Wednesday, May 27, 2009

What's in a Name?

What's in a name? A lot sometimes, it seems.
I changed my name to Of The Above None before the last Federal election so that I would appear on the ballot paper as NONE, Of The Above.
There were two very good reasons for doing so. Firstly, it gained me a lot of free publicity and as the only Independent candidate in the field I had no party to fund my campaign. Most of my friends, whilst supportive, were rusted-on Greens so most of the funding had to come from my own pocket.
Secondly- and this was the original motivation and more important reason- I wanted to encourage voters to think about the idea that there is more wisdom than that which emanates from the parties. There was, and still is, a message in my silliness.
So it was with this background that while listening to Malcolm Turnbull give this week's excuse for not supporting Climate Change legislation, I suddenly thought that he should follow my lead and change his name also.
Descriptive names from Native American tribes, or those that sound like they could be, were popular at one stage.
"TalkAlotDoNothing" would just about sum Malcolm up.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

A Seat at the Table

So the truth is out there. Malcolm Turnbull looks forward to an Australia where everyone has private health insurance. The unambiguous implication of this is that a Government system of universal health cover, paid from taxes, would no longer exist.

I suppose as a squillionaire he can indulge himself in a belief in what I call the Magic Pudding* theory of economics. That is, by skillful economic management it's possible that everyone can be rich, all at the same time. We can continually take from the pudding and it magically regrows for the next meal. I suppose that way it's easier to ingore those who find it hard to get a seat at the table. It's all their own fault, somehow.

We've just had over a decade of relative, though not universal, prosperity but all things come to an end and the current economic circumstance in which our pudding is shrinking bear testimony to the fact that an ever expanding economy is an illusion.

In reality Malcolm's real world view a dressed up version of that old favourite of the elite everywhere, the Rich Man's Table theory of economics. This holds that some individuals are better able or placed to generate economic activity and therefore it is largely due to their enterprise that the economic 'cake' grows. Further they seem to believe that they are therefore entitled to the lion's share of the cake. Of course in their unseemly haste to consume the spoils of their efforts they will invariably cause crumbs to fall from the table. That's where you and I seem to enter the theory.

Perhaps we need to take a long hard look at what we expect from our society. A biologist will tell you that we can achieve our basic goals- food, shelter and a reasonable chance of finding a mate if we were to go back to living in small tribes of tens or hundreds rather than the millions we now find ourselves amongst.

Why did we congregate? Surely it was so that we could achieve economies of scale, especially in the areas of defence, food production, education and health care. Surely it was not so that we could prey more effectively on each other?

We would dismiss in an instant as ridiculous the idea that we should have private defence insurance. That is, one could pay some money each week and in the event of an invasion a highly trained, well armed team of private soldiers (mercenaries) would rush to your defence while the great unwashed sought salvation from an underfunded, underequiped ADF.

Similarly, why should we countenance private health insurance. It's dressed-up, legalised queue jumping.

Take a look at Malcolm (Bill Barnacle) Turnbull's future Australia by reading how the private health insurance lobby has a stranglehold on government in the US. Click here.

* THE MAGIC PUDDING by Norman Lindsay. The story features a walking, talking pudding that likes to be eaten and never runs out. The pudding is owned by three companions: Bill Barnacle the sailor, Bunyip Bluegum the koala, and Sam Sawnoff the penguin, who form the Noble Society of Pudding Owners (aka the Liberal Party?). They engage in various adventures, wandering around the country, happily eating, conversing and singing, except when forced to defend their property from pudding thieves.

Did you see it?

Did you see the counter at right click over $666,666,666,666 ?
Now there's something to tell the grandkids.