Daily Archives: August 27, 2015

Opinion – National Reform Summit: We are ‘sleepwalking into a real mess’, says former Treasury boss Martin Parkinson – Sydney Morning Herald – John Gelmini

August 27, 2015 By in Australia, Business Administration, Defense Policy, Democracy, Education, Energy Policy, Fiscal Policy, Foreign Policy, Growth, Immigration, People, Society Leave a comment
A koala climbing up a tree. Taken on the 28th ...

A koala climbing up a tree. Taken on the 28th of July, 2004 in Cape Otway National Park, Victoria, Australia. Canon 10D, 70-200mm f/2.8L @ f/3.2 1/200s (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Reliefmap of Australia

Reliefmap of Australia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I agree with Dr Alf.

Australia is a very large, resource rich, country which squanders its natural advantages of mineral wealth, land and the fact that it has a small population, by selling minerals and livestock without adding any value whatsoever. Australia probably needs some serious SWOT analysis and a new strategy.

Too many of its key industries, water rights and farms are being bought, or already have been, by the Japanese and now on a much bigger scale, the Chinese.

Unlike Dr Alf, I lived and worked in America whilst he was in Australia but I visited that country for a month in the 1990s and saw how things were for myself.

Australia is a beautiful country, which people would do well to visit but it needs to start making and selling things which people want, and not frittering away it’s inbuilt God-given advantages, by turning itself into a forward base for the Americans, who seek to “contain ” China and a source of mineral wealth and livestock for China.

John Gelmini

Related articles

Opinion – China’s economic woes extend far beyond its stock market | Michael Boskin | The Guardian

August 27, 2015 By in Business Administration, Central banks, Central Government, China, Defense Policy, Education, Energy Policy, Fiscal Policy, Foreign Policy, Growth, Keynesian, People, Politicians, Politics, Reform Tags: , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

This is an outstanding article, by Stanford‘s Professor, Michael Boskin, republished in the Guardian (source Project Syndicate). Boskin argues that as share prices continue their rollercoaster ride, China’s governance problems are becoming impossible to ignore.

Source: China’s economic woes extend far beyond its stock market | Business | The Guardian

This is an insightful must-read article.

China’s growing pains have been enormous. China’s elite wealthy families have diversified their assets increasingly into global real estate, but for ordinary families there are deep scars. When I was in Beijing, our guide told us that he needed to support his whole family, including wife (not working) and baby, plus his and his wife’s parents and grand-parents in the provinces – there are not the social sefety nets common in the West. When the economy slows or diversifies the ripple effect is enormous.

Thoughts?