A thread on politics- have some balls and post

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jackess said:
Someone who creates wealth by investing hundreds of millions turning rock into steel should share the wealth extra but a pencil pusher with a meaningless job is fine.
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Again, you seem to be making counterpoints to arguments I'm not making.

My point is that it's a bit of a shame that the nation (I'm not talking individual checks written to individual citizens here) isn't the major beneficiary of said wealth rather than such large portions being concentrated in the hands of a few magnates that couldn't spend it in 100 lifetimes.

How do you see the Australian economy when the rocks are depleted or the bottom falls out of the market? What competitive advantages will we have?
 

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IIRC something like 60-70% of jobs in Australia are directly and indirectly related to the resource sector. So in a way a vast majority of Australians are seeing some benefits even if it is a long bow to draw on some instances. The thing that has me worried the most is the lack of manufacturing that is currently occurring in Australia which is limiting our economic growth. To add salt to the wound we now have a free trade agreement with most of Asia which is going to flood our markets with cheaper and lower quality goods further destroying our manufacturing.

Australia has always been short sighted in regards to our economy. What happens when the resource sector falls through? Our manufacturing is almost non-existent and declining each year... All we have now to hang our hat on is our agriculture which is fast becoming a foreign owned industry. It's hit and miss at the best of times with each year a new disaster losing us millions to even billions. We are screwed and I can't see a way out of the hole our government has gotten us in.
 
Australian manufacturing can't happen in the global economy. Not unless we want to pay workers $1 an hour for 70 hour weeks.

Financial services, education, renewable energy, science R&D could be options with proper investment (currently not happening).

Agriculture is obviously key, but our food bowls are pretty much up for sale to the highest foreign bidders as well. Going the same way as the mining sector.
 
jackess said:
That birthright is an interesting argument. Someone who creates wealth by investing hundreds of millions turning rock into steel should share the wealth extra but a pencil pusher with a meaningless job is fine.
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You ain't makin much sense here.
TheBrownDog said:
And just in case people think I'm living in a fantasy land, I'd suggest the Norwegian oil industry as a case study.
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Sadly that boat sailed years ago for Australia. Norway may as well be fantasy land now.

The Gulf states, however... now there's a great example to follow.
 
TheBrownDog said:
Australian manufacturing can't happen in the global economy. Not unless we want to pay workers $1 an hour for 70 hour weeks.

Financial services, education, renewable energy, science R&D could be options with proper investment (currently not happening).

Agriculture is obviously key, but our food bowls are pretty much up for sale to the highest foreign bidders as well. Going the same way as the mining sector.
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It's ok, Tony's plan for Northern Australia will save us.
 
carnthemlions said:
Sadly that boat sailed years ago for Australia. Norway may as well be fantasy land now.
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Yeah, admitted as much above. The Norway example was more a case study in what could have been, rather than what could still be.
 
acuguy said:
I have never been so disgusted by our government like I am at the moment. Tony Abbott is a disgrace. How anyone can support his views on asylum seekers, business and health care is beyond me. Just on asylum seekers. This prick makes me sick, the way he has got into bed with the Sri Lankan government, venture out Woodridge way and you will see Tamil Sri Lankan refugee children who are victims of abuse, witnesses of torture and assassinations of family members.

We have become a severely racist nation, influenced by fear.
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Unfortunately people are stupid and VERY easily brainwashed. Just you wait, every ounce of bullshit this prick has dished out after saying whatever to get people to vote for him will be forgotten well before the next election..

shiva25 said:
Our country shouldnt be some charity case for people to come to just because they dont like living in their country. Heck if we accepted everyone who comes here illegally on a boat it would be a huge disaster. If Sri Lanka is not a safe place to go back to then its up to their government to correct that. I am afraid its not our problem and if these people want to come to our shores they should be made to apply for citizenship just like many others and go through the right channels to do so.
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Seriously just take a walk in their shoes.. I'm sure that if you lived in an unsafe 3rd world country that you'd want to do what's best for you and your family and leave too yeah?
 
I have quite firm views on politics and concede that I am not an admirer of the current Prime Minister.

I also believe that there is too much focus on "broken promises" by both sides of politics. I believe that, rather than the Opposition of the day harping on about the broken promise rhetoric, they should instead focus on the policy issue and response proposed by the Government. IMO, successive Oppositions (as encouraged and facilitated by the media) have destroyed the political discourse in this country.

But this statement from the SMH completely blew me away.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott is considering the introduction of a levy on higher income earners tax in the upcoming May budget, arguing that it would not be a broken election promise because it would only be a temporary measure.
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I have no problem with taxing the rich. At all. So, as a policy response, I'm largely in favour of a temporary levy to help fund the deficit, although I concede I haven't really thought it through.

But what a bullshit statement, to say "I didn't break a promise because I'm only doing this temporarily."

That's like a person getting caught cheating on their spouse and saying "It didn't mean anything...honestly!"
 

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dlanod said:
Broken promises is a lot easier to sell, spruik and generate five second grabs than an actual policy debate. :(
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Yeah, but that door swings both ways when the government seems more intent on attacking the previous government than getting on with their own legislative agenda.

The Coalition is still bleating on about the mining tax and carbon tax as though they are still in opposition. They seem content to delay the repeal in order to have more opportunity to use it as ammunition.
 
TheBrownDog said:
The Coalition is still bleating on about the mining tax and carbon tax as though they are still in opposition. They seem content to delay the repeal in order to have more opportunity to use it as ammunition.
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That plus the longer they aren't repealed, the more it helps fills the holes that the combination of election promises has left them in.
 
POBT said:
Ice-cream is always delicious but LNP-banned ice-cream is even more tempting.
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Yep, Ben and Jerry's is the best.

If it comes down to deciding between Ben & Jerry's or environmental vandalism, the only choice to be made for me is whether to get Phish Food or Chocolate Fudge Brownie.
 
Those who voted for Abbott were probably expecting a conservative government.

Nothing "conservative" about that Commission of Audit report. That is a prescription for a very scary experiment in neo-liberal ideological extremism and class warfare. My god what have you people done?

Why would we choose now to become the 51st state of the USA when they have all the hallmarks of an empire on the edge of collapse?
 
TheBrownDog said:
Those who voted for Abbott were probably expecting a conservative government.

Nothing "conservative" about that Commission of Audit report. That is a prescription for a very scary experiment in neo-liberal ideological extremism and class warfare. My god what have you people done?

Why would we choose now to become the 51st state of the USA when they have all the hallmarks of an empire on the edge of collapse?
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What is truly scary is that our State Gov't is almost as extreme as our Federal one.
The only solace I take is that neither will last, but geez, how much damage will be done?
The really horrible thing is that any policy that would cost big $$$ to repeal, won't be done for fear by any future Gov't.
 
Yeah increasingly confident that these governments will be short lived, although we have to be aware of the power of both the inevitable middle class welfare bribes at election time and the Murdoch propaganda machine.

Like you though Skoob, I fear that they don't need a lot of time to deal some massive damage and seriously erode some of the essential institutions and principles of our liberal democracy.
 
TheBrownDog said:
Those who voted for Abbott were probably expecting a conservative government.

Nothing "conservative" about that Commission of Audit report. That is a prescription for a very scary experiment in neo-liberal ideological extremism and class warfare. My god what have you people done?

Why would we choose now to become the 51st state of the USA when they have all the hallmarks of an empire on the edge of collapse?
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But it works so well for the US!
Scarily, plenty of people here still look up to the US. Their system of government is broken, and has been for a long time.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Nah, it's ok. The trickle down effect will save us!!
TheBrownDog said:
Yeah increasingly confident that these governments will be short lived, although we have to be aware of the power of both the inevitable middle class welfare bribes at election time and the Murdoch propaganda machine.

Like you though Skoob, I fear that they don't need a lot of time to deal some massive damage and seriously erode some of the essential institutions and principles of our liberal democracy.
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I doubt the govt will actually be stupid enough to go through with any of these ideas they keep floating. The ideas themselves will do more than enough damage in combination with the regular leaks of controversial policy ideas. I'm sure Joe would love to bring in all these reforms, end the age of entitlement and so on, but he's just too dumb. He really is, I doubt he fully understands what he's proposing- let alone what the potential consequences might be.
ICAC + CoA= disaster. I'm sure even Joe could get the right answer to that one.

I also find it deliciously ironic that the govt now wants to repeal all of John Howard's middle class welfare programs. I thought Howard and Costello were the best PM + Treasurer evah??
And that's the real reason why Tony won't last long. Unlike Howard, he does not do bread(middle class welfare) and circuses(asylum seekers). Well, he tries. But he's ****ed up the asylum seeker part, and he can't repeal the carbon and mining taxes either(not that they were in any way equivalent to middle class welfare in the 1st place).
 
carnthemlions said:
Nah, it's ok. The trickle down effect will save us!!
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Neo-Reaganomics! Joe Hockey's wet dream.

carnthemlions said:
I doubt the govt will actually be stupid enough to go through with any of these ideas they keep floating.
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They will, but more moderately. The Commission of Audit is the "Scare the pants off everyone" document designed to make the actual Budget seem relatively tame in comparison. But even a moderately diluted version of that Commission of Audit is scary enough.

carnthemlions said:
I also find it deliciously ironic that the govt now wants to repeal all of John Howard's middle class welfare programs.
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Yep, but they will still sell it as "winding back Labor's debt legacy" nonetheless.
 
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