[VOOK]

from news.com.au

Quote

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd says economic conditions will rapidly worsen this year - and blamed "a culture of greed" for the looming crisis.

Fresh from a holiday, Mr Rudd returned to work today with the economy on his mind.

He told an Australia Day reception at Kirribilli House that 2009 was going to be tough.

"Things will get worse before they get better,'' he said. "The magnitude of the global financial crisis almost beggars belief.''

The economic turmoil was the worst the world had seen since the Great Depression of 1931, Mr Rudd said.

He promised to be tough himself. "We will (govern) with a combination of steely economic management and compassion for those who need support,'' he said.

Mr Rudd blamed greed for the crisis. "A culture of excessive risk taking - a culture of greed - a culture of excess has brought massive economic disruption to global financial markets and the global economy.''

Those markets had been inadequately supervised and the world had to develop warning systems to prevent it all happening again, Mr Rudd said. He asked bosses to do everything they could to avoid sacking workers.

And he asked workers not to ask for big pay rises. "We are all in this together: business, unions, governments, the community sector and every nation in the world.''

He's only returning to work now, and telling people not to be greedy? Dude should have been back at work a week, two weeks ago. Oh and all this while was at a luncheon, how about you give food all the people who are getting fired instead?

Who is greedy now?

[popolopolous]

God he reckons this is as bad as the Great Depression? Sif

What he needs to do is stop whinging at everyone and everything and be proactive about stuff.

[VOOK]

I think for the most part people are still happy, except you have the media beating up how we're all DOOMED and everyone is like "sh!t really?"

[benanen]

Yeah the media love to bloat-up anything that has the slightest doom and gloom potential. Looking past the hypocrisy, there is a lot of greed in the world.

This post has been edited by benanen: 20 January 2009 - 12:29 PM

[djkizza]

I think they're trying to scare us into being better so we dont go down into a giant depression... By telling us we're doomed it makes people get nervous about spending and start being sensible.

I'm sure Mr Rudd's "Christmas buy something nice Bonus!" helped everyone stop being greedy... >_>

[John Wayne Gacy]

This guy is always on holidays.

[benanen]

Quote

I think they're trying to scare us into being better so we dont go down into a giant depression... By telling us we're doomed it makes people get nervous about spending and start being sensible.

That could also work in reverse and make people think: "We're screwed, so I'll hold onto the money I've got"

[Obscurus]

Eh. I can see the hypocracy, but I can deffinitly see the point his making. We're a culture that has out sucsess messured on how much stuff we have. Thats pretty much how capitalism works. You spend almost everything you make, and the money will eventually go full circle (in theory).

Eh. Govenment is stupid like that though. They invest all their money into people who make money into more money, when it should be going back into the people through schools, transport, hospitals, science, etc.

[morzag]

I'm pretty sure that he means greed in the sense of economics- taking excessive investment risks in the hope of massive returns. It's not big news though, especially as everybody is aware of the subprime mortgage catalyst, so he's just trying to sound smart to make us think he's on the ball. In truth, he started out talking down the economy to try and prevent interest rates from rising and then reversed the rhetoric when he discovered a few months later that such a tactic would have only been relevant during Howard's term. Only recently with such statements as this one has he started sounding realistic. I can't decide whether the "since the great depression" part is overly dramatic, though.

[indevelopment]

Obscurus, on Jan 20 2009, 04:46 PM, said:

Eh. I can see the hypocracy, but I can deffinitly see the point his making. We're a culture that has out sucsess messured on how much stuff we have. Thats pretty much how capitalism works. You spend almost everything you make, and the money will eventually go full circle (in theory).

It's a tough area because if we all stop consuming.. we'll have no jobs. But if we don't stop over consuming we'll also have no jobs.

But I think capitalism is more about convincing someone else to spend almost everything they make.

[PlasmaDavid]

I'm sure you'd never take holidays as Prime Minister VOOK, and dedicate every stressful minute to ensuring the best for the nation

[VOOK]

PlasmaDavid, on Jan 20 2009, 04:12 PM, said:

I'm sure you'd never take holidays as Prime Minister VOOK, and dedicate every stressful minute to ensuring the best for the nation

He's been on Holidays since before Xmas, and Parliament hasn't sat since like November.

[lexielab]

And yet if Rudd tries to get Parliament to sit for more days in the year, the pollies and public servants complain that they're overworked. Summer is the traditional time for PMs to take holidays anyway, so they can put in an appearance at the cricket. Besides, it'd be pretty bad if he took holidays when Parliament was sitting. I'm not sure what your problem is with him taking holidays VOOK, just so long as he doesn't take more than his four weeks or whatever.

[VOOK]

lexielab, on Jan 20 2009, 04:27 PM, said:

And yet if Rudd tries to get Parliament to sit for more days in the year, the pollies and public servants complain that they're overworked. Summer is the traditional time for PMs to take holidays anyway, so they can put in an appearance at the cricket. Besides, it'd be pretty bad if he took holidays when Parliament was sitting. I'm not sure what your problem is with him taking holidays VOOK, just so long as he doesn't take more than his four weeks or whatever.

November - January 20th, is more then four weeks.

[PlasmaDavid]

Four weeks PER YEAR, amirite?

[benanen]

lexielab, on Jan 20 2009, 06:27 PM, said:

And yet if Rudd tries to get Parliament to sit for more days in the year, the pollies and public servants complain that they're overworked. Summer is the traditional time for PMs to take holidays anyway, so they can put in an appearance at the cricket. Besides, it'd be pretty bad if he took holidays when Parliament was sitting. I'm not sure what your problem is with him taking holidays VOOK, just so long as he doesn't take more than his four weeks or whatever.

I don't think anyone is particularly stressed by the PM's holiday length, but it's just a funny contradiction when he comes out and says about greed.

[Nibbler]

Thats always the same with Parliament, Nov-Jan/Feb nothing happens. Then they get back into the swing of things.

[John Wayne Gacy]

Yeah, c'mon VOOK. Mr. Rudd needs time to rest from his various overseas trips last year totaling well over half a million.

[indevelopment]

benanen, on Jan 20 2009, 05:53 PM, said:

I don't think anyone is particularly stressed by the PM's holiday length,

Come to think of it, haven't heard much from Julia/Big Red in the past few weeks...

[ENKC]

popolopolous, on Jan 20 2009, 01:06 PM, said:

God he reckons this is as bad as the Great Depression? Sif

Ooh, bad choice of words. Popo, perhaps you don't keep in touch with financial affairs much, but I can assure you this is absolutely, completely and unequivocally the worst financial crisis the world has faced since the great depression. In other words, he's 100% correct in that and your post sounds rather naive as to the magnitude of what we're facing.

[Vertigo v3]

indevelopment, on Jan 20 2009, 08:24 PM, said:

Come to think of it, haven't heard much from Julia/Big Red in the past few weeks...

LOL!

I like it!

As for Kevin747, I believe his days are numbered.