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How can the Government “afford” the Corona Virus package? On 30 March, the Government announced the $130 billion JobKeeper Payment to help keep Australians in jobs as we deal with the significant economic impact from the Coronavirus. This brings the Government’s total support for the economy to $320 billion across the forward estimates, representing 16.4 percent of annual GDP. How can the government afford this when we have ...
COVID-19 and Climate Change- Similarities and Differences The parallels between the COVID- 19 and climate change crises are as follows: Both crises are global problems requiring global action but also requiring changes to the individual lifestyles of billions of individuals; Both crises demonstrate the importance of strong leadership by governments. While individuals, or even communities, can initiate or agitate for change, only government can ...
Are the rules now clear enough? I don’t think so Governments are still not giving clear enough messages to the community on social distancing and the virus. The message from all leaders is that if you do not need to go out then stay at home. But it is not clear enough what “need” means. It is clear enough that we need to go out to buy ...
Coalition ‘leadership’ has failed on Corona Virus Everybody wants to conform to the call for national unity and to avoid resorting to political point-scoring in the face of a national crisis. But the fact is the Federal Government has provided poor leadership in this crisis. Here is Daniel Andrews’s clear message on what to do. It is simple- stay home. If you can stay ...
Atracción y Evolución ¿Química? ¿Qué causa la atracción en primer lugar? La gente dice “la química”. ¿Pero, qué quieren decir? ¿Es verdad? ¿O la química es solo un mito o una construcción social? Me interesé en este tema cuando tres amigas, todas feministas fuertes, me confesaron que preferían que sus parejas sexuales masculinas fueran más altas que ellas. ¿Habían internalizado ...
American Factory If you thought China’s advantage in manufacturing was due to manipulation of its currency, or its theft of technology, you need to see ‘American Factory’. Whatever role a low Chinese yuan, or technology theft, has played in China’s dominance of manufacturing, this film shows that even if neither of these factors was present China would ...
Identity In his book, ‘Identity’ Francis Fukuyama traces the historical development of identity in Western culture. His book is an important read for those on the left who seek to understand why many people seemingly vote in ways that do not advance their own economic interests. Fukuyama says that contemporary free-market economists, and Marxists alike, maintain that history ...
Keynes v Hayek and Friedman- a very brief summary Keynes v Hayek and Friedman Since at least the mid-1930’s the two main competing economic models within Western democracies have been the neo-liberal model of Frederick Hayek and Milton Friedman and the model proposed by John Keynes. Keynes was more favoured by policymakers following the publication of his General Theory in 1936 through to the 1970s. Basics of Keynes ...
Welcome to the 2020’s- ‘The Age’s’ Strange Optimism On December 28 ‘The Age’ posted a very strange editorial. It said that judged by much media coverage the world is heading towards a new Cold War and climate change destruction. But the editorial expressed optimism that “providing we can solve a few urgent problems these grim predictions are too bleak”. The basis for the paper’s ...
Capitalism Does Fine Under Authoritarian Rule- China In the 1980’s, following the collapse of the eastern Bloc, Francis Fukuyama’s claimed that free market liberal democracy had won out and would be history’s final form of government. Yes, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) still ruled China. But China was introducing free market economic reforms and this economic liberalisation would inevitably lead to political liberalisation, ...
Security Council Declares War on Jihad United Chemical Weapons Al Qaeda and the remnants of ISIS, once mortal enemies, were both on their last legs. But now they have now joined forces. Known now as ‘Jihad United’, aerial surveillance has discovered that they have a chemical weapon they have been secretly using to continue their holy war against the West and other infidel countries. The ...
Climate Emergency and Madrid Failure There is a Climate Emergency According to the latest U.N. assessment, even if countries fulfil their current pledges to reduce emissions, the world is on track to warm by 3 degrees Celsius by the end of the century—a catastrophic result. In the face of this reality it is imperative that the language of a ‘climate emergency’ be maintained. ...
Some Principles for a Left Economic Narrative The defeat of Shorten in Australia and Corbyn in the UK will lead many to call for social democratic parties to situate themselves more to the centre on economic policy and to remove any references in political language to the existence of economic elites. This approach overlooks the fundamental reasons why the economic nationalist Right is ...
Attraction and Evolution Summary: Even if there are some evolutionary influences on what we find attractive, like happiness, attraction is not static. It depends, at least in part, on things we do, think and say. Both in the present and in our lived past. And this occurs in a cultural/social context as well as an evolutionary one. Chemistry? What causes attraction in ...
Inequality is THE problem Following its review of the federal election loss, the Labor Party is to drop the term “the big end of town” because it is said to be divisive and not sufficiently appealing to aspirational Australia. The review stated: “Labor should position itself as a party of economic growth and job creation. Labor should adopt the language of ...