Debtwatch gets a mention in Parliament

Published in May 30th, 2007

Posted by Steve Keen in Australia, Debtwatch, Politics

It’s not yet the main topic of debate between Liberal and Labor, but some of the arguments in Debtwatch have at least made their way into Hansard courtesy of a speech by Laurie Ferguson. The full extract from the speech is shown below.
“This makes a mockery of the claim by the Prime Minister that we [...]

First home payments hit $3000 per month

Published in May 30th, 2007

Posted by Steve Keen in Australia, Debtwatch

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Jessica Irvine from the SMH has written an excellent piece with this headline in today’s SMH. I’ve linked it on the blog roll, but it’s linked here too for quick reference.
Â My Debtwatch report will be very brief this coming month: I’m off to the USA tomorrow for some conferences, and I’m “under the gun” to [...]

Great post on debt on Sam de Brito’s “All men are liars” Blog

Published in May 22nd, 2007

Posted by Steve Keen in Australia

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I regularly peruse, and enjoy, the “All Men Are Liars” blog at the SMH on-line. Today’s post there is on a topic dear (in every sense of the word…) to this blog. I recommend checking it out–and engaging in the debate, if you have time (I’ve just posted a quick comment):
Suckers: slave to your mortgage
I’ll [...]

PM on New Zealand Reserve Bank Policy Shift–transcript

Published in May 10th, 2007

Posted by Steve Keen in Debtwatch, Media Coverage, New Zealand

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Will Budget tax cuts fuel inflation?Â (click here for the MP3 file)
PM – Wednesday, 9 May , 2007Â 18:14:52
Reporter: Stephen Long
MARK COLVIN: Now, will the tax cuts in the Budget cause inflation?
Some leading economists argue that the Reserve Bank could be forced to lift interest rates down the track because Government spending and tax cuts [...]

ABC PM tonight–major policy shift by New Zealand RB?

Published in May 9th, 2007

Posted by Steve Keen in Debtwatch, New Zealand

1 Comment

Stephen Long from ABC News brought to my attention the fact that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand appears to be contemplating a return to regulating lending.
This is only hinted at at present, but it represents a major shift in Central Bank thinking–and a welcome one, from a debt-deflationary point of view.
I’m interviewed about it [...]

Why have the Liberals got it in for business students?

Published in May 9th, 2007

Posted by Steve Keen in Education

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This is another non-debt post. I’ve just heard Costello describe tonight’s budget as an “Education Budget”. There was a welcome “equity” bequest to universities, to fund infrastructure and research: but there was also a shallow “shell and pea” trick in the allocation ofÂ funding for University places.
The complicated CGS banding system–which determines what theÂ GovernmentÂ provides per student, [...]