If ever a TV panel discussion typified the galactic disconnect between the collective wisdom of the Australian public, and the infinite stupidity of our self-proclaimed (pseudo)intellectual betters, then Sunday’s ABC Insiders program demonstrated it to the full.
The topic? The government’s planned increase in the compulsory superannuation rate from 9% to 12% –
Watch the segment, and note carefully the man taking up the baton for the collective wisdom of Neville and Sue Ordinary Voter.
Mr Brian Toohey, of the Australian Financial Review.
An old bloke.
A gentle bloke.
A sometimes stammering bloke.
A thoughtful, observant bloke.
A bloke who wrote an AFR column titled “Big sister knows what’s best for you” on just this topic back in February (summary via Media Monitors):
Proposed increases to compulsory superannuation contributions are unwarranted and under-scrutinised. The Gillard government does not trust citizens to allocate their own resources responsibly. Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan spent the revenue from the failed Resources Super Profits Tax, now whittled down into the minerals resource rent tax, without considering future colossal expenditure on defence, health care, disability services and general maintenance of a rapidly aging population. Instead, these funds were allocated to the aforementioned super contribution increase and company tax cuts. Bill Shorten, Superannuation Minister, even told the Australian Workers Union conference last week that he would push for a bigger increase than had been initially announced. Enforced superannuation itself belittles the everyday, responsible citizen, and does not help ‘working families’ in the slightest.
Brian, you are my newest hero.
Note carefully too, those disputing most forcefully with Mr Toohey on the Insiders program.
The program host. A long time employee of the “Left”.
And a younger bloke. The Political Editor for a major city newspaper, and the most unashamed espouser of the arrogant “Government knows best, ordinary people are idiots” line of unreasoning.
What we have here then, is a 2-pack of Canberra press dogs, rounding on a wise old bloke.
And why?
Because he dares to declare that Neville and Sue Ordinary Voter are smart enough to know and do what’s best for themselves, with their own money.
Quelle horror!
Isn’t it interesting though.
Even when the facts prove they’ve been utterly wrong, these immaculately-clipped Canberra journo’s poodles will always return to their vomit.
Rather like their mates, the mainstream Australian economists.
Those same drooling imbeciles who all utterly failed to foresee GFC1 coming:
Senator Barnaby Joyce was laughed out of his opposition finance portfolio for his forecasts that included saying more than 18 months ago that the US could default on its debts.
It’s not so funny anymore, as veteran journalist Michelle Grattan said last week on Twitter.
“US struggling through its crisis – remember how we laughed at Barnaby when he raised the spectre of US default? Oops.”
Joyce certainly remembers.
“I got absolutely smashed by (Kevin) Rudd and (Lindsay) Tanner and Swan,” he said.
“To be honest, my own side got scared, and said ‘we think you’ve gone out on a limb’.
“There was a whole range of economists who all lined up to say how outrageous I was. Now the media is going back to those economists and asking how we got into this situation.
“I was listening to one last night, I was almost about to drive off the road it was pissing me off so much. I remember exactly what this person was saying on how wrong I was.”
Yes, dear reader.
Dogs returning to their vomit.
Seriously … Why Should Any Sane Person Trust Economists After The GFC? You’d have to be scattered like a mad woman’s sh*t (h/t to reader Medusa Knows for that colourful line).
I found the cognitive dissonance of Mr Kenny particularly telling.
All the panellists recognised that (quite unlike our spendthrift government) ordinary Aussies have been responding to GFC1 by doing the sensible, practical, wise thing.
Saving money.
And yet, Mr Kenny still arrogantly insisted on spouting off with a high-minded stereotype – that if allowed to keep more of their own money, ordinary voters would spend it all on flat screen TV’s.
Whereas Mr Toohey sagely pointed out the truth:
You get better economic outcomes if you let people make their own mind up how to allocate their income … it’s just a matter of standard economic theory which happens to be correct in this case…
Indeed.
And you get even better economic outcomes if you basically ignore everything the mainstream economists say.
Or best of all, if you adopt the opposite view to the “mainstream”, as your default position. On everything.
Adopting that contrarian attitude is at least partly how your humble blogger was (like many other ordinary Aussies) able to see the writing on the wall in America, when none of our mainstream economists could.
And contrary to strident “professional” “expert” advice, pull all his super out of the global sharemarkets in May 2007:
As we all know, the fit has hit the shan in global sharemarkets once again.
And what we have here, ladies and gentlemen, is a government wanting to force employers to somehow find another 3% (or more, if Shorten has his way) on top of workers’ salaries … to pour into the sharemarkets!?!
(Or, into something else?)
Do you really imagine that, in the present global economic environment, this would not lead directly to job cuts?
Do you really imagine that it would not lead to even more money going up down in red LED’s … with parasitical, useless, butt-lazy, white-collared, producers-of-nothing professional “fund managers” waltzing away with their percentage cut of your vapourised superannuation money, regardless of the outcome for you?
The Insiders panel discussion this Sunday typified one of the biggest problems in this country.
The arrogance of those who think they are better, and know better, than We The People.
Our lamestream ivory-towered Canberra lapdogs simply cannot bear to conceive of the possibility that (shudder!) ordinary voters might be the best people to decide what to do with their own money.
Barnaby Is Right 
Toohey made perfect sense. Rational, reasonable and experienced..
The other smug “40-something” guy (didn’t bother finding out who he was), and the dip-stick shiela,reminded me of the armies of self-important, well-meaning, we-know-better-than-you-know, bureaucrats, journo/TV panellists and JAFAs, all with their snouts in the public trough, telling us that their ideas and beliefs are better than ours Talking Heads!
They are right, so we MUST be wrong. Yeah right. How about just Piss Off.
I hope they didn’t move their Super to Cash before last Friday and I REALLY hope they didn’t think to buy any gold or silver. over the last couple of years.
I bet Toohey did!!
Mark Kenny. Adelaide Advertiser. Just so you have a name to put to your righteously withering contempt 😉
Thanks for that. Remind me to forget his name as fast as possible.
Sorry to hear about Jack.. I’ve got a Rottie (Axel) and a Staffie (Rover). Now everyone will know who I am.??? Ha Ha!
Ha! The USA gets downgraded & the Australian dollar, the credit of the nation, gets pummeled. What happened to our ‘strong’ economy?
The rioters are out on the streets of London a la 1931, oil & stocks are down, gold & government bonds are up. Smells like… Depression.
Gillard et al are done for, forget Abbott, time for Barnaby to step up, at least he says some funny things.
Yep.
Nothing else to say. You’ve said it for me JMD.
Problem with this rant is people wont save for the future. Check the savings rates of developed countries up till just before GFC. So either you have forced super or homeless people or people working till they die or increases in gov funded pensions. your choice but i don’t mind the current system. It would be good to see a overhaul of super so people could manage it with a little more choice without having to get a SMSF.
Gov policy should help counter human nature to want everything now and not worry about the future, go watch some of behavioral economist Dan Ariely talks for a better understanding.
“..Gov policy should help counter human nature to want everything now and not worry about the future..”
Daniel, I
disagree.see the deeper problem is that Govt policy, far from countering “human nature”, more commonly acts to actively encourage the kind of social attitudes and behaviours that gave us (eg) negative private savings rates, high household debt levels, and a creeping Govt/Big Brother welfare/dependency mindset. Thank you for contributing your thoughts, however … much appreciated.Edit: as per strikethrough and italics.
From Bloomberg – 10 yr UST yield drops below 1%.
Imagine the USA had been downgraded to A, the 30yr yield would probably below below 1%!
Mind you, once the 30yr yield gets to some ridiculously low point, the game is over. There is no more ‘profit’ in government bonds.
Oops, that is actually Japanese government bonds. Nevertheless, UST’s are trading at 18 month high prices (low yields).
And another from Bloomberg;
Bond Risk Reaches 2009 High as S&P Spurs Resources Rout: Australia Credit
Standard & Poor’s says Australian bonds are less risky than U.S. debt. Credit – default swap investors say the opposite. Swaps on the Australian sovereign rose 12.3 basis points last week to 69.3, according to CMA. Contracts insuring U.S. debt against default dropped 6.7 basis points to 55.4. The gap between the two has expanded to the widest since July 2010.
Huge move in AUD, up more than a cent against the USD & Euro in little more than an hour. Methinks some serious ‘intervention’ is going down. Somebody is bidding to prevent an all out rout.
Thanks very much for the update JMD, I’ve been too busy today to look at what’s happening out there in digital “wealth” land. Would be good to find proof of said intervention (hint hint) 😉