Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/polit...re-comments-20120830-251u5.html#ixzz24zenxVOD The backlash on this one is amazing, 400 odd replies and counting on the article... Touched a raw nerve I think.
I like how they allow comments on crap like this when they stop comments on ANYTHING that really SHOULD be commented on.
Well it's controversy and that's what they are looking for. That's an unfortunate comment. She should just stick to facts. I don't know what her aim is with this but comments like this tend to be polarising and serve no good purpose whether they have truth in them or not.
How about Tanya Plibersek tries giving up her bloated parliamentary wage and perks too, or perhaps she should shut her hypocrytical mouth.
I wish I could work hard enough to inherit a mining company from my father (or more accurately, wrangle its ownership from my step-mother). Oh well, back to the cask wine for me then.
Rinehart.. you have got it half right. Now no more bank bailouts..No more bailouts of companies. BHP once got a government bailout 30 or so years ago...Did they ever pay it back? National and Westpac got a financial bailout in the crisis of 07/08..Not from Australian Federal Reserve but from the USA one. I always amazes me that some people sitting on huge fortunes always want to take money off the lower classes. What a difference between her and Clive Palmer..Look how he rewards his hard and loyal workers when his companies have a good year..Good wages and extras like holidays and new cars. A real Henry Ford attitude in contrast with todays greedy bosses of corporations. Most rich Australians, I feel sure don't hold views like hers. If you inherit a fortune it is a lot easier than making one from virtually zero. She is well fed and well nourished but as they say every dog has their day. Lets hope that she never has to do physical work for even a day because she won't go the distance. Regatrds Errol 43
Clearly they are making a story out of nothing. Or more precisely, people are making a story out of misintepreting, mis-quoting what she said. 100% true. What's wrong with that? Nothing. It's pretty straightforward. This is a valid option (although not the only option). You could also become a fraudulent bankster who uses the coercive powers of the government to allow you to counterfeit money with their blessings. And saying that reducing the minimum wage will stimulate employment it's a no-brainer. The politicians/etc are attacking the person who said these things not the comments themselves which is very grubby, cheap politics.
It is, I think also. But what it tends to do is get people's back up. People look at things like that and see someone with money criticising people without money who work hard but do like to enjoy life. It kind of ends up painting people with the same brush, and then it all becomes another employer versus employee fight. This is the point I was trying to make with NR the other day. When you name-call or make implications or just say things that can be easily mis-interpreted it ends up going from a rational, factual discussion to emotional, irrational fighting and then the government steps in and starts using it to it's advantage. But this is the MSM for you. If it was rational, they wouldn't care. I can only hope that the decline of the hystrical, over-the-top, MSM continues.
People in Australia have an entitlement mentality. They think it's their God given right to have other people's money stolen and handed to them on a plate.
And I think this is where a lot of breakdown in communication and understanding on not only the situation at hand - but capitalism currently extends. Most people look around the world today at the fraudulent exploitation of markets, all openly rigged and oppressive and assume automatically THAT is the core of capitalism. I've seen it time and again with the brainwashed and uneducated, all the way through to political and educational leaders and even industry pundits and commentators. Every time I see someone crying over the current state of economic play and connect crony capitalism and portray this as REAL capitalism, I seriously want to scream. Even worse, when people see the current markets and assume this is 'Ayn Rands' philosophical mindset on capitalism, I actually want to scream even more. For all the talk and discussion on what factors are to blame in the current environment, the number of times I see the concept of free market capitalism used as a scapegoat to explain away it's 'evil' virtues is mind boggling. With the uneducated collective, I can understand being confused, but when I see people like Max Keiser (of whome I am normally quite a fan of), completely misrepresent real capitalism with the philosiphy of Ayn's capitalistic model, I have to shake my head in despair. Make no mistake, a lot of the angst in the market today and visualisation on 'success' being tied to crony capitalism and free market capitalism is completely misguided, even among the 'educated' on the topic. I've actually met very, very few people who can differentiate the two and moreso, understand and appreciate that what we have in the world today is NOT capitalism - it's a controlled, fraudulent, rigged market. Every time I see one of those MSM articles where they put a successful person on display and misquote them to stir the masses just to sell advertising space, I know that when it all DOES go to shit capitalism - and I mean REAL, free market capitalism - will be taking the blame for this sorry mess. It's going to be like dressing up a wolf in sheeps' clothing and each time a sheep is eaten, the rest say 'THE OTHER SHEEP DID IT!' By the same token, there's a LOT of grey area now concerning ethics on wealth generation that gets people's back up to. Make no mistake, there's a LOT of 'wealth' out there which was generated through nothing more than tax scams, rigged markets and outright fraud and rest assured, a LOT of those people who made such fortunes will be the first to admit the ends justify the means. I have absolutely no qualms about successful people enjoying the wealth they create. But the ethical ideology around profit being derived nowadays by 'any means possible' and further more, the ends justifying the means, is what gets people's back up. I think Gina is simply an easy scapegoat target for the masses. Fair enough, she probably never would have gotten anywhere near as far as she did had she started from scratch and had to rise purely on her own merit and also, she has been fortunate enough to ride a bull resource market into the stratosphere. Deserved or not? That's a question you can decide for yourself. But I will say again that there's a very large amount of wealth out there now that was never earned through real merit. Much of it is based on fraudulant manipulation of the system, skimming and exploitation scamming and that's not considered 'unethical' as much as it's considered 'working smarter, not harder' - but those winners of said rigged games will be the first to make the claim they 'worked' for their reward and the ends justify the means. Caught between rigged market exploiters at the top end and rotting looters at the bottom end screaming for a free lunch, those who bear the burden of providing for all against their will are the only individuals of merit and integrity. Ironically, in as much as the top end demand more protection and assistance from the government, the bottom end demands the same. But WHO is ultimately left to pay the bill?
An old saying from the CPA - the rich will do everything they can to help the poor except get off their f***ing backs.
In all fairness to her though she turned a multi-million dollar enterprise into a multi billion dollar enterprise through hard work - it would have been a lot easier for her to piss her inheritance away and oddly enough had she done this she wouldn't cop the flak she does these days.
yeh - then she'd just be a 'battler' like the rest of the louts demanding free handouts payed for by the toil of others
I also agree on your points. This >is< what happens in today's society. But none of those implied assumptions are part of the quote above.... although this is >how< some might read it..... to their detriment. imo, the habit of reading that way, is in itself a handcuffs to serfdom. Aussies are being Handcuffed with this cotton wool. pucker up
