Don’t mention the unemployed. I am bemused why it is that economists, especially those from the Reserve Bank, never mention those without a job when they start pontificating about increasing interest rates. They seem to have forgotten that the legislation governing the Bank ranks encouraging employment as being just as important as controlling inflation.
Yet the 5.5% of Australians who are unemployed look like being forgotten again when official interest rates are next considered. The pundits and the market are all pointing towards another 0.25% increase which will further delay the day when all those without a job and who want one will be able to get one.
The Crikey Interest Rate Indicator suggests there is a 75% chance of a quarter of a percent rise.
As I read in the Paul Krugman blog this morning, respectable central bankers are worried about nonexistent inflation rather than actually existing unemployment.
An inherent selfishness. Anyone who thinks Australia can not sustain a considerably greater population cannot have travelled much or, in the case of Dick Smith, being flying at such an altitude that he failed to notice the circumstances under which much of the people of the world live. Yet we continue to get calls to put an end to immigration and lower the Australian birthrate. It reeks of the worst kind of national selfishness to me.
Here come the Oscars. It is my favourite election of the year. I just love all the hype and the PR spinning of those Oscars. The official list of entrants is not yet out but our Crikey Oscars Election Indicator is off and running.
Avatar is the clear cut early favourite
Quote of the day: Republicans believe that Obama’s problem is that he’s pushing so much government intervention in the economy. That’s undoubtedly part of the story. But Obama’s larger difficulty is that he’s pushing so much change at a time when filibuster threats are so common that it requires 60 Senate votes to pass almost everything — and the minority party won’t provide the president votes on almost anything. We are operating in what amounts to a parliamentary system without majority rule, a formula for futility. – Ronald Brownstein in the National Journal
We could support 200 million people here if we all lived like Haitians, hey Richard?
Normally I find myself marvelling and/or chuckling at Richard Farmer’s insights but yes I found the population par a little bizarre too. A generalisation or two, a personal attack, and the prescription of motive. The refusal to acknowledge that there might be a genuine debate reeks of the worst kind of dogma to me.
The man is neurotic and projecting. ‘National selfishness is to lower the local birth rate.’? It’s a non sequitur. If we were more charitable we would keep domestic births low, increase refugee intake to substitute for economic immigrants … otherwise known as cherry picking all the skills and talents of the undeveloped world.
No wonder Cuba has the world’s best medical diplomacy programme – the West arguably has stolen all the potential doctors elsewhere (?).
Truly, the reasoning behind this throw away line proves yet again what a blight the boomers are on the future of the country, choreographing our future for their dotage. And Farmer talks about selfish. That’s projection champ.
I also disagree with Farmer’s position on population. I think Australia should cut its population because the world has far too many humans already.
OK Richard, let.s put it in a way you might begin to understand- last year our population grew almost at the rate of the entire state of Tasmania – 480,000 (Tassie is 520,000). That’s one and half times the city of Canberra in a single year!
Think of Canberra, it’s fine roads, parks, two universities, hospitals and schools. All the planing and preparation that must go into such a massive project. The social workers, police, council officers that must maintain it. That’s the kind of infrastructure we have to be building every year just to maintain our living standards. And do you really believe that is happening? Are you so confident that our State and Territory Governments are on top of it, planning effectively for the future as another 400,000+ arrive year in, year out?. I don’t think so. Time for you todosome deeper thinking on the subject please.