Home Buyers' Strike in Australia; Bubble Set to Burst; Steve Keen on the Oz Bubble; What You Can Do

A huge number of readers from down under have sent emails regarding a property buyers' strike in Australia.

For example, please consider this email from Bron Suchecki at the Perth Mint.

Bron writes ...

Hello Mish,

A Buyers' Strike Campaign is gaining momentum in Australia with mainstream media coverage.

Steve Keen is getting behind it as per his post GetUp campaign suggestion: First Home Property Buyers Strike

What makes this right up your alley is that the campaign started on a website called GetUp .

They style themselves as "an independent political movement to build a progressive Australia. GetUp! brings together like-minded people who want to bring participation back into our democracy."

What is interesting is that according to a comment on this “campaign” (more a complaint) it appears GetUp is supported by Australian unions.

As you know, the Australian Labor Party has strong links to unions, so is GetUp really independent?

It will be interesting to see if GetUp will ignore what appears to be a #1 supported suggestion by their own members, when to run with such a campaign will cause real political problems for the Labor Party.

It's A story worth keeping an eye on.

Regards,
Bron Suchecki
MANAGER, ANALYSIS AND STRATEGY
THE PERTH MINT

Steve Keen Interview on the Property Bubble



Link in case the above video does not display: http://www.brokernews.com.au/tv/the-big-story/the-big-story-is-the-bubble-set-to-burst/963/82509

Homebuyers Strike Back

ABC News reports The Homebuyer Strikes Back

A tiny land tax lobby group has sparked a storm by suggesting first home buyers go on strike to force property prices lower.

Prosper Australia is an organisation devoted to promoting the ideas of 19th-century political economist Henry George, who suggested that income and company tax should be replaced by land tax.

It launched its call for an Australian first home buyer strike on March 15 - since then the idea has gone on to become the number one suggestion on GetUp's campaign ideas forum with 5,644 votes, followed by another housing-related campaign idea to abolish negative gearing.

The online interest has translated into coverage in major daily newspapers and breakfast television, but Prosper Australia spokesman David Collyer says thousands of Australians were already boycotting home purchases before the campaign launched.

"The aim of the campaign is to make first home buyers who are locked out of the market aware that they're not alone, and that their private economic decisions are actually being made by all of their peers at the same time," he told ABC News Online.

Failed Ownership Society Promotion

Steve Keen talked about the Home Buyers' Strike in a couple of posts including Another Getup idea–direct attack on the FHOS

GetUp allows a certain number of votes per email address registration and many people, including Steve Keen, exhausted their votes in favor of the "buyers' strike idea".

I think those buyers' strike vote are somewhat wasted. Buyers will do what they will do and buyers are already on strike.

From my way of thinking it would be better to pressure the Australian government to abandon its ludicrous first time home buyers' grant.

That "Home Buyers' Grant" program sounds very much like President Bush's failed "Ownership Society".

Simply put, government has no business promoting personal choices unless it purposely wants to create bubbles.

If you have votes to spare (or if you have not yet registered) I suggest you cast every one of your votes to Stopping the First Home Buyers Grant. It's time to end the insanity.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
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