A question asked by a co-woker

[Nugget]

If the Aussie dollar was to fall to 50cents US then all Australians would get a 50% pay cut. Things that are imported would double. Things that are priced in US dollars (gold and silver) would double. The products we make with imported parts would increase in price. The products we make will be exported because overseas markets can pay more than the Aussie one.


Why won't our dollar fall? I personally think it's because the Aussie banks borrowed a lot of money from overseas to feed the housing bubble. If the Aussie dollar falls then their (banks) repayments increase.


Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong

 

[Nugget]

The problem for Australian small business is that if you are unfortunate enough to employ someone who is rude or lazy or just plain stupid you are unfortunately stuck with them.

If you are unfortunate to work with these people and you have a work ethic be prepared for some serious hard graft. And no, just because you do a large part of their job as well as your own there's nothing extra in it for you. And being a good worker who "get's" it, you're left with little choice but to suck it up Just today a lazy so & so set me up and plopped 90 minutes of work in my lap that also compounded other jobs not being done. Very annoyed about it but the boss is happy because the work got done and got done correctly (not tooting my own trumpet - it's just that the other guy is a muppet)

 

[mmm....shiney!]

If the Aussie dollar was to fall to 50cents US then all Australians would get a 50% pay cut. Things that are imported would double. Things that are priced in US dollars (gold and silver) would double. The products we make with imported parts would increase in price. The products we make will be exported because overseas markets can pay more than the Aussie one.

It would need to get down that far before it would make any difference to our export manufacturers, sub 80c at least. And as Nugget says, it'll be accompanied by a host of other side effects.

Why won't our dollar fall? I personally think it's because the Aussie banks borrowed a lot of money from overseas to feed the housing bubble. If the Aussie dollar falls then their (banks) repayments increase.


Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong

Nope, it's because of the devaluation of the USD, the Euro crisis, our low debt-GDP ratio ( meaning our economy has been relatively well managed by our Governments ), relatively high interest rates and the resources boom.

 

[jnkmbx]

The problem for Australian small business is that if you are unfortunate enough to employ someone who is rude or lazy or just plain stupid you are unfortunately stuck with them.

I thought people could be sacked for under performance? Or is that somehow not possible in Australia?