Moderator
#3,676
I believe you mentioned that globalisation, Corporisation etc was the right's policies initially. So are they a good thing or aren't they?
Im not persuaded that imposing tarriffs and forcing employers to keep jobs in wealthy nations (or paying them to stay) is the way to go. Look at Holden in Australia for example; just how long is the government expected to prop up those manufacturing jobs for?
You're just delaying the inevitable.
Of course the benefits of globalisation are lost on many. What use is a cheap iPhone, a visa waiver to India, the ability to set up your buisiness in China, or a half price car to an out of work blue collar laborer?
Right wing governments tend to lean towards war. Historically, yes, but wasn't that the opposite this US election? Trump was anti-war and Hilary was pro-war.
Howard improved housing affordability for Australians. A very real issue now that the grant is gone. Not sure how that can be reflected on as a bad thing.
If the government wanted to do something about housing it could simply give out zero intrest home loans.
Im not saying its unwise to buy a house. Quite the opposite. Not all debt is bad debt.
In Perth we saw a massive boom in housing prices. There was a ton of demand due to the mining boom, and prices were inflated (doubling every year for several years, at an almost exponential rate). People were borrowing against the equity in those properties and bying investment properties (or sinking the cash into shares like Paladin, Newcrest, Rio and other mining companies) and making a killing. The 'cashed up bogan' with a 4 bedroom McMansion in the burbs, a boat and an investment property was a thing.
Then the GFC hit, and many of them lost their homes. Foreclosure rates in the Supreme Court went through the roof.
The FHOG helped, but it was an illusory help more than anything tangible. Its real purpose was to encourage home ownership, and to increase levels of personal debt. This got the economy ticking over and made the Banks very wealthy.
The locking up of boat people. Well, this is always murky water. What is the left's positive solution to the boat people and illegal immigrants? The liberal policy is not ideal but it has stopped the boats and there are less deaths at sea. I genuinely have not heard a constructive policy that resolves this problem perfectly.
But Howard did it for political reasons. If there is one thing that Blue collar working class and White collar Conservatives have in common, its they generally dont like brown people.
The lions share of the feral UPF supporting, Alt right, Stormfront cheering racist dickheads I know arent working in upper management for the banks or running a large buisiness. Theyre generally uneducated, poor, blue collar, working class bogan types.


