Australia: Wealthy but Still Second Rate

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rb99

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#242979 22-Nov-2018 11:21

Thought that headline rather interesting, from the NY Times -

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/21/opinion/australia-wealthy-but-still-second-rate.html

Not trying to pick a fight with another country I have absolutely nothing against, just found a few interesting bits, like this -

"We have become a funny sort of wealthy. A country wealthy enough to offer corporate tax cuts and subsidies to the coal industry, but not wealthy enough to afford action on climate change or high-quality care for the elderly. A country where those living in poverty on unemployment benefits get too much, but those with investments in real estate and stocks are still “doing it tough,” and should not lose their tax breaks, because that would be “the politics of envy.”

And the last sentence of course.

Any thoughts - agree, disagree, couldn't care less...

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

rb99

Rikkitic

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#2131690 22-Nov-2018 11:48

Great essay. I agree completely except I don't hold out much hope for meaningful change. The situation described also applies elsewhere, not only to Australia. Unfortunately, the lowest common denominator rules and the instant Internet voice given to even the most mean-spirited and cognitively challenged drags it down even further. It would take an unusual number of unusually capable and visionary leaders to turn things around and I don't see that happening.

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Fred99

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#2132398 23-Nov-2018 08:58

Despite the leadership shambles, the presence of some hard-right politicians in the coalition pushing an unpopular and divisive agenda, a pending property market disaster which was mainly created by the coalition over decades, Labor only holds a 4.5% lead in polls, Morrison is the preferred PM (only slightly less popular than Turnbull was).

How can this be?

MikeAqua

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#2134226 26-Nov-2018 10:31

Fred99:

Despite the leadership shambles, the presence of some hard-right politicians in the coalition pushing an unpopular and divisive agenda, a pending property market disaster which was mainly created by the coalition over decades, Labor only holds a 4.5% lead in polls, Morrison is the preferred PM (only slightly less popular than Turnbull was).

How can this be?

Most people aren't that interested in politics. If life is going OK for them, they may not see a reason to change.

I'd be interested to see how many people objectively consider which side to vote for each election- rather than stay loyal to a particular side of the spectrum. I'm guessing <15% of the electorate.

Mike

Rikkitic

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#2134280 26-Nov-2018 11:19

I'm a swing voter on the left. I tend to feel all governments are fairly useless so I try to vote strategically to minimise the damage. Last time I voted for the Greens because they help keep a check on the others and I didn't want them to disappear.

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MikeAqua

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#2135957 28-Nov-2018 13:30

Rikkitic:

I'm a swing voter on the left. I tend to feel all governments are fairly useless so I try to vote strategically to minimise the damage. Last time I voted for the Greens because they help keep a check on the others and I didn't want them to disappear.

I am a right leaning voter but I don't want the greens to disappear either. They are a useful dissenting voice and having a few in parliament keeps them alive.

I also think all govts are fairly useless. Seeing as we can't have good government, it better be cheap. National generally taxes me less than labour.

Also I have personality that likes to build, make, grow, establish etc tangible things. Most people I meet with that inclination support National.

Most people I know who are great with the abstract and intangible support labour or greens. These people are more likely to 'create' than build.

Generalisations, of course.

Mike

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#2135985 28-Nov-2018 14:28

Interesting generalisation. I am definitely a creative type but I also enjoy tinkering. In the early days of MS-DOS I learned to program in assembly and used to play with TSRs and interrupts. I also wrote some early anti-virus software but I never carried it further. These days my technical know-how is fairly limited.

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Fred99

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#2136215 28-Nov-2018 18:11

I liked Bob Hawke. He was a good bloke.