just read the following alba (watso posted this somwhere else)
Interest rates went as high as 18 percent under Paul Keating!
When Keating was treasurer the highest interest rate was 19.56% (Dec 85), and when he was PM the highest was 8.37% (Jan 95).
Howard presided over higher maximum rates when he was treasurer (21.39% in Apr 82), and he came into the PM job with rates at 7.53% (and left the treasurer job in Mar 83, and the incoming Labor government, with rates at 15.26%). So Howard track record when treasurer is no better than Keating when treasurer.
The important figure to remember the high of 8.37% under Keating (when PM), because if interest rates go above that level under Howard (when PM) then he will have presided over higher interest rates as both treasurer and later as PM, and we (and hopefully Labor) will have him by the short and curlies.
now - get this straight - watso copied the above from the net (when he should have been doing the housework) - but my guess is that it is correct - but get this bit
"and he came into the PM job with rates at 7.53% (and left the treasurer job in Mar 83, and the incoming Labor government, with rates at 15.26%). So Howard track record when treasurer is no better than Keating when treasurer. "
so it seems that the outgoing treasurer ( ie howard) gave the labs 15.26% interest rates, but when he returned as prime minister, rates were down to 7.53% - by my calculations that is almost half - so what a great job the labs did
all watso is trying to say, is that the government has very little control over what is really happening. there is nothing magical about howard/costello
watso might see if he can post this under another thread (before he does some last minute clean ups)
