real estate spruking on the news, page-21

Western counties have never been able to match the cheap labor, poor conditions and hence low manufacturing costs of the third world.
Manufacturing in the developed world always survived because of tariffs and import duties, and some western countries such as America retain tariffs to some extent to protect their home industries and employment.
Other western countries like Australia kid themselves that there is a mythical level playing field and abolished tariffs allowing cheaper foreign goods of dubious quality to flood our markets and kill our manufacturing industries.

The result is a huge and growing balance of payments deficit as we now import nearly everything we need from the third world. Even after our mineral and food exports are accounted for Australia now runs at a loss. To make this even worse we have started importing cheaper guest workers from the third world and these people send most of their money back home to support their families, thus adding to Australia's debt.

Our governments for the past twenty years have encouraged all this because the people like all the cheap goods they can buy and feel rich.

Eventually we are going to come a cropper but our fools paradise will continue for some time yet.

Dave R.