Yes, true, but do the dentists, engineers etc get unlimited domestic/international travel and a very healthy indexed pension for life (tax free perhaps??) at the end of their working career?
Successful proffessionals don't aspire to such ephemeral treats. Such priveleges are ultimately in the hands of others and can be easily stripped away. Smart people hold their destiny in their own hands...they get rewarded hansomley (for a job very well done) then move on...they don't want to spend the rest of their lives leashed to the public purse... they want to achieve independant weath. We get what we reward... by putting out such self indulgent, yet ultimately facile rewards such as pension and free travel, we've only attracted politicians with such low sights.
When the economy is going well, politicians look like geniuses, which is why people remember Howard as a "good economic manager". When the economy goes South, the politicians look like idiots. I think Howard would have spent all our money on the banks and stupid schemes as well. The alternative would have been letting the property ponzi scheme collapse so the capital can be properly reallocated. But that would require a short severe correction period and no politician wants to preside over that. It will probably be a case of chopping and changing politicians until the economy finally turns and then that politician who is in at the time will have been judged to have turned it all around. What is required is to let property collapse and put the banks through bankruptcy, so the capital is freed up from unproductive investments. It's just not going to happen, Labour or Liberal. They are both going to stumble along as best they can through a period of stagnation as capital slowly leeches out of property over a long period (with intermittent "crashes").
Well said clawhammer, if a guy can run say a goliath company like BHP he can certainly run Australia a whole lot better than anyone we have in an MPs office right now. The biggest problem to attracting such types is the actual politics it self. None of these high flyers would ever put up with the daily BS of parliament time etc etc. If you managed to put them in charge it would have to be out and out dictatorship until the next election to let them do what they need to do.
There is truth there in Howard presided over a boom period. However he was a very different person to Gillard and Rudd. Neither have Howard's strength of character. As history has shown us, Howard did not have anything like the dirty laundry and hidden agendas of this current mob. He was basically what you saw - an old fashioned, repressed, conservative, unimaginative man that did a straight up job according to his own moral compass, and who put the needs of the country before his own in as far as his upbringing allowed. He had a big ego but he controlled it very effectively all things considered. The stupid things that he did were because he believed that they were the right thing to do, such as taking us into America's war. Rudd on the other hand has a huge ego and he has no self control at all. He is a bull in a china shop. He thinks that he is wise and respected, but he is seen as a dick by everyone around him. Gillard is simply out of her depth, and she is so weak willed that she always takes what looks like the easy path - dishonesty and slipperiness. She is the archetypal dodgy politician.
Sorry - but could someone explain what this means to an economic newbie (like me) please? I've heard the phrase before, but I have to confess at not knowing what it means
I just can't see the point for her resigning only being replaced with another moron...! Can we Aussies just pick our moron to run our country and be content with it...!
Well known opportunist and leader of the moneyed opposition would say that he would not resign despite repeated calls for his resignation. "Democracy only good if you vote for the party of the rich and of those who control the media. Otherwise they will make ordinary process of government impossible until they get another election." Says informed disillusioned. Vote LIBERAL$
Jonesy, it kills me to say it, but I agree with you wholeheartedly here. I thought I hated John Howard, but I absolutely LOATHE Julia Gillard and the whole Labor Party. Bunch of bastards who stand for nothing save themselves, sending this wonderful country to hell. Raaarrrrr!
Look, aside from the weak government and crap carbon tax. Can you 100% attribute all the problem we are facing to the current government? Past governments all had their share of contribution to the crap we are facing. The only problem for the current govt is that they are unable to navigate past the economical situation. However the economy is never 100% in the hands of government. Are we just looking for someone to blame for our problems?
Oh absolutely agree with you - Labor merely had the misfortune to come into power right before the GFC. I'm certainly not suggesting that we were in boom times thanks to John Howard, and that Kevin Rudd stuffed it up. Not at all. I know Tony Abbott would love to have us all believe that, but he's not fooling me. (Hate him too - his daughter was right - "gay churchy loser" she called him.) I just hate Julia and the rest of them for what they did to their leader - that was despicable. Okay, he had a year, and a few of his election promises had not panned out - but surely he should have been given at least one full term to come good on his plans? Now, none of the good stuff that was supposed to happen is ever going to happen. The Education Revolution? Don't make me laugh! There are kids coming out of high school who CANNOT READ. Fixing up the Health System - taking it back from State Goverment control, if needs be? It's WORSE THAN EVER. The carbon tax absolutely shits me up the wall, and there's nothing we can do about it. That business with banning and then un-banning the live export cattle was unbelievable. This thing in Malaysia with the asylum seekers is an absolute joke, and proves that no-one in Canberra is actually thinking things through before acting. It's all just "oh shit, we better do something quick - anything" as they lurch from one disaster to the next. That these imbeciles are in control, as we head into GFC part 2... well... it just makes me want to vomit in disgust. And to stack silver
^^^^ you're very right. The risk to Australia from the GFC2 with these crack pots in charge is much worse than with Kevin07 in 08. You have just turned the light on and I now understand the source of my concern that this time is going to be much worse. In fact they are doing lots of things at the moment that are undermining our resilience to the shock of another GFC. It's like the titanic bearing down on the iceberg and the captain and crew are arguing over who gets to play shuttlecock tomorrow, while pulling everyone off the watch to participate.
The labour party is much wealthier and better funded than the Liberal Party. Always has been, it has the whole of the trade union movement funding behind it. It cracks me up that people think that the Liberal party are wealthy and have huge corporate backers... The libs are poorly financed and have to scratch for funding. And you would have to be blind to not see that Labor are well and truly in bed with big corporate interests, and always have been. The Liberals have nothing like the financial resources of the Labour party. They are also far less educated, Labour scouts at universities have always been the picking and grooming the best and brightest, the average Labour MP is far better educated than the average Liberal MP. Abbot is an exception, he is highly educated, much like Hawke. The two great myths of Australian voters - that the Liberals are wealthy silver tails that all live in Vaucluse and are billionaire business owners who only care about corporate interests, and the the Labour Party are all working class, straight up honest folk who only care about the workers and their families. Go take a look at the personal business interests of Labour MP's, and then tell me if they represent the working class. In case anyone hasn't noticed, Labour MP's are corrupt and more than willing to live off the fat and put themselves first, and are well and truly in the pockets of big business, particularly the banks and property developers. The Libearal MP stole $70.00 worth of groceries, the Labour MP - well, you know what the Labour MP stole, and who knew about it. Forget the stereotypes that you have about the two parties, they do not exist.
The idea that they are all the same is just a way of waylaying the fact that Liberal represent only business interests.Low tax,less regulation(do what you like)and protect the interest of the richer members of the Society.Of course,to get elected,both partys will pander to the interest of the people who can destroy them.The labor party must sell out,to some degree , to business interests,unfortunately. Gillard took over from Rudd because polls showed that Rudd would badly lose the next election,which she just only won. Rudd would have lost because of the Mining tax he dared to try and impose on the robber baron mining billionares, to get more for the Australian public purse. They spent ,what $23 million , bullsh+ting the Australian public,who fell for it,as you probably did. There is a Public primary school up the road with a new hall that would not have been built but for the Labor government ,and there are school builings popping up all over Australia. Public Education,health and energy conservation(insulation) ,things the Liberal party do not care about,are being promoted ,at the moment. I'd certainly like the Labor party to go back to its original values ,but its a hundred times a better party that the Liberals, who are only self seeking opportunists. Labor still have some residual moral values,while the Libs will do anything for a dollar,as always.(and rationalise this with any excuse.) Money First is their motto.
I don't know where you get this distorted view of the Liberal party from, it's pretty insulting to those who vote Liberal to brand them and greedy people who only care about money. From what I see in the newspapers every day, it is in fact the Labour MP's who are constantly being exposed as the ones who put money and self interest at the forefront of their lives. Sorry, reality disagees with your idealistic view Peter. Labour is clearly being shown up on a daily basis as being corrupt and in many cases criminal, and the Liberals are not. And as for the Labour Party going after the "robber baron mining companies", it is because the REAL robber barons who make the most obscene profits are in bed with the Labour Party - the banks, and Labour panders to them. It wasn't Liberal MP's who were exposed as travelling overseas and giving away Australia's state secrets to foreign powers, was Labour MP's. As I said, go look at the personal business interests and dealings of senior Labour MP's - they are up to their necks in money power plays. During periods where the Libs were in power workers prospered. During periods where Labour is in power, unemployment rises and worker conditions fall. Sorry, it is happening again. Business is not evil. Hundreds of thousands of Australians own businesses, and employ other Australians. Business owners are not evil, any more than employees are evil. It is patently stupid to brand business as bad, corrupt and money obsessed.
That post was to show that there are other views on this forum,its not just a back slapping right wing forum.I know people who rarely post here now because of the savagery of the replies of people who think that anything other than right wing views are insulting to members of the forum.I have expressed the opinion ,on this forum before,thats its a PM forum and not a political forum,and usually I restrain the expression of my views,because they are annoying to the right wing members of the forum.But they are my views and if I have insulted you I apologise for bringing undue contention into the forum.But to be continually angered by views I find insulting and never to reply is more than flesh can bare. Perhaps we should keep to topics that are profitable to both sides,and remember not express opinions on a Precious metals forum ,that may reduce the quality of the day for others.
