Perhaps It Was Prosperity We Could Not Afford And Did Not Deserve
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday September 20, 2008
Imre Bokor (Letters, September 19) reminded me of something an American associate told me when I was working in New York. He defined economic rationalism this way: "If you can't afford it, you don't deserve it." It's not a view I heard when I was doing a commerce degree, but I never heard a more succinct or accurate one.
Tom Barker Shell CoveThe next thing we will hear from Kevin Rudd is that short selling is bad for working families.Graham Isbister MosmanDespite Peter Costello's allegations that he supervised "the age of prosperity" (Good Weekend, September 13-14), this week's financial disturbances amplify the fictitious nature of prosperity based on capital borrowed from overseas and not produced within the country.The current crisis has been attributed to "an excess of speculation, an undue extension of credit, and the facility with which banks have been discounting mere accommodation paper".Words from the Reserve Bank governor, Glenn Stevens? No, Governor George Gipps (February 1, 1841) reporting on the financial crisis of 1841-44.Patrick Farrell AlburyNigel Hanley's defence of capitalism as a system (Letters, September 19) is justified unless he is advocating what is called "unbridled capitalism". As indicated by today's petrol prices, lack of governmental competition can sometimes see private companies forge into cartels. Much the same seems to have occurred with the banks since the Australian government sold off their one major competitor.The final medal tally for the recent Paralympic Games also provides interesting comparisons. Britain won many more medals than the United States with Australia, in fifth position, breathing down its neck. Their respective populations and the US's reputation as the pre-eminent sporting nation make these results surprising. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that only the American health system is fully privatised. Capitalism may be the best system but it requires some safeguards.Tom O'Reilly Gerringong The difference between the 1929 crash, with people hurling themselves out of windows, and the current crisis appears to be the players' sense of humour. A Mac Bank friend asked me: How do you get an investment banker off your front porch? The answer: Pay him for the pizza.Paul Stevens ChatswoodOnce again greedy America sneezes and our superannuation accounts catch pneumonia. Meanwhile, the mob that has my car loan rang to offer more dough for a holiday, house extension or plasma TV. Is the finance industry even awake?James Mahoney McKellar (ACT)Cathy Wilcox's cartoon (September 19) depicting a bubble-shaped family and their possessions is not so funny when you consider they probably have nothing to pay until 2011.Allan Gibson Cherrybrook
© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald
