By far the biggest development in the economy in recent years is the mining boom, and it's likely to roll on for at least the rest of this decade. But Australians are having a lot of trouble getting their minds around the boom's implications. The area abounds with worries and misperceptions.
Economists keep banging on about the mining boom because it's the biggest factor driving the economy's growth. We've had a surge in export income because the world is paying such high prices for our coal and iron ore. And we're also getting huge spending on the construction of new mines and natural gas facilities.
A lot of people are uncomfortable about the mining boom they see digging stuff out of the ground as a pretty unsophisticated way to make a living.
The other reason economists get so excited about the topic is that this is hardly the first commodities boom Australia has experienced (the first was the gold rush) and most of our previous booms have ended in tears. We've quickly spent all the extra money coming our way, but that's led to rapidly rising prices. The authorities' efforts to stamp out inflation have ended up causing a recession and rising unemployment.
The present managers of the economy are determined to ensure that doesn't happen this time by keeping spending and inflation under control. This explains why, until recently, the Reserve Bank was always thinking about putting up interest rates, and why the Gillard government has been so keen to get its budget back into surplus.
Ross Gittins and identify all of the claims, issues and arguments presented.
You should answer this question using a table like the one shown below
- Column 1 indicates whether you have identified a given sentence as a Claim, Issue, or Argument.
- Column 2 contains the text of that claim, issue or argument. If you classify the sentence to be an argument, you need to identify the premise and conclusion correctly as shown in the below example.
- Keep the order of the text in Column 2 the same as the actual text