Dedicated to the preservation of personal freedoms, moral standards, honest responsible government and principled political behaviour for the people of South Australia

Economics - a weasel word?

When you think of "economical" you think of successful economies - making savings by being prudent, perhaps even frugal, obtaining good value - right?

"Economics" also gives that impression, but nothing could be further from the truth.

As currently practiced, economics is a willing servant of capitalist society and as such insists that the cure for all ills is sustained economic growth. Every country in the World, every State in Australia, needs to produce more this year than they did last year and more next year than they did this year - for ever. Of course, growth must be controlled because too much growth too quickly leads to hyperinflation and disaster. Nevertheless, prudently managed, growth is the answer to poverty and will provide prosperity for all.

The Rann government in South Australia has eagerly swallowed this line and trumpets each new project and the jobs it is said to create. That the car industry is running out of customers to buy the new cars they must buy for the industry to survive is self-evident, but the mantra of growth rumbles on.

If the Australian economy has been growing steadily for many years - and it has - how come there are desperately poor homeless people on our streets, in every State in Australia and throughout the developed world? Growth doesn't seem to have done much for them, nor indeed has it done much for any of the "working class" people struggling on low incomes. Rich people seem to be doing just fine, however. The gap between rich and poor has never been wider since the 1930s.

Something is wrong, isn't it? The problem is that "Economic Growth" has no built-in plan for equitable distribution of the wealth it claims to create.

Unfortunately, there is more.

Think about the concept of permanently sustained economic growth. Basically, the idea is that we take the resources of our planet and convert them into trash at an ever-increasing rate. That cannot possibly work. Ultimately, we either run out of resources, or we run out of customers to buy our products produced from them. Remember what we said earlier about the vehicle industry in South Australia not being able to sell enough cars.

One attempt to gain more customers is to reduce the price. Australian companies are moving offshore to countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia where labour is cheaper and goods can be produced for sale at lower prices (or greater profits). This is silly and ultimately self-defeating, because in doing so they make Australian workers unemployed, and unemployed people cannot afford the goods however cheaply you make them. However, the trend continues. Indonesian and Malaysian workers jobs are now under threat as companies move to mainland China where labour is cheaper and goods can be produced for sale at lower prices (or greater profits). This is silly and ultimately self-defeating, because in doing so they make Indonesian, Malaysian as well as Australian workers, unemployed, and unemployed people cannot afford the goods however cheaply you make them. And so it goes on - an absurd downward spiral to misery.

The real issue here is that "Economic Growth" has no concern for the long term future or for working people. Provided the already-wealthy increase their wealth and power for the duration of their lifetime they care nothing for the eventual outcome and the devastation future generations will have to face.

That devastation is already real. Global warming, depleted fish stocks, reduced oil, gas and coal reserves, poisoned rivers, degraded soils, devastated forests, extinctions of species of flora and fauna, savage climate changes, the list goes on and will become more severe and longer as time passes.

Clearly we MUST stop this madness. Can we do this in South Australia? Yes we can, but it will take far-sightedness, planning and determination the Rann government has not shown for any progress towards a sane and sustainable future to be brought about.

Contact us: admin@sos-sa.org.au

A Global Warn(m)ing

With alternative energy delivery becoming more and more important, oil reserves dwindling, and climate changes involving fierce droughts in Australia, isn't it about time we addressed the validity of our economic parameters?

As an aside, we hope you noticed the absurd political claptrap orchestrated by John Howard. It will be at least twenty years before nuclear energy can contribute to our electricity generation - by then it would be FAR too late to do ANYTHING.

What we need is IMMEDIATE delivery of windpower, solar energy, tidal and river water generation and other sources of renewable, sustainable electricity generation, not a nuclear pretence solely designed to embarrass the Labor Party.

Contact us: admin@sos-sa.org.au