Opinion Politics (warning, may contain political views you disagree with)

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Billionaires everywhere these days. I never worried about them too much, other than they can be environmental bandits. With middle class values I've always believed that if I do honest work for honest money, then everything goes along nicely and so it has. This too has changed though. The working/ middle classes are getting squeezed more and more and now even your right to work can be threatened by govt mandate.
 
armpit said:
I think you're right. All manner of media has enabled too, has enabled the use of propaganda and censorship. This had driven the divide you're talking about. The internet is full of anonymous cowards. Once you didn't talk about religion, politics or sex?? Those days are gone for sure, when now it's all you talk about pre season. Covid in my mind has been the ultimate, and on the most personal level divide. Even in Australia.
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They also like to use issues that are emotional and borderline should be managed by government at all to keep us talking about that instead of big immediate issues.

For example, we have roughly 600 billion in non housing private debt. What happens if the interest rates go up? What happens if they know what happens if interest rates go up so they adjust their inflation target range upwards to put off that decision as late as possible? What happens to our standard of life if the cost of living rises much faster than incomes?

... but we should instead talk about political extremist groups who might number in the dozens as a risk to everyone because politicians feel them a risk to themselves.

Not to diminish the genuine, albeit small risk, posed by some radicalised group - but that's the police's job and it's already under control.

What will the households currently living hand to mouth do when their mortgage is twice as expensive each month? What happens to the security of the banking industry then? If over 100% of income is being spent on essentials then the economy will implode. Retail, gone. Luxury, gone. The spiral continues.

Complicated questions that need complicated answers, but we all settle for "we're the best" soundbytes.
 
I don't know the answers. Credit card debt and a rise in interest rates can ruin people and so chopping up your credit card and living within your means can save a person bucketloads. I don't know what happens if they put mortgage rates up. Reading what you said, I don't see how they could. The consequences are too great. They did it once but, it coincided with woman staying in the workforce and dual incomes. Now couples are already stretched so there's no magic way to expect them to come up with more mortgage money, unless the insidious plan is to have children back at work.
 

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armpit said:
I don't know the answers. Credit card debt and a rise in interest rates can ruin people and so chopping up your credit card and living within your means can save a person bucketloads. I don't know what happens if they put mortgage rates up. Reading what you said, I don't see how they could. The consequences are too great. They did it once but, it coincided with woman staying in the workforce and dual incomes. Now couples are already stretched so there's no magic way to expect them to come up with more mortgage money, unless the insidious plan is to have children back at work.
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Raising interest rates a couple of percent would put so many mortgages under stress/into default - the banks would know this and be trying to push those mortgages off as soon as they could to get maximum value for the assets being liquidated before the market floods.

But if inflation pushes up and the reserve bank don't increase rates because of that above fear, the cost of living goes up well ahead of wages. Spare cash stops being spent, our economy staggers along purely on GDP growth matching inflation. Eventually people have to downgrade their lifestyles.

Or maybe we just pump more money into the system and pretend it's not a problem.
 
Taylor said:
Raising interest rates a couple of percent would put so many mortgages under stress/into default - the banks would know this and be trying to push those mortgages off as soon as they could to get maximum value for the assets being liquidated before the market floods.

But if inflation pushes up and the reserve bank don't increase rates because of that above fear, the cost of living goes up well ahead of wages. Spare cash stops being spent, our economy staggers along purely on GDP growth matching inflation. Eventually people have to downgrade their lifestyles.

Or maybe we just pump more money into the system and pretend it's not a problem.
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There is a lot of money tied up in super so I reckon they will slowly relax the laws and let people access that money as these problems start to need solutions. Then the problem is passed to future generations and their politicians which I’m sure the current sewer rats in power couldn’t give two craps about if it means they win whatever election is coming up.
 
Piggy Smalls said:
There is a lot of money tied up in super so I reckon they will slowly relax the laws and let people access that money as these problems start to need solutions. Then the problem is passed to future generations and their politicians which I’m sure the current sewer rats in power couldn’t give two craps about if it means they win whatever election is coming up.
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That's a great idea for a short term solution that will be seen as helping people and welcomed by them - I'm going to expect the politicians to do this now. Perhaps even being able to access your super to buy something for the economy boost.

Let's say we link everything together. Allowing you to buy a solar battery for your home with your super directly without tax implications. You can make a case that it will pay for itself in the long term, boosts the value of homes while supporting local manufacturing and installations and lowers the cost of living.

Slam dunk politics.

Piggy wins.
 
How economically unsound is to have forced people into having to live off their super because of covid/ lockdown and to see it as a way forward. An outrage as you say to then pass down the problem.
 
armpit said:
How economically unsound is to have forced people into having to live off their super because of covid/ lockdown and to see it as a way forward. An outrage as you say to then pass down the problem.
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When you find out that the way to avoid the inflation here is to keep wages down, or at least to hold them off growing, it makes it more complicated.
 
Taylor said:
That's a great idea for a short term solution that will be seen as helping people and welcomed by them - I'm going to expect the politicians to do this now. Perhaps even being able to access your super to buy something for the economy boost.

Let's say we link everything together. Allowing you to buy a solar battery for your home with your super directly without tax implications. You can make a case that it will pay for itself in the long term, boosts the value of homes while supporting local manufacturing and installations and lowers the cost of living.

Slam dunk politics.

Piggy wins.
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You should be in politics or marketing Taylor This is exactly how they will sell it. It’s scary to think how bad of an idea it is long-term and how predictably easily they will spin it into an amazing eco friendly sustainable win for all Australians.
We may as well thank our children and grandchildren for their sacrifices now.
 
Clems Knee said:
The circumstances of Abbott getting his Rhodes scholarship indicate that he has been a high grade creep for a long time. He is dumb. But rat cunning.
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Bit harsh, wasn't any good as PM but I always thought of him as a contributor to society with his community involvements like surf lifesaving, voluntary bush fire fighter etc which he has done for many many years and continues to do. He certainly is no dummie that's for sure. Just the way I see him.
 
Clems Knee said:
The circumstances of Abbott getting his Rhodes scholarship indicate that he has been a high grade creep for a long time. He is dumb. But rat cunning.
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Clearly some sort of high level inquiry is needed to satisfy some of you guys. When Abbott took his interview for Rhodes in the book depository of Sydney University, was he acting alone or was there a group of Jesuit theologians on the grassy knoll across the road feeding answers into his earpiece?
 

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Square Peg said:
Clearly some sort of high level inquiry is needed to satisfy some of you guys. When Abbott took his interview for Rhodes in the book depository of Sydney University, was he acting alone or was there a group of Jesuit theologians on the grassy knoll across the road feeding answers into his earpiece?
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It’s already on the public record.
At the time Abbott was a mediocre student, a decent sportsman and an active student politician.
Only the first two categories should count for Rhodes Scholarship (academic, sports).

The panel of past Rhodes scholars included Dyson Heydon, a political mentor of Abbott’s.
Better suited candidates were overlooked for the young man who already had political connections.

It’s how NSW liberal politics has always worked. Corrupt to the core. NSW labor politics not far behind.
 
Clems Knee said:
It’s already on the public record.
At the time Abbott was a mediocre student, a decent sportsman and an active student politician.
Only the first two categories should count for Rhodes Scholarship (academic, sports).

The panel of past Rhodes scholars included Dyson Heydon, a political mentor of Abbott’s.
Better suited candidates were overlooked for the young man who already had political connections.

It’s how NSW liberal politics has always worked. Corrupt to the core. NSW labor politics not far behind.
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Which better candidates were they?
As I said before, there are 1000s of worthy candidates that miss out on Rhodes or any other prestigious award. Apparently though just in this case there were clearly better candidates that missed out through a Jesuit conservative corruption of the process.
Leadership and community service are criteria for the scholarship too. So yes no doubt a more academically gifted candidate could miss out because they lack other qualities, that doesn't mean the process is corrupt.
But they do not give them to people that are "the dumbest person I have met professionally" which was the original claim I responded too
 
Square Peg said:
But they do not give them to people that are "the dumbest person I have met professionally" which was the original claim I responded too
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Given that you like to pull out one part of a post, make it the focus of the conversation and then use it to try and make a point I'll do the same.

"the dumbest person I have met professionally" was never said by anyone on here so this comment of yours is plain silly.

The guy ******* ate a raw onion... I'll happily stand by my original comment that he is one of the dumbest people I have met professionally.
 
wayToGo_ said:
Given that you like to pull out one part of a post, make it the focus of the conversation and then use it to try and make a point I'll do the same.

"the dumbest person I have met professionally" was never said by anyone on here so this comment of yours is plain silly.
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You're right, I was paraphrasing. You said he was one of the dumbest people you have met in a professional working capacity. So there were a couple of others you thought were as dumb
 
poshman said:
Extreme left is needed. For example someone who is a Marxist should be considered extreme left, just as there are some on the extreme right. Those definitions have nothing to do with capitalism.

I see you are not willing to answer the question in any meaningful way so I will leave it at that.
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how do they not have anything to do with capitalism? and how did i not answer your question?
 
Square Peg said:
You're right, I was paraphrasing. You said he was one of the dumbest people you have met in a professional working capacity. So there were a couple of others you thought were as dumb
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Not sure why you assume my group of dumb people I've met is just 3? It could be a hundred or a thousand or more. It also doesn't mean they are all equally dumb, just that I personally evaluate them as sharing the attribute of being dumb. Just like I evaluate this whole conversation as being dumb - and distracting from the premise of my original post that was...

ScoMo is someone who thinks he is smarter than he is and that has led to a multitude of monumental *-ups - almost to the point that absolutely everything he has been involved in has been a disaster. As much as I dislike Albanese (and wish Labor had a better candidate) I'm not sure how anyone can vote for Morrison unless they completely ignore his performance since becoming PM? Australia cannot afford to have a 2nd term of ScoMo imo. Despite SkyNews et al spewing their usual propaganda, Labor is certainly not 'left' so the sky isn't going to fall in if you lean right and vote for them. I wouldn't expect Albo to be a great leader but I'd have more faith in him being more competent than our current PM and at least he'd also be surrounded by some Ministers that can think and act intelligently whilst simultaneously keeping it in their pants.
 
Taylor said:
I think the far right wing also want to control the economy, which isn't capitalism either. We look at the subprime crisis of the mid/late 00s and say "greedy capitalist bankers" when really we should be looking at the laws governments put in place requiring banks to offer loans to people.
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lol would like to hear your definition of capitalism then
 
Mags98 said:
lol would like to hear your definition of capitalism then
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The free exchange of value between consenting parties for a perceived mutual benefit.

You'll notice that protections in trade, restrictions, isolations etc are the regulatory government body imposing a requirement on the free transaction and not leaving it in the domain of the private individuals and groups.

The idea would be that the market would decide what value things hold, except people like to inject their own motivations and corruptions into it - and usually under false pretenses. Such as minimum wage, great idea. Came about as a way of making it easier to employ while men for more money at the expense of jobs for black men for less. Not capitalism.

When you use the power of the state to control the economy, it's not the opposite of socialism, it's the same thing on the other end.
 
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