Before a sunrise, there has to be a sunset.

These decades of stagnant real wages is the background that is usually forgotten by billionaires like George Soros and Bill Gross when they get worked up about the rise of credit.

New myths for old

Friday, 24 July 2009   Media analysis   3 comments 

It might be that it doesn’t matter and we are not in a lull between the global banking crisis becoming a global fiscal crisis and that indeed the worst is now over and growth will resume. If so, why are some of our brightest talking austerity?

Labor put a positive gloss on the numbers yesterday, but ironically so did the coalition.

The re-election campaign begins

Wednesday, 27 May 2009   Tactics   3 comments 

If Labor can look credible enough on climate change, whatever the next election will be fought on, that should be enough to win it.

The state steps in

Monday, 25 May 2009   The Australian state   5 comments 

Treasury’s unusual move in projecting growth at a higher trend and for a longer forward projection is necessary to provide a guide path out of the downturn that does not come from the economic programs of the political class.

Bluff and counter-bluff

Sunday, 17 May 2009   Tactics   5 comments 

Both parties were just talking tough about going to the electorate with economic programmes that they didn’t have.

So if the downturn is unprecedented, why has then Treasury chosen this time to change its methodology to more allow for the experience of past economic recoveries than ever before?

Predictions of some officials in Washington, London and Paris that the economy would begin to recover within a year, are based on no other reason than they wouldn’t know what to do if it didn’t.

No left turn, either

Tuesday, 14 April 2009   State of the parties   6 comments 

Clearly some markets are more evil than others.

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