Richard Denniss

A fully updated and expanded edition of Richard Denniss's clear, witty guide to understanding political jargon about the economy. Economics is like a tyre lever - it can be used to solve a problem, or to beat someone over the head. What is econobabble? We hear it every day, when politicians and commentators use incomprehensible economic jargon to dress up...

Our houses are bigger than ever, but our families are smaller. Our kids go to the best schools we can afford, but we hardly see them. We've got more money to spend, yet we're further in debt than ever before. What is going on? The Western world is in the grip of a consumption binge that is unique in human...

Scott Morrison wants to spend a lot more money on defence, the business community wants more spending on infrastructure and education, an ageing population wants better health and aged care, and young Australians want more action on climate change and affordable housing. Each problem requires more public spending, but for decades Australians have been told that the less government spends,...

The sensible centre. Evidence-based policy. These are not the same. In fact, they are at odds with each other. The scientific evidence tells us that building new gas, oil, and coal mines will cause catastrophic climate damage this century. Yet politicians describe a call for the end of new mines as extreme. Likewise, with online gambling, junk food advertising, or...

The global gas industry has pulled off the greatest con in Australia's history, and we're living with the consequences. Australia is one of the richest countries in the world, yet we have been made to feel so poor that we no longer even expect the high quality, freely available public schools and hospitals we used to have. While we are...