Whether an individual or a government spends more than it gets in income, it either has to curtail the spending or borrow the money.

The whole world financial crisis has occurred because of the debt that has been racked up and we have mortgaged the future. Debt has to be payed back unless it is monetised resulting in inflation. That is what happens in these financial circumstances. Pain is the eventual result of this profligacy. I suppose there is the alternative of putting everyone's personal tax up to pay for all the public servants, but I can imagine the reaction to that.

I can see more social unrest throughout the world as populations blame their governments for the mess we are in, forgetting that we always vote for the party that will give us the most, usually with other people's money. We have got to the stage where interest on borrowed money becomes a mill stone around our necks. It has to stop somewhere and of course it hurts.

Here is a very simple cycle of political power I use.

1) Liberal Government in power takes everything away from the people and raises taxes PUTS the country in SURPLUS.

After a few years the people kick them out.

2) Labor come in on promises to give the people everything and reduce taxes but in the process they PUT the country BILLION of dollars in DEBT.

After a few years the people kick them out.
There you have the cycle of politics.

Ahh Haz, get rid of this fool, get rid of that fool…. and install who exactly??

Who’s gunna do a better job?

It’s the policies that up the pole, and the basic philosophy that is fundamentally flawed.

Fix these, and we’ll be right.

Don’t fix em, and no leader will be able to do any better than your beloathed redhead!

Hey, that funny-faced little Bobby Carr. He’s your man! He is just about the only leader who would (hopefully) work on correcting the whole caboodle from the roots up, starting off with dumping the continuous expansionist philosophy and adopting one of moving directly towards a sustainable society.

As for Rudd telling anyone how to do anything. I agree, that is certainly the joke of the day!!

You can make a stupid (or a leftie for that matter) person drink water but you can't lead them to it.

Rudd should have never left South Park.

Yes Lexi, there will be cutbacks galore if the coalition wins the election.
Similar to Victoria is it ? Ah well thats life, you do not have the money !
Tough !

Ludwich, you do not live in NSW, be careful what you wish for.
We have been there done that.

BTW snake, just exactly what does monetise debt mean ?
I thought I knew, but the monetising of debt that is going on in
Europe seems to be to fix the debt problem, borrow more !