The Looking Forward Podcast Episode 70: “Double Déjà vu in Dan’s Victoria”

It’s a double case of Déjà vu in Victoria as it enters Stage 3 lockdown once again, just as the State’s finances look like they’re headed for a crisis reminiscent of the 1990s, meaning the rest of Australia might once again have to bail it out. The panel of Scott Hargreaves, Chris Berg and Daniel look at how the outbreak has derailed the national coronavirus containment strategy, and followed a series of failures by the State Government (2:25–22:19).

They also analysed the electoral implications of Trump’s landmark 4th July speech at Mt Rushmore, which drew the election battlelines with him the side of Western Civilisation versus cancel culture (22:19–39:42)

and returning to Victoria the panel looks at IPA research showing the State’s plunge into massive debt predated the COVID depression, driven by fantastically expensive transport projects.(39:42–53:45)

In the Books and Culture segment the panel reviews the forthcoming Friedman Conference, the release of the musical Hamilton on Disney streaming service, and demographer Joel Kotkin’s book out of the USA on the middle class under pressure from what he calls “neo-feudalism”.