Thursday, May 07, 2009

This debt nonsense...


Tim Colebatch, who actually is worried about debt, puts it in its place in today's brilliant article
"Debt can be dangerous: in 1990 it almost brought down Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, and in 1992 it did bring down the Kirner government. But Murdoch has kept on borrowing, more prudently now; he pays $1 billion a year in interest, but keeps borrowing because what he does with the money is worth more."

"POOR little kid. If you believe the Herald Sun, "little Tiziana Perez was born yesterday with a $6000 debt". And all because she was born in Victoria, and the Brumby Government projects that the net debt of the state's non-financial sector will reach $31 billion by 2013.

What a start to life! Only a heartless pedant would point out that Tiziana could hardly be born with a share of the debt as it might be in 2013, but at most, with a share of the debt as it is now. On the budget numbers, that's $11 billion in the non-financial sector - with 5.4 million Victorians, that's roughly $2000 a head.

But on the budget numbers, that debt is expected to grow to $31 billion by 2013, when Tiziana turns four, or $5450 a head. Isn't that too much debt for a little child to bear, or even for you and me to bear?....

Continued in The Age

Derryn Hinch takes the same line.

And Jessica Irvine

And me