As Australia closes in on the world record for recession-free economic growth, expect a few contrarian pieces attacking us. “26 Recession-Free Years Hide a Darker Picture for Australia” was one Bloomberg piece this week.
But in an early bid to dominate the field, our own Satyajit Das has let rip with a cracking piece about how we’re basically a bunch of lazy racist frauds. In a piece in the Financial Review today with the sinister title “Australia’s luck is running out”, Das — a former banker turned author and commentator, manages to combine that staple of Fairfax, the property bubble/We’re All Rooned piece with a broader critique of the Australian economy. Das says we rely too much on mining, we have a huge property bubble, too much debt, we pay ourselves too much and our productivity growth is too low, we depend too much on foreign capital.
Rather than pointing out evidence about wages growth, productivity and our superannuation pool that contradicts Das’ economic critique, or noting the strange job snobbery that regards mining and construction as an inferior source of growth, it’s more exciting to move onto his moral critique. Australia, you see, are a bunch of racists and busybodies.
“the widespread view that it is a European Christian nation, complicate its trading relationship to Asia… Australian criticism of regional governments over human rights and capital punishment is seen as interference in domestic affairs… Australia’s “Whites Only” immigration policy ended only in the early 1970s.”
You can just see Chinese steel manufacturers rubbing their chins. “Hmmm… this Australian iron ore — it’s from a European Christian nation that only ended a racist immigration policy fifty years ago. I don’t think we can use it.” It’s also amusing that Das wants to have it both ways — he argues Australia’s (for him, inconvenient) economic growth of recent years has been heavily reliant on immigration. But we’re also racists and xenophobes at the same time.
Why would Das be so angry about Australia’s growth? It wouldn’t have something to do with the fact that our economy, along with the rest of the world, has stubbornly refused to follow his predictions, would it? After all, Das is, in the words of one economic commentator in 2015, “one of the gloomiest financial commentators I know… [who] has succeeded at taking his economic pessimism to a new level.” Das, to be found opining at the ABC, or in various online outlets, has regularly warned of another financial crisis that will lead to a depression worse than the 1930s, of falling international growth, of “another great recession”. It must be infuriating for Das that the global economy has been picking up momentum all year and the Australian economy, too, is accelerating and delivering very strong jobs growth.
It’s OK, Satyajit — keep on with the perma-bear act, you’re bound to be right one of these years.
Meanwhile Bernard “laws of mathematics” Keane remains in blissful denial about the unprecedented mountain of sub-prime mortgages and consumer debt that lie beneath our “growth” figures.
Ha! The predictions of the bears haven’t come true…yet! That means he can continue ignoring the laws of mathematics…much like those politicians seeking to access encrypted communications…
satyajit das sounds Indian to me, I find it amusing that an Indian can preach about racism in australia when India is the most racist country on earth, be it class racism or religious racism or gender racism, they have no peer, maybe satyajit should take a long look in his mirror before he starts preaching to others.
He’s lived here for almost 50 years Brian – probably fair to assume he’s experienced a bit of racism first hand over that period too. At what point would you consider him Aussie rather than Indian?
Das is a fine communicator with the ability to explain economics & finance in layman’s language & to make it not only comprehensible but also interesting. And that’s an accolade from someone who couldn’t give a toss about investments or matters fiscal.
This is Australia’s recipe for success:
Sky high housing costs, record private debt fuelled by historically low interest rates (in themselves a sign that “all is not well”), $45 billion blown on the world’s worst internet, the most expensive electricity in the world (with looming shortages), a gas cost/supply crisis in a country absolutely awash with gas and growth figures boosted by the ponzi scheme of an increasing population.
Our most successful business are rent seekers (the extractive industries), ticket clippers (banking and finance) or speculators (stock market and real estate).
Satjajit Das has a bit more insight (and a lot more credibility) than you on this one, Bernard.
Agree 100%.
Additionally, the workforce is actually under-employed (hrs worked per fortnight) & robots are predicted to snaffle a good percentage of current jobs. Good luck having a swipe at Das when those chickens come home to roost in the not too distant future.
Couldn’t agree more Duncan. Having a house built of straw just doesn’t seem like a good idea when there’s a cyclone, or a big bad wolf, heading your way.
We are (a lot of us) racists and xenophobes, there’s no two ways about that. But I do agree that he is very pessimistic, although you seem to have your head in the sand Bernard.
Many people of most nations are racists and xenophobia as I learned when I began teaching thirty years ago listening to children of Mediterranean migrants telling me that Australians don’t love their children because they don’t buy them houses, don’t love their parents because they put them on nursing homes, their women are all sluts, they have no culture. I don’t mind people calling out racism but I seriously object to the claim that only Australians are racist. After all, the recent movie, The Big Sick, is based on the racism or xenophobia that justifies Indian parents insisting their children marry only Indians. It’s some strange version of the cultural cringe when it’s racist when Australians say it about new immigrant cultures but not when those cultures make the same criticisms of Australians