the end

Today’s AFR carried a story about how the Reserve Bank’s single objective – keeping inflation within a low band – combined with its independence from government, and also combined with the current government’s desire to keep the public’s attention on inflation as the greatest economic challenge facing the country, all contribute to an unbalanced economic policy. And this policy has, arguably, a more deleterious effect on Australia and Australians than – perhaps – a more balanced approach which – for example – might sacrifice a per cent or two of inflation for a lower rate of unemployment and reduced pressures on those Australians less able to withstand repeated interest rate rises.

An interesting proposition. You might remember that you read it here, albeit in a rather off-hand, badly expressed fashion, last night.

That’s Chateau VVB for you, in fact our Unique Selling Proposition: get it first, but get it utterly half-arsed. Fortunately as Chateau VVB and its bastard offspring, pied a terre VVB, are free offerings, we don’t need a USP.

What else? Well, the Federal Police descend in numbers on an elderly couple, one of whom has mesothelioma and wishes to die with dignity. But the couple have taken the next step and got the makins’ to bring about this end. Mind you, the wallopers didn’t find it. Half a dozen police and an elderly couple?

The representative of the wildly misnamed Right to Life organisation (try Opposition to Free Will, just for a somewhat more accurate alternative), says that the makins’ are dangerous (er yes, that’s the point) and the couple are “foolish”. If there’s one thing that they are not, it’s foolish. They are, to the contrary, extremely sensible. They won’t have arrived at their decision lightly; we can assure you of that having had a decade of such discussions with the late parent, who spent a substantial amount of energy trying to get us to sign on to end it for him should he lose his ability to make an informed decision. We continually refused and he eventually gave up – and fortunately, passed away quite peacefully – but no-one, that’s no-one, makes such a decision foolishly.

And Mark Vaile’s off in the Middle East trying to flog stuff. Here’s a tip: stay there.

Mind you, I simply can’t imagine Alexander Downer playing golf.