Will the Australian people have to support icon companies like Qantas, Holden, Electrolux etc if we are to remain a manufacturing nation. With the Aus $ dropping means the tourism industry should get a boost as well as the Mining Industry. However as we are now importing most of our oil/petrol, the cost of transport will surely impact on Australian people..We have to buy petrol from Singapore with US$. I get the feeling that the next few years are going to be hard for any government of any colour. It looks like our debt is going to blow out to $500 billion..What happens when we reach that figure, surely we will have to have it level off, otherwise we will be facing a situation like the USA. There 300 million people owe $17trillion. Here 23 million people will owe half a trillion $. If we get to 1trillion $ we will be in the same sad states as the US. Peter Costello IMO was the one that got it right. No gonski nor NDIS. Maybe it was not the time to bring in such expensive schemes or bring them in over and extended time frame. Same goes for the NBN, extend the completition date out 4 or 5 more years. The welfare state may have to be cut back...Just reduce the $$$$paid but would this mean less $ for the retail spending and that would be a disaster for Australian families. Raise the GST may be the only answer.. No one now seems to know what they pay anyhow. The Qld government looks like it will have to sell off more public assets including ports and power stations. To win the support of voters, I think that both parties promised too much at the last election and will we all pay the price down the road. We survived the GFC 1 because we were in a much better financial position than we are now. Can we survive GFC 2 ???? if TSHTF. In conclusion, I believe that Australia does need help and we may all have to sacrifice for the overall good of the nation. Regards Errol 43
And we should start with Public hanging of these thieving politicians They all promise the world & deliver nothing , both parties fuck them all & just hang them from the nearest light post I say NOTHING we say or do will make them change their agenda
I say look at Germany, we could learn a bit from them. I think here everyone has a sense of entitlement. People do not want to "work" but want everything. We seem to feel as though we "deserve" everything and people jump up and down and whinge when they don't get it.
Given that every dollar the government spends is taken from the productive economy, cutting government spending will mean increases in spending by the productive sectors. Raising taxes even more is not a solution in any shape or form. If taxing creating growth then why not have a 100% income tax? No, taxes are known to be a deadweight loss that discourages longer term investments and savings which lowers our future productive potential. Yippe! The best solution. The main sacrifice that needs to happen is by the politicians and bureaucrats, not by the average worker.
You and I are so closely minded on so many topics. I still want to hear your reasoning for handing monopoly assets that have already been paid for by public monies over to private hands/profits. The rest of it is fantastic.
If the Qld Government sells off assets and uses such money to bring on new development, then all is fine..However if it uses the money to balance the budget, then that is another story. Sell the assets to prop up other dying industries? Eg. Clive Palmers' Refinery? What sacrifices can politicians and bureaucrats make to have a huge impact on the Australian economy? Regards Errol 43
Asking politicians to fix economies is like asking drug dealers to help cure a drug addiction. They're cause of the problem in the first place. Let the chips fall where they may. And then lets assess if importing all our petrol or letting Holden & QANTAS die a natural death is actually the best outcome for us.
Germans do not buy the flashiest car, they on average will not borrow for things that are not necessities, they will save more and put more away, they are hard workers and take pride in what they do. They have a reputation for building quality products, they will stay behind to finish a job and put in that bit of extra effort. It is all about attitude.....
My first thought here was that theh Australian people need a MAJOR change in attitude. My second thought was that the change in attitude is going to be FORCED on them in the coming few years. It WILL be very painful! JMO OC
The Germans had to build up from nothing after ww2. This hardship plus their ethno-cultural disposition towards discipline, hardwork and Protestant ethic play a huge part. The attitude in Australia in General is the complete opposite , individuals excepted. Ps Errol if the gst is raised I am going to completely cut back on all non essential spending, which I have already reduced to minimum levels.
Agree with that. The Germans learned the hard way to survive both in the hyperinflation of 1923, and the devastation after WW2. We will learn from our coming disaster. OC
If a political party said, in the future if we continue to do what we are doing we are going to have a major collapse, people will go hungry, people will be homeless, people will die from lack of health care, children will have terrible lives and be less well off than every other generation before themselves - this is all 100% certain. As an alternative there will have to be cuts now, people will not be able to buy the latest smartphones, no TV over 40 inches, people have to keep their cars for a minimum of 8 years, people will have to work an extra 5 hours a week and the problem will be fixed. 90% of people would say turtle that I want a new turtling phone and TV and I want it now. As mentioned above it is all about attitude, I want it now and I am getting it and turtle you....... I deserve it....... That political party would then be voted out and 10 years later people would say why has this happened? I do not understand why I am in this situation. Someone had better fix it for me NOW. I have to be honest I just do not understand people's thinking.
Yup. I've been told Germans frown on people using credit to buy consumer goods (cars, Fridges holidays etc). It's just not part of their culture. You save up for them.. and if you can't afford to buy the 'latest and greatest'... then YOU CAN'T AFFORD THEM. It's that simple. AMAZING
This. The only issue I see though is any money "saved" by not paying out welfare will not actually be spent by the productive sector. When you have debt + deficit that money doesn't get "taken from the productive economy" it is just borrowed into existence. Its not as if Barry Dolebludger will miss out on his $200 in welfare, and you will pay $200 less in taxes to offset that saving, meaning you will spend that $200 more effectively. (This would only happen if we had no debt and the bydget balanced every year.) In our situation Barry misses out on his $200 but you still pay your $200 in tax, so effectively workers and savers are screwed either way.
I'm not sure about the personal attributes you ascribe to Germans (I don't know enough of them) but the stats indicate and give credence to your position that household debt in Germany has declined over the past decade. Interesting that you say they don't buy the flashiest car, but are world leaders with autos ie Benz, BMW and Audi. Someone in Der Vaterland must buy them. :lol: Germans are wonderful at creating uniformity though. :/
Have a listen to the third Keating interview on the abc.net.au iView service. He talks about this very issue and the approach taken back then. Seems reasonable to me. http://www.abc.net.au/iview/#/view/77889697 Around 4:40 for the budget/structural decisions.
The germans are very smart, they themselves have very good personal savings and spending rules and limits yet they produce and export products like expensive BMW cars that are only designed to last 10 years then you gotta buy a new one...End of day they're always making money... And yes living through hyperinflation would have taught many long life lessons in saving also...
