There is no argument that funding for aged care has to increase or that equitable funding requires that those with higher means pay more. The recommendations of the Aged Care Funding Taskforce fail to provide solutions on both counts, for older people needing care and their carers, providers, taxpayers, or government. The first fail is Continue reading »
Economy
After two years of bloody trench warfare and aerial annihilation the economics of the war in the Ukraine are putting the means to end it yet further out of reach. With an avalanche of armaments being poured into the military vortex, the consequences of the unacceptably large losses of life and further massive destruction of Continue reading »
It is not difficult to understand, nor to agree, with the growing numbers of thoughtful people who argue that humanity is on the brink of extinction. And that, without transformational change in the way, we think, and live, our descendants are doomed. The size of our human population, the way we operate the economy, the Continue reading »
Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson's promises to "Level Up" the country are going nowhere fast, according to a damning new report by MPs
In recent years, there has been a notable shift among certain Western politicians, media outlets and think tanks regarding their perspective on China’s developmental trajectory. The once popular theory of an imminent collapse of China, famously asserted by Gordon G. Chang over two decades ago, has finally begun to lose traction. But there is still Continue reading »
AUKUS has become a stillborn project. Vassal states, satellites – in other words the butlers of international relations, the minders of the royal stool – are a rarely respected lot. In Australia’s case, being Washington’s butler is hardly like being Jeeves to Bertie Wooster. Jeeves is, after all, a near omniscient being, a confidant who Continue reading »
Efforts to keep Chinese electric vehicles out of the US will only hurt American consumers and manufacturers in the long run. Instead, the Biden administration should embrace learning from Chinese carmakers to improve innovation and competitiveness. In the United States, sharp disagreements exist over numerous critical national issues. However, there is bipartisan consensus on reducing Continue reading »
As 2024 marks the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac, whether this mythical creature should be named “Dragon” or “Loong” in English has puzzled many and stirred heated discussions. The two creatures vastly differ in their shapes, legends and the cultural symbols they represent. And in recent years, more and more Chinese people Continue reading »
‘…price-protection is, and must always, remain the very first and foremost plank in any fighting platform worthy of the name, and hang the public!’ Southern Grocer, 1912. For most capitalists in the first six decades of last century, tariff protection took second place to price-fixing, which undermined the ‘frugal comfort’ of the basic wage by Continue reading »
The conclusion of a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” by two states leads few observers to experience frissons of excitement. However, the Partnership agreed yesterday between Anthony Albanese and Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Minh Chinh is more than an announceable wrought by officials to garner a headline or two for their principals. For many countries -including Vietnam- Continue reading »