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donnashuggy · ‎24-01-2014

Is he living up to your expectations?

http://www.skynews.com.au/topstories/article.aspx?id=944574&vId=

i-need-a-martini · ‎25-01-2014

How is it that everyone from local economists and analysts to international groups such as the IMF think Rudds economic policies were brilliant but Abbott can still repeat pre-election garbage to a global audience that knows better than he does? He looks like a fool.

Here is some reading about how Australia managed in the GFC.

http://ministers.treasury.gov.au/DisplayDocs.aspx?doc=speeches/2009/004.htm&min=njsa&DocType=

http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2012/car111512a.htm

http://www98.griffith.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/handle/10072/34649/64980_1.pdf?sequence=1

http://www.politifact.com.au/truth-o-meter/article/2013/aug/27/did-labor-really-save-us-gfc/

This last one is a summary of the startegies Rudd put into place. It's been widely discussed (globallY0 that a core reason Australia survived the crsis is because Rudd acted fast. Real fast. And that his policies were well thought out. Compare that to the US who took a conservcative wait and see approach. Disaster for them. http://www.hawkerbritton.com/hawker-britton-media/public-affairs/global-financial-crisis-government-...

spotweldersfriend · ‎25-01-2014

And I wonder how many of those who complained the loudest over Rudds/Swans cash injection actually sent their money back to the government.My guess is none of them.

donnashuggy · ‎25-01-2014

They just put it in the bank with their middle class welfare savings spot.

monman12 · ‎25-01-2014

"Is he living up to your expectations"

Does it matter , here?.
I thought the myopic approach was the same as that of the newly ACTU installed loyalist, Shorten, wherein in the past: "Shorten admits he does not know what his prime minister said on the issue - but says he supports whatever it was"

Within CS it is: we do not know (understand) what Abbott said on the issue - but we disagree whatever it was.

Now for another group chorus of Kumbaya ..................

vampire-teddy · ‎25-01-2014

he has fulfilled my expectations and then some. I thought he would make a complete mess and embarass Australia and he has done that and more. goodness knowswhat he will do if he continues to stay in power. if things keep going the way they are the libs will have to do a gillard and oust him or they will be in serious trouble and so could the whole of Australia.

Such is life.

monman12 · ‎25-01-2014

INAM: "........How is it that everyone from local economists and analysts to international groups such as the IMF think Rudds economic policies were brilliant......"

Everyone INAM?

".....Reserve bank governor Glenn Stevens drew attention to the magnificent financial position built up over more than a decade by Costello, saying that “the capacity to respond, if need be, to developments in the future is virtually without peer.”

"Had any one of these (European & USA) countries’ governments faced the crisis with zero government debt and consistent budget surpluses, they would have been considered pillars of strength rather than sources of weakness. What those European countries wanted for, in other words, was Australian treasurer Peter Costello running their budgets in the long lead-up to 2008."

I note this excerpt from one of your (2012) links INAM:

"The IMF economists believe the government’s deficit reduction path strikes a balance between reducing public debt and the need to contain any adverse impact on economic growth. In their report, they support the government’s plan to maintain surpluses over the medium term ...........and the government’s efforts to return the budget to surplus this year. ......."

I have heard that Swan song before "return the budget to surplus", a pity it was replicating the ballet The Dying Swan.

Partisan pink / blue politics aside INAM, if you have any real interest in practical economics you might acknowledge, as do I, that a major factor in our surviving the GFC was prudential regulation in the form of:

Reserve Bank Act 1959, as amended.
ASIC 1991 Hawke
APRA 1998 Howard

Of the above, APRA can take a lot of credit for the strength/oversight of our financial institutions prior to, and during the GFC:

"APRA currently supervises institutions holding A$4 trillion in assets for almost 23 million Australian depositors, policyholders and superannuation fund members. It regulates banks, general and life insurance companies, superannuation funds, credit unions, building societies and friendly societies to ensure that these institutions keep their financial promises; that is, that they will remain financially sound and able to meet their obligations to depositors, fund members and policy holders."

People will waffle away as the dictates of their political myopia guide them, but whilst the esoteric politics of CS members are just that, I will always remain an economic pragmatist.

nɥºɾ

i-need-a-martini · ‎25-01-2014

Monman - as I am sure you well know, having money in reserves is not the reason we pulled through the GFC. That money isn't cash in a bank account that could be withdrawn with the presentation of a passwbook. The bulk of surplus was/is tied up in investments which could have disappeared before our eyes as companies went bust. As it did in other countries.

Rudd was smart enough to do what others were too timid to do - free up that money by putting into the economy through the community to generate and stimulate. And he was smart enough not to wait.

i-need-a-martini · ‎25-01-2014

And did you notice the word "balance" in that quote from the IMF?

Not hold onto your money and never spend anything on essential services in order to build up a massive surplus whilst the country's infrustructure falls appart ala Howard.

Balance.

Rudds projection went beyond the short term GFC spending. The governement, and economists, talked about getting back to surplus once the the crisis was over and there were policies in place for this.

He did what had to be done at the time.

monman12 · ‎25-01-2014

Monman - as I am sure you well know, having money in reserves is not the reason we pulled through the GFC.
"Rudd was smart enough to do what others were too timid to do - free up that money by putting into the economy through the community to generate and stimulate. And he was smart enough not to wait."

That I certainly do not know INAM

INAM you write: "having money in reserves is not the reason we pulled through the GFC", then "free up that money by putting into the economy" ??????. I would suggest those comments are at odds, because to free up money for the economy it had to be in reserve (from a previous government perhaps?), and there would have been very little chance of raising it from OS at that point in time.

INAM: "Rudd was smart enough to do what others were too timid to do"....." he was smart enough not to wait" Really?

Let' see: Australia's first $10 billion package Dec 2008, then the second: $40 billion package Feb 2009   Now China's US$ 586 billion stimulus package announced by the State Council of the People's Republic of China on 9 November 2008.

Seems like the Chinese were "smart (er)" and not "timid", perhaps their stimulus package flowed-on to assist us when they purchased our commodities !!!!!!

On June 2009, the World Bank raised its growth forecast in China for 2009 from 6.5% to 7.2% amid signs that the economy is doing better than expected, which has been helped by the stimulus package

INAM did you appreciate my earlier post references (sans political bias???):

Partisan pink / blue politics aside INAM, if you have any real interest in practical economics you might acknowledge, as do I, that a major factor in our surviving the GFC was prudential regulation in the form of:

Reserve Bank Act 1959, as amended.
ASIC 1991      Hawke
APRA 1998      Howard

Of the above, APRA can take a lot of credit for the strength/oversight of our financial institutions prior to, and during the GFC:

While it is harder to tease out the differences in regulation, from the Belratti and Stulz, analysis, it appears that prudential oversight, including restrictions on banking activity; strict oversight of bank funding; and regulatory independence, all raised the likelihood that a bank survived the GFC. Again, Australia had strong prudential regulations before and during the GFC

Here is an ABC article that is applicable :Dumb luck and policy: how we survived the GFC

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-12-23/dumb-luck-and-policy-how-we-survived-the-gfc/1188466

http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/2829090.html

https://www.taxpayers.org.au/factcheck-did-kevin-save-us-from-the-gfc/