Such poignant words. It is not that I haven't actively thought...

Such poignant words. It is not that I haven't actively thought this before; in fact I constantly push this specific agenda. That I see this on Facebook as a group excites me greatly. Social media has its way of pushing agenda in a manner that was not possible in times past. Events in Egypt and other areas of the Middle East have proven the power of people, and I feel that with enough information and circulation of educated opinions, we can actively force a change to truly make the fathers of democracy proud. I say this because as it stands, our political situation in this country makes a mockery of the very definition of democracy. For me, a "minority government" is an oxymoron of such idiotic proportions, it is inconceivable that we as a nation accept it. I may not agree with a two party system, however this is what we have and for a small nation, I suppose this will do for now. However, for a political party to fail to win a MAJORITY of votes when there are only two to choose from, and still hold power through a couple of individuals who did NOT campaign to the nation, and were not judged by the populous is as utterly baffling as Jersey Shore's disturbing success.

The carbon tax in itself represents everything that this Government stands for: Lacking imagination, criminal ineptitude, gross ideological-centrism, arrogance and self righteousness. The pairing of Julia Gillard and Wayne Swan is a practice in black comedy; I would almost laugh if it wasn't so disheartening and vomit-inducing. Every word emitted from that banjo-like twang of a voice grates me like steel on a rusty lathe, and her blow-arse side-kick's seemingly inebriated ramblings tickle my gag reflex with an almost heroic virtuosity. Here we have a government who decided the leader whom THEY chose, and was elected by the people of Australia (fairly, despite my opposition to his election) was suddenly ill-equipped to continue the job, yet instead of allowing the nation to decide on his successor, they decided Julia "Javelin-Nose" Gillard would take over ("decided" being a very polite way of explaining the guerrilla-like coup that befell the former PM)- a person no one in the nation voted for in ANY capacity. More disturbing still, is that this "victory" was granted by a buck-toothed hick in Robert Oakeshott who so arrogantly flouted his election to power by his own electorate through casting his vote with labour when his electorate polled the second-lowest Labor vote in the entire nation (including both House of Reps and Senate votes)!!! Yeah, that makes A LOT OF SENSE. You may as well see if Oscar the Grouch was free, perhaps John Hopoate, or hell, even I would have run for the bloody position. I am certain I had as many official votes as Ms Gillard, so why am I not Prime Minister?

The tax demonstrates an inability of the Government to think beyond the obvious. Of one thing I am certain, if you took the question of environmental conservation and a failing economy to a special needs primary school, they'd come up with a better plan than a carbon tax. Honestly, calling Julia and Wayne retards represents criminal injustice to the handicapped. In reality, their response to the question was simply: we'll tax polluters and make money to pay for the stuff we now have to pay for. Honestly? Inconceivable really how we allow this to even become a debatable issue. There should be NO DEBATE HERE. Yes I love the Earth, and I do believe we need to treat it right, but carbon tax stops absolutely NOTHING. It is the speed camera in the 50km/h zone on a 6 lane dual carriageway. It is the 50% reduced fat super cookie containing 350% more sugar than a regular cookie. It is superfluous to the highest order much in the manner of a third nipple or a hairy back. WE DO NOT NEED IT. Let me explain why I feel this way and break it down into a fairly logical and obvious argument.

The underlying "issue" is that we are polluting the Earth. Okay, sure I will accept that. The amount of decay and degradation for me is up to debate far beyond where we are already, and the research completed so far seems to be a disreputable orgy of conflicting information. For any one Government to claim they have the true answer to the environmental problem is both ostentatious and chronically deluded. There really is NO profound right answer as yet beyond we are having some effect - the result of which is still not yet known. So even if I take for granted that there is an issue, I will not follow any discourse purporting one extreme or the other until more research is done. This automatically dissuades me from forcing the issue to be resolved "right now" and "right here". These two points are equally critical mind you.

As for "right now", we are in the midst of the worst period of economic turmoil the world has ever seen. The atmospheric tumult is gathering at frightening pace and is now as obvious as Shane Warne's facelift. The critical issues arising from the global economy are a lack of liquidity and slowing GDPs as evidenced by slowing retail sales (i.e. lower consumption), out of control inflation, booming unemployment and slowing job creation. For me there is a far more obvious solution than the one our government has come up with. Basic economics tells us that the only way to boost real GDP is through manufacturing and consumption. Whilst I agree that the first stimulus package was required (albeit somewhat different to the rollout Rudd managed), the second was positively disastrous. Instead of using the war-chest of funds to provide subsidies for large companies to boost employment and create new jobs, the Government tried to plug bleeding money markets which were always destined to burn through the cash as though it were kindling for a bonfire. With a nation so rich in natural resources, in particular all the staple elements of creating and manufacturing steel, it is a crime that we have not developed a steel industry. The Government, rather than spending all of the money in the money markets to "boost liquidity", should have offered the likes of BHP, RIO Tinto, and Fortescue massive company tax-cuts (even for a pre-defined time frame - say 5-7 years) contingent to their creation of steelworks in Western Australia. This would create so many new jobs, we would likely have a DROP in unemployment rather than even treading water, and these newly employed individuals would contribute to the economy both by paying tax, and boosting consumption as they spend their pay in this country. We would also have yet another final export, and these companies would have surging profits, again nullifying the tax cuts they were given in the first place. There is no problem with companies making more money, when they create jobs as this creates circular flow of income and boosts consumption and real GDP. This is the ONLY way. The reason this works, is that China is still consuming steel. Even with a slowdown, it would be pertinent to solidify export contracts even at a reduced rate with our most major trading partner such that we would push two agendas in juxtaposition. We would keep them happy as we are showing compassion in difficult times, and we still make just as much money, albeit from new revenue streams. I do not see where this negatively affects us. Even the United States and Europe, with all of their trouble are still consuming steel. We would be crazy not to take advantage of this especially given the times we find ourselves in. For those nay-sayers who will vehemently argue that we can't be competitive by virtue of our higher wages, I say our comparative advantage in raw materials will make the final product JUST as cheap - especially when you consider the extra margin available by a favourable tax rate for these new Aussie steelworks. I will be a monkey's arse if I stand by and watch the Government spend all of our money, then try and tax it back out of us having not improved any quality of life.

Moreover, the question of inflation would be solved fairly easily; given an increasing amount of employed and now tax-paying Australians, we would be able to raise interest rates to curb inflation without decreasing quality of life too much for the majority. With higher commodities output meeting demand, prices would not rise dramatically due to shortening supplies so again, inflation would be kept under wraps for the most part. As it stands, we are in a period where this would be the least of our worries.

The "right here" prospect also disturbs me at a cellular level. I think the biggest joke of all, big enough to even resurrect the career Carrot-top (look him up... he's scary), is that we think Australia introducing a carbon tax will instigate any change on this planet. China manufactures 80% of the world's solar panels yet they install less than 5%.They build a new coal fired power station every week and in 1 year turn on more new coal powered electricity than Australia's total output. China is already the world's largest carbon dioxide emitter, and their CO2 output will rise by at least 70% by 2020, along the way increasing its coal generating capacity by 500 Gigawatts (GW). In the mean time, Australia will decrease its coal fired generating capacity by 2GW in the same period. That's right; China will increase its coal generating capacity by 250 times the amount that we reduce ours! Glad Australia is working so damn hard and making so many sacrifices to save the planet. C'mon Julia, you're not helping ANYONE. We will NOT lead the world to commit to greener energy right when we need the cheapest form of it just to survive. You have got to be joking woman. Let us remember this was the same person who said there would be no carbon tax under a government that she led. Hmmmm... so you're a liar about this, how on earth can we trust you with ANYTHING?

So this leads me back to the comment that started it all. We don't want a carbon tax, we want an election! It seems clear that a Government so inept should not be in power. They are pushing a tax that nobody wants, from a position where they never really had a majority of votes. I would rather my scalp torn off by a blunt and rusty spoon than endure another year of this bogus government. We deserve an election, and we should damn well HAVE an election. Stuff the self righteous Greens - they are in the easiest position in the world. They who simply preach of morality, social conscience and subsistence living, sit atop a wonderfully Utopian self-righteous fairy-tale and consequently truly fail to recognise the magnitude of the potential disaster facing the world. We will all be too poor to worry about the improving environment if we take this route. Those who are savvy enough in business will utilise the carbon trading scheme to their benefit and ultimately those who are best at it will make profits on the very carbon they emit. This is no way to instigate a change, and whilst I still agree we need to pay more homage to greener solutions, now is not the time, and here is most certainly NOT the place.

Resourcebull