579 "How do you prepare for a risk, who knows what form a risk could take."

You can't prepare for every risk but there are some that are clear.

In particular the limited capacity for manufacturing much of what we use on a day to day basis is something that a creative leadership team should be able to find way's of addressing without going protectionist or racing to the bottom on wages.

I don't have the answers to that riddle but I don't accept that it's beyond the capacity of responsible government to address.

R0bert

Can not see any good manufacturing, for the sake of it, or on spec. If the need arouse it would spring up overnight. If there were a market for commodities now, it would already be taken care of. Political suicide, comes to mind

Dear Random Guy,

I've taken the following from Marianne Williamson's
book, "Illuminata,":

"We are experiencing a crisis of leadership now,
now so much because people lack the qualities
necessary for it, but because we systematically
invalidate such qualities. It is hard in today's
world for a person to stand up in excellence and power
within the public realm. There are myriad forces
marshaled against doing so causing a massive brain and
spirit drain from the realms of wordly power."

"Let us support the possibility of greatness, in
anyone at any time. We must rethink our attitudes about
leaders, or at the rate we're going we will soon have
none. We must create the fertile ground for leadership
in order to prepare the way for great leaders."

"A politician listens to his or her constituents.
A leader listens to whispers in the wind."

I guess what most of us hope for is that our leaders are
not swayed by politics but instead listen to the truth.
That they grow beyond a shallow fight.

I see the situation as irretrievable.

The political system has become so sclerotic and inward-looking, that the chances of a leader of any kind emerging from it are zero. At every level, from the corrupt and highly inefficient pre-selection process to the factions that determine the make-up of a cabinet, it designed for failure.

Furthermore, political leadership is in name only. Driven by every prevailing wind, from opinion polls to internecine faction wars to backbench fear of losing re-election (and all those permanent pension perks that go with it), the poor bunnies have about as much chance of showing that quality called "leadership" as I have winning an Olympic gold medal in the biathlon. (I chose biathlon because I don't ski, and have never used a gun).

Successful leaders are not necessarily popular - Exhibit A, Margaret Thatcher - but have the cojones and stickability to get unpopular measures adopted. Whether they are ultimately good or evil is beside the point. It takes more than niceness to take people, willingly, along with you to get stuff done.

While we have the current situation of total lack of proper individual accountability at every level of politics, together with obscene levels of pay and perks that should be reserved for people with talent and capability, nothing is going to change.

A plague o' both your houses.

Reps and Senate.

Dear Pericles,

I believe there's hope for our future - regarding politics.

Although extensive research on political systems has shown that people
take the legitimacy of their particular political system for
granted very early in life, and they usually accept their own
country's system and its national leaders.
What we are witnessing today, especially amongst
the young - could well be - a breakdown of traditional loyalties in favour of a more fluid party system, in which people pick and choose
among personalities and positions with less regard for party
labels.

This could be a new direction - and this trend toward the
questioning of party loyalties should not be unexpected in a
modern society whose hallmarks are individualism and choice.

I don't see the situation as irretrievable.
I a strong believer in cycles. Nature loves them and we are part of nature.
Everything about us goes in cycles including our fads and cultural behaviors.
I think we're nearing the turning point of a cycle built around many of the points already made by commentators.
It's a yin/yang thing. Every trend has built into it the factors that will limit how far that trend can go. Those factors eventually kick in and start a trend in another - often opposite - direction with its limiting factors also built in.
So, if we hang around long enough, as the old song goes, 'Everything old becomes new again.'
Of course, waiting for the cycle to come to its inevitable end sure can be trying on the patience at times.
But it does help one to remain optimistic.
Anthony
http://www.observationpoint.com.au