Germany's economic dominance as Europe's biggest economy is in danger. A new book argues that the weaknesses have been brewing for decades, leaving Germany over-reliant on Russian gas, too focused on old industries and unable to adapt to the digital realities of the 21st century. Guest: Wolfgang Munchau, former Financial Times associate editor, and author of Kaput: The End of the German Miracle, outlines the myriad economic problems and a possible way out. Kaput will be published by Allen and Unwin on February 4, 2025And the Federal Government has decided to mandate keeping cash available for essential business, but this will come at a cost to small business.Guest: Steve Worthington, Professor at Swinburne University of Technology
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29:02
Trumpenomics 2.0
Donald Trump's economic agenda is clear: less taxation and regulation; more tariffs. But some of his programs will require a lot of money, which means America will need to borrow more. Those borrowings and the impact of tariffs will affect small, open trading economies, like Australia.GuestsProfessor Susan Stone, Credit Union SA Chair of Economics, University of South AustraliaWin-Li Toh, Principal, Taylor Fry
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Should dental care be part of Medicare?
Australians fork out much more on dental care than any other kind of health care. Which is why increasingly, people are delaying or skipping dental care, and 27% of kids aged between 5 and 10 had untreated decayed or missing teeth. So should, or could dental care be brought under the Medicare umbrella, and what might this cost? Guests:Peter Breadon, Program Director for Health and Aged Care at the Grattan InstituteDr Angie Nisson, Board Member of the Australia Dental Association and Clinical Director of Oral Health in Northern NSWDr Elizabeth Deveny, CEO of the Consumers Health Forum of Australia
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29:02
As America goes to the polls, the economy is doing well, but people aren't feeling it
One of the factors determining how people vote is the economy, and while America's is doing incredibly well right now, consumer confidence has slumped and most Americans are not feeling at all happy. Guests: Betsey Stevenson, Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of MichiganRobert Armstrong, US Financial commentator at the Financial TimesChristopher Rugaber, covers the US economy and Federal Reserve for Associated Press
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29:03
The true cost of AI
There's a seismic change heading our way that will drive up electricity and water usage and it has to do with the uptake of generative AI, including Chat GPT. Giant tech companies are investing in nuclear power for their AI-fuelled race, however data centres also need clean, drinking-quality water. Guests:Ben Geman, energy reporter at Axios.com and the author of the daily Axios Generate newsletter, covering the world of energy business and politics.David Berreby, science writer based in New YorkGordon Noble, Research Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney
Australia