Who’s responsible for Australia’s ‘debt crisis’?

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Anoth­er elec­tion is on in Aus­tralia, and the top­ic du jour – the polit­i­cal top­ic du cen­tu­ry it seems – is that, hor­ror of hor­rors, the government’s bud­get next year will be in deficit to the tune of $30 bil­lion! It’s a scan­dal! Our debt is bal­loon­ing! And it’s all Labor’s fault! Why, all you have to do is look at the respon­si­ble Howard peri­od – falling debt – and com­pare it to the irre­spon­si­ble Labor peri­od – ris­ing debt – and you know who to vote for, don’t you?

Fig­ure 1: From the respon­si­ble Howard to the irre­spon­si­ble Rudd?

Graph for Who's responsible for Australia's 'debt crisis'?

Read more: http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2013/8/5/economy/whos-responsible-australias-debt-crisis#ixzz2bHoHk8V1

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About Steve Keen

I am Professor of Economics and Head of Economics, History and Politics at Kingston University London, and a long time critic of conventional economic thought. As well as attacking mainstream thought in Debunking Economics, I am also developing an alternative dynamic approach to economic modelling. The key issue I am tackling here is the prospect for a debt-deflation on the back of the enormous private debts accumulated globally, and our very low rate of inflation.