty rates for weekend work, the price of petrol and the cost of getting to work, the fear of interest rates going up again, and so on.

Looked at from this perspective, (and among other things not related to the economy) you might better understand why Howard is on the nose despite what you say about voters' perceptions that he delivers on the economy.

It's the economy, stupid; but not the one Howard and Costello are spruiking.

Coalition doing a reasonable job? GY they are doing an abysmal job. I am sick of "its the Labor States fault".

If the Labor states are so bad, why have they won 21 elections in a row?

I see Bruce Flegg is doing, really really well as Liberal leader in Qld. Ha Ha

G'day,
COMMUNICAT! just trying to get your attention mate, I'd be interested to know why you say OZ was a target for those without the means to conduct a war with a conventional army.. " terrorist"
Before the trade centre building and pentagon attack. in 2001? I know there were many bombings connected with the serb croat disparity here in the sixties that seemed not to worry the Willis govt much at all.. that's code by the way. In fact we were training these 'those without a etc' to go back and do their darndest in their country of birth.. apparently they failed to murder the mayor of a city..and were arrested.
then there is the Hilton bomb murder fiasco compliments of our secret agents govt terrorism? or is that still fantasy in some minds.. Ask Tim Anderson.
So back to the first Q, can you cite me what inspired you to make that comment please. a link will do. if possible.
Oh and on the elections.. my only way is to vote both sides out. vote for any other party but not those two or any that swap prefs with them. Where is tweedle dum tweedle dee.. my hero.
Cheers Neil