People blindly pay tribute to Government and then these citizen morons outsource their social conscience by assuming said authorities care about anything more than their own personal affairs. hah! It's like buyinh tomatoes without looking or smelling and then resigning to the 'fact' that all tomatoes will make you sick.

As for Ross` comment about Obama "He seems to get it at least with his rhetoric. Of a politician that is the best we could hope for."

So what you're saying Ross is that he's the best liar you've ever seen, and that warms your heart? Sounds like you have very low standards or you romanticise the criminal lifestyle.

"insufficient tax revenues to cover operating expenses for many many years to come"

Therefore operating expenses and standards of living will plunge in all debtor countries. As the the biggest operating expense for debtor countries is social security, those of you who are now under 55 should not expect much in the way of care if you should ever need a nursing home. And if you have superannuation in Australia it WILL be redistributed to assist those who have none. Believe me it will be taken from you in one way or another because the Government of the day will have no other options.

The world keeps spinning and there are many bright and happy days to come. Happiness will be partly contingent on 1) having an "independent" retirement investment strategy 2) carefully managing the timing of your investment and lifestyle actions.

We can debate that social safety net point and the level that it becomes debilitating to incentives to do something for yourself or disincentivise for the uber rich to throw dimes to the street people but we can't agree until you participate in debating where that point might lie. You will have this same culturally embedded argument with most Australians. One of the US's biggest problems is that it borrowed too much from its social security and health accruels to fund its operating deficits.

In this asset bubble implosion and debt hangover there will in both cases be insufficient tax revenues to cover operating expenses for many many years to come no matter how hard we hit at the nanny state or how hard we try to divert incentive bias from the financial economy to the real economy.

I am starting to warm to Obama. He seems to get it at least with his rhetoric. Of a politician that is the best we could hope for. Both Liberal and Labor in Australia are buried in the mire of not being able to confess their past misdeeds without losing the next election.

We need a revolution in policy making in Australia too that savagely deals with the policy wonk generation that emerged in the 80's and ran a merry party funded by the patronage of cronies and built there sand castles on unproductive urban asset inflation whooped up by an unsustainable foreign private debt and services economy expansionism. One where unaccountable and self satisfied public servants built their ever expanding dominions on the clipping govt consumption tax receipts and had the cronies provide for their public service after lives as institute lackeys and lobbyists or banking directors like never before .

Rosenberg is not retired. He has is working for another firm. You can see that at: gluskinsheff.com