We thought we had today’s Money Morning all planned out. Yesterday we took a swipe at the banks and how they’re surviving by a thread.
In our guest appearance over at The Daily Reckoning we mentioned to those readers what we’ve written here. That any global treaty on Climate Change is merely an excuse for ‘Stable Climate Deniers’ to foist a massive tax burden on individuals.
Although of course if you read comments from the Fairy Ruddfather, he’s promising to wave his magic wand so that the “Government” pays for it not the people.
Except he’s obviously forgotten that government doesn’t have its own money. Any money it does have has been ripped and stolen from the people.
Which makes the Fairy Ruddfather’s comments a little confusing:
“But anyone who goes out there and argues there is a cost-free, pain-free way for Australia to act on climate change is not being honest with people.”
At least he didn’t say “is not being fair dinkum with people”, so that’s something to be grateful for.
But the quote above doesn’t quite fit with the following claim that from News Ltd that:
“FAMILIES will pay little or nothing for Labor’s emissions trading scheme, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd pledged yesterday.”
So in typical bureaucratic double-talk it you cost you a lot of money to get something for free.
Maybe it’s like the 2-for-1 deals in the supermarket or clothes stores – “What a bargain, you think, I can get two tins of prunes for the price of one.”
“But you don’t like prunes!”
“I know, but I’ll save a dollar if I buy two.”
But anyway, it was as we were glancing around the interweb this morning that everything came undone. Our plans to poke a stick at the Stable Climate Deniers and their massive tax plan have been scuppered.
The cause?
This headline in today’s The Age newspaper: “Someone needs to save us from too much saving.”
Look, I’m not a Scrooge who thinks saving money is the only sensible course of action. I mean, we all want to have some fun.
There’s nothing wrong with blowing a few hundred bucks or even a few thousand bucks on something extravagant. Where’s the fun in working eight or nine hours a day and then living on tinned hot dogs?
Buy a giant television. Spend $1,000 on an iPhone so you can work out which way is North, or so you can play Zombie Pizza!
But it’s headlines like that one we saw in today’s The Age that makes us wonder whether academia is going mad.
You can read the full article here. To be honest, after reading the first paragraph we thought it was a parody:
“THE world is trapped in a global savings glut. It is the source of our economic woes and an obstacle to the task of pulling ourselves out of the ditch. Worse yet, the glut’s continued existence will feed a succession of asset bubbles until we confront it head on and find ways to soak up the excess.”
We even smiled and let out an audible, “Hah!” as we commended the author on a wonderful piece of irony.
But then we read on. We reached the following sentence:
“The real culprits are thrifty Germans…”
And we thought we had been transported back in time to a 1970s British sitcom – “Bloody ‘Gerries’ stealing our sunbeds… they’re so efficient the Fritzes…Who won the war… Remember 1966…”
Accompanies to sounds of raucous laughter and whacky music.
So we kept reading. Perhaps the entire article was supposed to be an ironic take on what’s happened to the global economy over the last couple of years.
As we read we were treated to this gem:
“Germany’s surpluses were a result of its attempt to export its way out of the stagnation arising from the reintegration of East and West Germany…”
And this:
“It is Britain’s good fortune to possess a falling pound, which almost certainly will allow it to recover more quickly than troubled euro zone economies.”
I mean, it must be a parody because from what we’ve read, Britain is the only major European country to still be in recession. And the outlook doesn’t seem to be improving.
But then there was the coup de grace, le grand finale to the article:
“Until the savings glut is vanquished, asset bubbles and instability will be fed, exacerbating income inequality and favouring wealthy bankers and the Chinese elite. It will continue drawing resources away from productive sectors of the economy and channelling them into high-paying but socially useless financial engineering – or into yet more excess capacity.”
It was at that point your editor slumped in his ‘leather-look’ office chair, amazed at the length of this economic parody. Until we read the biography of the author at the end…
“Robin Wells has taught at Princeton University, MIT and the University of Southampton. She is co-author, with Paul Krugman, of several economics texts.”
Of course, we should have seen the warning signs – A Paul Krugman crony.
It wasn’t a parody at all. Which shouldn’t have surprised us considering the article was published in The Age.
We didn’t really think even the mainstream press was that dumb to not only believe what Wells has written but to go so far as to publish it.
According to Wells – and we can infer, Krugman – the cause of the global financial meltdown is due to people saving too much.
And it’s also due to the Germans producing too many things and exporting them to other countries.
It’s no wonder that politicians and bureaucrats can get away with claiming that spending fuels an economy, and that a $120 billion Climate Change tax won’t cost you a penny.
Cheers.
Kris.
60-Second Market Round Up
by Shae Smith
The S&P/ASX200 finished down yesterday to 4,676.50, lower by 25 points. The market has had a flat start this morning.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added a tiny 1 point overnight, ending an ordinary session at 10,390.11. Despite Ben Bernanke’s reassurance that rates will continue to remain at the near zero level all the major US banks finished in the red. Read more about the US market here.
In the UK overnight, the FTSE was down by 11 points to 5,310.66.
The Nikkei was up again yesterday, closing at 10,167.50, higher by 1.45%
The price of spot gold in Australian dollars is trading at $1,267.56, while in US Dollars it is trading at $1,158.05. The price of silver in Aussie dollars is $19.92 and in US Dollars it is $18.19.
The Aussie dollar versus the US dollar is trading at USD$0.9127, and against the Japanese Yen JPY81.71
Crude oil closed at USD$74.06
For the biggest movers on the market yesterday click here…
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Well, the Climate Gravy Train keeps speeding ahead. This is what our own are doing and saying in Copenhagen. But the question is, who will pay for all these pipe dreams, and how much?
“AAP, with a staff reporter
A ‘secret deal’ which would require rich countries to cut their emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 has caused ructions at the Copenhagen climate summit between rich and poor nations.
The draft agreement, which was leaked to the Guardian newspaper on Tuesday, has led poor countries to claim the deal is too soft on rich nations, with the former threatening to turn their backs on the negotiations.
Under the draft agreement, Australia would be required to cut its greenhouse emissions by 25 per cent in a decade, quadruple spending on climate-friendly research and axe subsidies to fossil fuels.
The secret deal has been proposed by the Danes, who are in charge of the conference, with some support from Australia and Mexico.
The 13-page document aims to limit global warming to two degrees, which means Australia would have to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25 per cent by 2020.
It says rich countries would have to cut emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, as well as contributing $US10 billion ($A11 billion) a year to help poor countries tackle climate change.
Poor nations say the deal is a departure from the Kyoto protocol, which made rich countries cut their emissions. China is also worried because the deal would insist on international verification of countries’ greenhouse gas emissions – a sovereignty issue.
Erwin Jackson, who is at Copenhagen for Australia’s Climate Institute, said the Danish deal was a “reasonable foundation” for a climate treaty. All the key elements were there, although there were still plenty of holes when it came to hard numbers.
The deal was a starting point for negotiations. “Everyone’s going to have to give and take,” Mr Jackson said.
Tony Mohr from the Australian Conservation Foundation described the deal as a “mixed bag” for the environment. The two degree goal was good, but countries’ emissions promises would not achieve that yet.
“This is a draft, and it will need to be strengthened by world leaders before being adopted as the Copenhagen Agreement,” said Mr Mohr, who is also at Copenhagen.
The 11-day summit began on Monday in the Danish capital. The first week is set aside for negotiators to thrash out details, with world leaders – including Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and US president Barack Obama – to arrive for the last few days to try to seal the deal.
Climate Change Minister Penny Wong is due to arrive on Wednesday.”
Thanks for the article in The Age, it’s kinda sad such abject stupidity exists at all, but sadder still that the media would fob this onto its readership, shows the intellectual esteem it holds for them.
And this one today from Gottliebsen:
“Right now, climate change is bringing Rudd and Obama together and they seem to have similar views. But in the climate change debate, the US-Australian tie goes further. The new opposition leader Tony Abbott has declared that if the US passes an emissions trading scheme then Australia should follow. I think the US is likely to have such a scheme.”
http://www.businessspectator.com.au//bs.nsf/Article/United-we-stand-Keeping-close-ties-pd20091209-YJRJW?OpenDocument
Score: IBC = 1; The People = -1.
Conclusion: Who the leaders are, no longer matters. It has been obvious for a while that this has been the case in the US. Now it is more and more obvious that the same is true here.
Sorry, for those of you who will not have time to read the whole article, I will paste in a larger chunk that contextualises that brief quote, and you may well disagree with my particular interpretation and conclusion. Indeed, I am happy to concede that the game being played with Climate Change may be just a small piece of the global political game that is going on behind the scenes. I have been quietly wondering about this for a while now, that the game is about finding a way of controlling the development of emerging economies and countries, like the BRIC, which ultimately could threaten Western dominance of global affairs. This article, whis is not very long, seems to be eliciting something along those lines. You just have to read between the lines a little.
“Right now, climate change is bringing Rudd and Obama together and they seem to have similar views. But in the climate change debate, the US-Australian tie goes further. The new opposition leader Tony Abbott has declared that if the US passes an emissions trading scheme then Australia should follow. I think the US is likely to have such a scheme.
Bleich (the new US Ambassador to Australia, and who is a friend of Obama) believes that looking into the future, one of the great advantages of the US in world trade will be the quality of its products and services and its efficient use of energy. We are going to need to follow the same path.
Bleich surprised the journalists saying that the fact that Tony Abbott is fostering a debate about carbon and climate change is a good thing. America is also having a vigorous debate. I think it is likely that out of the Australian debate will help to synchronise US and Australian carbon policies because, given the Rudd-Obama relationship and Tony Abbott’s stance, it is the clearest way forward.”
Watching thieves squabble amongst themselves fascinates me. Check out this morning’s report on AM. More and more cats are being let out of the bag in Copanhagen. My only concern is that the thieves are squabbling over money they all propose to take from our pockets. Anyhow, the plot thickens as more and more plans come to light and the fraudsters and the thieves fight among themselves as to who will get how much, and who will be master and who will be slave, while showing little concern over who will pay.
http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2009/s2765873.htm
Sorry, to dominate this thread. If it is getting too much, I will stop. But here is a good one from the AM report to give you a sense of what’s going down. Just look at the figures they are quoting, and wonder how much of that will be taken from your pocket and the pockets of our children for generations to come.
“EMMA ALBERICI: The so called Danish text hands control of the global adaptation fund to the World Bank. The new financing accord is intended to help the poor cope with rising temperatures while also cutting their own carbon emissions. The draft includes a figure of $10 billion a year.
Antonio Hill again.
ANTONIO HILL: Coming out of Copenhagen, that’s what we need, is to get away from the spaghetti bowl of random funding channels that we now have and set something up that allows large scale funds. Oxfam thinks that at least $200 billion is needed every year by 2020 to allow developing countries to cope with climate changes that are already inevitable and secondly to join the international effort to actually slash emissions.”
Now, if the scare over man made climate change is nothing more than a fraud, which, for the record, I believe to be the case, these climate changers are nothing short of barking mad.
I think the Western nations really need to consider what is the purpose of debt. If it is to fund productive investments, then it is a great thing if done properly. If its to bring forward the purchase of something that can be paid off without a crippling debt servicing cost, then it is a good thing. But if it is done to gamble on rising asset prices and if those prices dont rise you will be left with a crippling debt, then it is a very bad thing.
So how can anyone argue savings is now causing the bust??? Savings will be what avoids the next bust
To me its just like saying sobering up is what causes the hangover, not the alchohol you had the night before
The plot thickens: Disaster, Big Money, Fraud, Squabbling Thieves, and now Death Threats.
Climategate, the story that has been ignored for so long by Australian Mainstream Media, including the ABC who tried treating it as a non-event, can no longer be ignored when it deteriorates to the point of death threats.
http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2009/s2766202.htm
Yeah just seems to be a huge money grab to me and the pigs are snorting at tyhe trough.
It is hard to take this seriously. I have seen some many scares amount to nothing and this climate change debate has been going on for at least 40 years in one form or another. Then the scares over oil, food among others and then an amazing discovery is made or we locate other sources or energy.
I am tempted toward the better to do something just in case but it is really scary that people want to form some unrepresentative administrative body and just handover $200 b (and you can be sure it will be more). I give up recalling how many times the UN had tried to grab more money and have been rebuffed but have finally located an issue (only took them 60 years) that is scary enough for people to hand over money willingly to have the UN try and solve it. Yeah right, like that have solved any issue ever.
It is one big grab for power for mine rather than any real attempt to solve the problem.
And, you know, Kevin B, our politicians so far have said NOTHING about the funding side of things. Nothing about what it might cost us. Forget about consulting the people – they don’t even tell us what they are so eager to sign us up for in this barking mad, hysterical plan. When considering the potential damage they are going to cause to the interests of this nation, and the sneaky, deceptive way they are going about it, why shouldn’t Rudd and Wong be tried for treason?
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