[Default] On Wed, 11 Aug 2010 13:40:30 +0100, invalidd
<invalidd@invalidd.invalidd> typed:
>David wrote:
>
>>
>> It has been permanent now for around half a century.
>>
>
>I guess if you're a politician forced to think in terms of four or five
>year terms with no guarantee of re-election at the end then half a
>century looks pretty permanent. My estimate that people could be moved
>from Imperial to metric over a period of say eighty years with little or
>no coercion is something that a politician just could not envisage.
>
>>>>
>>>>Because the electorate is, by and large, stupid.
>>>
>>>Unfortunately too many governments believe that and use it as an excuse
>>>to enact bad legislation.
>>
>>
>> I agree with that statement and expect my theory to be borne out again
>> on August 21 when Australia goes to the polls.
>>
>> I'm voting for the Sex Party.
>>
>> Yes there is such a party,
>>
>> http://www.sexparty.org.au/
>>
>> Watch the Debate to see the quality (or lack thereof) of the opposition.
>
>I'm not seeking to make a point out of this, but did the government
>which forced take-up of metric units overnight get re-elected?
Yes. They did get booted out early though when they let the National
Debt spiral out of control and they attempted to borrow $3,000 million
at 30% interest. Fortunately that insanity was stopped but it took
Australia thirty years and sale of all our national assets to repay the
debts run up by that government. Gough Whitlam was the Prime Minister of
that debacle.
This was in the same period when world-wide inflation rose to around
twelve or thirteen percent while Australia's rose to twenty-two percent.
We still have people blaming the world inflation rate for Whitlam's
legacy instead of his mad spending spree which included an unfunded
public health scheme and free university education for all.
--
David
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FORTUNE PROVIDES QUESTIONS FOR THE GREAT ANSWERS: #19 A:To be or not to
be. Q:What is the square root of 4b^2?
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