Economic Reform Australia
ERA Newsletters
Economic Reform Australia is a non-political organisation whose primary objective is to achieve a socially, environmentally and financially sustainable society. Of particular concern is the drift away from sustainable and just societies around the planet. Fundamental financial reform is regarded as an essential prerequisite to the implementation of a range of other economic reforms aimed at tackling the world's immense social and environmental problems.
The financial system currently operates in such a manner that - during the asset inflation phase of the so-called economic cycle - debt grows at a faster rate than does the real economy. This flawed system has enabled global debt to balloon to a stupendous scale, and it continues to grow today unchecked, widening the gap between rich and poor and creating wide-scale and unrelieved suffering, particularly within developing countries.
Moreover the debt-driven nature of our economy necessarily implies and embodies an economic growth imperative, without which the contemporary model of capitalism would be unworkable. However unbridled economic growth, as measured by gross domestic product, is responsible for depleting the earth's non-renewable resources at an uprecedented and unsustainable rate.
Consistent with the need for financial reform is a perceived requirement to allow decision-making to devolve to the community level as far as practicable. ERA is opposed to neoliberal (economic rationalist) ideology and repudiates many of the fundamental tenets of neoclassical economics. ERA also supports measures which will help bring about more humane and cooperative social structures and preserve the integrity of the environment.
It is of especial concern that Australia's sovereignty has been sabotaged by a long period of financial and trade deregulation. As a result, Australia has generated massive debts, particularly foreign debt, and a financial system dominated by foreign exchange speculation and overseas ownership. In Australia, total public and private debt exceeds three trillion dollars (the most recent data may be obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and from the Reserve Bank of Australia). Most of this debt is private, and especially corporate. Furthermore the aggregate of debt within Australia is inordinately large in comparison with the nation's gross domestic product, and has been so for a considerable time.
During the inflationary phase of the so-called business cycle, debt tends to grow faster than does productivity and the money supply. The overall debt load is only reined in by the inevitable recessionary phase - a necessary requirement of the prevailing monetary system if debt is not to become completely unsupportable with the passage of time. Owing to the perpetuation of this design flaw, recessions and depressions have become an inevitable recurring feature of our economic system.
The financial system currently operates in such a manner that - during the asset inflation phase of the so-called economic cycle - debt grows at a faster rate than does the real economy. This flawed system has enabled global debt to balloon to a stupendous scale, and it continues to grow today unchecked, widening the gap between rich and poor and creating wide-scale and unrelieved suffering, particularly within developing countries.
Moreover the debt-driven nature of our economy necessarily implies and embodies an economic growth imperative, without which the contemporary model of capitalism would be unworkable. However unbridled economic growth, as measured by gross domestic product, is responsible for depleting the earth's non-renewable resources at an uprecedented and unsustainable rate.
Consistent with the need for financial reform is a perceived requirement to allow decision-making to devolve to the community level as far as practicable. ERA is opposed to neoliberal (economic rationalist) ideology and repudiates many of the fundamental tenets of neoclassical economics. ERA also supports measures which will help bring about more humane and cooperative social structures and preserve the integrity of the environment.
It is of especial concern that Australia's sovereignty has been sabotaged by a long period of financial and trade deregulation. As a result, Australia has generated massive debts, particularly foreign debt, and a financial system dominated by foreign exchange speculation and overseas ownership. In Australia, total public and private debt exceeds three trillion dollars (the most recent data may be obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and from the Reserve Bank of Australia). Most of this debt is private, and especially corporate. Furthermore the aggregate of debt within Australia is inordinately large in comparison with the nation's gross domestic product, and has been so for a considerable time.
During the inflationary phase of the so-called business cycle, debt tends to grow faster than does productivity and the money supply. The overall debt load is only reined in by the inevitable recessionary phase - a necessary requirement of the prevailing monetary system if debt is not to become completely unsupportable with the passage of time. Owing to the perpetuation of this design flaw, recessions and depressions have become an inevitable recurring feature of our economic system.
