We Are The Reds

That honest government series is great. Nails it almost every time.

By the way, I don't believe the "free market" is really free.

If you are socially liberal but lean towards the free market then there is a real need to study both the policies and the influence of fringe actors on the major parties.

By the way, I don't believe the "free market" is really free.

Correct; any market must be regulated.

I more meant that the more individuals motivated to find solutions, the better those solutions become. One problem is the ability of companies and individuals to avoid costs which are then picked up by the public sector. Pollution is a prime example.

The better we can attrribute all costs to their source the better the solutions will be. The Public Sector needs to play a role yet the private sector must be incentivised to devise solutions - this where effective regulation matters.

As there is quite alot of fringe left conversations seeping its way into the mainstream which for alot of people is equally concerning as the right.

Are you referring to a few more references towards neo-liberalism failing? I don't really feel there is a lot of anti-free market rhetoric flowing around apart from that. Heck we even had a royal commission into the financial services sector and I don't remember even seeing a suggestion from any credible candidates to re-nationalise the banking system which would a reasonably left-wing economic policy.

Don't get me wrong, Labor are definitely going with a more traditional centre-left strategy in this election than they have for a long time. I find that refreshing personally but I can see why it'd be a turn off for some progressive centre-right economic types that feel abandoned by the current Liberal party.]

Are you referring to a few more references towards neo-liberalism failing? I don't really feel there is a lot of anti-free market rhetoric flowing around apart from that. Heck we even had a royal commission into the financial services sector and I don't remember even seeing a suggestion from any credible candidates to re-nationalise the banking system which would a reasonably left-wing economic policy.

I meant more far left social / cultural conversations being normalised rather than far left economic policy. Things like equality of outcome vs equality of opportunity, quotas vs competency, facts vs feelings. Its not something that we will see the major parties campaign on but there is a growing fracture between the centre left and far left (socially) in the western world. It won't be a key issue this election but there are things bubbling beneath the surface that I think its relevant enough to mention.

Don't get me wrong, Labor are definitely going with a more traditional centre-left strategy in this election than they have for a long time. I find that refreshing personally but I can see why it'd be a turn off for some progressive centre-right economic types that feel abandoned by the current Liberal party.]

I totally agree, a clearer diversity of ideas among our major parties is refreshing. Where they may lose votes from progressive free market voters they may also take votes away from the greens so it will be very interesting.

Im interested to see how Shortens franking credit proposal holds up to scrutiny and if it will get watered down. A self funded retiree who would have expected a $60K income would have that reduced to $42K at the stroke of a pen ( if investments were fully franked ). As i understand it there would not even be a tax free threshold they could claim which in my mind is a brutal sudden change of direction ( though I'm not against self funded retirees paying tax). This cuts quite close to the bone for me personally, for most of my adult life I have been gearing myself towards one day being self funded. Despite having expected invetiable reforms in the future the radical (proposed) change of direction has caught me off guard.

Im also interested in the major parties approach to the US and China, how do we keep them both happy and how are we going to keep China out of our politics, it will not surprise me if the Liberal party are still sitting on infomation from the Dastyari saga that could be be damaging to Shorten.