STAGFLATION BAMBOOZLES THE POLITICIANS

"Neither Mr. Lynch nor Mr. Street has any explanation for the rise of about 30,000 in unemployment in the past two months." "The Age" (Melbourne) August 7th.

The words are those of Mr. Kenneth Davidson, "The Age" economist, and of course he is right. Mr. Davidson further adds that "the deterioration has occurred despite unequivocal signs of economic recovery across all areas of expenditure apart from Government spending at Federal, State and Local levels. This is falling in real terms."

In a recent issue of On Target we have mentioned that many firms are ploughing large amounts of money into automation as virtually the only method by which manufacturing companies may be able to conquer the wages and salaries drain. The initial capital outlay is heavy, but the automated machinery does not make wage demands every three months, and it also replaces varying numbers of skilled and unskilled workers. In fact, the objective of the entrepreneurs of industry now is, as far as possible, to replace skilled workers by installing sophisticated automated machinery, which can be operated by women process workers. It is generally accepted that women are better at repetitive process work than men.

Let us destroy once and for all; the fond myth that automation makes jobs, or even makes MORE jobs than the number it destroys. We have heard naive "experts" in the field of business administration claim that the number of workers employed in the manufacture, maintenance, etc., of automated machinery will exceed the number of workers replaced by that same machinery.
Apart from the fact that, if this were so, there is no point in introducing automation into the industrial system, the contention can be shown to be nonsense. A manufacturer will install automated machinery only if he believes that its price, spread over its lifetime, will be LESS than the costs of the wages of the workers it displaces over the same period. We stress the automation issue because we believe that this has a lot to do with the "areas of expenditure" which Mr. Davidson mentions.

There are other factors in operation - we don't know them all but obviously much of Australian industry rides on the back of Government contracts, which have been scaled down because of reduction in Government spending. Factors such as lack of confidence, caution, more efficiency (the boss putting on the dustcoat and getting back on to the bench) all apply.

We must agree with Mr. Davidson when he says that - "The attempt by Messrs. Street and Lynch to infer that the sudden deterioration in the labour market over the past two months is due to 'the continuing push for wage increases' is spurious." Time and time again in these pages we have insisted that wage and salary increases are not the basic cause of inflation, but they do maintain the momentum of inflation.

We have forecast that the continuing deflationary policy of the Fraser Government will have a marginal effect on inflation, and that unemployment will increase. We will not be surprised if unemployment in Australia hits 7% by the close of this year; the political implications for the Fraser Government are deadly serious. We have little doubt that Messrs. Laurie Carmichael and John Halfpenny have their strategy and tactics for the onrushing industrial warfare against the Federal Government well prepared.

WORLD ANTI COMMUNIST LEAGUE COMMUNIQUE IN U.S. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD

On Friday, June 4th, the Hon Edward J. Derwinski of Illinois, U.S.A. had the full text of the final communiqué of the 1976 World Anti- Communist League Conference, held in South Korea, inserted in the American "Congressional Record."

Part of this communiqué read; "The conferences received a special report that had been commissioned by W.A.C.L. In Brazil in 1975 on the subject of the financing of Communism, Communist economic warfare, and a finance economic program for halting economic blood transfusions to the Communists. The report was authorised for circulation so that W.A.C.L./A.P.A.C.L. members could study the documentation and recommendations and consider what action should be taken.

"The governments of Britain, France, and West Germany were asked to block financial credits and technological assistance previously blocked by the U.S. Congress in 1974 requested to exploit the natural gas resources in Western Siberia. The governments of the free world are also asked to stop all economic and other aid to Communist countries, particularly the aid promised recently to Yugoslavia by the United States of America."

The report mentioned in the W.A.C.L. communiqué prepared by the Crown Commonwealth League of Rights under the direction of Mr. Eric Butler, is at present being printed and will shortly be available in book form. The preparation and international distribution of this report will be a major historic event in the struggle against International Communism.

FROM BRITISH 'ON TARGET' (JULY 31st)

CARTER - ACCIDENT OR DESIGN? by James Crossbow

The march to the Democratic nomination of Jimmy Carter has been portrayed by the Press as a grassroots revolt by the electors against the Eastern Liberal Establishment. However, there is strong reason to believe that, in accordance with long practice, the house of Rockefeller has promoted Carter's advance so as to be the real winner, whichever, "candidate" wins.
Much has been made of Carter's plan to dismiss Rockefeller's man, Dr. Kissinger. However as he plans to replace him with Kissinger's friend, Rockefeller associated, Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, we will be back to square one.

"Newsweek" (June 21st, 1976) revealed that Carter is a member of the Trilateral Commission. This is a top level, One World body controlled by the Rockefellers, and directed by Dr. Brzezinski, whose particular platform is the unification by stealth of North America, Japan, and the Common Market, all as the prelude to the final merger with Soviet Russia.

"Newsweek" (July 4th, 1976) reported Carter's speech to the Foreign Policy Association. He "proposed" a "creative partnership" with Japan and Western Europe, to deal as a unit with the Soviet Union. A line by line analysis showed the hand of Columbia University's Zbigniew Brzezinski, Carter's chief foreign policy adviser...."

Dr. Brzezinski is but one of a panel of far Left advisers around Carter. The "Daily Telegraph" (May 10th, 1976) reported that his advisers included Averell Harriman of Yalta fame, and Mr. Paul Nitze, "a former nuclear disarmament negotiator strongly critical of Dr. Kissinger's handling of the disarmament talks". Mr. Nitze thought that Dr. Kissinger wasn't far enough left!

"The Telegraph" went on to report that Carter "has convinced leading members of the Establishment (this means the Rockefeller crowd) that he is an internationalist! …he does not believe in closing the door in Italy if Communists win elections there", that Brzezinski was "the most influential member of his entourage on foreign policy", and that "Brzezinski' s argument against the Helsinki Agreement is that it did not go nearly far enough".

The combination of Carter's ruthless power drive, with Leftist instincts (elected Governor as a conservative and turned far Left) AND the Rockefeller connection, can leave us in no doubt that a Carter Presidency will bring far worse disasters than we have yet known." (end of British 'On Target' article.)

BRIEF COMMENTS

In a major address in Boston, U.S.A., last week, Dr. Henry Kissinger again returned to the subject of Rhodesia, urging that "majority rule" be introduced immediately. As Dr. Kissinger is but his "master's voice", echoing faithfully what the Rockefellers and their fellow international financial groups require, it is clear that the mounting international campaign against Rhodesia - and South Africa is a manifestation of the Wall Street-Moscow axis's global strategy for creating the "New World Order."

Just as realistic observers predicted, each new attempted step towards European "unity" produces further upsurges of local resistance. The Eurocrats are now talking enthusiastically about the direct election of a European Parliament, theorising that this will further "unify". The Italians have been threatened by the West Germans that they will receive no financial assistance if they bring Communists into the Italian Government. In the meantime the Scots continue to increase their demands for greater self rule, in Belgium the French speaking Walloons are restive, while in France local communities are trying to free themselves from the centralist policies of Paris. Political and social friction is reduced to a minimum only where power of all kinds is effectively decentralised.

The imposition of an 8% tax on the Israeli occupied West Bank of the Jordan River is producing another upsurge of resistance by the Arabs. The Israeli policy is but one more step in a programme of attempting to make the occupied West Bank a permanent part of Israel. The policy is in defiance of the U.N. resolution that Israel must retreat from all Arab occupied territories. It plays directly into the hands of the Soviet strategists who have a major vested interest in continuing friction in the Middle East.

No wonder Prime Minister Fraser was able to claim that his critical comments about the Soviet military build up had not unduly worried the Soviet leaders. Shortly afterwards his Deputy, Mr. Doug Anthony, went to Moscow and pleaded with the Communists to take more Australian primary produce. The Soviet strategists are well aware of the desperate plight of the majority of Australian primary producers. And so they have agreed to take 12,000 tonnes of boneless beef. The deal was initiated by Mr. Anthony during his Soviet visit. While desperate Australian beef producers may be "delighted", the harsh truth is that they are being forced by financial policies to provide the Communist enemy with further economic blood transfusions.