Australia. The economy. Quality of life. Advantages of being an island/continent nation. I just do not understand why/how Australians buy into the need of a "growing economy". I do believe there may be a small, well balanced - sustaining economy with minimal growth. I reject the "Grow We Must" economic mandate. We have witnessed it going malignant with ill regard for quality of life As an island continent of a pretty homogeneous population I do believe a smaller economy would have served the individual well. Maybe even with reliable power plants and decent fuel costs. What ever is lacking and requiring great costs of importation might be fostered. Cars, parts & manufacture for example Wonder! Who expanding, bigger economy benefit. Yup! The usual culprits setting them more apart from common people. And step by growth step quality of life deteriorates over decades. Witness Israel. 50 years ago pretty egalitarian. The P.M. addressed by first name Today a concentration of wealth beyond "fair" where a working person must work two jobs to rent an apartment. What happened in Israel, the economy grew too fast leading to a concentration of wealth. Why the mantra, pabumized Economic Theory, requiring growth? Especially for a place like Austraia that can be its' own. Please explain Gracias Moi r > g Thus Wealth Concentrates Beware Australian/ Trade Agreement. Across an immense, unguarded, ethereal border, Canadians, cool and unsympathetic, regard our America with envious eyes and slowly and surely draw their plans against us.
I think it's too late for us. Too much foreign money here. We aren't master of our own destiny any more.
Moi, it's just capitalism at work. Growth is an objective, without it the system will fall over. We have a consumer society, it has to grow or fail. Mind you it should, but that would be disastrous, better to think of how to transform rather than wait for the massive crisis.
Mixed with a truly Progressive Tax Code ala Eisenhower, yes. - maybe Consider the wage diff between a factory owner and worker, then and today. The bipartisan destruction of the Progressive Tax Code beginning with JFK created the socio-economic malignancy we experience and the rest of the capitalist world too. Such taxation allowed for the benefits of capitalism while curtailing obscene income/profits possibly thereby controlling growth to within sustainability. Y'think?
Yes taxation done properly is beneficial. Regulation done properly is also good. In Australia we're finding our first hand what happens when even mild regulation is not enforced (the banks).
Don't forget your super small residences previously a code violation. An example of the quality of life for Aussie children. First: Challenge the Grow We Must mantra and work from there. While all political parties subscribe to it, it's like "bipartisan tax cuts". How y'gonna challenge that except by demonstrating the resulting socio economic malignancy it creates. Like denying Aussies their Aussie Natural Gas and a good price so someone profits selling it to Japan where they pay less per BTU for Aussie natural gas. Maybe a strong dose of Maine Le Pen style Nationalism is in order. An Australians First movement.
we seem to have gone from https://www.theage.com.au/national/...partments-and-rented-out-20151029-gkm20g.html to https://www.domain.com.au/news/melb...se-clever-small-designs-show-20170702-gwzrmz/ To https://www.realestate.com.au/news/new-standards-seek-put-end-dog-box-apartments/ Because of? "The inner city residential property development markets of Melbourne and Sydney are experiencing a sudden and spectacular boost. For many Asian and Chinese investors, inner-city property investment in Australia is replacing gold as a hedge against possible difficult times at home. While this has been happening for years, few were prepared for the latest set of events. It started slowly in the early weeks of January and February this year: Chinese and other Asian investors began buying apartment development sites that had secured permission to build, and are funding those developments using Chinese rather than Australian banks. In turn, most of the apartments will be sold to Chinese and other Asian investors. …Many Chinese investors may be happy to leave their Australian apartments empty, as they do in China." (This quote is from 2014.)
It's a funny thing, but we think we are over regulated here but the problem is that the regulations aren't enforced. For example- Building inspectors dont seem to have the job of ensuring that buildings are up to standard. Imported building materials don't meet Aust standards. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-...dding-robert-doyle-close-to-resolution/863056 https://www.airsafe.net.au/news/asbestos-found-made-china-products Health inspectors seem to be irrelevant now. Shop assistants who work in sandwich shops seem to have the sketchiest understanding of food handling hygiene. To qualify for food handling has become a short course done on computer. The staff in a sandwich shop glove up to make a sandwich and use the same glove to handle money. Is it just that I've become a grumpy old woman who misses the good old days?
As I recall in the "good old days" even just washing hands was optional because there weren't any food handling gloves back in "them thar daze"!
I must be wearing my pink glasses. When in high school, I had a weekend job in a milk bar where we made sandwiches and sold snacks. No way were you to be seen eating behind the counter.
We've had bursts of nationalism in the past but they usually come to nought. I just think we can't be bothered. However there needs to be a policy rethink on how we manage our natural resources.
Sadly, no major party supports nationalism. And those that attempt to do so get ridiculed as Nazi, etc. The Globalist control the media and they sell the fake news that Free Trade is good for the common man. Trump support is Neo Nationalism for Although no one says so he does advocate national governments looking after their people first. Australia is in an ideal location to practice Neo Nationalism. The problem is no political party supports the people. Here or there in the West. Just as Trump supporters "got it", we can only hope Aussie voters will "get it". too. Trump is NOT a political party. He is Trump. Good Luck O Z Land. Moi Neo Nationalist & Neo Isolationist. Stop the stupid, unproductive interventions. r > g
Aussies In Space! <woo woo> I guess they had to considering the Kiwis had their. https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/82df77...c5e82519/ss_the-australian-government-is.html The Australian government is funding its very own space agency Plans for an Australian space agency have been in the works for months now, but the ABC is reporting that the federal government is putting its money where its mouth is by setting aside $50 million to help launch it. At the federal budget this coming Tuesday, May 8, the government is expected to unveil what it's calling "seed funding" for a prospective space agency, in an attempt to create more jobs and take part in what most observers believe will be a burgeoning industry in the future. There's been a lot of excitement around the idea of Space 2.0, the idea of lower-cost and commercial space travel. Other developed countries, including New Zealand, Australia's neighbour, already have space agencies. . . They should have let Musk do it. They should have let private enterprise do it. I guess someones need access to gov't spending. Moi
Runnng a space agency is cheaper than it used to be. Elon musk is one out of the box. I wonder what his next exploit will be. Will he build the first house on Mars?
POINT: AussieLand was in an ideal time/place to create a privatized, not socialized, a Space Agency. Yet the politicians would rather tax Sallyally for the effort. To whose profits?
I don't mind paying tax for something from which everyone will be able to benefit. I wonder if it's because Australians don't trust, or view with suspicion, big businessmen? Is it because big money is never clean? Or that we've never recovered from Bond, Skase etc?
Who is "everyone"? I wonder if they just didn't ponder going private or "pay offs" involved in using tax money.
I'm just saying you people have your Island/Continent beyond the "Old World", and the "New World" too. Such a loss not to develop it in an Australian way. But rather a "Grow We Must" manner of an unproven, assumption. profiting globalist at citizens expense Supporting those who allow Japanese citizens to enjoy Australian BTU's or Australian natural gas for less than a Aussie born. Who is at the hog trough of the Australian Space Agency who would have lost their "wet their beak" had it gone private? Natural gas purveyors? Cultural left overs of the original, Prison Culture that instills, subservient acceptance.
