The ALP is economically illiterate; always has been, always will be. Forget ideology. The best reason for not voting for them is their inability to handle money. The Whitlam spend-everything era, the Hawke and Keating periods of beating up the people who supported them – workers, and now Rudd and Swan.

The current government has blundered from one stuff up to another, the most hideous examples in less than 12 months being the punitive, extremely costly and useless plan to charge more for everything to stop CO2 emissions and wreck the economy, and the totally inane and panicked plan to guarantee bank deposits, which has heightened the feeling of crisis and impending chaos among the population.

Paradoxically, the people who have attempted to provide for their own retirement with managed funds do not get any protection. This has caused depositor panic, leading to funds freezing money, which has lead to further panic and the belief that people relying on that money for their retirement will be ruined. Rudd sneers at savings “attached to the market” making people believe that they are only for the greedy, and it’s stiff cheese for anyone using them to help in their retirement. These funds are not necessary all high risk, and the majority of people who are careful enough to plan ahead choose conservative options which should see them with a safe, if not glamorous, life in their last years.

Now, ‘most’ funds, we are told, will continue to pay dividends and income. People will just not be able to access their capital. And why would they, if they are relying on that capital to produce the income they need. But, I’ll wager that none of the funds have had a chance after Rudd and Swan dropped the bomb to advise their clients what is going on.

So, more panic and talk of doom and ruin on current affairs programmes. And, of course, our inept Treasurer, looking like a rabbit in a spotlight, babbling things he doesn’t understand, projects zero confidence.

The Rudd gang didn’t cause the problem, but they’ve made it worse.

Mark Lawson is probably right – though what is happening (with more of the same immediately in front of us) looks decidedly crook - it probably is not Armageddon for the current economic system.

Not yet.

Some means will be found to defer the issue. Rather than make appropriate changes, we will continue praying at the altar of the God of Growth – light candles to it for a decade or so. Do that, say our ooms and oms, until the fundamental underpinning of our social system reaches total collapse.

Be of good cheer, our Kevin will pray on our behalf in that direction. Australia, under his Government’s preferred philosophy of an extra million people every three years, will have the company of another ten million souls to share the pain of rapidly diminishing essential resources (eg water). They will help us further diminish stuff which is already in short supply.

In all likelihood he will hitch our wagon to another massive international stoush; join our buddies. That will keep the economy cantering along while we continue to have the dosh to pay the price of fossil fuels – their production, the byproducts we take for granted, their wastes.

We will follow our god yet – the sacred economy which hasn’t a clue about Homo sapiens biological status on a finite planet; not a clue about the simple mathematics of infinite expansion - about where we are in relation to asymptotic limits.

Yes, I know – the priests of the Economic altar do not recognize any similarity between rabbit, mouse, or lemming plagues to that of ever-expanding human numbers. Their god will prevail – we can defer the worst for a year or two yet; just leave it to the kids.

Isn’t it all really very simple?

We need two things;

To get it through our thick heads that continuous expansionism is utterly absurd, and that there has to be limits to growth on all sorts of different levels.

And a more socialistic regime of governance that distributes our wealth much more fairly and keeps rampant capitalism under tight control.

Of course the excesses of capitalism will continue within companies and sectors where the profit motive reigns supreme, if they are allowed to indulge in these excesses. That’s why we need a system of governance that can keep it in its place.

I’ll have to disagree that ‘compared to 87 this crisis is a dud’. Yes there was some pretty silly stuff going on back then. You might argue that there is less silly stuff going today. I’d argue that there is much worse silly stuff happening, but that it just not as blatant as is was back then, well...if you can't the elephant in the living room that is.

Of course, the silliest stuff of all is as blatant as all buggery - rampant continuous growthism with no end in sight, despite enormously obvious negative impacts on our environment, quality of life and future wellbeing. How can it be that 99.9% of us have an enormous blind spot with this factor?

I hope to goodness that this financial crunch will be more serious than the 87 one…so that it will at least get a lot more people thinking about what changes are needed – at the baseline level of what is good for our society, country and planet in a sustainable manner, not at a level that will prop up the continuous-growth business-as-usual paradigm. If it is a dud, then we will indeed see unbridled capitalism with all its excesses and problems continue for some time yet.

It is critical that we make the change towards a sustainable and more equitable society, starting NOW. So I dearly hope that this crunch will be serious enough to really get that happening.

Maybe, just maybe, it is a huge blessing in disguise.

Mr Right, what funds in Australia have frozen their assets in order to prevent people accessing their investments? Please name them.

This is the first time I've heard of this. While I'm no financial or law expert, surely this type of freeze, if true, would be illegal. Unless the funds are in liquidation or something of that order, and this is NOT the case.

Are you sure you've got the facts correct?

The title of the article suggests that the author is in posession of a crystal ball. Better wait a bit longer, maybe a year or so before making such a claim, huh Mark? I remember back near the beginning of the year, some economists were declaring the emerging problems "little more than a bump in the road". Since the poo hit the fan, they have changed their minds.

I don't think capitalism will dissappear but it is possible that we could move down the road of a more mixed economy.

Kev here,

We the Labor faithful are not economically illiterate.
What is important is money, Taxes and more immigrants to pay those taxes.

We lie about immigrants having a net positive effect on the economy for good reason. The externalising of the real cost of immigrants (making ordinary Australians redundant, hopelessly tied up in neighbourhood ethnic conflict, social gridlocks, poor services & our upcoming energy audit police to make more room for new better immigrant types is the cost of NATION BUILDING. Older Australians are easily conned into thinking we immigrate 450,000 people per-year to take care of the aged. We just let them die in rip off unscrupulous nursing homes with toxic carpets & underfloor heaters like we always did. And besides the immigrants are trained by THEIR governments and thus have better employment outcomes mainly in property development and mining.

So every which way we are using labor spin to seamleassly euthahanase dead wood Australians, boost GST/tax income & BUILD a better NATION. We've got it cavered. How could anyone possibly say Labor are illiterate on economics?

And for anyone who says the Labor faithful ARE economically illiterate .. we've got your number & there's a barracuda nursing home anear YOU.

And remember our slogan Immigrate&Baby bonus 4 GST!

PS Comrade Howard was the best Labor PM in Australia's history .. but don't tell Turnbull!

Kev here again,

How good are LABOR at economics? Let me count the ways.

For example, Man made global warming and climate change is caused by increasing population numbers: more water usage, salinated farmland & coal plant &tailpipe pollution, right? We increase the number of men(and women) through immigration & baby bonuses which means we increase climate change yet successfully con the Public into thinking the extra GST revenue will pay for mitigation budgets.

Here's the economically literate rub: We PRETEND to spend $billions on climate mitigation, stall with super-enviro-Garrett & media spin, invest the money in US markets and make squillions in profits on the coming market upswing to spend on Labor pork & advertising at the next election.

We can't lose. How economically literate is that! Climate change like all the negativities of immigration will just be externalised & absorbed into the Australian community. They just seem to SUCK it up: More gridlock, more social stress, more conflict, more people in trouble, more expenditure, more lawyers fees, more urban toxic air and doctors income. That's a growing economy and whammo more GST & income tax. Hellooo!

So we the Labor faithful are probably the most economic literate meisters of the Universe.

How could anyone dispute our economic credentials? Never again will we lose another election because we have all the POWER: all the money PLUS advice that GST could be pushed to 20% before our reelection chances are in any kind of jeopardy!

rw523252,

Have you been asleep? Listen to the radio. Watch TV news. Read papers. You must be the only person in Australia to be totally unaware of mortgage and managed funds who have frozen funds.

You are certainly “no financial or law expert”, and Rip van Winkle isn’t a patch on you for ignorance of what is happening daily in this country.

Kaep,

You are right about immigrants who have, at best, a net neutral effect, In most cases they cost money by way of increased housing prices, rental shortages and strains on infrastructure, water (which we have so little of) and other natural resources.

200,000 immigrants the ALP government wants this year! They are worse than the Coalition. The level of immigration to Australia is a bloody disgrace!

Immigration is one of the many factors actually highlighting the ALP’s economic illiteracy, even though you deny this to suit your particular hatred for nursing homes.

I agree with you concerning the ETS rip-off, the biggest con of our time

Hey Mr R, I've been up south of Arnhem Bay for the past 2 weeks attending several medical and community emergencies. Do you know where that is? Probably not. Where I was there's NO outside communication NOTHING, ZIPPO, ZILCH, NAUGHT!! Get it?

So Mr dumbass R, don't judge!!

This freezing of funds can EASILY be challenged in court. In fact, it won't last long, and the govt. is already preparing measures to enable investors' money to be released. This is a storm in a teacup.

rw523252,

Oooooh. Touchy!

You said that you are no law or financial expert. Now you are talking about court challenges and what the government is preparing to do - along with an assurance that the matter is a storm in a teacup.

And, I'm a 'dumbass'. You can't even spell, but now your an expert. What's your next mission? Advisor to the Treasurer?

I hope the indigenous medicine man was able to alleviate your medical emergencies. You still seem a little stressed to me.

KAEP and Mr. Right,

I agree with both of you about the mendacity of our politicians on climate change. One of the tables from this site shows that Australia's per capita residential energy consumption has increased only marginally since 1974:

http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/ABS@.NSF/2f762f95845417aeca25706c00834efa/1892cf9fc515974bca2570ec0019ebaa!OpenDocument

This graph from the journal Nature shows that per capita energy consumption in the US and Western Europe is actually less than it was in the 1970s:

http://www.nature.com/climate/2008/0806/fig_tab/climate.2008.44_F1.html

Greenhouse gas emissions from India and China may well be a problem for the future, but 80% of the greenhouse gases now in the atmosphere have come from us in the developed world, not them. If we are reaching really dangerous levels, as some of the climate scientists think, then it will be entirely due to government sponsored population growth. We won't have to worry about blips in the economy then, but about wars over resources and civilisational collapse. I have as much confidence in our politicians on this and other issues as I would in a six year old at the wheel of a semitrailer.

Mr R:

"Touchy" yes, however no more touchy than you calling someone ignorant. My first post did not attack you, I simply and politely asked a question. You replied with your "ignorance" comment, without knowing anything whatsoever of my geographical circumstances. Try that "ignorance" stuff on the street son with me, and you'd be flat on your back in seconds. But don't worry son, you're safe behind your computer.

When someone's reduced to pointing out spelling mistakes, like you did, it shows a lack of mental capacity to understand the situation, and you couldn't even get your spelling mistake comment right. I'm American, it's spelled "ass" not "arse" for an American.

You're right, I'm no expert in law or economics, my degrees are in medicine, I'm an eye surgeon helping to carry on the work of one of the greatest Aussies of all time. You probably haven't even heard of him, sort of like how you had to go to the map to find out where Arnhem Bay is located. Keep trying though, I'm sure a high school education will be your's one day, and with a bit of luck you might even make it beyond Year 10. "Cheers", as they say in this country.

rw523252

“Try that "ignorance" stuff on the street son with me, and you'd be flat on your back in seconds. But don't worry son, you're safe behind your computer.”

You are not only ignorant, but violent as well! And, don’t call me ‘son’. I‘m probably old enough to be your grandfather, long retired from law and finance.

You don’t even mention the name of “the greatest Aussie of all time”, but tell me I’ve never heard of him. I don’t think you studied under anyone, buddy. You qualifications are all ‘my eye’, an Australian saying which fits in with your eye specialist fiction. I doubt that you have ever been to The Top End.

If the person you claim to know is Fred Hollows, I knew him personally, and my brother is a neighbour of his widow, Gabby.

Take note: if you really are an American, which I doubt (Americans of my acquaintance make polite guests in foreign countries), control your big mouth. Australian’s easy-going tolerance doesn’t extend to dropkicks and posers.

Mr Wrong:

Touchy! Touchy!

You're a laugh, son. You call someone ignorant and basically abuse them, they reply in kind, and now it's all "touchy touchy, dropkicks and posers" from you. You really need to acquire a brain, son.

Let's examine the word "coincidence".

Gee, what a "coincidence": I mentioned that I'm not academically qualified in the areas of law and economics, then suddenly, like "magic" you declare a working history in............wait for it........"law and finance". Wow! What a "coincidence"

And then you've "assumed" the Aussie I mentioned was Fred Hollows. And just by "coincidence", out of a population of over 20 million people, you............wait for it......... just happen to have known him "personally". Gee, what a "coincidence".

And your brother just happens to..........wait for it.......be Gabby's "neighbour". There's several million houses in Australia and your brother just happens to be Gabby's "neighbour". Gee son, what a "coincidence".

Damn it, maybe I should have said I had no qualifications in sex and voodoo.........that would have enabled you to tell us all about your esteemed and respected work history in the brothels of Haiti. Or maybe I should have said the Aussie was Victor Chang.......that would have given you the opportunity to mention your professional relationship with Victor and how your brother is a neighbor of Victor's daughter.

Yep son, "coincidence" is a great word to ponder.

But your post sure was amusing son, and definitely provided great entertainment. Have a nice day.