HE is doing one of the hardest jobs in the world, but claims he refuses to accept any payment from the government for his services. Of course we are discussing US President Donald Trump. Donating your presidential pay may be great for the ego of a very wealthy person, however politicians not getting paid was […]
ONE of the more famous political statements of our lifetime – “It’s the economy, stupid” – was delivered by political strategist James Carville, who was working on Bill Clinton’s successful 1992 Presidential Election campaign. The catchphrase meant that the key concern of US voters in the election was the state of the economy. I think […]
GOVERNMENTS here and overseas are extolling the virtues of owning and operating electric vehicles (EVs), but a strong pushback is coming from rural and regional proponents who are against this idea. I am reminded of the saying that “none are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm”. This seems to be part of the […]
NEWSPAPERS across the globe in mid-October were headlined by the plan for peace in Gaza. I was sent a copy of the New Zealand Herald, which featured a story headlined: “Public executions after Trump leaves Hamas in control of Gaza”. The next paragraph went on to say: “Hamas has carried out a mass execution in […]
WHEN writing a regular “opinion piece”, on occasions the subject can become exciting. This week’s offering may well create credibility issues as I’m commenting on figures released in relation to real estate sales last quarter said to be in a price slump involving sales in 938 suburbs. Clearly, I’m not an expert in this area […]
WHAT do governments do when finances get out of hand? How do they solve issues quickly so that they are re-elected? Survival is the number one game in politics, so when your interest bill on borrowings gets to where it is in Australia today, at $5 million per day, clearly something needs to be done […]
BACKFLIPS followed by backlashes seem to be what is happening to our federal government’s attempts to extract more tax dollars from our population. Those in the system who say they know, are advising that the most influential opponent to these tax grabs is former Prime Minister Paul Keating. In an opinion piece I have just […]
DO you ever get the feeling that something isn’t right and that you are being politically processed into believing spin, instead of fact? Whilst the Prime Minister believes in creating as few shocks as possible, his Treasurer, who eventually wants to succeed him, appears hell-bent on achieving change in order to cement his eventual move […]
I’M starting to see many similarities between the economic realities of the USA and those of Australia. Principally in the rising debt levels and the fact that the country’s leaders are just realising that something needs to be done about it before their populations realise the size of the predicament. President Trump, who is no […]
NOW that the Federal Government’s three day “Productivity Summit” is over, many of us are still trying to work out what it was all about. The three areas that the conveners required to be discussed were productivity, economic growth and tax reform. The current housing supply dominated most of one day’s debates but from what […]
