Prosper Australia

Karl Williams, Editor of Progress Magazine

What I’m about to write here would almost certainly land me in jail if it were written in Thailand. I’m about to criticize its monarch, King Bhumibol.

Yes, dear reader, it may be hard to believe that, in the 21st century in a modern and supposedly democratic nation, such a draconian punishment can still be meted out, but Thailand is the Land of Surprises in more ways than one. But, stranger still, this “respect” accorded to the king is not enforced by the police or secret service, but by the overwhelming majority of ordinary citizens. You see, so all-pervasive is the massive royal propaganda machine that the Thai citizenry themselves so wholly believe in the goodness and greatness of their monarch that they not only enthusiastically obey and serve their king, but vigilantly enforce obedience from any who might dissent.
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by Karl Fitzgerald

as published in Arena Magazine, Feb-March, 2008, Edition 93

In a period where the twin crises of global warming and the wealth gap are attacking society from both sides, policy makers are continually limited in their effectiveness by a two dimensional approach to economics.

Land prices have increased at 4 times the rate of GDP and dwarfed wages growth by 1000 to 1 since WW2 (The Poverty Inquiry to end all Inquiries, Tony O’Brien, Figure 1, p5) . Such damning statistics beckon the ALP to take a hard look at the economic fundamentals undermining union wage demands. For Julia Gillard’s ‘War on Poverty’ to be successful, policymakers must look outside the square.

2008 marks the half way point in our promise to halve world poverty with the Millennium Development Goal’s 2015 deadline. With the wealth gap accelerating in both Developed and Developing countries, a serious flaw is evident in modern economics.
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