Comments on: The little recession that couldn’t

By: Venise Alstergren

Venise Alstergren — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 08:59:05 +0000

It would have been wonderful to have been the proverbial fly on the wall when the news about being in the black hit the dishonourable member for Higgins! Olé, olé.

By: Gary Stowe

Gary Stowe — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 08:45:32 +0000

Bernard, love your stuff as always but…why do you, along with the rest of the sheep, keep using the term “negative growth?” It’s a spin doctor’s lie. Call it a contraction, a recession, whatever you like, but not ‘negative growth.’ There is no such thing. Are you going to refer to death as “negative life?” When the economy is booming will we suddenly have “positive contraction?”
Can’t wait for the moment when corporate losses become “negative profits.” Job lay-offs become “negative hiring,” etc. Or is some lying bastard already trying that?

By: skink

skink — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 08:38:59 +0000

In an act of denial that Richard Wilson would be proud of, The Australian has lauched its own internet readers’ poll,

“Do you think the Treasury’s figures are wrong, and we really are in a recession.”

the current voting is not that much different from Wilson’s similarly balanced poll.

If we all talk it down enough, maybe we really can make it into a recession

By: Christian Ryan

Christian Ryan — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 08:31:55 +0000

Well put. I can help but smile a bit inside. This is great news for our national ego.

….gloat, gloat, gloat….

By: scottyea

scottyea — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 07:58:08 +0000

Your tempting fate a bit with that headline, Bernard.

By: Kerrie Gandara

Kerrie Gandara — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 07:34:34 +0000

Bernard, I’m not sure that being overstimulated is better than being understimulated in the long term - when it leaves a huge deficit that will have to replenished and unemployment still at unacceptable levels (and I am NOT a Liberal!). However, I totally agree that this is positive news and the psychological impact will, no doubt, be positive and significant with regards to the economic outlook.

By: David Sanderson

David Sanderson — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 06:28:47 +0000

Sorry, wrong Peter. In my post above I meant the economics commentator Peter Martin, not Peter Ryan.

By: David1

David1 — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 05:58:52 +0000

Richard Wison there have been some absurd comments made by Libs in Crikeys comments sections over the years but your effort today shows their is no limit to that degree of absurdity. The desperation is not limited to the parliamentary party.

By: meski

meski — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 04:46:30 +0000

Gravity isn’t a hypothesis. Global warming is, and yes, people like to argue about it.

Haven’t had time to listen to QT, but I’m sure the opposition will come up with something to spin about. They usually do. How about: “one quarter’s positive growth isn’t conclusive in itself?” After all, they used it for the employment figures last time.

By: Evan Beaver

Evan Beaver — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 04:39:53 +0000

Me Ski, I would argue that the same applies to the Anthro Global Warming hypothesis, and yet we argue still.

People like to argue. It sells paper and blogs.

Question Time has been fun so far today. Not surprisingly it focusses on the GDP numbers. The Oppn can’t possibly have a leg to stand on can they?

By: meski

meski — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 04:26:26 +0000

Yes, but we don’t determine if we are in a recession by having a poll on the subject. It’d be like voting to decide if we were going to have gravity.

By: Richard Wilson

Richard Wilson — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 04:18:50 +0000

My latest data for NSW shows that 75% of people believe we are either not having a recession or just a mild one despite the governments best efforts to convince them to the contrary. I haven’t bothered to ask people about swine flu yet but I think I know what the answer to that will be as well.?

By: David Sanderson

David Sanderson — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 04:09:02 +0000

This is a good time to have a closer look at some of those commentating journalists. One who has been very vigorously overegging his recessionary pudding is the ABC’s business editor, Peter Ryan. He has been reveling, in his inimitably nerdy way, in putting a very negative spin on whatever bit of economic data comes his way.

You get the sense from listening to him that bad news and negative spin are just a whole lot more exciting to him than a more measured evaluation of the evidence. It is about time his minders gave him a good talking to.

By: Scott Grant

Scott Grant — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 03:53:26 +0000

Here are some negatives: Negative negative growth. Or perhaps negative contraction.

By: David1

David1 — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 03:44:54 +0000

Well put Bernard, I now await your and the Govts detractors to attack as they surely will. The proof stares them in the face, but there will be negatives, they are Liberals.Up the creek without a matchstick, excellent.Well written and well done to Treasurer Swan, he took the abuse and won the day thus far, well done.