The pond knows it's old, but that impression of a beached onion muncher, with sundry other tossers and barking seals gave the pond a moment's joy on its return ... (and more joyous Rowe here).
Uppers must always be followed by downers, and is there anything more down than a dose of nattering "Ned"?
If nattering "Ned" is Malware's coach, is it possible to get a new team?
After all, this is the outfit that delivered an NBN which each new day produces new heartbreaks ...
So we're about to see the same sort of rot set in down under as has recently infected the United States?
We're going to go from doom-laden reptiles shrieking about Greece and the dangers of deficits and debt, and the need to balance the budget and produce a surplus and reduce debt ... to dancing in the streets about an ongoing, incurable debt, and that's all fine, because somehow there'll be growth and somehow it will all trickle down?
There's always a market for kool-aid, and to be fair the reptiles have long experience peddling it ... but there's no need to go too far back in time for nattering "Ned" to be blathering on about the dangers of debt ...
Here he was in April 2016 ...
It doesn't take a rocket scientist, or even the pond, to understand that the United States is currently heading for its next big financial bruising under the Donald ...
All the classic signs of a crash are falling into place ... and yet suddenly the desire to follow the Donald and produce a "huge game changer" will see all that blather about fiscal responsibility head off to the trash can with the bin chickens ...
It's painful to watch, and even more painful to see the contortions grapple with the delusions ...
Hmm ... and what will reveal whether the reptiles are swayed these days more by talk of debt and economic disaster or the need to keep an inept Malware in power by dishing out cuts and talking of pie in the sky bye and bye?
Never mind, the pond will settle for a few more cartoons ... how it missed the Pope, with more blessings here, and a bonus Rowe on the same theme ...
Hi Dorothy,
ReplyDeleteThe reptilian right both here and in the US are fervently hoping for a return to the Gilded Age, when in the late 19th century corporations controlled politics. The robber barons like John D Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan had personal fortunes bigger than the entire federal budget and bought the necessary politicians to further their interests.
There was no income tax at all and the federal government raised all its funds in just two ways. Firstly high tariff rates on imports, thus protecting US industries from competition and allowing them to charge high prices on their products that the working class had to pay. Secondly high excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol again the costs were borne predominately by working class.
They too had their own version of the trickle-down theory described as “Horse and Sparrow” economics. The theory being that if you feed the horses enough oats eventually some will pass through the digestive tract more or less intact and the sparrows will have something to eat from what ends up on the road.
DiddyWrote
"Why do people of modest means who depend on government-funded health care and Social Security or other supplements to their income continue to vote for candidates who promise to privatize or get rid of those very programs? Why do people who are poor vote for politicians who promise to cut corporate taxes?" http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2017/12/07/big-money-rules/
DeleteWell, Joe, I'll ask the bunny question: have you ruled out stupidity ? And ignorance and “People will just believe you. You just tell them and they believe you” ?
DeleteHi Joe,
DeleteThe gilded age was one of rapid industrial progress in the US but the rewards were very unequally applied.
The biggest losers were small farm holders that were further from the transport hubs. For them, that the dollar was tied to the Gold Standard meant there was little real currency circulating and therefore few or no buyers for their products.
This led to disaffection and the rise of a populist party that promoted bimetallism;
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Party_(United_States)
Bizarrely this political outcry became the subtext of the 'Wizard of Oz";
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_interpretations_of_The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz
Note the change in the colour of the slippers.
DW
I love this parsimonious "where's the money coming from" approach. Naturally I rushed to wiki's List of countries by public debt expecting Australia to be at the very top- - - - what? - Australia at number 96 (46.1%). Lets see Ned's exemplars: US at number 34 (73.8%), UK at 19 (92.2%) & Ireland at 29 (77.9%). Any fund manager knows you start your graph at the last disaster so you are using the lowest possible base (& they all went pretty low).
ReplyDeleteThere is a structural deficit problem but it is largely down to John Howard & Joe Hokeidonian following the sort of policies pursued by the likes of the US, the UK & Ireland. Are you seeing a pattern in this?
I am wondering how this plays to the general public - I suspect they have over-played this hand.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_public_debt
Although you need and deserve a break, I was surprised and pleased to discover you back at work.
ReplyDeleteWith the release on the dreaded ABC of Undeniable it's likely to give you an overabundance of choices from Nattering Ned and Prattling Polonius before we get to sundry contributors like The Dog Botherer and The Onion Muncher.
I look forward to your coverage.
Oh dear GD, it's Undeniable that the ABC is unwatchable, and the pond routinely refuses to watch. It was only by way of hearsay that it heard of the mutton Dutton's favourite show, Keeping Australia Safe, with the ABC looking more and more like Der Stürmer ...
DeleteThe pond will probably stay old school lizard of Oz ... it's their ABC and they're welcome to it ...