Economics is all about reducing government debt and getting the budget back into surplus. That seems to be the belief of the media, the politicians and the majority of the electorate. But would you run a business that way? If you didn’t have much in the way of assets to help develop growth, wouldn’t you be borrowing to develop the means for future production?

Australia is enjoying high revenue from the minerals boom, but have we future-proofed the economy for when demand slides? Ian McAuley, a Fellow of the Centre for Policy Development, says he’d like to see more journalists asking our politicians want we plan to do when the minerals boom is over.

In this edition of BTalk Ian discusses how the media has played a role in dumbing down economic discussions to the point where the focus is really on minute details on the balance sheet. Where’s the real debate on strategy? He likens our potential future to that of Nauru — perhaps a bit extreme, but listen to the podcast and you’ll see his point.

First published on CBS News