I remember those days in the eighties when here in Western Australia, existing home loan interest rates were capped at 13.5%. Yes, that's right: 13.5%. It was hard but not as hard as the reckless borrowers of today might find it.
It has been rightly said that the ultimate source of capital is saving, but where are the savers in today's super hedonistic age? I dare say they are few and far between. It would seem that individuals in general and the parliaments in particular are in the red, and up to their very necks.
Instead of frugality we see massive waste and a careless contempt for what must inevitably follow. Wasn't it Mr Macawber who aptly stated "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen shillings and sixpence, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds and sixpence, result misery'? Misery indeed!
Take a look around, and what do we see? We see the unbridled use of alcohol, illicit drugs, gambling, and a thousand and one other vices. We witness the massive dissipation of personal income in the name of self-gratification and a living for today. And all with the encouragement of the parliaments. The designation of hedonism hardly does it justice. Self-harm might be a better term.
But who will ultimately pay for the damage? Silly question! As always, the cost will be met by the honest labourer; by the provident saver; by those that ordered their lives and businesses according to sound economic principles. And how will payment be exacted? As always, by the usual method of parliamentary administered coercion by penalty.
Get ready to bare your backs for yet another stroke of the cane.
