Whatever it is, after the hard times ahead that are coming, we won’t be going back to what was before. Whether we want to or not. How about some big ideas?
Well said Joel, but pse be careful with statements like "It cant even review taxing the multinational gas giants, allowing another ripe piece of fruit to fall from the vine..."
Such statement suggests that if the Australia govt. collected more tax from transnationals (or "the wealthy") national govt. would have more money to spend on social support for citizenry - a reafirmation of the neoliberalist mantra that tax revenues fund Fed, govt. spending - they DO NOT.
How many times have we heard the familiar refrain from neolib Fed Treasurers "we would like to have funded "x" program but couldn't because we couldn't find money for it in the budget."
That is a straight ot lie - all budget spending is a political decision - the Fed govt. never has a shortage of money, it issues the stuff by passing a money supply bill.
There could well be a shortage of necessary resources to implement such social reform, but in most cases that can be overcome by spending in ways that increase availability of needed resources to offset any inflationary effect.
The 'Federal Budget' is not a real 'budget' in the financial sense of that word - it is an outline of governance intentions. The limit of practical implementation is not the govts. available 'supply of money' - it is the ability to activate/harness available resources to achieve those set out objectives without inducing inflationary pressures.
Menzies spent on building full employment because he had no choice - he had 600,000 returned soldiers; a total of ~1 million people (~14% pop.) discharged from military service. Post WW2 civil rehabiltation was the priority - corporatism hadn't yet got it's act together to infiltrate/control govt. policy.
Menzies should be viewed in the context of those times; the Curtin/Chifley 1945 'White Paper' realisations :
"...during the war no financial or other obstacles have been allowed to prevent the need for extra production being satisfied to the limit of our resources. It is true that war-time full employment has been accompanied by efforts and sacrifices and a curtailment of individual liberties which only the supreme emergency of war could justify; but it has shown up the wastes of unemployment in pre-war years, and it has taught us valuable lessons which we can apply to the problems of peace-time, when full employment must be achieved in ways consistent with a free society.
In peace-time the responsibility of Commonwealth and State Governments is to provide the general framework of a full employment economy, within which the operations of individuals and businesses can be carried on..."
From 1942 to 1970 Aus. unemployment rate was <2% proving that full employment is possible without wars.
As per above, the unemployment rate is a political decision - whilever available resources exist to be activated/mobilised/industrialised.
We need another Gough Whitlam - a leader with vision and courage to face down the neolibs. But, alas, the lesson our politicians have taken from Whitlam's dismissal is don't get the US corporatist authoritarians/fascistic media moguls offside if you want to be re-elected.
Hence Australia's unremitting rise of US/UK aligned neoliberalism - gutless politicians refuse to confront the hegemon/s despite the obvious escalating social/ecological devastation.
Thank you for this important post , and especially for your conversation with Rex Patrick . He is much missed from the Senate .
Just on another aspect of “sovereignty “, I read in a recent edition of The Saturday Paper of how the CSIRO is being defunded , and staff being reduced . Apparently , if profits cannot be clearly demonstrated , the work is of no value .
What is it about Scientific Research that this government appears not to understand ? Would they have sacked Jonas Salk
if he failed to show an immediate profit in his vital work against polio ? ? Why can this government not understand the value of research ? They thus contribute to the lowering of expertise within this country. To their perpetual shame .
( And don’t start me on their refusal to cancel AUKUS !! 😡)
The explanation is that our political system is fundamentaly corrupt Elizabeth. Since the rise of neoliberalism in the 1970's corporate money has quitely infiltrated our governance structures instilling Friedmanite ideology into careerist/macroeconomically ignorant politicians.
The objective is to privatise research/development so as to maximise profit extraction from those newly developed techniques & technologies.
The CSIRO as a Fed. govt. operated organisation is notionaly there to benefit Australian citizenery at lowest cost - only Fed Gov. owned entities can operate at zero or negative profit , thereby minimising citizen consumer costs and maximising national gain.
Neoliberal ideology strives to monopolise research so as to lock in windfall profits as long as patent laws extend. The pharmaceutical industry is a prime example - extortionate markups on production costs of 100's, sometimes 1000's%.
Our politicians have been systematically infiltrated by right wing neo-classical economic Friedmanites. Some polies unaware during early times - others grasped it enthusiastically & used it for careerist success/wealth & status.
The rot actually started with Hawke/Keating (unwitting?) neoliberalism:
From 1983 to 1996 they sold / privatised/ deregulated:-
1) Aerospace Technologies of Australia,
2) Australian Industry Development Corporation,
3) AUSSAT,
4) Australian Airlines,
5) Airline Terminals
6) Commonwealth Serum Laboratories,
7) Moomba-Sydney Pipeline,
8) Qantas,
9) Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation,
10) Commonwealth Bank.
While some of the above privatisations/deregulations were not completed until Howard's era, they were regrettably initiated by Hawke/Keating.
Keating was also instrumental in the introduction of the Prices and Incomes Accord, an agreement that has hogtied wage negotiations ever since.…
In 1985, Keating argued within Cabinet for the introduction of a broad-based consumption tax (GST), later introduced by the Howard government.
The Labor mores/ethos of Curtin/Chifley and Whitlam is long gone from the ALP.
Now they enthusiastically embrace corporate/financier directorships and compete with the LNP to deliver a bigger Fed. surplus sooner than the blatantly corporatist LNP.
Howard followed Keatings example, but on steriods - privatising/deregulating further - far too many to list here.
For many years I forgave Hawke/Keating for their past sins; they were caught up in the hurly-burly of geopolitics - they then knew no better, like so many of us at that time.
They were conned by Friedmanist groupthink - but much has changed since then.
It is now abundantly clear, the dog eat dog neoliberalism they initiated unleashing is now destroying 'western' societies - common citizens beaten down towards serfdom.
Reality based (MMT) macroeconomic analysis is now thick on the ground - the 'trickle down' myths of neo-classical economic orthodoxy are soundly debunked - but those early initiators like Keating have not recanted.
Their ego/pride in self image dictates they can never admit their error.
The failures of neoliberalism writ large. But you are right, we need bold leaders with vision, ready and willing to make bold moves. It is time to move on from the US and UK and forge our own destiny. We are a multicultural nation situated in Asia. And Asia is the future. It presents us a unique opportunity that we should grasp with both hands. It’s time we grew up.
Big thanks for the Patrick conversation and for your unflinching (horrifying) outline of risks, failures, misdirections, magical thinking and the expanding kinds of poll-watching PR-spin caution that are exactly what we do NOT need right now.
Well said Joel, but pse be careful with statements like "It cant even review taxing the multinational gas giants, allowing another ripe piece of fruit to fall from the vine..."
Such statement suggests that if the Australia govt. collected more tax from transnationals (or "the wealthy") national govt. would have more money to spend on social support for citizenry - a reafirmation of the neoliberalist mantra that tax revenues fund Fed, govt. spending - they DO NOT.
How many times have we heard the familiar refrain from neolib Fed Treasurers "we would like to have funded "x" program but couldn't because we couldn't find money for it in the budget."
That is a straight ot lie - all budget spending is a political decision - the Fed govt. never has a shortage of money, it issues the stuff by passing a money supply bill.
There could well be a shortage of necessary resources to implement such social reform, but in most cases that can be overcome by spending in ways that increase availability of needed resources to offset any inflationary effect.
The 'Federal Budget' is not a real 'budget' in the financial sense of that word - it is an outline of governance intentions. The limit of practical implementation is not the govts. available 'supply of money' - it is the ability to activate/harness available resources to achieve those set out objectives without inducing inflationary pressures.
Menzies spent on building full employment because he had no choice - he had 600,000 returned soldiers; a total of ~1 million people (~14% pop.) discharged from military service. Post WW2 civil rehabiltation was the priority - corporatism hadn't yet got it's act together to infiltrate/control govt. policy.
Menzies should be viewed in the context of those times; the Curtin/Chifley 1945 'White Paper' realisations :
"...during the war no financial or other obstacles have been allowed to prevent the need for extra production being satisfied to the limit of our resources. It is true that war-time full employment has been accompanied by efforts and sacrifices and a curtailment of individual liberties which only the supreme emergency of war could justify; but it has shown up the wastes of unemployment in pre-war years, and it has taught us valuable lessons which we can apply to the problems of peace-time, when full employment must be achieved in ways consistent with a free society.
In peace-time the responsibility of Commonwealth and State Governments is to provide the general framework of a full employment economy, within which the operations of individuals and businesses can be carried on..."
From 1942 to 1970 Aus. unemployment rate was <2% proving that full employment is possible without wars.
As per above, the unemployment rate is a political decision - whilever available resources exist to be activated/mobilised/industrialised.
We need another Gough Whitlam - a leader with vision and courage to face down the neolibs. But, alas, the lesson our politicians have taken from Whitlam's dismissal is don't get the US corporatist authoritarians/fascistic media moguls offside if you want to be re-elected.
Hence Australia's unremitting rise of US/UK aligned neoliberalism - gutless politicians refuse to confront the hegemon/s despite the obvious escalating social/ecological devastation.
Thank you for this important post , and especially for your conversation with Rex Patrick . He is much missed from the Senate .
Just on another aspect of “sovereignty “, I read in a recent edition of The Saturday Paper of how the CSIRO is being defunded , and staff being reduced . Apparently , if profits cannot be clearly demonstrated , the work is of no value .
What is it about Scientific Research that this government appears not to understand ? Would they have sacked Jonas Salk
if he failed to show an immediate profit in his vital work against polio ? ? Why can this government not understand the value of research ? They thus contribute to the lowering of expertise within this country. To their perpetual shame .
( And don’t start me on their refusal to cancel AUKUS !! 😡)
The explanation is that our political system is fundamentaly corrupt Elizabeth. Since the rise of neoliberalism in the 1970's corporate money has quitely infiltrated our governance structures instilling Friedmanite ideology into careerist/macroeconomically ignorant politicians.
The objective is to privatise research/development so as to maximise profit extraction from those newly developed techniques & technologies.
The CSIRO as a Fed. govt. operated organisation is notionaly there to benefit Australian citizenery at lowest cost - only Fed Gov. owned entities can operate at zero or negative profit , thereby minimising citizen consumer costs and maximising national gain.
Neoliberal ideology strives to monopolise research so as to lock in windfall profits as long as patent laws extend. The pharmaceutical industry is a prime example - extortionate markups on production costs of 100's, sometimes 1000's%.
Our politicians have been systematically infiltrated by right wing neo-classical economic Friedmanites. Some polies unaware during early times - others grasped it enthusiastically & used it for careerist success/wealth & status.
The rot actually started with Hawke/Keating (unwitting?) neoliberalism:
Keating/Hawke pursued unwarranted, socially debilitating, fiscal surpluses (1988-1991);
From 1983 to 1996 they sold / privatised/ deregulated:-
1) Aerospace Technologies of Australia,
2) Australian Industry Development Corporation,
3) AUSSAT,
4) Australian Airlines,
5) Airline Terminals
6) Commonwealth Serum Laboratories,
7) Moomba-Sydney Pipeline,
8) Qantas,
9) Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation,
10) Commonwealth Bank.
While some of the above privatisations/deregulations were not completed until Howard's era, they were regrettably initiated by Hawke/Keating.
Keating was also instrumental in the introduction of the Prices and Incomes Accord, an agreement that has hogtied wage negotiations ever since.…
In 1985, Keating argued within Cabinet for the introduction of a broad-based consumption tax (GST), later introduced by the Howard government.
The Labor mores/ethos of Curtin/Chifley and Whitlam is long gone from the ALP.
Now they enthusiastically embrace corporate/financier directorships and compete with the LNP to deliver a bigger Fed. surplus sooner than the blatantly corporatist LNP.
Howard followed Keatings example, but on steriods - privatising/deregulating further - far too many to list here.
For many years I forgave Hawke/Keating for their past sins; they were caught up in the hurly-burly of geopolitics - they then knew no better, like so many of us at that time.
They were conned by Friedmanist groupthink - but much has changed since then.
It is now abundantly clear, the dog eat dog neoliberalism they initiated unleashing is now destroying 'western' societies - common citizens beaten down towards serfdom.
Reality based (MMT) macroeconomic analysis is now thick on the ground - the 'trickle down' myths of neo-classical economic orthodoxy are soundly debunked - but those early initiators like Keating have not recanted.
Their ego/pride in self image dictates they can never admit their error.
Well said , and correct in every detail 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻. With the obvious disappearance of the
Whitlam/ Curtin/ Chifley “Labor government “, this collection of Managers -to -appease
Corporate lobbyists at the constant cost to the public interest should rename their
Party to be seen more accurately as it now is . We appear to be heading disturbingly
back to the days of medieval Manorial Lords and their slaves the serfs .
Mr “I grew up in Social Housing” should be ashamed of his betrayal of so many
Australians , as the Middle Class is being relentlessly wiped out while he “manages”
the situation.
If only our leaders could lead.
The failures of neoliberalism writ large. But you are right, we need bold leaders with vision, ready and willing to make bold moves. It is time to move on from the US and UK and forge our own destiny. We are a multicultural nation situated in Asia. And Asia is the future. It presents us a unique opportunity that we should grasp with both hands. It’s time we grew up.
Big thanks for the Patrick conversation and for your unflinching (horrifying) outline of risks, failures, misdirections, magical thinking and the expanding kinds of poll-watching PR-spin caution that are exactly what we do NOT need right now.
Nice read, I have written this which may be related
https://substack.com/@melgozaa/note/p-194060470?r=77zmp5&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
https://thejunglechaosco.substack.com/p/elite-capture-informality-and-the?r=6xmz51