Australian Politics Forum

Economic priorities skewed, says Milne

Date
September 26, 2012

CHRISTINE MILNE will use her first big speech as Greens leader to question Australia's faith in economic growth at any cost.    :)

The senator concedes her stance will be seen as heresy by some, but she is going to say it anyway.

Senator Milne will tackle her critics head on, acknowledging the accusation regularly made against her party - ''that we are anti-growth and therefore want everyone to go back to living in caves, sipping nettle broth and whittling Huon pine condoms'' as a former Tasmanian premier once maintained.

She says the ''anti-growth'' tag is partly true - depending on what is supposed to be growing, and how it is measured.
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Right now she says Australians' quality of life is stagnating, the environment is suffering and services are declining, despite Australia posting its 21st successive year of economic growth, as it is now defined.

Undeterred by the Greens' recent falls in opinion polls and poor results in NSW local elections, the Tasmanian senator who took over from the popular Bob Brown in March will say the economy is a tool which is not delivering Australians the life outcomes they desire.    :(

She says the idea of ''decoupling'' economic growth from environmental harm is seen as ''heresy'' in Australia.

But she asserts that ''surely it is time that those who claim that economic growth derived from resource extraction and pollution is the only path be the ones labelled wacky, irresponsible, divorced from reality or connected to the CIA''.

''I am for growing natural, human, social, manufactured and financial capital and I am against growing global warming, species extinction, poverty, poor health, conflict and corruption,'' her prepared notes for the speech to the National Press Club say.

''If economic growth as it is currently measured isn't actually making us happier, healthier, cleverer or safer then it isn't real growth. If we are growing our economy in defiance of physical limits, that isn't real growth, it's a confidence trick.

''On the other hand, if people are getting happier and healthier, if we're protecting and restoring the environment … if our schools, universities and research institutions are thriving, if we're helping unemployed people find worthwhile jobs … surely this is real growth, regardless of what our GDP numbers show.''

When asked how her leadership would differ from that of Mr Brown, Senator Milne once said the ''Greens haven't been, I think, successful enough in selling our economic vision''.    :)

Her speech makes that ''vision'' clear, arguing that gross domestic product is useful for measuring tax revenue, but not for measuring the real progress of a nation.

''GDP measures what we make and consume … it ignores work done in the home and volunteer work across society. It disregards the entrenched gap between rich and poor. It loves a catastrophe like a car accident or the Queensland floods because they generate economic activity, regardless of the human cost'', she says.

As Labor and the Coalition battle to find budget savings, Senator Milne proposes some new spending, including lifting unemployment benefits by $50 a week and a ''goal'' of increasing research and development funding from 2.2 per cent to 3 per cent of GDP.    [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

And she insists that around the world her views are ''becoming mainstream'', citing the economists Joseph Stiglitz, Paul Krugman, Amartya Sen, politicians including Robert Kennedy and even a report from the World Economic Forum, which this year debated the future of capitalism.

In March, the miner Clive Palmer claimed the Greens were part of a conspiracy with the CIA against Australian miners to benefit US mining interests, a claim he later retracted.    ;D

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/economic-priorities-skewed-says-milne-20120925-26jff.html#ixzz27WSsNTYE

wrote on Sep 26^th, 2012 at 8:23am:

CHRISTINE MILNE will use her first big speech as Greens leader to question Australia's faith in economic growth at any cost.

Im with you there Chissy

how about we all put our feet up for a week or two and see what happens.

just for a laugh.

As Labor and the Coalition battle to find budget savings, Senator Milne proposes some new spending, including lifting unemployment benefits by $50 a week and a ''goal'' of increasing research and development funding from 2.2 per cent to 3 per cent of GDP. [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

wrote on Sep 26^th, 2012 at 8:28am:

sounds good.. how many votes will that get?... does she happen to say where that money will come from?????..

probably out of your pocket crook...again and again...as more people end up unemployed so that cost goes up...

there is a huge cloud hanging over the car making industry in this country. perhaps the bicycle industry will save them

Does anyone say where the money is coming from. How about it Mr Abbott. Where is the extra money coming from, that you want to spend on defence?. :(

Milne and the greens have it right. Future generations will attest to that, but we won't be here to see.

Or maybe nature will take care of things on our behalf, after all......growth is finished! Kaput!

RIP GROWTH

wrote on Sep 26^th, 2012 at 8:44am:

Does anyone say where the money is coming from. How about it Mr Abbott. Where is the extra money coming from, that you want to spend on defence?. :(

He might go cap in hand to the Chinese. It's a well worn path by now with the ALP having visited the well many times. It's that simple.

Milne needs to understand that rewarding something means you get more of it.

Reward effort and innovation and you get more effort and innovation.

Reward people for being unemployed and you will get more unemployed.

She is a fruit loop.....

....and the only thing 'skewed' is her politics.....skewed farrrrrr left :D

No one gets rewarded for being unemployed. However she is right. The unemployed are long overdue, a fair and just increase. ;)

no , its impossible for a serious thinker to take her party seriously.
you cannot call for all the cuts to development, mining, farming ,logging in one breath
without also calling for a massive winding back in government spending at the same time.

as the economic pie would shrink, the greens would HAVE to call for major cuts to
asylum seeker spending
cuts to welfare
abolishment of the NDIS
reduction in education spending
abolishment of the dental scheme.

all of the above can only be funded by the very industries the greens want gone,

their position is childish.
they are like the 2 year old at the checkout nagging for a chocalate,
they should largely be ignored until they start to talk in terms of balanced policies and NOT populist nonsense. >:( >:( >:(

Milne discussing economics is akin to me discussing the internal mechanics of the Sudanese parliament.

This from a woman who heads a party that -

1) Would see some of us pay a 50% tax rate
2) Decimate the main industry of Australia with the loss of tens of thousands of jobs
3) Wants to increase the cost of living to families across Australia.

For a complete buffoon such as Milne to even look at the subject of economics and priorities - when her party is so far out of kilter is offensive to say the least.

I'm surprised at you Imcrook supporting a party that have shown they couldn't give a bugger about the economic well being of middle and lower Australia - all in their pursuit of nonsense policies driven by a beautiful green world (usually LSD fuellled).

I believe she is on the national press club today. Why not watch it and see what she has to say?. :)

Andrei.Hicks wrote on Sep 26^th, 2012 at 9:33am:

Andrei,
For the record -
1) That has already happened & the world didn't end.
2) That is already happening now & has very little to do with either major Australian Political or the Greens.
3) That is also already happening, as witnessed by a declining disposable income, particularly over the last decade. I also expect that disposable income will continue to shrink, for some time, yet!

wrote on Sep 26^th, 2012 at 8:44am:

Does anyone say where the money is coming from. How about it Mr Abbott. Where is the extra money coming from, that you want to spend on defence?. :(

Own goal there Crook.

So how about it Milne, where is the money coming from;
Senator Milne proposes some new spending, including lifting unemployment benefits by $50 a week and a ''goal'' of increasing research and development funding from 2.2 per cent to 3 per cent of GDP.

perceptions_now wrote on Sep 26^th, 2012 at 11:30am:

Andrei.Hicks wrote on Sep 26^th, 2012 at 9:33am:

You support people in the middle income brackets paying HALF of their income in tax???

That is NEVER acceptable.

People spend their own money better than any Government will.

Andrei.Hicks wrote on Sep 26^th, 2012 at 11:43am:

perceptions_now wrote on Sep 26^th, 2012 at 11:30am:

Andrei.Hicks wrote on Sep 26^th, 2012 at 9:33am:

You support people in the middle income brackets paying HALF of their income in tax???

That is NEVER acceptable.

People spend their own money better than any Government will.

Since when has the Australian middle income brackets paid 50% of their income in Tax???

Even the TOP bracket has been under 50% (gross - prior to the tax free component & tax deductions), since the early to mid 1980's and prior to that the TOP rates were quite a bit higher, BUT again, the world didn't end!
http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.aspx?doc=/content/73969.htm

That said, I would prefer to see a systemic change, where all Government Taxes & all Government Expenditures, are simplified!

Both Personal & Business Taxes should be reset, with few Tax shelters or Deductions, at Tax rates low enough and Penalties high enough, to make Tax avoidance prohibitive, in fact irrelevant!

All other Taxes, under any guise, should also be rationalised and those on low incomes should be directly reimbursed, to balance their losses, maintain their disposable income & thus enable them with a capacity to continue to support acceptable levels of Demand, to drive that section of the Economy.

But, Revenue does not stand alone, it has a partner, commonly called Expenditure, which also needs to be thoroughly overhauled. There is, no doubt, a great deal of waste in what is spent, both by Governments & by Private Corporations.

That waste needs to be surgically removed, not with sweeping cuts, but with carefully planed incisions, so that the unnecessary waste goes, but the productive & Economically needed stimulants remain and are Productive.

However, I suspect that what will happen here, will be -
1) Sweeping Expenditure Cuts.
2) An increase in overall Tax/es.

A lot of what she is saying is correct.

The profits from our growth has not really helping us much. The profits are going into the pockets of a select few.

Dnarever wrote on Sep 26^th, 2012 at 1:06pm:

A lot of what she is saying is correct.

The profits from our growth has not really helping us much. The profits are going into the pockets of a select few.

That is

The companies pay 30% tax on their profits to the Govt. :(

The shareholders risk their money investing in the companies and they get dividends which they pay tax on as well. :(

The employees earn wages and pay taxes and spend their cash. :(

The shops sell their goods to the employees make profits and pay tax. :(

The Govt then uses the taxes to pork barrell and give handouts to the people who prefer to do nothing, prefer not to pay tax, and don't risk their capital because they have none to risk because they prefer to sit on their arses. :(

Don't give me that whinging whine about not getting anything.....

Swagman wrote on Sep 26^th, 2012 at 5:09pm:

Dnarever wrote on Sep 26^th, 2012 at 1:06pm:

A lot of what she is saying is correct.

The profits from our growth has not really helping us much. The profits are going into the pockets of a select few.

We have seen a long term economic environment which should have translated into significant improvements in our society - this did not happen - there are reason why our society does not benefit as a whole from the positives of our economic performance.

Note: when the economy goes negative we all get to share in the problems real quick.

The people who take most of the benifits in the good times are very happy to distribute the lions share of the pain when it gets tough.

Australian Politics Forum
http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl Member Run Boards >> Finance and Economics >> Economic Priorities Skewed - Says Milne. http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1348611826 Message started by imcrookonit on Sep 26^th, 2012 at 8:23am