Cuphandle, you have just recited the last three months of the courier mail's 'scrap book'. If you wish to make predictions, please stick to something that 'has not yet happened'.

Gibo, there are sheapards (leaders) and sheep (followers)

By all means keep following this 2000 year old myth and enjoy your journey as one of his sheep. I will continue to lead the way in my world as I don't look for guidence from some superiour being that suposidly died 2000 odd years ago and exists only in the minds of people like you and your fellow sheep.

I think we need a new OLO for 'god botherers only'.

Belly
I agree with much of what you say however my main concern is that we as a nation, with a very small population, rely heavily on exports to maintain our current way of life.

If OS demand drops to much then I fear we will be hit very hard indead as very little of our live stock or resourses are consumed 'in-house'.

The other problem we face is the reality that the $1400 for seniors and the $1000 for each child that has just been handed out, and spent in most cases, was a 'one off'.

Come Febuary 1 is when reality will hit and we will soon see who are capable of surviving.

If you talk about really hard times long and hard enough,that is what you will get.Expectation does tend to be a self fulfilling prophesy.

Talk down the economy and people stop spending,thus you are putting your own job at risk.Kevin Rudd and many economists and doing a good job of this.I can only assume that the cashed up in our society want to create more hardship,thus more bargains for themselves.

So long as people keep spending,the jobs will be there.This current behaviour just demonstrates how stupid human beings are.We cannot even understand our own economy and race around the planet shouting doom and gloom on both environmental and economic fronts without having all the facts or understanding of how these systems work.

Times will be tough ,but we are just making it far deeper and longer than needs to be.This is not the 1930's and we have access to much more information.So why not have a positive outlook and seek solutions not problems.

Romany, that was a wonderful post! A big gold star for you :)

just maybe rechtub those cash give aways have more than one impact.
First those in need genuine need, for the first time in years had a good Christmas.
Has to be worth it doesn't it?
And bravely giving it in a lump sum has to be good for the economy.
My wish?
Means test all social security.
that means me too!
we can increase those rates so continuing to live without pain is possible.
This ALP welded on trade Unionist, is sick of the waste some of that cash funded.
Arjay, we are not talking the economy down, surely talking about what has happened and will happen is not that?
we humans come in all shapes and sizes all brands all faults built in.
Right now people are looking at dept they gathered over Christmas, more credit they must repay.
as they walk away from lost homes other will buy at reduced prices
end 2009 shares rebound , not back to highs but billions recovered.
we will take the short term loss but be better by Christmas.

Yabby - thanx for that: I am wearing my gold star plastered across my forehead.

Seems to me that so many people seem driven by fear: fear of change, fear of losing what they have, fear of Other.It seems a tragedy that those who have achieved things in their lives still don't let themselves take unalloyed joy from the experience, but spend more time than ever speculating about what would happen if the future sees their apple-cart get tipped over.

The one truly great thing about losing everything is that one is no longer afraid. Once the worst that could possibly happen happens, there is nothing further one could ever be afraid of.

And through it all the tide keeps on ebbing and flowing, butterflies continue to pollinate, and you know for certain that when a tree falls in a forest it makes a really loud noise. The world, with or without one in it, goes on.

Its the kind of miracle everyone, regardless of creed, can appreciate.

It makes me genuinely sad that, for some people, even the birth of yet another new year of this planet's existance is not seen as a wild, exultant triumph completely independant of their own personal frameworks.

From some of the comments above, I suspect 2009 will be just another 12 months of opportunity for many to reinforce their prejudices and hatreds. Not willing to be part of a solution, they will simply remain part of the problem.

I suspect and hope that Romany will have a good year.