For decades I have been saying Australia is going backwards

Bretrick

Bretrick

SF VIP
Location
Perth Western Australia
So many people have told me I do not know what I am talking about.
What I am talking about is the 3.7 million Australians - 14% - who are living in poverty. 750,000 of them being children.
A decade ago the poverty rate was 13%, 3.1 million people.
So there is no improvement in that decade.

In 2015, Australian mining "Magnate" - Gina Rinehart topped the rich list with $14 billion. Her wealth today is $38 billion

2015 saw Anthony Pratt and family second on the list - Manufacturing and Investment - with $10.7 billion. 2025 sees him drop one place to third with $25.8 billion

Third on the list was Harry Triguboff - Property - with $10.2 billion. his 2025 bank balance is $29.6 billion.

An in-depth investigation by Australia's 7.30 report into poverty in the UK has uncovered the hidden shame of very deep poverty.

'Very deep poverty': Exposing the UK's hidden shame

The reason for this post?
My thoughts on this issue are that more and more people the world over will become destitute because of the pure greed of the "Ruling Classes" and the total lack of fight left in the rest of the population.
Dare to protest and speak up and be hit with charges of defamation, misuse of information (whistleblowers), disorderly conduct, termination of employment or demotion, obstruction or trespass, breach of the peace, unlawful assembly...on and on and on...
Honestly, I am glad I will not be around in 20 years' time to see the almost total collapse of civil society as we have known it.
 
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Rakaia said:
I've lived in Australia since 1989 and I've seen its decline. This is really sad because it was once a country which held pride in everyone getting a fair go. NZ and other countries are in decline too, I sincerely regret bringing kids into this world.
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The really sad part is that there will be a marked deterioration in living standards the world over.
Except for the "Ruling Classes"
 
Unfortunately B, both you and @Rakaia are right. If I was of child bearing age, I wouldn't bring a child into this world. My son's children do not want children. But now he is a grandfather for the first time via his new wife. Between her children and my late husband's, I have several step grands and countless step great grands. They will have to face what's to come, God willing they will live long lives. Perhaps their generations can help to make things better.
 
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Yes, no grandkids from mine and husbands bloodline. Lucky to have one grandchild that came with the DIL. He was only 6 months old, so got to see the son change diapers, give baths, bottle feed a tiny. I got the privilege of being a true Grandma to the little one.

They have decided against another because the world is not like it was in many ways. They also say the high cost of living now makes it difficult to keep a decent life. I get it.....but don't like it.
 
This is not only true for Australia, this happens in all of the Western countries. As I was born at the end of the 1950s, only my father needed to work. We were not rich, but had a fair living. He even built a house. Now in most families it is almost impossible that only one person is earning enough to support all of the members.
 
George1959 said:
This is not only true for Australia, this happens in all of the Western countries. As I was born at the end of the 1950s, only my father needed to work. We were not rich, but had a fair living. He even built a house. Now in most families it is almost impossible that only one person is earning enough to support all of the members.
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My father, as the only bread winner, raised and supported 5 children starting in 1958.
One has to wonder who the instigators of the decline of the standard of living were. It must come back to those who passed legislation. Legislation that advantaged business over people.
 
I don’t buy it.

I believe that it’s still possible to live a 1950s, one income life, it you are willing to live a 1950s lifestyle.

I also don’t buy into the notion of a super rich ruling class that is the source of suffering for the great unwashed.

The super rich create millions of jobs, the income from those jobs and the spending associated with that income is the engine that continues to propel us forward.

IMO we fail to separate the truly soul crushing poverty from the self imposed inconvenient poverty that many of us face due to our own poor choices.

IMO it’s up to each of us to take personal responsibility for our own financial well being and to do what we are able to help alleviate the suffering of the truly poor people in our communities.

I can guarantee that if we ‘eat the rich’ all of our lives will be much worse than any of us can even imagine. If you aren’t sure or don’t believe me, take a look at life for the average person in authoritarian socialist and communist countries around the world.

I’ll stick with the Devil I know, thank you.
 
I kind of believe in the middle of it all.

Most people back when had one car. They didn't travel or run to town every day. They didn't have all the toys or multiple vehicles. No 4 wheelers, not a lot of vehicles, etc. They could live on one income because they gardened, canned, budgeted, didn't buy homes they could not afford the mortgage on... Did not use charge cards. Did not do payday loans. And have to have this and that. They lived fairly simply.

However on the flip side I would say even if one pares down to all of that, it is harder nowadays.

I would also say the rules and laws do tend to benefit some of the rich.

Does one use Amazon? Then you are benefiting Bezos. Does one use Facebook? Then you are benefiting Zuckerberg... Does one have a choice to use such or not? Yes.

Does one like they have these things and options? Would they rather go back to a world they can't get almost anything shipped/delivered or communicate via FB?

We all make our choices. Even so, I do agree things are very unfair in many ways. And the world is not getting better. Imo all one can do is try to take care of their own and do their best and navigate around things.

It's also true that people don't stand up to it and things are passed that benefit the certain class, often without us even knowing until it's too late...

But this has been going on for a VERY long time now and let go for too long. I don't see how anyone will ever change it now.

I love my adult kids and grandkids but if I was of childbearing age now and knew what I know and see now, I'd not have kids. I'd not bring them into this world at THIS point. I do not mean I wouldn't have had any, but I would not now knowing what we've all seen.

Make the $$ one needs where you can and take care of one's own and self.

And there is the point I agree with is how many jobs do some of the things of the rich create? Are all fair pay and benefits? Maybe not, maybe so but without such would there be any.....?
 
AutumnGal said:
Most people back when had one car. They didn't travel or run to town every day. They didn't have all the toys or multiple vehicles. No 4 wheelers, not a lot of vehicles, etc. They could live on one income because they gardened, canned, budgeted, didn't buy homes they could not afford the mortgage on... Did not use charge cards. Did not do payday loans. And have to have this and that. They lived fairly simply.
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This ^^^. In all of the years growing up, I remember going out to eat once. Once in 18 years! There were two, (three on a good day) channels on the old black and white TV. I had three school dresses which my grandmother bought me from Sears and a few summer outfits that my mother made. One pair of "good shoes" and one pair of play shoes. The rest of my clothes were hand-me-downs from my older brothers. We didn't have air conditioning and we lived in south Texas. And we never thought we were poor! It was how we all lived in our neighborhood.

The small house where I grew up has long been torn down. Now, there is an 8,000 square foot mansion on that lot.

I have substantially pared down my lifestyle, going back to the way things were. This is by choice. It just makes life so much easier.

BUT! The choices of housing are much reduced. Those smaller, less expensive houses are gone, replaced with McMansions which many cannot afford. And the ones that are still around are rentals with sky-high prices! A two bedroom, one bath, old bungalow in a falling down neighborhood here rents for $1,700/month!

I do believe a big fall is coming. I hope I do not live to see it.
 
I don't blame the rich at all.
They don't have a bigger piece of the pie, most of them made their own pie.
Wealth is not finite.
I'm fairly poor, but it's the not the fault of anybody but me. I could have made better life choices, moved out of my comfort zone and made a lot more money someplace else.
A high school friend of mine worked on his dad's ranch. His dad was a good rancher, but not much of a businessman. They went broke and my friend suddenly had to figure out how to make a living.
He was down to living in his car when he saw an add recruiting insurance salesmen.
He attended some kind of recruiting seminar and headed out to sell insurance.
By the end of his second year, he was their top salesman and was making a comfortable living.
He met and married a lady who owned a bridal shop and specialized in flower girl dresses of her own creation.
They got married and my friend went from selling insurance to selling flower girl dresses.
They now sell in over 100 cities in America and some other countries, not sure which countries.
Moral of the story is if you are poor, nobody is keeping you poor but you.
Learn from failure and try again.
It might be a little late for us older folks, but like I said, it's nobody's fault but mine.
 
Bretrick said:
My father, as the only bread winner, raised and supported 5 children starting in 1958.
One has to wonder who the instigators of the decline of the standard of living were. It must come back to those who passed legislation. Legislation that advantaged business over people.
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If I look at my country, everybody was dumb and fell for it. Women want equal rights! We want to work too! We want luxury! And now all women have to work, because the houses have become so insane expensive. That was nice for the people who could sell them for a load, but now it's not so fun anymore. 50 percent of the young people want to emigrate, because there are no houses, except for a few insane expensive ones.

Luckily Dutch women refused to work full time, because they wanted to bake cookies with the kids. They fought for their right to work part time. That's why here if you want a fancy house a couple needs 1,5 job. Not 2.
 
George1959 said:
This is not only true for Australia, this happens in all of the Western countries. As I was born at the end of the 1950s, only my father needed to work. We were not rich, but had a fair living. He even built a house. Now in most families it is almost impossible that only one person is earning enough to support all of the members.
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In the Netherlands if 2 parents both have a part time job they pay way less taxes. A one income family has to pay up to 6 times as much taxes for the same income, but made by 1 person.
 
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MACKTEXAS said:
All going up for way too long: rent, transportation, food, wages, home prices, stock market, insurance, utilities, medical insurance, etc., etc., etc. - yet many believe that all will be fine.
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Yep. Everything that one needs to survive or make a better life for ones self or one's famility are getting more and more unaffordable. Meanwhile electronic toys such as big screen TV's, smart phones, computers, etc etc. that keep us distracted from the screwing we are getting keep getting cheaper. It's almost as if it's by design.
 
Cornhusker said:
I don't blame the rich at all.
They don't have a bigger piece of the pie,
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Some real rich do. That guy from Amazon is rich because he never paid em normal. Dave Ramsey is also so rich because he asks an insane amount of rent, which is forbidden in my country.
A surgeon who always worked 80 hours a week, that he is rich is fair.
 
This is partly why I chose not to have children. Even though I'm old, where I grew up there was already beginning to be an unusually (for those days) wide divide between the haves and the have-nots. I was still pretty young when it became necessary for mothers to work at least part-time outside the home.

And now? It's sad to be so glad to not be young. I feel so sorry for young people today.
 
I've never had to live in poverty but I've never been rich either. I am content just to have enough for my needs. Any surplus money or goods I am happy to give away. I don't sell of possessions that I no longer need, I donate them to charity or pass them on to someone who can use them whether I know that person or not.

It is my belief that a society where people have sufficient resources to live a fulfilling life is the ideal. Taxation is the mechanism for ensuring that this can happen. While not endorsing Marxism, I do like the slogan "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs".

The way I interpret that slogan is people whose income is way more than they need, and the taxes that they are legally obliged to pay, should be directed toward lifting up the people who are struggling to thrive in our society.

Two problems arise. Human nature is inherently selfish. The rich, but not only the rich, want to expand their wealth and cannot see why they owe anyone else a share in their fortune. They minimise their tax obligations legally. The poor live desperate lives and may seek solace in alcohol, gambling and petty crimes. They cannot afford higher education, decent housing and health care unless the government provides for them. Here's the rub - these and other social benefits require taxes to be levied which is what the Marxist slogan is all about.
 
GoodEnuff said:
This ^^^. In all of the years growing up, I remember going out to eat once. Once in 18 years! There were two, (three on a good day) channels on the old black and white TV. I had three school dresses which my grandmother bought me from Sears and a few summer outfits that my mother made. One pair of "good shoes" and one pair of play shoes. The rest of my clothes were hand-me-downs from my older brothers. We didn't have air conditioning and we lived in south Texas. And we never thought we were poor! It was how we all lived in our neighborhood.

The small house where I grew up has long been torn down. Now, there is an 8,000 square foot mansion on that lot.

I have substantially pared down my lifestyle, going back to the way things were. This is by choice. It just makes life so much easier.

BUT! The choices of housing are much reduced. Those smaller, less expensive houses are gone, replaced with McMansions which many cannot afford. And the ones that are still around are rentals with sky-high prices! A two bedroom, one bath, old bungalow in a falling down neighborhood here rents for $1,700/month!

I do believe a big fall is coming. I hope I do not live to see it.
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I can identify with every bit of this. Eating out growing up? Oh my goodness. I have stories on that one. The first time we ever did ONCE because I think relatives were visiting, I was confused by what a restaurant even was. As I'd never been to any such place.

Same thing with clothing too. We live in the north but still summers were hot. Air conditioning? We slept in just our panties and roasted upstairs. Heat? Wood. Awesome heat so long as someone keeps it going. And did it get upstairs? NO. One main register on the lower floor. We'd all huddle and squeeze together.

My grandparents never had running water and had an outhouse. And nope not southern...

Guess what though, over the years they were rich by the standards of the day because they never went nuts spending. They passed down a lot of money to their kids, well, my grandma died before grandpa, but he did.

People say they can't do it but they aren't willing to go without perks and indulgences.

However, I do agree totally on rent and the cost of homes, etc. That difference IS big.

I personally love a simpler life BUT it's not always possible. And I do want heat and AC. But not indulging has a lot to do with it too.

Once I had a not that real grasp of what a restaurant was at about the age of 4? I can count on one hand how many we ever went to over the course of my life until I was a bit older.

I come from a family of 8, 2 parents, 6 kids. As the older ones left home, and over the years, the folks had it easier and had worked hard, advanced in jobs, etc. and things got easier with less at home.

Man my mom even encouraged my dad to buy his first ever new vehicle after we were all gone... Told him he worked his entire life, they saved and he deserved it...

He still wasn't sure he should but he did...

I borrowed it once in awhile and boy he was worried until that truck came back. I miss him.

Yeah, anyhow, times were harder in some ways but in some ways too simpler was better...
 
While there are "dirty" rich everywhere, there are also ones that just made it; we all could have made our own way and choices too, some made it because they worked hard, had a talent or an invention even.

It does get harder all of the time. I think after working all our lives, the fact after paying in that we would have to pay anything for some things is ridiculous but it is what it is.

I know people who won't lift a finger to help themselves and think the whole world owes them a living.

Everyone is different, everything is different, and every country is different.

Some are just born into things and have money for instance, we can all name some of them... But some really do come up with something...

As much as I'm not a fan of Zuckerberg, Gates or Bezos can anyone say they don't use any of their platforms? I don't really like what they get away with on them and such but most use them right?

And we are talking on here... How did that come about? The platform? Does anyone want to go back to the day and age one couldn't shop online, get things delivered right to their home quickly, talk online to cousins or other relatives and see pictures of their kids and stay in touch, and talk, when they are counties away or states away, and so on?

There are two sides to every coin...
 
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