Quote:
Originally Posted by pgc hunter
Great advice. Speak the truth, and you'll get the obligatory lecture from the usual suspects who are far out of tune with the reality facing many Australians.
After all, what's a $200 increase in electricity bill every few months for someone that owns an OTA more expensive than most people's cars eh?
News flash, the average battler doesn't give a crap about what the min wage-to average ratio is, how we compare to other OECD or whatever nations, or how we have the highest life expectancy after Japan... doesn't change the fact that prices here are sky high relative to many other nations and said prices are increasing almost exponentially. A $550-600 weekly wage doesn't go very far at all here, factor in $250-300 for rent, $100 for food, $50 for fuel, plus a few for other necessities, and you dont have very much to play with at all. Buying a house on that wage, forget it. Fancy numbers are not going to put food on the table or erase the fact that electricity costs hundreds more than it used to be for people trying to make ends meet. 
Anyway, I shall steer clear of this thread from now |
Ok, I'm trying to understand where you are coming from.
In your previous post you specifically attributed the destruction of Australia to Julia Gillard &/or the Labour government in general (I'm not sure which). I posted OECD figures which showed that Australia, far from being destroyed is actually an economic poster child compared to everyone else in the world given the state of the world economy.
In response, you suggest that these are not the pertinent markers to judge the situation objectively. Well, I disagree but wont argue the point.
On the other hand, the markers that you suggest are relevant are interesting and deserve some contemplation.
Let's see how they stack up against your assertion of Australian economic disaster at the hands of Julia Gillard:
Housing price:
The period of dramatic inflation happened
BEFORE the current political party took office at the start of 08 and ironically, fell for the the 12 months following that election. Not that that had anything to do with the choices made by, or influence of, the federal government. The fact that global housing prices show strong correlation to Australian house prices indicates that in the absence of some local catalysing event, ie) sub-prime crash - USA, or the Chinese driven resources boom in Australia, the federal government doesn't have that much impact in the whole scheme of things, so it isn't really fair to criticise (or praise them) for the lion's share of what happens on the street.
Fuel pricing:
I know this is a favourite whipping horse of yours... Joolia threatening your God given right to tow a caravan around at your whim with her insane fuel price agenda...
But wait a second...
Fuel is cheaper for us now than it was in 2008. even with no adjustment for inflation AND a carbon price ...
So you'll forgive me if I suggest that I am still struggling to see your point...
As for electricity prices, are these determined at a Federal level...?
No...
So the way I see it, Australia has not been destroyed in the terms that you stipulate and certainly not at the hands of the federal government.
That is not to say that I think they are deserving of scathing criticism (both sides of the political spectrum), but let's be realistic when it comes to apportioning blame and the underlying factors that determine our quality of life.
Emotive and poorly conceived rants serve no purpose other than to confuse the issues facing us and can only lead to poor choices being made in the future.