Its nice of Alexander Deane to tell us ignorant colonials what to do. Pity we ignore him.

It would be nice if Alexander stuck to Law or Maths and left the Economics to experts like John Quiggin who wrote about Economic Rationalism in 1997. http://www.uq.edu.au/economics/johnquiggin/JournalArticles97/Econrat97.html.

Quiggin said that in the UK economic rationalism had
- reduced unemployment rate by reducing the work force participation rate as happened here with a work force participation rate of 52%.
- reduced workforce productivity

John Howard supports the battlers. His $800 tax rebate for receipted expenditure of more than $2000 per secondary school child can be adopted by people on high incomes paying tax at 40 cents in the dollar ie individual incomes greater than $180,000 per year. The median Australian adult income is still $26,000

John Howard has no imagination,
- he has holidayed at Hawkes Nest for the last 3 decades, even when Bob Hawke was Prime Minister
- he was a climate change sceptic til 3 months ago
- he bailed his brother Stan out by using tax payers funds to pay termination payments for National Textiles workers when his brother failed to comply with legal provisions regarding employer contributions to super

His government has
- encouraged people to save for their retirement and failed build ASIC into an effective policeman.
- encouraged Mozzie hating
- permited destruction of civil liberties with sedition bill
- destroyed pay and working conditions
- plans to sell off Medibank Private if re elected and privatise health care
- encouraged fee paying private school education over secular public education
- reduced tertiary training places
- reduced % GDP spent on health funding
- no plans for improving infrastructure to cope with increased population, climate change

The Liberals don't appeal to my hip-pocket nerve

Pondering,

You said: "Everyone who leaves a comment on OLO is so bloody left wing it's ridiculous."

You know you're going to upset a whole lot of people. I can just see them lining up to refute your claim:

... Jonathan Ariel, Arjay, Mirko Bagaric, BOAZ-David, Col Rouge, EasyTimes, Edward Carson, David Flint, grn, Leigh, redneck, runner, wre and lots, lots more.

To call these earnest posters left-wing is the ultimate insult.

Frank, there was at least one poster who suggested Felicity "let's privatise the ABC" McMahon was a socialist. It seems that the only explanation conservatives can come up with when they disagree with the views of others is that they must be radical left-wingers, pining for the return of communism.

Artful dodger:

Trinity College isn't a school - it is the college I attended at Cambridge. I went to a state school. There were no tuition fees when I went to university - indeed, given my family's finances (parents are both teachers) I received a grant from the state. I've never played polo (or ridden a horse). I've never been on a yacht.

Then again, I don't have the bizarre reverse snobbery that condemns those that DO do any of the above, either.

Nor do I feel guilty about the fact that I won the World Universities Debating Championships. Should I?

Are you more interested in playing the man, or the ball?

Oh dear just another Liberal Shill,enjoy your time in the outer pal

I can see why your skills are academic and debating. But your knowledge of life at the cliff face in Australia is minimal.It shows in your bias against Unions. Sure the Labor Party grew out of the Unions.Ask women why they have equal pay, jobs after they marry etc.The Union movement is an excellent grounding for a life in Politics, which in a Democracy, with all it's faults admits the franchise to our poorest citizens.I know that rhetoric can influence the less educated and this election proves it.Howard's Government has been found wanting by the "battlers" who voted for them before. They find they are still battling while the Rich get Richer! In a prosperous economy the workers are slaves compared to the moneyed set. That's why Full Employment is so important for the Investors-more slaves more profit.Higher interest rates more returns on capital!