growthism

There is his huge gap between what the people want and what politicians and their masters want.

Dr. Andrew Leigh MP is a former Professor of economics at the ANU and is now the Labor member for Frazer. During his university career he was awarded the Economic Society of Australia's Young Economist Award which is given to honour that Australian economist under the age of forty who is deemed to have made a significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge. He has published over 50 journal articles in the disciplines of economics, public policy and law, and over 100 opinion pieces. His research findings have been discussed in, amongst others, the Australian, the Australian Financial Review, the Christian Monitor, the Economist, New York Times, the Sydney Morning Herald, Time and Washington Post. He has also written a number of books, perhaps the best of which is titled Battlers and Billionaires, which weaves together vivid anecdotes, interesting history and powerful statistics to tell the story of the growing inequality in this country. It is not as hard hitting as Thomas Piketty's book Capital which has a similar theme but a different conclusion, arguing that increased growth will not prevent the spiral into global inequality. Andrew's book on the other hand tells us that inequality can fuel (economic) growth, almost implying that the end justifies the means.

MEETING IN FLINDERS COMMUNITY HALL 4 PM SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 15th 2012 The Government and opposition's population engineering continues to wreck havoc on democracy and land-tenure, affecting both private property and public lands, and impacting on established low-key local commerce. New proposed uses for the Green Wedge actually include saw-mills and display homes. The Flinders Community Association have begun issuing an information-packed alert for distribution to the local community detailing the damage that State Government changes to our Green Wedges can do to peoples' local natural, social and commercial environment, whilst removing their ability to defend what is theirs. Other communities may wish to take a similar democratic initiative before all our rights to self-government are swept away by unjust legislation to benefit developers. Note that these moves were begun by the previous Labor Government - which is hardly fighting them now. The incumbent government should be rolling back what Bracks and Brumby did, but instead, they are making things worse.

If we are to survive, we must give up two core beliefs. One is the belief that we are qualified to be wise planetary stewards, and the other is that there will always be technological solutions to the problems that were created by previous technological solutions.

In his book, Ethical Oil, Canadian author and high profile media commentator Ezra Levant took aim at the hypocrisy of Greenpeace and other environmental groups in training their guns on Alberta oil sands oil, while leaving oil producers such as Saudi Arabia off the hook. Better that America buy its oil from Canada---a country that respects human rights and applies stronger environmental controls----than from offshore dictatorships. With oil sands and the Enbridge pipeline proposal under attack, and billions of profits and tax revenues on the line, Levant has stepped up his attack on the environmental movement. He charges that their agenda is driven by a prejudice against technology and civilization, a discredited attitude with a long pedigree. The ideology of Deep Ecology is a toxic, anti-human death cult. But is not the ideology of endless growth a death cult of the most profound kind?

Take a look at the One Child Policy nonsense at the Australian Democracy Museum site! Today Candobetter.net received a communication from the Australian Museum of Democracy. At first we thought that a bunch of Australian revolutionaries with a sense of humour had contacted us and we immediately went to their website, as they advised us to, to comment. We were disappointed to realize that this is just another face of Australian government propaganda and the Growth Lobby is well-ensconced. The website belongs to the Australian Museum of Democracy, which is owned and financed by taxpayers, but controlled by the government. So, what do you find when you go and make that visit to the website to “have your say” about democracy as encouraged? Update 5 Aug 2011: My comment now published on democracy site and modifications made for the record to this article on that score.

Unless there's economic growth, we're not making progress
Unless the trucks rumble along the roads, we're not making progress
Unless the engines of industry are turning, we're not making progress
Unless the factories and mills belch out smoke, we're not making progress
Unless our armies are on the move, we're not making progress

Until we respect the planet, we won't progress.

Today Treasurer Wayne Swan has tried to justify another rise in interest rates by claiming in true 'polly-speak' that such an impost is a sign of a stronger Australian economy. Swan’s growth fetish belies the Lib/Labs stale ideology. Last month Swan's fettish for strong economic growth and strong population growth for Australia was reaffirmed at the Population Summit in Brisbane held 30th March 2010.

But Swan's growth fetish and consequential rising costs of living do not augur well for most Australians with mortgages.

As the G20 summit of world leaders tries to resolve the economic crisis, where are we really heading? Many key issues are being ignored in the rush to "restore growth" at any price.

Also published on Online Opinion on 21 Apr 09.

Feeling really angry about the way governments all around the world are giving all our taxes to the Churches of Global-trading, Growth Economics and their ministers of government and friends? Got something to say to them?

Well, check out this song on you-tube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TYezSrzUUs

Soft green Canadian activists are under the false impression that there exists some enormous gulf between the environmental record of the hated right wing ogre Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his centre left opponents. Wrong. Objectively, if anything, I would submit, Harper is marginally less atrocious, if all things are condsidered. Small consolation, granted. but soft green thinking is hypocritical.

If Australians starve and more become homeless due to their population having overshot petroleum, water and food production resources, how will the politicians, media and lobbyists who actively drove this situation be held responsible? Critique of Tim Colebatch article, "Population grows at record rate" (Age, 6/6/2008)

Murdoch's Queensland Courier Mail has long been in the business of marketing unacceptable development, but the April 9 2008 editorial read more like a medieval sermon on the benefits of floggings. What must Queenslanders have done to the Gods to provoke such punishment as

“freeways, chemical plants and new powerstations at their back door; transport corridors and dams which endanger the environment and destroy local communities”

... which the editorialist identifies as our inescapable and deserved fate?

CANADA: Population growth and economic growth are booming in Canada, but so is poverty and homelessness.
Hmm. Sounds like what is happening in Australia.
Yet, in Quebec, which has low economic growth, child poverty and family poverty are also low. What gives? This article says the secret of reducing poverty lies in state intervention. The trickle-down economy only makes the rich richer and more callous.