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     hilarius
Member
Username: hilarius
Post Number: 3246
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0
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| | Sunday, November 25, 2007 - 05:41 am: |  
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Good Morning
We wake to the end of the Howard era and the beginning of another
It is not unlike the end of WW2 when the British people threw out the victorious wartime leader and opted for a Labour Government
The circumstances are of course different
There was no doubting the real, if costly, victory won in 1945 and 1946 against countries which had been run by cruel leaderships
Today the victory claimed by John Howard was a peacetime victory consisting of supposed greater prosperity
I suggest that "prosperity" is not easily defined and certainly is not defined in purely financial terms
The problem is that much of the claimed victory, prominent in John Howard's proud farewell is a false victory, even in financial terms
Firstly it understates the efforts of the people in working for prosperity
Secondly it understates the efforts of previous Labour governments in freeing up the exchange rate and increasing efficiency through reduced tariff protection
Thirdly the victory is partially a lie
The lies are that the Coalition worked for all Australians and overcame inflation and eliminated debt
The reality is that the rich got richer faster, inflation is far worse than stated and much of the prosperity is based on increased reliance on debt
The Age today records three errors by John Howard, excess pride and self satisfaction, private power being boosted over organised worker power, and staying on too long
The first I regard as true, the second I regard as making a false distinction between the interests of corporations and workers, and the last I think is totally wrong
The issue is not whether a person stays on too long but whether they deliver what they promise
The real problem for John Howard is that he claimed to work for all Australians, but as he himself conceded there were those who for whatever reason missed out
The biggest lie in the "Peacetime Victory" is that inflation has been defeated
It has not. The following have escalated :-
(1) Food Prices
(2) Fuel Prices
(3) House Prices
(4) Interest Rates
Kevin Rudd is promising prosperity "without throwing fairness out the door"
He needs to learn from the defeated "victor" that keeping a promise to work for all Australians is a lot harder than it sounds, and the victory should not be claimed if the victory is not a true one
One of the first aspects of a true victory will be the realisation that more material wealth is a false victory if family life is destroyed in the process of working longer and longer hours ... for what ?
Trips to Disneyland costing many thousand of dollars?
A trip to the local Church would be more to the point, if one is a believer, or at least a place of quiet contemplation if one is not
A generation, some of whom can't be bothered to read the classics of literature, or value traditions, politeness, history and culture is one of the products of prosperity
Hoons can drive expensive cars irresponsibly ... while personal responsibility and accountability are less and less popular
Someone else is always to blame
Is that prosperity?
With Best Wishes
Hilarius
I come in peace to share my thoughts and to shine my candle light on possible long term opportunities
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tryhay
Member
Username: tryhay
Post Number: 815
Registered: 09-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0
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| | Sunday, November 25, 2007 - 06:40 am: |
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hilarius
I have not read The Age but find your comments refreshing: rather than the mindless jingoism I could have expected, you have struck a chord with my thinking on contempory society, and recognise the challenges that Rudd faces to `` put aside the old battles of the past, between business and unions; between growth and the environment, etc.'' .
Did you watch the three speaches last night? I thought it was worth staying up for. I hope that Labour paces any changes to be implemented (I do not think they have senate control - and so will have to work with the greens/liberals to implement policy) ~ not like when Gough ripped the changes in and the populous was left in his wake ~ til 'Kerrs kurr'.
The next few years will be nothing if not interesting ....
related comment here : http://www.incrediblecharts.com/userscripts/forums/show.plx?tpc=35933&post=12619 9#POST126199
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hilarius
Member
Username: hilarius
Post Number: 3247
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: 
Votes: 1
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| | Sunday, November 25, 2007 - 11:25 am: |
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Tryhay
I did watch and listen to several speeches
Malcolm Turnbull thanked his supporters "from the bottom of my heart"
Peter Costello thanked his supporters "from the bottom of my heart"
John Howard thanked the Australian people "from the bottom of my heart"
Kevin Rudd, as you rightly said, pointed out the need not to fight old battles, and the need to meet the challenges he nominated and not throw fairness out the door
I detected a steeliness of purpose, fitting with his long standing Queensland reputation, and words from the mind as well as the heart
I hope that my hopes, as a radically minded conservative, will be fulfilled
As I've said before I hope that Australia becomes more than a quarry and a housing estate
Preservation of the environment is not only a spiritual imperative it is also an economic one as I view it
Not being Australian myself I value all that is distinctively Australian, especially in its extraordinary inland and coasts
To see great natural beauty destroyed would seem to me to be a crime, as well as economically short sighted
Rebuilding a sense of community where it no longer exists also seems to me to be important
Energy can be saved by placing houses and workplaces closer to each other and this would make more sense than unplanned or poorly planned development
In a flat country people should be given tax incentives to sell cars and buy bikes ... wide and safe cycle tracks should link the country ... I would even tunnel through a few hills to make that possible
Health would improve and health care costs might actually reduce ... instead of contributing to inflation ... I missed the rising cost of health care from my list
There should also be a tax on health care for drug abusers and the non-medically obese, by taxing food and drug ingredients of poor health (where they can not be prohibited)
Physical Education should be lifted to a much higher priority in schools, not the low priority joke it has increasingly become in some schools.
I could go on
Hilarius
I come in peace to share my thoughts and to shine my candle light on possible long term opportunities
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