OT: Current Affairs and Politics

[the phantom menace]

On point...




For full strip: https://www.theguardian.com/comment...dawn-are-they-really-gone-prime-minister-albo

 

[crocodile]

That much is true.

I have an economic question for @crocodile if he will answer me.

If inflation can be attributable to supply issues, is it necessary to raise interest rates to address that?

Do you think there are other alternatives?

Can the government introduce another price freeze as they did back in the 1970's to curtail inflation?

Price freezes didn't work back then, never did and never will. Nixon tried it in the '70s with the only result being that people simply stopped producing anything. Hardly a fix for a supply side issue.

Interest rates are a by-product of the money supply. Too much money chasing too few goods = inflation. The RBA reduces the money supply by draining liquidity which has the effect of increasing the interest rate. For a primer on how the RBA does this google "Open Market Operations"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_market_operation

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

Price freezes didn't work back then, never did and never will. Nixon tried it in the '70s with the only result being that people simply stopped producing anything. Hardly a fix for a supply side issue.

Interest rates are a by-product of the money supply. Too much money chasing too few goods = inflation. The RBA reduces the money supply by draining liquidity which has the effect of increasing the interest rate. For a primer on how the RBA does this google "Open Market Operations"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_market_operation

So if we have a post co vid supply issue, demand is meaning that people are willing to pay more for fewer goods.

Thus prices are increasing.

So if we restrict the amount of money in circulation, that means the opportunity for people to pay more is less thus leading to reduced prices.

How does the model work on say fuel, will prices fall if people have less money? I was just wondering because we axed the excise, but prices are still high.

I was thinking because high fuel prices also mean higher transport costs etc and that might effect retail prices.

I was wondering at what point can fuel companies no longer reduce prices and whether that’s going to cause inflation not withstanding money supply.

Any ideas there?

Good point about price freezes.

Thanks.

 

[Bandwagon]

So if we have a post co vid supply issue, demand is meaning that people are willing to pay more for fewer goods.

Thus prices are increasing.

So if we restrict the amount of money in circulation, that means the opportunity for people to pay more is less thus leading to reduced prices.

How does the model work on say fuel, will prices fall if people have less money? I was just wondering because we axed the excise, but prices are still high.

I was thinking because high fuel prices also mean higher transport costs etc and that might effect retail prices.

I was wondering at what point can fuel companies no longer reduce prices and whether that’s going to cause inflation not withstanding money supply.

Any ideas there?

Good point about price freezes.

Thanks.

Fuel is largely dependent upon international markets, retailers may squeeze their margins to try and get greater market share, but there's only so much there they can do. In the end prices will only go down when oil supply / demand balances out.

Of course if demand drops due to say a global recession, then we might see prices fall. Mind you OPEC will do their best to prop up prices by limiting supply as they pretty much always do.

 

[Gronk]

The blonde in the back was every progressive last week.

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

Fuel is largely dependent upon international markets, retailers may squeeze their margins to try and get greater market share, but there's only so much there they can do. In the end prices will only go down when oil supply / demand balances out.

Of course if demand drops due to say a global recession, then we might see prices fall. Mind you OPEC will do their best to prop up prices by limiting supply as they pretty much always do.

Just seems a bit unfair that petrol goes up (leading to inflation) which is out of our control and the next thing we know is that we have to cop higher interest rates to control it.

So a double reaming.

Does this impression have any validity economically or are my concerns misplaced?

 

[Gronk]

I wouldn’t take the risk to invite NATO or any other power in on an enhanced and accelerated program to point nuclear missiles at them in the first place.

Which is not to excuse the Russian invasion, just help explain it according to some scholars.

A bit more realistic than the depiction of Putin being an evil genius, cat in lap, plotting the take over of the world.

Ukraine should settle with Russia: Noam Chomsky

Ukraine should make concessions to Russian demands, said philosopher and linguist Noam Chomsky in a recent interview, adding that the people must “pay attention to the reality of the world.”

www.google.com

And also don’t forget South Africa who were one of the first countries to condemn the invasion but call for peace. The panel will note the turbulent atmosphere of that country over many decades and give credit to their experience of horrendous domestic hardship.

Also, I think that before the dissolution of the ussr, they were the first country to abandon and surrender their nuclear weapons.

So far as I know the world, all nations can do good and bad things. Case by case issue basis.

My expectation is that the west and our media will continue to poke the bear, it’s all the time and every day. I hope the circuit breaker is not massive destruction anywhere.

Anyway, I will let my submissions on the matter rest unless I am challenged or change my view but I do appreciate the opposing positions and leave room to accept that I could be mistaken.

Chomsky is a social pacifist who refuses to choose sides in order to preserve his delusional moral purity. He preaches harm reduction ,even though Biden is starving millions of Afghans and Iranians right now with sanctions.

What did he say about the Palestinians ?

"Well, look you just need to accept you're a defeated people, continuing to resist is just creating bloodshed etc."

Meanwhile Kissinger thinks that Ukrainians are not worth fighting over.

Henry Kissinger: Ukraine must give Russia territory

Veteran US statesman Henry Kissinger has urged the West to stop trying to inflict a crushing defeat on Russian forces in Ukraine, warning that it would have disastrous consequences for the long term stability of Europe.

finance.yahoo.com

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

Chomsky is a social pacifist who refuses to choose sides in order to preserve his delusional moral purity. He preaches harm reduction ,even though Biden is starving millions of Afghans and Iranians right now with sanctions.

What did he say about the Palestinians ?

"Well, look you just need to accept you're a defeated people, continuing to resist is just creating bloodshed etc."

Meanwhile Kissinger thinks that Ukrainians are not worth fighting over.

Henry Kissinger: Ukraine must give Russia territory

Veteran US statesman Henry Kissinger has urged the West to stop trying to inflict a crushing defeat on Russian forces in Ukraine, warning that it would have disastrous consequences for the long term stability of Europe.

finance.yahoo.com

What a conceited, arrogant and ignorant rabble they are.

Chomsky has been one of the biggest critics of the USA for 70 years and to paint him in other way is dishonest, malicious and quite frankly, wreaks of desperation.

I ask the panel to Google and look him up, watch his videos for cold hard evidence.

The reality is that bombs are falling and people are getting killed.

The fact is that the Ukkies cannot win this war and all of this fist pumping from afar is death.

Stop the war and regroup later.

 

[Gronk]

What a conceited, arrogant and ignorant rabble they are.

Chomsky has been one of the biggest critics of the USA for 70 years and to paint him in other way is dishonest, malicious and quite frankly, wreaks of desperation.

I ask the panel to Google and look him up, watch his videos for cold hard evidence.

The reality is that bombs are falling and people are getting killed.

The Ukkies cannot win this war and all of this fist pumping from afar is death.

Philosophical navel gazing aside, when has pacifism ever worked ? I'm not talking about the MLK speech encouraging racial tolerance, Ghandi wandering the globe in his Pjs or the Dalai Lama smiling and touching children's heads, I'm talking about big dog wars. What examples do you have were pacifism diplomacy has provided favourable outcomes for the cucked country ?

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

Philosophical navel gazing aside, when has pacifism ever worked ? I'm not talking about the MLK speech encouraging racial tolerance, Ghandi wandering the globe in his Pjs or the Dalai Lama smiling and touching children's heads, I'm talking about big dog wars. What examples do you have were pacifism diplomacy has provided favourable outcomes for the cucked country ?

I’m sure I will find many examples in due course.

But to you I respectfully say, what have the sanctions done, how is the billions of dollars of weapons and arms been working to drive Russias illegal invasion back?

Ask yourself this, has the policy been effective?

All of the evidence, ALL OF IT, points to the exact opposite.

It’s not working…. things are getting worse.

Why are you conjuring up historical examples unfavourable to appeasement when this is a new 21st century war with very different circumstance?

And the net result of all this foolish bravado is more scenes like these:





Where is old mate going to sleep?

Where is his family?

What is he going to eat?

What is he going to wear?

This is f**king urgent.

End the war, compromise and sort the differences out later, whilst there are still Ukkies left.

“Better red than dead” for the time being at least.

And let’s not forget the impending middle eastern and regional food crisis.

Within a few months or so we will see images of riots and other catastrophe in countries where the poor and honest battlers are already being reamed.

People in hot and humid climates, starving to death. It’s a terrible and unnecessary way to die.

Peace and goodwill to all humankind. The fair go, the sanctity of life.

Read more

Russia's war is threatening the Middle East’s food security — sparking warnings of riots, famine, and mass migration

Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine now threatens a huge proportion of the wheat and grain that the Middle East and North Africa region relies on.

www.google.com

 

[Bandwagon]

Just seems a bit unfair that petrol goes up (leading to inflation) which is out of our control and the next thing we know is that we have to cop higher interest rates to control it.

So a double reaming.

Does this impression have any validity economically or are my concerns misplaced?

Most of the supply issues are out of our control.

Even for stuff we produce, because if the world market price is high, then so is ours, that's globalisation.

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

Most of the supply issues are out of our control.

Even for stuff we produce, because if the world market price is high, then so is ours, that's globalisation.

What about the government intervenes in petrol prices. Massive subsidies and brings that down.
That reduces costs of goods, more supply, less pressure on prices. Lower prices, lower interest rate as supply adjusts to demand?

What do you think?

Some kind of strategic targeting.

I haven’t worked out how to pay for it yet. Maybe a combination of wealth and death taxes as a starter.

That would also help in the redistribution of wealth that we badly need.

 

[Bandwagon]

What about the government intervenes in petrol prices. Massive subsidies and brings that down.
That reduces costs of goods, more supply, less pressure on prices. Lower prices, lower interest rate as supply adjusts to demand?

What do you think?

Some kind of strategic targeting.

I haven’t worked out how to pay for it yet. Maybe a combination of wealth and death taxes as a starter.

That would also help in the redistribution of wealth that we badly need.

Years of neo liberalism have shown us that subsidies from government end up as profit for private enterprise.

Markets will charge what markets will bear, if the government is paying a portion of your bills, then you can and will bear greater costs, so subsidies at best become the margin by which an enterprise profits.

In the end though if you propose a tax increase to pay for a subsidy, all you end up doing is deferring the cost of that which you subsidise to the time where you pay the tax that funds it.

That's not to say there's nothing government can do in this space, but anything meaningful is really going to be a long term solution that requires planning and perhaps a bit of vision. Ultimately the most effective way to ease the burden of the cost of fuel, is to use less of it.

Better roads, better public transport, better designed communities and cities, better use of technology to change traditional practices. All things that move a car from being a necessity to a choice.

 

[Gronk]

Philosophical navel gazing aside, when has pacifism ever worked ?

I’m sure I will find many examples in due course.

Looking forward to it.

 

[Gronk]

Mad merkins in the USA are deflecting again about the recent school shooting.

Texas Governor maintains that they have a mental health problem, not a gun problem. Fun fact: he is the key note speaker at the NRA annual conference in a few weeks.


MAGA merkins go further, by suggesting that it might even be a false flag operation. They said they said same thing after Sandy Hook.


Thankfully @TheRam ’s hero Alex Jones is being brought to account and his pathetic attempt to declare bankruptcy to avoid judgments against him has been diverted. Sandy Hook families have been carved out of the creditors to his bankruptcy, so they will be able to fire sale his personal assets. Mind you, there are enought NRA deadshits in the USA to crowd fund him, so it will probably be business as usual in the near future.

Sandy Hook lawsuits against Alex Jones on track to resume

The Sandy Hook families’ lawsuits against Infowars host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for calling the 2012 Newtown school shooting in Connecticut a hoax appear poised to resume soon

abcnews.go.com

Meanwhile, the NRA have banned guns from their Houston gig.

 

[Twizzle]

Just watching a bit on ABC News about the Solomons, interviewing a local journalist.

The Chinese holding a series of "press conferences" in the Solomons, she said they are technically not PCs, as they will only be accepting questions from the Chinese media and won't be taking questions from the local media.

It has begun.

 

[hindy111]

Most of the supply issues are out of our control.

Even for stuff we produce, because if the world market price is high, then so is ours, that's globalisation.

Most farmers I know can't grow anything because it is to wet to plough. Everything's like mud.

 

[Gronk]

Just watching a bit on ABC News about the Solomons, interviewing a local journalist.

The Chinese holding a series of "press conferences" in the Solomons, she said they are technically not PCs, as they will only be accepting questions from the Chinese media and won't be taking questions from the local media.

It has begun.

It's like a scene out of the Sopranos where a shop keeper interrupts Tony at a wedding and asks a favour. Tony fixed his problem using his cronies.

Not long after Tony's boys turn up and take over his back room with a aim to run a stolen goods racket from his shop.

The shopkeeper is .

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

Looking forward to it.

Well its a good thing that our indigenous people didn’t fight to the last person…for a start.

 

[Gronk]

Well its a good thing that our indigenous people didn’t fight to the last person…for a start.

Your confusing acquiescence with pacifism.

As Donald Chinula ~ Professor of Theology & Personality [Psychology] said in one of his essays about Martin Luther King..

African American acquiescence to segregation and discrimination in this society in order to keep the peace or not rock the boat is not peace in King's thought. It is contained violence. Such peace obscures oppression, exploitation and dehumanisation. It is ungodly and contributes to unspeakable pain, suffering and sorrow. This kind of peace erodes and corrupts the social fibre at the same time that it twists and torments the human psyche. It is insufferable, diabolical and intolerable.

Building King's Beloved Community

How does oppression manifest itself in the structures and systems of society? What are the psychological and theological issues surrounding the phenomena of a tortured self-identity and diminished self-esteem? Through the study of King's life and witness, Building King's Beloved Community seeks...

books.google.com.au