Australia needs a reality check

a reply to: hopenotfeariswhatweneed
I understand where your coming from mate, one thing that always makes me laugh though is the irony of how a large collection of humanity will point the finger at the elites or 1%'s as we know them and moan yet when in conversation about the poor or financialy unstable the very same mindset is repeated.

a reply to: Agit8dChop

What kind of agreement did china and S. Africa have? Long term? short term? Just curious.

as for the poverty line - Does Australia do the same the US does - take an average of the entire nation and go from there?

originally posted by: Xcathdra
a reply to: Agit8dChop

What kind of agreement did china and S. Africa have? Long term? short term? Just curious.

as for the poverty line - Does Australia do the same the US does - take an average of the entire nation and go from there?

i would imagine it is alot like the version of truth a problem gambler gives....only talks about the wins and not the losses

Wow, apparently my husband, myself and our two kids are living in poverty as his wage is under that per week. We chose to be a one income family for now, because the years 0-5 with our children are too important to miss as a stay at home mother (in both our opinion), also I have several auto-immune issues that make work hard. We luckily live in my mothers home while she is housesitting, so we are beyond fortunate to live rent free, which helps immensely! thankfully my husband is in the end stages in getting a job that takes us out of that bracket, but it has taken us 9 years of hard hard work to progress his career to get to where it is.

I say it all the time, and I'll say it to my children when they are in high school. STAY AT IT. I decided to quit in grade 11, and my parents were too involved in their own s*** to encourage me to stick with it - and one of my biggest regrets was leaving and not continuing onto uni. I know I could get back into it now, but it's a daunting thought, esp with fees etc getting higher and higher and two young children. One day though.

Australia is in the GOLDEN TRIANGLE we have TWO THIRDS of the worlds POPLATION directly above with clear shipping lanes and an agriculture sector that is about to skyrocket due to the Australian dollar once again being manipulated to fall.

Any recession in Australia will also be a manipulation by TPTB. Possible EBOLA????

We are the only Island Continent and such are a bug out destination for the elite should an ebola infested zombie apocalypse occur in the near future.

The only problem we have in australia is the amount of people that choose not to work. Then complain that welfare doesnt pay enough. Pensioners get more than the dole. I realise pensioners need to survive but i know a lot of perfectly healthy people collecting a a pension that dont deserve it. I also know alot of people that flat out refuse to work. These people are ticks on the big dog of society. I have worked for everything i own, and everything they own. Is that fair? a reply to: subtopia

I forsee some tough times ahead in Australia, I may of course be wrong and would be happy to be as the alternative is rather bleak.

The housing bubble in Australia is massive, people can't afford rents and mortgages(interestingly though the government is prepared to gift first home buyers who cannot afford it tens of thousands of taxper money and banks are happy to still take them on), there is a bigger sub prime issue than the US had pre collapse, the level of personal debt is growing, the arse is falling out of the mining industry, the gap between haves and have nots is increasing just to name a few.
Terrible government policy and irresponsible spending running into the billions have all directly contributed to what MAY be looming.
The country has been run by greedy morons over the last 3 decades and instead of building a nation, much needed infrastructure and industry they have pocketed the boom revenues and left Oz teetering on the edge of collapse.

You have an electorate who can't see past the raises in their pay checks and home values to see what is actually happening. A distracted electorate who the main parties force feed false issues like detaining asylum seekers, immigration policy, carbon tax into the fore when in reality these things are inconsequential.

I fear Australia is headed for a reality check, I think it actually needs it if I'm honest. Unless you are making cash hand over fist there is little hope of getting ahead anymore.
The incentive to return to Australia right now is not very high.

As to the $390 being in poverty, yeah I can see that. When I was making around $500 it was a struggle and I was living pay to pay.
No way in the world I would head back to that life now with a family to support. I'm not saying it can't be done but I wouldn't want to.

a reply to: Agit8dChop

Everything is relative and maybe Australia is just so nicely developed that even it's poverty live is enviable?

originally posted by: arrakis624
The only problem we have in australia is the amount of people that choose not to work. Then complain that welfare doesnt pay enough. Pensioners get more than the dole. I realise pensioners need to survive but i know a lot of perfectly healthy people collecting a a pension that dont deserve it. I also know alot of people that flat out refuse to work. These people are ticks on the big dog of society. I have worked for everything i own, and everything they own. Is that fair? a reply to: subtopia

I absolutely applaud your response.

Now here is my rant....

I am sick to the back teeth of the disability pension and the people on it. If you look at the figures and listen to people in the media and even here on ATS we must be the most diseased, crippled, sickly bunch of people to walk the face of the earth. I am sick of hearing "i would love to work but i cant because i have ......". Pigs ass you want to work. If you wanted too you would but its easy to put your hand out at the end of the week for the disability pension. I dont mind paying taxes to support care for those born disabled.

90% of fat people will tell you they have an auto immune disease or endocrine problem....bullsh&%...your fat because you ate too much.

90% of people with a mental illness wont admit that they have either taken illegal drugs made by bikies using some of the most dangerous chemicals known to man or use mental illness as an excuse to not cope and face up to life and its hardships.

Here is my test for who should be on a disability pension.....99% of disability pensioners would be able to flee a burning house. The 1% that cant....i will have no problem with supporting you and gladly give you my hard earned tax paying dollars.

One more thing....i have no problem with paying aged pensions. You have worked hard and payed your taxes. I even say double the aged pension so these people can have afford a proper steak for dinner and not worry about having the lights on at night because they cant afford it.

a reply to: PLAYERONE01

Your right about power going up like crazy, the other day i had to take money out of money we have too build our new home and pay our power bill with it because what i usually budget for power isn't enough, they have literally doubled and im always making sure lights arent on when they aren't supposed to be and turn stuff off at the switch when not in use.

The cost of everything here is really high in comparison too everywhere else, i was looking at my partners payslips the other day and sometimes he is paying 500 each week just on tax and if it is less than that on other weeks its not much less! He works for a big company here, BGC which is huge but even they are making cuts everywhere that they can and the people that are out doing the work are being hit hard not the ones sitting in the offices so they don't really understand what these cost cuts are doing to their families..

I honestly don't know how anyone could survive on 400 a week here. I know i couldn't. But alot of people on centrelink receiving that could easilly go out and get a job too live comfortably they just choose not too, i can't stand people like that.

originally posted by: bellagirl
One more thing....i have no problem with paying aged pensions. You have worked hard and payed your taxes. I even say double the aged pension so these people can have afford a proper steak for dinner and not worry about having the lights on at night because they cant afford it.

I totally agree with this! They have done their bit and deserve better,how some of them live is sad and they really have too scrape to get by, i would way rather them have double than giving the money to people that can easilly just go out and work for it, they need to be alot stricter on giving out payments to people, even some people that get disability pensions aren't fully entitled but if they find a doctor that will say they are then thats all the proof they need.

a reply to: bellagirl

90% of fat people will tell you they have an auto immune disease or endocrine problem

I assume you have facts and proof to back up this 90% figure, No?

90% of people with a mental illness

And this one please, or do you like the figure 90%

Here is my test for who should be on a disability pension.....99% of disability pensioners would be able to flee a burning house.

Really? Now, where did you get the 99% figure from?

P

a reply to: pazcat

The housing bubble in Australia is massive, people can't afford rents and mortgages(interestingly though the government is prepared to gift first home buyers who cannot afford it tens of thousands of taxper money and banks are happy to still take them on

Thats not true, in WA you only get 10,000 if you are building a new home not buying established unless you get i think like 3,000 and pay stamp duty over 400,000 for established- we had 20,000 as a deposit, good credit and a good income and were told we didn't have enough too buy established so they couldn't give us a loan, we needed like 30K for about a 450,000 loan, this was with one of the big banks, you have to jump through hoops and prove you saved your deposit, they look at your bank statements for what you do with your money and too see if you can afford repayments, if you can't then you won't be getting a loan! its freakin hard man there is nothing easy about it.

By giving more to people that build they are encouraging more first home buyers too follow that route, which in turn helps our construction industry and all that in return so keeps our economy strong, its a good idea.

originally posted by: PLAYERONE01

originally posted by: pheonix358
a reply to: PLAYERONE01

I want to see you survive on $390- a week.all inclusive.

All of the married pensioners do it 24/7.

Bit hard to argue that one.

P

I think you maybe out of touch mate:
AUSSIE pensioners struggling to make ends meet are selling their prescription medication to junkies and drug dealers, with some painkillers fetching up to $4000 a box.

www.couriermail.com.au... 9cb

Queensland doctors have warned that dealers are also targeting vulnerable seniors, some who survive off a $766 fortnightly pension, and have been approaching them outside pharmacies, the Courier-Mail reports.

Bloody hell are pills expensive in Australia and America one site i looked at had a guy paying $ 30 us d for one of the pills i take and i had 6 yesterday i was that sore

a reply to: bellagirl

Ok let me first state i am not fat .Thank god i will maybe escape your wrath on that .However i do suffer from a mental illness . Never taken drugs that were cooked up in some shed ,neither do any of the people that suffer from a mental illness .Have you ever thought that maybe those affected really don't want to be affected . It is not something that you can get a shot for like the flu . So please engage your brain before you flaunt your ignorance . Oh , i am employed full time paying for 2 houses 3 cars 3 kids etc etc etc .
183 cm and 83kg is ok right.
i am not fat
i am not fat
OK 2 kg more

a reply to: hutch622

Well done. You must get so annoyed that so many claim mental illness when you are a genuine case.

And for those who think i am speaking out of my backside.....go work in healthcare.

p.s....you are certainly not fat. What i am talking about is the morbidly obese. Those over say 140kgs. There are those who will weigh even bigger due to a brain tumour which can cause morbid obesity, but the majority are just plain fat, lazy and pass that magic number where we all say "hey...i have to do something about this".

Has anyone mentioned the fact that we pay double for almost everything here in Australia as opposed to the rest of the world, the so-called "Australia Tax" - and has anyone taken this into account?