Free Beer And Other Reasons To Vote For Capitalism!
David Littleproud was spruiking the idea that the excise on beer should be frozen… unlike those English bastards we like our beer cold so just using the words “frozen” and “beer” should have been a vote winner. However, it seems that this was just a thought bubble from the Nationals leader which had no support from the rest of the Coalition, even if a couple of them praised the man for actually having a thought, which is quite an achievement for a Nationals MP.
It was interesting that they shut down the idea without further discussion. Although when I say “interesting”, I actually mean typical of the goings-on in Canberra lately. It was Otto Von Bismarck who said that politics was “the art of the possible”…
Actually the full quote is: “Politics is the art of the possible, the attainable — the art of the next best.” This leads me to believe that – like much of what happens these days – Otto had just been rolled and that he had to adapt his plans without looking too much like a loser…
Whatever led Von Bismarck to say that, I suspect that he wasn’t having as bad a time as the Labor Party recently.
The Coalition grew concerned that the changes to Reserve Bank would enable Labor to stack the interest rate setting part of the Bank with their mates because, after all, that’s what the Liberal Party would do. Why would it be terrible to have an interest rate setting group composed of Labor sympathisers? Well, we politicians all agree that interest rates are putting pressure on households and that they should come down but if you had too many comrades making decisions then they might come down before the election and then Peter Dutton would have no hope of being able to win, even with his promise to bring down power prices once he gets his nuclear plants up and running in 2035.
There was the suggestion that Labor could negotiate with The Greens but this is even harder than trying to work with the Liberal Party. Lately the tactics of The Greens seems to be to announce that they won’t let something through because it’s a bad policy but, in spite of it being a bad policy, Labor should negotiate so that they can claim credit if people like it. Their most recent tactic is to add something that is almost impossible to do but sounds good.
For example, the demand that Jim Chalmers override the RBA and lower interest rates has a number of problems. First, it completely undermines the independence of the Reserve Bank. This is a problem because they make decisions without considering whether they’re popular or not and this has its advantages even if they occasionally get it wrong. Secondly, if the Treasurer did use his power to lower interest rates, he’d have a political problem because the next thing would be that he’d be attacked for doing it, as well as being attacked for not doing it sooner. Yes, this is illogical but you only have to remember that, in 2019, Bill Shorten’s policy on negative gearing was going to raise the price of houses for buyers and lower the price for owners. Finally, if he lowered them once, there’d be speculation after each RBA decision whether he’d do it again which would mean that economists would be interviewed even more often and I think that we can all agree that the less we see of economists the better…
To be perfectly fair, there are some good economists but I can’t think of many because they rarely get interviewed. I mean, I often wonder what’s the point of interviewing a disciple of the free market capitalist economic theory when all they’re going to tell you is that the market knows best and there’s no need for any government interference. If that’s right, then why do we need the economist to advise us when we can just leave it to the market?
Whatever, I think that we need an election so we can get a boost to the economy from Clive Palmer’s advertising spending.
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11 comments
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Andrew Smith -
Harry Lime -
Phil Pryor -
Kerri -
Terry Mills -
Clakka -
GL -
paul walter -
leefe -
New England Cocky -
Harry Lime
Return to home pageOn interest rates and anything related, like Trump vs the rest, they complain that it’s not good for them running up to an election, hence, should be neither action nor help for working age…… it might make the centre look good to voters….
Whenever Littleproud appears on TV,why do I always get the impression of a table lamp with a dim bulb?Expect another tilt from Barnacle Joyce.
Isn’t Peter Duckwit-Futton a cure for constipation? And Littletobeproudof is a joke deserving no laugh from the seriously disappointed. They might pass as home types, office types, neighbour types even, but at the level of service imagined and required of Australia’s regular office and service, this pair is not a scrotum of substance, but merely a nematodes’ cutoff nuts. This nation needs leadership, planning, awareness, sense, foresight, focus and it is getting nothing good.
Ross Gittins had a good suggestion for slowing the economy!
Instead of using interest rates and benefitting the banks.
Why not increase compulsory superannuation contributions?
That way the public is forced to spend less by being forced to save more for their retirement.
The economy slows down and your average worker gets to keep their hard earned cash rather than handing it off to a bank and ultimately benefitting shareholders.
We are four weeks away from the Queensland state election and already there are high-fives and much back slapping in the Newscorp papers which dominate Queensland major centres (Brisbane Courier Mail, Gold Coast Bulletin, Toowoomba Chronicle, Townsville Bulletin, Cairns Post).
Celebrations are underway at Skynews who broadcast free to air throughout regional Queensland as they celebrate the landslide win of the LNP throughout the state.
I remind anybody who hasn’t swallowed the Newscorp bait that the election is actually yet to take place on 26 October and, incidentally, democracy still exists in Queensland despite the efforts of Newscorp to create an alternative reality.
Yes Kerri!
Indeed, I much prefer a socialistic clawback, to the deviously designed funnel used by the RBA to boost banking profits and those of the already wealthy. Designed by those that insist there be no manumission for the prols on whom they depend.
Looking at that photo and I all can think of is how did they manage to get that mutant hillbilly from The Hills Have Eyes into a suit without him trying to attack and eat his minders. His inner repulsiveness is becoming ever more present. You can see the look on Littleponce’s face is him wishing he could stick a knife in the back of the object before him.
Phwooaah!.
free beer?
And sausage sizzles, with fat saturated sangas?
This getting wrinkly looks like a gas gig.
Sod free – or even cheap – beer; I don’t drink the stuff so that does nothing for me. Free Coke would be nice. Free chocolate would be even better. In fact, that would be part of my platform if I ever decided too go into politics: a free pack of TimTams every day for all recipients of Social Security.
@ Harry Lime: You mean you can see some light??? Little-to-be-proud-of has as much spark as a dead mullet.
@ Kerrie, Clakka: This WILL NOT become a COALition policy because it removes the profits from the rapacious bankers already overpaid for their too conservative banking practices.
Perhaps the ALBANESE LABOR GOVERNMENT will grasp the nettle of enriching working people at the expense of foreign bankers.
@ leefe: The free beer proposal is known as the Beetrooter Compensation for all the days he allegedly stayed off the grog the last time he disgraced himself in public.
My mistake Cocky, it was obviously a reflection from the TV screen.