skippy. wrote on Oct 23
rd, 2014 at 7:05pm:
perceptions_now wrote on Oct 23
rd, 2014 at 5:02pm:
A few observations -
1) Wages/benefits increases, which do not keep pace with inflation, are effectively a "pay cut".
2) Any "Effective pay cut/s", necessarily involve a "Reduction of Disposable Income".
3) "Reductions in Disposable Income", will then result in either a "Reduction in spending on some items" &/OR an "Increase in Debt Levels", to fund a continuation of Spending.
4) Either or both, of item 4, will result in adverse reactions, within the Local Economy & that will reflect in the Global Economy, to "some" extent.
5) Either &/or both, of item 4 alternatives, can be absorbed within a Growing Economy, within a relatively short time and this has happened often in the past.
BUT, AS IS BEING SHOWN TIME & TIME AGAIN, THROUGHOUT THE GLOBAL ECONOMY, THIS TIME IS DIFFERENT & THE USUAL SHORT TERM FIXES SIMPLY ARE NOT AVAILABLE/WORKING, BECAUSE OF A NUMBER OF MAJOR GLOBAL FACTORS!
6) THOSE GLOBAL FACTORS BEING -
A) DEMOGRAPHICS - AN AGING POPULATION, WHERE POPULATION GROWTH IS ALSO DECLINING, PRIOR TO ACTUALLY DECLINING.
B) ENERGY - DECLINING SUPPLY & INCREASING PRICE RELATIVITY.
C) CLIMATE CHANGE - FORCING PRODUCTION DECLINES & PRICE INCREASES
As I said, THIS TIME IS DIFFERENT!
Oh & btw, both Labor & Liberal have lost the plot & they have for sometime, but they are not lonely, as there are plenty of other Politicians & Central Bankers from around the planet, who are in the same club!
Cheers!
I have seen you write this same thing now for years but I've never seen you write what you think they should do instead.
Actually, I have.
But now, it's pretty much well past time for taking any effective action/s.
All of what was needed, should have been actioned over the last 20-40 years AND the actions would have been required over the larger part of the Global Economy, as well as more here!
Even now, it may not be too late, to take decisive action, to reduce the size of the problem, But now it would only be a slight reduce, rather than a slight worsening, IF the correct Local & Global actions had been started going back all those years.
That said, the correct actions, needed to address those major Global Risk Factors, which are now the basic causal factors behind current events, those being -
A) DEMOGRAPHICS - AN AGING POPULATION, WHERE POPULATION GROWTH IS ALSO DECLINING, PRIOR TO ACTUALLY DECLINING.
B) ENERGY - DECLINING SUPPLY & INCREASING PRICE RELATIVITY.
C) CLIMATE CHANGE - FORCING PRODUCTION DECLINES & PRICE INCREASES
All of which have combined to force the Global Economy into historic Debt levels and which we now, can not escape, because we didn't start when we should have. We should have started long ago, by retaining higher & fairer Taxes, particularly on the top 10% & we should not have gone quite so deep into providing benefits, unless they were definitely warranted, they were fair & they ensued that those who didn't need them, didn't get them.
So, in basic terms and these would certainly have impacted Global Economics into a much slower Growth rate And THE TOP 10% WOULD CERTAINLY NOW BE NO WHERE NEAR AS WELL OFF -
1) Demographic levels should have been leveled off, much sooner & that would have leveled off Demand for many Products & Services.
2) One of the Products which would then have had it's life span extended would have been Fossil Fuels (Oil in particular) and that would have given more time to change away from a Global Economy based on Fossil Fuels
3) BUT, we would still have needed the will of TPTB, to actually change away from Fossil Fuels, towards something that would be more sustainable, for the Global Climate, in the longer term.
UNFORTUNATELY, GREED HAS GOT IN THE WAY, FOR TPTB & FOR THE POLITICIANS (BOTH RIGHT & LEFT) AND THEY ALL LOOKED AT THEIR OWN SHORT TERM GAINS, NONE OF THEM LOOKED AT THE BEST, LONG TERM INTERESTS OF ALL!
Hopefully, that helps, a little?
Cheers!