I read this morning that there were riots in Spain overnight – Arrests, clashes amid general strike in Spain. I thought that, ultimately, this may be the only way that the neo-liberal economic madness that has beset the world, amidst the worst economic crisis in 80 odd years, will be curtailed. By people power. It is a pity that we have allowed the political class to move so far beyond what is required to introduce policies that enhance the well-being of the citizens. How that happened is a separate question which I hope the political scientists and other experts shed some light on soon. It seems totally bizarre that popular support is given to political parties that introduce policies which undermine the prosperity of the supporters. In Australia, the Treasurer delivered a speech yesterday that confirms that even though we are a long way from the European maelstrom, our intellectual underpinnings are the same. Our Government is currently about to walk the plank because it is engaging in a “seriously reckless” act – trying to cut public spending by around 2.6 per cent of GDP when the economy is already in decline.