simply the best

It would be highly inappropriate for a little blog that's been drifting closer to the centre since the departure of the littlest liar to make any comment about the death of capitalism.

So we won't, although you might want to follow that thread for a while if you're interested.

But we were mightily taken by a pronouncement we read over the weekend about Australia's "world-class" system of financial regulation, leading to a reassurance that because we were "word-class", Australians had little to fear for the future of their savings and investments.

Being "world-class" is important in Australia. We could debate until the cows returned to whence they came whether it's because we have been so far away from Europe, or some innate convict-mentality writ large, or whatever, but it's always important to be "world-class". I guess I've written the phrase more than once in my work roles over the last decade or so.

Its derivation aside, the phrase does indicate a recognition that effort needs to be put into regulatory structures, or indeed whatever, if we are to compete.

But it struck me as passing strange that at a time when the regulatory mechanisms of the acknowledged world leaders in finance were shown to be somewhat lacking in nearly every respect, that someone would still want to compare us with them, as if this was a good thing.

"We're different, we're better" might have had more clout. Waddaya think?