Well billie “I am happiest knowing I control the level of education my daughters received and not leaving it to someone else to decide what is “good enough” for “society”.

“Are you happy to pay a toll every time you drive on EastLink or any other privately built road?”

No and we know who to blame for that, the lowlife deceitful scumbag Socialist government who lied to the electorate and turned a freeway onto a tollway and lost $400 million in the process.

“Do you want the state to test and license car drivers of a requisite skill level”

We expect to be tested to drive a motor vehicle, the same as we expect doctors to have a licence before they open us up and lawyers and accountantgs to be properly certified in their professions.

“Could your businesses run efficiently with no gas, electricity, sewerage” they probably could but I would not and we have privatized power supply.

I hold a particular view of water which I have espoused on other threads.

Police – we all pay for police and the same with a defence force, public servants and a whole lot of other things. Interestingly a lot of those services were not the idea of socialists but capitalists, example the first fire brigades were established by capitalist insurance companies.

Oh billie, banking regulations, like corporate regulations are a lot tighter than a hundred years ago, you really should review them sometime instead of “firing from the hip” but I am pleased you mention pyramid (it is like a little gift, all for me)..

You must remember the Pyramid failure and how every Victorian motorist was taxed a petrol levy by the Miss Piggy government of Joan Kirner to cover the fraudulent and stupid promises of Rob Jolly, the state treasurer who went and endorsed Pyramid a day before it collapsed.

We certainly need none of that "political incompetence" to shape our “society” or we will all be destitute.

I have insurance Billie, I had it when I had a stroke whilst living in USA too.

Any other questions?

Yabby, Col Rouge, and Pericles
What I think that all of you are missing is that the country is the sum total of all the corporations and people and like a corporation it should have on average a profit and a positive cash flow. It should also make sure that all of its available workers are gainfully employed to ensure this cash flow and profit.

What board of a corporation could report to shareholders that 5% of its man hours are lost (to nose picking etc) when the correct figure is more like 20%? (unemployment)

What board of a corporation could leave all decisions making to the market and not the executive unit? (market economy)

What board of a corporation could claim that all is right as long as the executive unit does not overspend? (fiscal policy)

What board of a corporation could incorrectly classify products in its annual report. (“Elaborately Transformed Manufactured”)

For the last 32+ years Australian governments of both political persuasions have been doing these things and we are running record unemployment, spending more than we earn, continually borrowing to meet earning short falls even borrowing interest. Also we are suffering losses as we sell assets. And governments claim “economic growth” even though the growth figure is exceeded by the borrowings which we use to cover the earning short fall.

It’s a good thing that the International Monetary Fund looks only at the executive unit’s spending, and the market control madness and not the employees spending, together with the country’s cash flow and the country’s bottom line as would a corporate regulator.

Sure there’s lots of money about if we are actuall employed the banks almost plead with us take out loans so that we share the burden they bear as they borrow the 1,000,000,000 dollars a week that they must borrow to cover the Current Account Deficit.

The imminent Interest rate rises are the looming consequences of all this.

Col Rouge you left out one item re your daughter’s loan “her risk”.

Brightspark “like a corporation it should have on average a profit and a positive cash flow.”

Disagree. People are not employees of government and government is not the ultimate employer of people. Your analogy is as erroneous as comparing human organization with the organization of bees or ants.

Actually in the relationship of Master and Servant, Government is the servant of the people, not the master. For your analogy to function, we would have to assume government was “Master”. Go ask someone from one of the old communist block countries how well that works.

As for CA deficit. As I said the ability of private individuals to borrow is capped. The ability of governments to borrow is not, hence inflation.

We have seen the incompetence of government in running corporations. The good idea ends up as the economic sheltered workshop for a few which the rest of the community pays for and thus, where the resources, including employees, could have been used more productively elsewhere, they have been tied up in an underperforming punlic corporation.

I would note, Telstra have shed staff. Why?
Because Telstra’s economic circumstances have changed.

Increased competition has meant Telstra must improve the corporations internal efficiencies to remain competitive. That means shed staff. That means skilled staff available for other businesses, instead of those staff leeching off the inflated prices charged to tax payers in a government owned monopoly environment.

The nanny state has been rejected. Government should respond to the electorate not direct it. Socialism is as discredited as its ugly twin, communism. Capitalism rules for one reason and one reason only

Because it works and delivers, through the chaos of individuals making individual plans and decisions, better overall outcomes for everyone than any of the five year plans, egalitarian dictates and paternalistic edicts of socialism.

As for my daughter’s risk. Yep she is comfortable with it. I said, her responsibility. She is a good investor, she has studied her target area and will go find a good mortgagee property. I helped with advise but she has the knack, like father, like daughter I guess

Brightspark, your corporation analogy is a particularly bad one.
People are free to join or leave corporations, free to buy or
sell their interest in them.

Sorry, I'm not a control freak and control by Govt has shown
itself in history to be a particularly bad idea, for they
usually got it wrong.

The world is awash with cash right now, so I doubt that
peoples borrowings will be cut off tomorrow. But as an individual,
I went through the 18% interest rate story, I learned my lesson
and paid off my debts as fast as possible. Perhaps it will happen
again one day, then others will learn their lessons too.
Mind you, today reserve banks focus on inflation above all.
If inflation increases, expect interest rate increases.
There will be the usual screaming and and yelling by those
who do not allow for Murphy's law in life :)

If we borrow too much and the $ goes down, then exports industries
will benefit. At some point perhaps, people will start to realise
the importance of having healthy export industries and that taxing
the life out of them is not such a good idea, as happens now,
where they are clearly not valued at all.

As to employment, the problem with our system is that we have
made employment optional and pay those who decide not to work,
enough so that they don't need to bother. There are heaps of
jobs, but people might have to actually get off their butts,
move and go to where the work is. Many simply don't want to do
that. If work is not available, a few minutes from where they
live, its easier to not work.

These days I spend my time fooling around as a hobby farmer.
The company where I deliver my lambs, has had 50-100 jobs
vacant for some years now, with no takers. They have lost
valuable export orders to Japan, because their are no takers
for the jobs. Fact is, young Aussies would prefer to play
video games or get an office job.

"Fact is, young Aussies would prefer to play
video games or get an office job."

I don't blame 'em either Yabby. I'd much rather die than become an animal murderer.

"I don't blame 'em either Yabby. I'd much rather die than become an animal murderer."

Wildcat, I've discussed that one at length before. The other option
I guess is to just let nature take its course, let them die a slow
death by starvation, when the population becomes too large.
Out of sight is out of mind for many.

Personally I believe in outcomes which involve less suffering then
that. I also accept that we will all be recycled in the end,
including me and you. So the worms will get stuck into you and
me, if some other species doesent. Thats life, heaven is here
and now, so best to enjoy whilst you experience it!