Why Do We Bother Giving Air-time To The Rich? They're As Stupid As Anyone Else, You Know.

So -- radio headline news teaser today was "Gina Rinehart delivers warning."

Let me be honest. My first thought was that she was planning to politely let us know she was preparing to fart, just to give time for Western Australia to be evacuated. But no!

Turns out that financial genius Rinehart, who became filthy rich by inheriting a metric fuckload of mines from her father, is telling us that if we don't cut taxes AND government spending, we'll go the way of those European countries.

Er... what?

Last time I checked, Australia's proportion of debt to GDP was among the very lowest in the world. We're behind Norway, of course, and a couple other countries, but seriously? We don't have a debt issue. Further: the Rudd and Gillard governments brought this country through the global financial fuckup in a manner which is quite literally the envy of every other developed country in the world. Further: the gold-plated economic paper that showed how important it is that governments cut debt and practice austerity  has been completely debunked. A Kiwi economics student checked the math, couldn't believe his results, and went slowly up the food chain of economic researchers... turns out that yes, the original paper was shit. Lazy, biased, mathematically fucked-up shit.

So. We're in great shape, in terms of debt and more importantly, in terms of current economic activity. And it's current government policies which put us there. And the "science" behind austerity (tax cuts and spending cuts) turns out to be utter bullshit. And on top of that, Gina Rinehart is not a self-made billionaire, but an heiress... so where the fuck does she come off delivering "warnings" about Australian economic policy?

Seriously: why are this person's mouth noises news? Why do we actually give a damn for her pinheaded prognostications?

Put a sock in it, Gina. Go comment on something you're qualified for... like 'how to inherit a lot of money, and then fight with your family'. I hear you're good at that.