Over the past few weeks, I’ve pointed out how often we have to try to challenge rhetorical nonsense about the economy that spills from the mouths of The Coalition and their business allies. Blinding rhetoric, too often, substitutes for truths about the economy. And one of the particular myths we hear, time and again, is the idea that workers are not productive “enough”. It’s not true. Read more

Think “juicy steak”. Unless you are a vegetarian, your mouth watered or your stomach told you were hungry. “Juicy steak” are also coded words that trigger physical and emotional reactions; the phrase will blind you from thinking clearly about anything else…at least for a minute or two. CEOs who run around tossing out phrases like “surging labour costs” and “lower productivity” are using the “juicy steak” strategy—they want to trigger emotional responses that blind people. Read more

What do auto workers in Canada and Australia have in common? A high dollar spells bad news for jobs—and, absent government action, is another dagger in the struggle to maintain a middle-class living. Read more

If you read the press, you’d think there isn’t a single manufacturing job in any place but China. Truth is, though, lots of stuff is made right in your backyard—it just takes a bit of paying attention. Tim Ayres helps us put on the glasses. Read more

Interesting stuff happening over at the Gandangarra Local Aboriginal Land Council. The Council has a clever two-track investment strategy—make a nice, fair profit on a land development and, then, take that money and pour it into some pretty cool services for people. Huh, if only some people in politics got that idea into their heads. Read more

Q. Direct Federal funding of Australia’s Olympic team over the past four years has been at least $589 million – which equates to about $39 million for each gold medal. Do you […] Read more

Who knew? Wayne Swan hearts Bruce Springsteen. But, the main point here: Swan is singing the right tune. Read more

The “serious people” in the political world, the media and a lot of “think tanks” (where, apparently, people do very serious thinking) keep telling you, day after day, that a very important goal right now — today, immediately — is to have a balanced government budget. Never mind the need for major investments that are needed in a whole host of things. Balance. It. Now. Except they are wrong — and they are leading us down a quite foolish path. Read more