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Sep 2009
More evidence that Hayek was wrong and Keynes was right
I have written previously of the differences between Keynesian economics and Hayek's market theories.
Reading an article in this month's National Geographic on the subject of Solar power, I came across a very interesting fact.
Jimmy Carter, when President of the United States, installed solar hot water system on the roof of the White House. When Ronald Reagan was elected President of the United States he had the system removed.
The question is, of course, what was Reagan's motive for his action? Did he just think that solar energy was a myth, a thought which could easily have been negated by examination of the energy usage of the White House, or was he just ensuring that the taxpayers would have to pay his friends in the electricity generation business for the energy to provide his family and staff with hot water.
We know that Reagan was encouraged by Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the UK, to adopt "dry" economic policies because she had been captivated by Friedman's ideas. It is said that Augusto Pinoche, President of Chile, was also converted by Thatcher and we in Australia know the Paul Keating was also a disciple of Friedman to our nation's detriment. It amazes me that the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) which was brought on by the adoption of "dry" economics has been dealt with by most of the developed nations by the use of the Keynesian which was used by Roosevelt in his New Deal which saved the USA from the great depression.
Perhaps I was right to suggest that Keynes was right and Friedman was wrong.
Posted: 27/9/09 8:31 AMAnother load of Australian topsoil blown away.
We woke up this morning with the sky in a red fog.
The weather forecast had predicted a dust storm from the west caused by very strong westerly winds all the way from the Red Centre.
We don't often get dust storms in Barraba. I hope the loonies don't think that the end of the world has come. Perhaps they will see it as a portent of some dire things to come. My guess is that what is coming is more beautiful sunny weather.
All the horizontal surfaces have been covered with a layer of red dust. I hope the dust will get blown off the roof before it gets washed down into the rain water tank.
Posted: 23/9/09 8:35 AMAnother avian visitor to the Garden
We have a chicken residing in the garden. I was a bit puzzled as it has stayed around for several days and I couldn't identify it by breed.
I checked on Wikipedia and found several Australian domestic chicken breeds but none that matched our visitor.
I finally found information on the origins of Gallus gallus domesticus. It is thought that all breeds arose from the Red Jungle fowl and/or the Grey Jungle fowl. As our visitor resembled them both I conclude that it is an early domestic breed still close to its origins.
There are some domestic breeds in Wikipedia which have these characteristics but they don't come up as resident in Australia. I just wonder if this visitor is a feral chicken which has migrated to our garden. It certainly is really scared of humans and it seems to be feeding like all wild birds do.
I have decide to call it Julie, the jungle fowl.
Posted: 22/9/09 5:00 PMSpring has Sprung
Spring has sprung
The grass has riz
I wonder where the birdies is?
Why, the little birds is on the wing!
But that's absurd.
I always thought the wing was on the bird
Enough of this poetry. The weeds are bursting out like mad so the lawn mower is once again consuming petrol.
The weather has turned warm and comfortable.We've even had a little rain which has energized all the plants except the grass.
The fuel bills are dropping to summer levels. In the winter we use 45 kg of LPG every fortnight and the summer it takes 9 weeks to consume this amount. Our electricity consumption is similarly different winter and summer.
Posted: 21/9/09 8:02 PMTravelling to Tamworth
We had to go to Tamworth yesterday to pick up my new spectacles which had to be remade as they had an error in the original lenses.
On the way had to swerve to miss three Galahs which were jay walking very slowly across the road in formation. They flew away after I had passed them.
When we last drove to Tamworth I had to stop at the Glen Riddle turn off to get two dead Eastern Grey Kangaroos off the road so that any raptors or crows that tried to feed off the bodies would not be at risk of becoming road kill themselves.
There is quite lot of road kill kangaroos on the road to Tamworth this year but most of the bodies are off the bitumen so I don't have to stop.
Posted: 10/9/09 3:55 PMMy Life in Barraba has become something of a quandary
In each organisation in Barraba of which I am a member I have been identified as a "trouble maker", a "negative person", "a pedant" or "out of step with the other members".
Since all my efforts are directed towards ensuring that the organisations work properly and that the decisions they make are appropriate, I find this alarming.
I bring a wealth of experience in committee work, public speaking, and constitutional matters to these organisations and find that this is not matched in my fellow members who are generally of the view that "we have always done it this way so it must be right".
I am beginning to think that I am unable to offer the benefit of my experience to these organisations as my views are generally rejected, sometimes quite rudely.
One of the criticisms that has been raised is that I focus on "the negatives instead of the positives". I find this a strange criticism since I only address " the negatives" when I see a need counteract the negatives and reinforce "the positives" by bringing suitable evidence to bear.
Another criticism is that I am committed to hierarchical organizations which are intent on "telling other people what they must do".
This is strange because the "hierarchical" organisations I am involved in are simply democratic organisations where all ideas can be considered and the consensus of the organisation holds sway so that the best possible outcomes are assured.
Last night I attended a training course at the Community College in Barraba on the subject of "Conducting a Meeting". I have been advised that all the local organisations were contacted to see if they want to send people to the course. I was interested to see who did attend and who didn't.
There were only eight organisations represented including three of which I am a member. Only three of the four organisations I have trouble with were represented but those were represented by good people not by those who cause the trouble.
The course was very strange. It was based on good principles of meeting organization and procedures but some of the advice was odd because it did not follow these good principles. Indeed if some of the people with whom I have trouble were there they could have come away convinced that their methods are justified.
Posted: 8/9/09 5:50 PMMy economics education kicks in
I was watching TV and saw an advertisement for an Australian airline which was entirely based on emotional stimulus rather than on factual information. I realised that this was just a typical example of advertisements in today's world.
My mid career education in economics taught me that advertising has economic value because it provides needed information to consumers to enable them to make well informed rational decisions about their purchases.
So what is the economic value of advertising which provides no information to consumers. Clearly it is zero. Why them do people make lots of money by producing and disseminating valueless material. I guess it is because our society has an economy which doesn't link remuneration to underlying economic value. I believe that this phenomenon is the root cause of the "present economic crisis".
I'm pretty sure that many people would disagree with my hypothesis because it suits them to participate in a society where earnings are not dependent on real contribution to the economy. These people are living on the efforts of others rather than their own efforts and the "others" surely include their children and grandchildren.
This blog will presumably add weight to the argument of the people who claim that I am a ratbag with nothing to contribute to the public discourse.
Posted: 8/9/09 5:18 PMAnother Successful Lions Project
We had a visit from a Telstra Childcare Flight Charity fund raising car rally. They stayed overnight in Barraba last night and needed breakfast this morning.
The Lions Club had offered to do the catering. I had made a slight error in my diary entry and got up and went to the Golf Club at 5 o'clock only to find nobody there. I wondered if I had got the date wrong, and went home to have my own breakfast. I went back at 6 o'clock to check if I had the right day. The other Lions were there ready to set up so I pitched in helping with the setting up and later doing the washing up.
The rallyers arrived at 7o'clock and we fed them cereal, fresh baked scones and toast, fruit juice, tea, and coffee. They all appreciated our efforts and were very happy with their visit to Barraba.
Another successful Lions project as we raise quite a bit of money for our funds which will be used to support those in need and we all had a good time.
Posted: 1/9/09 10:39 AM