"From the Reformation .....land had been seen as the most secure asset economically.... the confidence in the stability and security of the land was undermined; faith in a future like the past was much diminished, and the demands of an increasingly hostile, predatory, and instrusive state had to be met. Accordingly, economic decline had its effect, not only on finances, but also on minds, not just on their wealth, but also on their self esteem".
Sound familiar?
The attacks by the present Australian Federal Government on entrepreneurs and wealth held in superannuation are not disimilar to the above when the British Government was required to finance the growth of the welfare state.
A nation which makes its entrepreneurs and savers anxious for their future risks losing both minds and savings. I have written previous blogs about this.
Yet, this is where we are at in 21st Century Australia under present governance.
The quote above properly belongs to the time of Downton Abbey and the David Lloyd George Peoples' Budget, but the parallels are striking.
For the UK, they led to long term economic decline, the export of capital, and ultimately the mass emigation of generations of talented and educated people. Including to Australia.
(The full quote can be found at The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy by David Cannadine, Random House 1992).
No comments:
Post a Comment