I suggest that you might be feigning a little too much outrage on this, stevenlmeyer. And, perhaps, guilty of a little oversimplification...

>>Almost every adult Australian has to answer similar questions about their personal finances every day<<

Don't know about your personal finances, but mine bear no resemblance to the EFSF whatsoever. At a stretch, you could equate the facility to the limit on your credit card, I suppose. But even you might be hard pressed to answer the question, "so, stevenlmeyer, your new credit limit is $15,000. What exactly are you going to spend it on?"

But hey, you are perfectly familiar with the way politics works, in this country as well as Germany. If every parliamentarian was required to understand and approve even the basics of the legislation placed in front of parliament, there would be no need for the Party system. Or whips.

On a more charitable level, let's imagine that they were all given, and took, the opportunity to research and understand all the variables involved in a bail-out package. Or climate science. Or the Defence budget. Or international refugee treaties. The result would still be precisely the same.

Only it would take forever to reach a point where they were sufficiently "educated" to meet your commitment criteria, and nothing at all would ever get done.

pericules quote..""let's imagine that they were all given, and took, the opportunity to research..and understand all the variables involved in a bail-out package.""

a single page brief of the true facts would sufice
[but even then they have been specificly selected to be the next fall guys..selected specificly cause they wouldnt read it

ditto..>>""climate science...Or the Defence budget.
Or international refugee treaties...The result would still be precisely the same.""

yes we agree

""Only it would take forever
to reach a point where they were sufficiently "educated"
to meet your commitment criteria, and nothing at all would ever get done.""

mate nothing needs doing
when the only doing is doing as your told

ALL THE BAD LAW..is here cause those before them
blindly followed the public service adgenda,...
run via the 2 party domon-autocratic system

the issue isnt will they do the same
but how to stop them doing worse

and that is..IF we are capitalist..trust the capitalists to figure it out BY THEMSELVES..[and when capitalists stuff it up..NOT TO BAIL OUT THE SAME TEAM that made their nest..[and lost their pants

THEN and only THEN
does govt step in and run it as a trust
OWNED by the people...[that in time goes for a share dispesion
where we the people/get each an equal share..to sell or kep as we please]

govt money[bonds] or underwriting
to bailout capitalists..is insane..
its a communist solialistic elite capitalist-ism

that SAYS..it needs/expects govt to butt out
so govt butts out...till the dodo hit the fan
and workers are loosing their jobs..

[then govt steps in assuming total oversight/control..
[and the bosses are sent away..[or sent to jail]
and govt trustees run it

and workers do the job
[just like..workers have allways done]

except now govt is the 'boss'[in trust]

Hi Pericles

I am bemused rather than outraged.

I take your point that not every member of parliament can be an expert on every topic that some before them. But I must again re-iterate that what the German legislators were asked boils down to two simple questions:

How much?

On what?

They were NOT asked questions on the likely effects of bank bailouts or whether this was a wise piece of legislation.

How much? On what?

Aren’t those decisions we all have to make?

Unless you have unlimited finances don’t you have to make such decisions?

The fact that most Budestag members were reportedly unable to answer such basic questions indicates a, to say the least, casual attitude towards their jobs.

How much?

On what?

Not really unreasonable questions are they?

Pericles

and others

A bit of perspective.

The German legislators were being asked to vote on a bill that would cost Germany 211 billion Euros or roughly 9% of Germany’s GDP.

9% of Australia’s GDP is more than $100 BILLION.

It is more than twice the cost of the NBN.

All in one hit!

Now imagine how you would feel if Australian legislators were asked to vote on a $100 BILLION piece of legislation and it turned out:

They did not know the amounts involved

AND

They did not know how the money was to be spent

How would you feel about legislators that were so casual?

sounds like Roz Kelly's whiteboard economics to me. As long as you get relected well!

you raise good points steven
the issue is more clear when we consider that the end result adds up to a two trillion bailout of bankers

this first payment was the first promise made in june
since then two further have been put up
but not yet voted on

we miss the forrest of spin for the trees
se this one is to buy up greece bonds
[to resell at firesale prices]
[to the same banks that now hold them]

so you can imagine the bonus allround
going direct to bankers bonus

when we facter in spain and italy
the fraud conducted reaches absurdity level;s
but its time the banks that invented this scam went bust

and be made to..forced to repay..
those who's money they stole..and hid away

im talking about the little guy..[people not ;persons]
ie not the big guys..[ie corperations][legal persons]

of course those who spent away
our pension funds globally
will need be held to account..and forced
into bondage to repay the proceeds of crime

there is also the aiding and abetting law...
that moterists are coping..but that needs to be applied to REAL cime
upon the real criminals..who know only

how to spend
go broke and get bailed out

ie those too clever by half
white shirted black suited blackguards
who presume to be the 'most clever guys'..in the world

who via the fiction of a promise to pay
stole away the workers pay..

[plus the workers peace of mind..the peoples trust
as well as their pensions services and social systems..
up-to and including good governance and basic sic accountable service