Good on you, Bruce Woodley!

[Australians, all, let us not ring Joyce.]

Rentiers Roundtable by Renegade Economists on Mixcloud

We dun real good!

Letters in THE AGE today about the sad state of teaching and another defending Jeff Kennett selling off our heritage to pay for the financial destruction flowing from the late 1980s ‘property’ (read land price) bubble.

There’s a common thread: teachers would be much better paid and could be proud of their profession–and property bubbles could not possibly arise–if they knew and understood the need to capture the economic rent of our natural resources.

“Economic rent?”

Yes – there’s the problem.  They don’t know.  Too technical.  Too hard.  Teachers are ignorant of this most fundamental aspect of finance and economics about which the world revolves.  So are many others.

Buy up Australia fair!

by Gavin R Putland (25 June 2014)

Australians all let us regroup,
though we are old and tired;
With hoarded soil and crumbs for toil,
In rent-seeking we’re mired:
Our land delivers windfall gains
To privatize not share;
In history’s page cries every sage:
“Buy up Australia fair!”
In docile strains then let us sing,
“Buy up Australia fair!”

When gallant Cook from Albion sail’d,
To trace wide oceans o’er,
True British courage bore him on,
Till he landed on our shore.
Then here he raised Old England’s flag
On ground that we’ve excised
From our Migration Zone, lest our
Frontiers be compromised.
Let those who come by air not sea
Buy up Australia fair!

Shou’d foreign foe e’er sight our coast,
Or dare a plane to land,
We’ll rouse like sons of shopkeepers
To sell our native strand;
Britannia then shall surely know,
Beyond wide ocean’s roll,
Her sons in fair Australia’s land
Still keep a British soul.
In docile strains then let us sing,
“Buy up Australia fair!”

While other nations of the globe
Behold us from afar,
We’ll rise to high renown and shine
Like our glorious southern star;
From England’s, Scotia’s, Erin’s stock,
Born here our space to rent,
We’ve all combined, one common mind
To squeeze out every cent!
In docile strains then let us sing,
“Buy up Australia fair!”

Beneath our radiant southern Cross,
We’ll toil with hearts and hands;
To build this common wealth of ours
For hoarders of the lands;
To those who’ve never crossed the seas
We’ve jobless plains to sell;
With gratitude let all collude
To price Australia well.
In docile strains then let us sing,
“Buy up Australia fair!”

(Apologies to Peter Dodds McCormick.)