Unskilled jobs that pay well

[The_Steadier]

Not sure how much that contributes to the economy since.
Manufacturing cost of IPHONE = around $30. Selling cost around $1000 Apple Australia's price from Apple's ( are they still in Ireland )? Head office around $950.

How does spending $900 dollars that someone has generated in Australia, to an offshore tax haven in exchange for a disposable piece of junk benefit the country?

Employing people to sell, market, distribute, transport, advertise, store, repair.
Plus insuring, financing, housing etc all the companies that DO all of the above in australia is the value that is counted in gdp.

Yes most of the 900 dollars that an iphone costs does not benefit australia... because all of those above factors only account for a few bucks of that 900 dollar price tag, and the rest of that 900 goes offshore.

But that is a separate discussion.

Think of Australias gdp (ie our total wealth as a country) as a piechart.

60% of that pie is a result of consumer (household) spending.
How do consumers buy things?
From shops and businesses
How do shops/businesses sell things?
Advertising, transport etc etc (see above list).

Therefore essentially those few dollars per iphone etc that stay IN australia to pay for what businesses spend to sell to consumers = 60% of how our wealth is made.

It's by sheer volume of goods and services being sold that all those small amounts per transaction equates to a massive number, making us a rich country.
(Or at least maintaining our status as a rich country)


I believe the term 'consumer spending' includes not just retail goods but also things like buying and selling property- so I'd expect that a large chunk of that 60% comes from the housing market, but i haven't looked up the breakdown of that 60%.

Obviously building, buying and selling houses etc for ourselves nets far more money for the country than iphones etc- but there are far less of these high value (for australia) housing transactions than low value (for Australia) iphone etc transactions.
but the point is they all add up to and constitute consumer spending- which accountsfor 60% of our wealth.

Which is why i said we now ride on the iphones back

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Employing people to sell, market, distribute, transport, advertise, store, repair.
Plus insuring, financing, housing etc all the companies that DO all of the above in australia is the value that is counted in gdp.

Yes most of the 900 dollars that an iphone costs does not benefit australia... because all of those above factors only account for a few bucks of that 900 dollar price tag, and the rest of that 900 goes offshore.

But that is a separate discussion.

Think of Australias gdp (ie our total wealth as a country) as a piechart.

60% of that pie is a result of consumer (household) spending.
How do consumers buy things?
From shops and businesses
How do shops/businesses sell things?
Advertising, transport etc etc (see above list).

Therefore essentially those few dollars per iphone etc that stay IN australia to pay for what businesses spend to sell to consumers = 60% of how our wealth is made.

It's by sheer volume of goods and services being sold that all those small amounts per transaction equates to a massive number, making us a rich country.


I believe the term 'consumer spending' includes not just retail goods but also things like buying and selling property- so I'd expect that a large chunk of that 60% comes from the housing market, but i haven't looked up the breakdown of that 60%

I'll sell you Coffee , and you can mow my lawns.
We pay for each other. Multiply by a few million , will not make us a rich country.

Someone has to add value.
The whole consumer thing is a bubble, where Fred owns a shop ( might be Fred Coles or Fred Woolworths ) , buy's crap for a dollar and sells it for 100.
Fred employs lots of people to help sell his stuff.
BUT:
Lots of stuff can be bought directly on-line, and people are now getting awake to the fact that importing a shipping container and unloading it isn't really worth that 1000% mark up. That's right , it was a scam all along.
Then we have people like farmers, they are doing it tough, they produce food for the retailers above to sell, they have to buy equipment , pay staff, take out loans.

They talk about small business , but most small businesses are either service industry or building subcontractors.
Some of the service industries have been sucking on manufacturing and agriculture trying to get blood from a stone.

Yes its good to spend the money but something has to generate that money. The less wealth generation, the thinner it gets spread.

If there was ZERO farming, ZERO manufacturing.
Where would the money for those IPhones be coming from?

Service industry is VOLATILE. If something goes wrong with the building industry, someone who loses their job will simply NOT be paying some guy to mow their lawn, or clean their solar panels. They willl be drinking instant coffee.

In 2016-17
Our biggest industries are:
Service: 70% It "services" other industries who generate wealth and individuals with jobs. It does not generate any wealth of its own.

Agriculture : Employing around 480 000 . Generates wealth.
Mining : Employing around 200 000 Utilising a high level of service industry providers and sub contractors. It generates wealth.
Manufacturing : Employing 830 000. Lots of service industry and sub-contractors. Transforming material into more useful items generates wealth.
Electricity/Gas/Waste : 100 000 bit of a mixed bag, making energy or supplying gas generates wealth.

Tourism generates wealth from international tourists.
Health : Notwithstanding some wealth from research and development, is really a service industry.

Media : We have a small movie industry which generates wealth , advertising etc is really just a service mostly getting their money from the retail segmant, capturing a little bit of that IPHONE cash before it falls off the radar.

Finance : I'm really not sure how much international business is done, the domestic stuff, home loan etc , doesn't generate money, though it can massively impact the economy over the short term. The economy can tick along nicely well after things turn to crap, because they can get their Iphone on credit.


The service industry, and anything government funded relies massively on people extracting and spreading the wealth generated by mining ,agriculture manufacturing, international tourism, and any other little snippets like movies or medical research.

 

[The_Steadier]

I'll sell you Coffee , and you can mow my lawns.
We pay for each other. Multiply by a few million , will not make us a rich country.

Someone has to add value.
The whole consumer thing is a bubble, where Fred owns a shop ( might be Fred Coles or Fred Woolworths ) , buy's crap for a dollar and sells it for 100.
Fred employs lots of people to help sell his stuff.
BUT:
Lots of stuff can be bought directly on-line, and people are now getting awake to the fact that importing a shipping container and unloading it isn't really worth that 1000% mark up. That's right , it was a scam all along.
Then we have people like farmers, they are doing it tough, they produce food for the retailers above to sell, they have to buy equipment , pay staff, take out loans.

They talk about small business , but most small businesses are either service industry or building subcontractors.
Some of the service industries have been sucking on manufacturing and agriculture trying to get blood from a stone.

Yes its good to spend the money but something has to generate that money. The less wealth generation, the thinner it gets spread.

If there was ZERO farming, ZERO manufacturing.
Where would the money for those IPhones be coming from?

Service industry is VOLATILE. If something goes wrong with the building industry, someone who loses their job will simply NOT be paying some guy to mow their lawn, or clean their solar panels. They willl be drinking instant coffee.

In 2016-17
Our biggest industries are:
Service: 70% It "services" other industries who generate wealth and individuals with jobs. It does not generate any wealth of its own.

Agriculture : Employing around 480 000 . Generates wealth.
Mining : Employing around 200 000 Utilising a high level of service industry providers and sub contractors. It generates wealth.
Manufacturing : Employing 830 000. Lots of service industry and sub-contractors. Transforming material into more useful items generates wealth.
Electricity/Gas/Waste : 100 000 bit of a mixed bag, making energy or supplying gas generates wealth.

Tourism generates wealth from international tourists.
Health : Notwithstanding some wealth from research and development, is really a service industry.

Media : We have a small movie industry which generates wealth , advertising etc is really just a service mostly getting their money from the retail segmant, capturing a little bit of that IPHONE cash before it falls off the radar.

Finance : I'm really not sure how much international business is done, the domestic stuff, home loan etc , doesn't generate money, though it can massively impact the economy over the short term. The economy can tick along nicely well after things turn to crap, because they can get their Iphone on credit.


The service industry, and anything government funded relies massively on people extracting and spreading the wealth generated by mining ,agriculture manufacturing, international tourism, and any other little snippets like movies or medical research.

You're preaching to the choir mate, i don't like it either and like you i think it's totally unsustainable.... and without systemic, fundamental changes we're screwed (along with every other advanced enonomy riding on the value created by the past).

That's why i described the current situation of dependency on consumer spending as a house of cards earlier- as you identify, there's no value being created.


All I'm doing is refuting the earlier claim that our gdp is dependent on primary industry and farming.

As an aside- the fact that we don't create much of external value isn't as bad for Australia as it is for other advanced economies (japan for instance)... because we (unlike japan as 1 example) are pretty much self sufficient due to our abundant natural resources.

We don't export much, but we don't need to import much either.

Still doesn't mean we can sit here fat and happily selling coffees and mowing services to ourselves.... it just means doing that isn't as bad a situation as it would be for japan etc

 

[The_Steadier]

I'll sell you Coffee , and you can mow my lawns.
We pay for each other. Multiply by a few million , will not make us a rich country.

Someone has to add value.
The whole consumer thing is a bubble, where Fred owns a shop ( might be Fred Coles or Fred Woolworths ) , buy's crap for a dollar and sells it for 100.
Fred employs lots of people to help sell his stuff.
BUT:
Lots of stuff can be bought directly on-line, and people are now getting awake to the fact that importing a shipping container and unloading it isn't really worth that 1000% mark up. That's right , it was a scam all along.
Then we have people like farmers, they are doing it tough, they produce food for the retailers above to sell, they have to buy equipment , pay staff, take out loans.

They talk about small business , but most small businesses are either service industry or building subcontractors.
Some of the service industries have been sucking on manufacturing and agriculture trying to get blood from a stone.

Yes its good to spend the money but something has to generate that money. The less wealth generation, the thinner it gets spread.

If there was ZERO farming, ZERO manufacturing.
Where would the money for those IPhones be coming from?

Service industry is VOLATILE. If something goes wrong with the building industry, someone who loses their job will simply NOT be paying some guy to mow their lawn, or clean their solar panels. They willl be drinking instant coffee.

In 2016-17
Our biggest industries are:
Service: 70% It "services" other industries who generate wealth and individuals with jobs. It does not generate any wealth of its own.

Agriculture : Employing around 480 000 . Generates wealth.
Mining : Employing around 200 000 Utilising a high level of service industry providers and sub contractors. It generates wealth.
Manufacturing : Employing 830 000. Lots of service industry and sub-contractors. Transforming material into more useful items generates wealth.
Electricity/Gas/Waste : 100 000 bit of a mixed bag, making energy or supplying gas generates wealth.

Tourism generates wealth from international tourists.
Health : Notwithstanding some wealth from research and development, is really a service industry.

Media : We have a small movie industry which generates wealth , advertising etc is really just a service mostly getting their money from the retail segmant, capturing a little bit of that IPHONE cash before it falls off the radar.

Finance : I'm really not sure how much international business is done, the domestic stuff, home loan etc , doesn't generate money, though it can massively impact the economy over the short term. The economy can tick along nicely well after things turn to crap, because they can get their Iphone on credit.


The service industry, and anything government funded relies massively on people extracting and spreading the wealth generated by mining ,agriculture manufacturing, international tourism, and any other little snippets like movies or medical research.

Oh and another point i find interesting is that international students paying to be educated here brings in more money for the country than the entire tourism industry.
Pretty amazing huh?

My personal view is we should be pumping heaps of cash into our education sector to make us an even bigger player in the international student market.

(I think we're currently number 2 or 3 behind the US and possibly canada?)

The double benefit of international students is that if they stay as taxpayers/residents after they've graduated you skip the first ~18 years of their lives where they aren't taxpayers, infact they are a financial burden on the country.

If I were king of Australia I'd be plowing heaps money into setting up our own silicon valley- but not for tech... but for education.
Fostering startups dedicated to innovative ways of educating- improving quality and delivery of education and improving ways of connecting education with employment.

Then flow those innovations into our tafes and unis (and associated research departments).
Then offer more incentives to entice graduates to become residents.

Our education system (while not perfect and not as good as it used to be) is still well regarded internationally.
Plus we are a safe and prosperous country- meaning we can offer a good lifestyle to cashed up students globally.

We should capitalise on these advantages on a much bigger scale than we currently do.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Oh and another point i find interesting is that international students paying to be educated here brings in more money for the country than the entire tourism industry.
Pretty amazing huh?

My personal view is we should be pumping heaps of cash into our education sector to make us an even bigger player in the international student market.

(I think we're currently number 2 or 3 behind the US and possibly canada?)

The double benefit of international students is that if they stay as taxpayers/residents after they've graduated you skip the first ~18 years of their lives where they aren't taxpayers, infact they are a financial burden on the country.

If I were king of Australia I'd be plowing heaps money into setting up our own silicon valley- but not for tech... but for education.
Fostering startups dedicated to innovative ways of educating- improving quality and delivery of education and improving ways of connecting education with employment.

Then flow those innovations into our tafes and unis (and associated research departments).
Then offer more incentives to entice graduates to become residents.

Our education system (while not perfect and not as good as it used to be) is still well regarded internationally.
Plus we are a safe and prosperous country- meaning we can offer a good lifestyle to cashed up students globally.

We should capitalise on these advantages on a much bigger scale than we currently do.

Yes our education system has a really good reputation.
We should capitalize on that while we can thought ( not sure how ) because i consider it transient.

For example, someone studying Mechanical Engineering would be foolish to come to Australia, because we have limited access to appropriate Industries.
Germany or the USA would be far better, and the Universities in China will be catching up.

The other thing i think we need to look at is processing our minerals.
We built a steel industry , then left it to rot.
Environment? Global shipping emits more carbon than all of Australia. Its less shipping to transport steel, than it is to transport the iron ore.

 

[YippeeYiYeo]

just reading through this thread was an eye-opener. Jobs like train drivers earning 6 figures i would never have thought of.

On the topic of Australias economy - it is true that during economic downturns, that offering a service will hit your business hard. People wont be paying you $50 to walk their 2 dogs for half an hour anymore. But then you look at manufacturing, and its impossible to compete against Chinas sweat shop factory model. So what does that leave? Living off our natural resources i guess.

I feel like im at the crossroads of my career. Earning around 90k working as a peri-operative technician in surgical theatres of hospitals. But looking around for jobs of similar salary with no experience.... wish me luck. I've been brainstorming all sorts of things for a new career. My current manager is determined to run me out of the hospital because of our personality clash, and to be quite honest im tired of being disrespected in the workplace. A doctor can literally head butt another staff person and still not be fired. Theres actually a news article from a couple of years ago about this.

ANyway my thoughts are all over the shop at the moment. I wish i could create a simple smart phone app that takes off. Bloody Angry Birds...

 

[theyellowsash]

just reading through this thread was an eye-opener. Jobs like train drivers earning 6 figures i would never have thought of.

On the topic of Australias economy - it is true that during economic downturns, that offering a service will hit your business hard. People wont be paying you $50 to walk their 2 dogs for half an hour anymore. But then you look at manufacturing, and its impossible to compete against Chinas sweat shop factory model. So what does that leave? Living off our natural resources i guess.

I feel like im at the crossroads of my career. Earning around 90k working as a peri-operative technician in surgical theatres of hospitals. But looking around for jobs of similar salary with no experience.... wish me luck. I've been brainstorming all sorts of things for a new career. My current manager is determined to run me out of the hospital because of our personality clash, and to be quite honest im tired of being disrespected in the workplace. A doctor can literally head butt another staff person and still not be fired. Theres actually a news article from a couple of years ago about this.

ANyway my thoughts are all over the shop at the moment. I wish i could create a simple smart phone app that takes off. Bloody Angry Birds...

There's plenty of manufacturing we could do but have either closed or missed the boat through stupidity. People don't want their high end stuff to come from China yet, or at least not fully. We had a car industry but it died because they wanted to make dur Hur unreliable V8s to please the 10 people who watch supercars, instead of the reliable small and efficient cars people had been moving to for decades. We could have had an industry manufacturing renewable energy (making solar panels, turbines etc), but the government stifled it because dur Hur coal. We could be leading the way in science and research but again the government stifles it by cutting the funding needed for startup. There are all high end things done in Europe that we could be doing here except for the fact that conservative white guy want to keep doing exactly what they've always done instead of moving with the times.

 

[Scotland]

Retail is ****ed in this country. JeansWest was the latest (or at least a very recent one) chain to go into administration and now they are now closing 37 stores out of 146, so a quarter of the business. The whole model of bricks and mortar retail is skewed so businesses pay high rents for premises to try and sell low value imported goods at as high a margin as possible while trying to compete with online vendors who bypass those overheads and in some cases bypass a local supply chain altogether.

 

[quotemokc]

You mean the new GST tax on overseas purchases hasn't saved these businesses but only put more $$$ in to government coffers???

Colour me shocked.

 

[GreyCrow]

Retail is f’ed in this country. JeansWest was the latest (or at least a very recent one) chain to go into administration and now they are now closing 37 stores out of 146, so a quarter of the business. The whole model of bricks and mortar retail is skewed so businesses pay high rents for premises to try and sell low value imported goods at as high a margin as possible while trying to compete with online vendors who bypass those overheads and in some cases bypass a local supply chain altogether.

You mean the new GST tax on overseas purchases hasn't saved these businesses but only put more $$$ in to government coffers???

Colour me shocked.

Harvey Norman Doesnt Like This

 

[Scotland]

Gerry Harvey can suck it. He would gobble up JB Hifi tomorrow and fire all of their employees if it meant he got their sales and profits.

 

[Scotland]

The internet has opened up the marketplace 100 fold, but it's also made people more aware.

Let's say I want to buy a tent. There's a Coleman 6 person tent at BCF for $399. US company, presumably Chinese made but there's a slim chance they still make them in the states. Just had a look on Google and the same tent is on sale for USD92 at Walmart, which is $136. So it's $399 vs $136. How much to ship an 8kg parcel to Australia, probably about $50 given something similar from Europe cost me about 20 Euro. So that's $186 vs $399. Add 10% GST if that's the new thing and it's $205. So if I'm not in a hurry I could theoretically get the same tent delivered to my doorstep for around half the price of driving down to BCF to pick it up. It's not always just as simple as buying from an overseas website and shipping direct, though. It's completely out of whack, and let's not pretend the guy working at BCF is making $50/hr or anything out of it. The only ones who don't seem to be getting squeezed are the landlords who own commercial/retail space.

But that's the sort of thing that is in play. In the 90s and earlier if you wanted a tent you'd just go to the camping shop and see what they had, and shop around between stores to price check. If they were importing cheap Chinese tents in bulk for $20 each and selling them for $200 you weren't much the wiser. Going back a decade or two earlier and shops would just sell locally made stuff so there was more of an appreciation for what went into making them.

At the same time King St (high end fashion, Perth CBD) seems to be dying in the arse the section near the entrance to the underground station has a Tag Heuer opening up, Louis Vuitton, I think Tiffany's is moving in etc. Weird.

 

[quotemokc]

The internet has opened up the marketplace 100 fold, but it's also made people more aware.

Let's say I want to buy a tent. There's a Coleman 6 person tent at BCF for $399. US company, presumably Chinese made but there's a slim chance they still make them in the states. Just had a look on Google and the same tent is on sale for USD92 at Walmart, which is $136. So it's $399 vs $136. How much to ship an 8kg parcel to Australia, probably about $50 given something similar from Europe cost me about 20 Euro. So that's $186 vs $399. Add 10% GST if that's the new thing and it's $205. So if I'm not in a hurry I could theoretically get the same tent delivered to my doorstep for around half the price of driving down to BCF to pick it up. It's not always just as simple as buying from an overseas website and shipping direct, though. It's completely out of whack, and let's not pretend the guy working at BCF is making $50/hr or anything out of it. The only ones who don't seem to be getting squeezed are the landlords who own commercial/retail space.

But that's the sort of thing that is in play. In the 90s and earlier if you wanted a tent you'd just go to the camping shop and see what they had, and shop around between stores to price check. If they were importing cheap Chinese tents in bulk for $20 each and selling them for $200 you weren't much the wiser. Going back a decade or two earlier and shops would just sell locally made stuff so there was more of an appreciation for what went into making them.

At the same time King St (high end fashion, Perth CBD) seems to be dying in the arse the section near the entrance to the underground station has a Tag Heuer opening up, Louis Vuitton, I think Tiffany's is moving in etc. Weird.

Walmart probably buys 100 times more tents than BCF can so naturally the prices will be lower.

However if there is a product that has a reasonable chance of failing or breaking within the warranty period (or might not fit) I am happy to pay the premium so that I can deal with the problem locally.

 

[Hawk Dork]

Walmart probably buys 100 times more tents than BCF can so naturally the prices will be lower.

However if there is a product that has a reasonable chance of failing or breaking within the warranty period (or might not fit) I am happy to pay the premium so that I can deal with the problem locally.

BCF should buy them in bulk off Walmart then

 

[Scotland]

Walmart probably buys 100 times more tents than BCF can so naturally the prices will be lower.

However if there is a product that has a reasonable chance of failing or breaking within the warranty period (or might not fit) I am happy to pay the premium so that I can deal with the problem locally.

No doubt they have economies of scale, but there is a limit to how much you can take the piss. In this particular example I'm talking about something on sale at Walmart, it's just to highlight the differences that can exist. You can get an $800 tent on sale at BCF for $400 some weeks.

With that in mind, the major retailers buy white goods, TVs, computers etc. in bulk. A book or a CD is one thing but shipping one large bulky item direct to the consumer should not be cheaper than purchasing from a retailer that purchases by the container load.

 

[Hamingja]

However if there is a product that has a reasonable chance of failing or breaking within the warranty period (or might not fit) I am happy to pay the premium so that I can deal with the problem locally.

I bought a computer under this assumption. Then when it needed to be fixed the store just told me to GAGF and post it back to the manufacturer anyway to be fixed under warranty. Might as well just buy it online.

 

[quotemokc]

I bought a computer under this assumption. Then when it needed to be fixed the store just told me to GAGF and post it back to the manufacturer anyway to be fixed under warranty. Might as well just buy it online.

What store was it?

I am pretty sure that is not how Australian warranty works. The vendor that sold you the product has help you with the problem by law.

Was it a laptop or pre-built pc?

 

[Hamingja]

It was a laptop. It was a little while ago but I think it was Officeworks. In the end I negotiated with HP to drop it off to some authorised repair shop in Clayton and got it done there.

 

[quotemokc]

It was a laptop. It was a little while ago but I think it was Officeworks. In the end I negotiated with HP to drop it off to some authorised repair shop in Clayton and got it done there.

Approaching the retailer or manufacturer
The retailer who sold you the product or service cannot refuse to help you by sending you to the manufacturer or importer. You can approach the manufacturer or importer directly, however, you will only be entitled to recover costs from them, which include an amount for reduction in the product’s value and in some cases compensation for damages or loss. You cannot demand a repair, replacement or refund from the manufacturer.

Repair, replace, refund, cancel

Businesses must fix minor problems with products or services by at least giving a free repair. When consumers buy products or services that have a major problem they have certain rights.

www.accc.gov.au

 

[Scotland]

I had a tablet from JB Hifi that was playing up so took it back and the same guy I bought it from recommended I try some things then come back if that didn't work. That didn't work so I went back and they followed manufacturer protocol to send the item away etc. They are usually a pretty helpful shop as the people that work there tend to be into tech, music etc. but most retail staff are just bodies. If you buy a pair of pants and want to swap them or whatever the chief motivator for the person working there is to just get it done with as quickly as possible without you yelling at them.

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

Parliamentarian

 

[Scotland]

Back to the original premise, the basic cost of labour is minimum wage. If you are just doing a task that anyone could do, in a cap city, at a friendly time then it is unlikely to pay well. In order for an unskilled job to pay well, some of those factors need to change. People make good money doing FIFO jobs that anyone could do because they are away from home anywhere from 8 days to several weeks at a time and do 12 hour days. People drive buses, trucks etc. and make a living because they work long and/or unfriendly hours. People make money doing seasonal agriculture work because they go where the work is when it is on and do it.

 

[theyellowsash]

The internet has opened up the marketplace 100 fold, but it's also made people more aware.

Let's say I want to buy a tent. There's a Coleman 6 person tent at BCF for $399. US company, presumably Chinese made but there's a slim chance they still make them in the states. Just had a look on Google and the same tent is on sale for USD92 at Walmart, which is $136. So it's $399 vs $136. How much to ship an 8kg parcel to Australia, probably about $50 given something similar from Europe cost me about 20 Euro. So that's $186 vs $399. Add 10% GST if that's the new thing and it's $205. So if I'm not in a hurry I could theoretically get the same tent delivered to my doorstep for around half the price of driving down to BCF to pick it up. It's not always just as simple as buying from an overseas website and shipping direct, though. It's completely out of whack, and let's not pretend the guy working at BCF is making $50/hr or anything out of it. The only ones who don't seem to be getting squeezed are the landlords who own commercial/retail space.

But that's the sort of thing that is in play. In the 90s and earlier if you wanted a tent you'd just go to the camping shop and see what they had, and shop around between stores to price check. If they were importing cheap Chinese tents in bulk for $20 each and selling them for $200 you weren't much the wiser. Going back a decade or two earlier and shops would just sell locally made stuff so there was more of an appreciation for what went into making them.

At the same time King St (high end fashion, Perth CBD) seems to be dying in the arse the section near the entrance to the underground station has a Tag Heuer opening up, Louis Vuitton, I think Tiffany's is moving in etc. Weird.

Dad just bought some car parts from overseas. The cost of buying 2 and having it shipped here from the us was a mere 1/10th of the price of buying 1 from a local supplier.

I know there are things which push prices up here, but not that much. And he paid the shipping himself, which already eliminates one of those things.

 

[Deliverance]

Dad just bought some car parts from overseas. The cost of buying 2 and having it shipped here from the us was a mere 1/10th of the price of buying 1 from a local supplier.

I know there are things which push prices up here, but not that much. And he paid the shipping himself, which already eliminates one of those things.

I know a guy who's a major player in the fruit market in NE Vic. Asked him once,why fruit grown in our own country is so expensive. More expensive than bananas in England imported from Paraguay etc. He put it down to one thing, wages. Now, he's in the industry so may be just protecting his self interests, but I'd imagine it's partially true.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

I know a guy who's a major player in the fruit market in NE Vic. Asked him once,why fruit grown in our own country is so expensive. More expensive than bananas in England imported from Paraguay etc. He put it down to one thing, wages. Now, he's in the industry so may be just protecting his self interests, but I'd imagine it's partially true.

When my wife's job in a cafe ended , she put down for temp work.
On of the first things that came up was a job at an apple orchard, that also had fruit coming in from other orchards and organisations.

Her hourly rate was OK without being exorbitant.

They trucked in some plums and things from somewhere.
Her job was to go through the boxes and sort the good ones from the bad ones. Some of the bad ones were pretty off.
So she did it.
Then some supervisor told her that some of the borderline ones should have been rejected. So she starts rejecting them.
Then another supervisor comes by after its all finished, and proclaims that they don't have enough good ones, so its back into the boxes of rejected ones ( which had her feeling physically ill ) getting back the borderline ones.

When your labour is expensive , its a good idea to get a bit organised.

(( my wife refused to work for the orchard any more, and is much happier back in an office job )) .