Economic commentator Satyajit Das gives some tough policy advice. Satyajit Das is a former derivatives trader turned author. He is a familiar face on television chat panels and has written several well received books on global finance and economics. In Fortune's Fool: Australia's Choice (part of the “In the National Interest” series of long essays) Das gives a brief but concentrated overview of all aspects of the Australian economy. His analysis finds the old problem that Donald Horne addressed in The Lucky Country: we have relied too much on good fortune and failed to innovate our way to prosperity. Currently, according to Das, Australia relies too much on “houses and holes”. We have a perverse property market that encourages exorbitant prices and we rely too much for income on volatile commodity prices from our mining sector. To maintain our current lifestyle, we'll need to invest the country's income more wisely rather than promising tax cuts and encouraging consumer spending. Increasing or extending the GST will one day have to be confronted. Tackling climate change may even require a reduced standard of living. The tough lesson we must learn is that while reform is necessary, it doesn't always promise success. But not acting will ensure failure. Grim but fascinating reading. Forutne's Fool: Australia's Choices, by Satyajit Das. Published by Monash University Publishing. $19.95 Review by Chris Saliba Comments are closed.
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