The demise of manufacturing in Australia

[paco]

I'd like to paraphrase Homer Simpson: I have motorcycles,cars,houses,money in the bank,gold bars stashed away and expensive clothes; but do you know what ? I'd swap it all for more.p

[mx250]

If we shut up and had a look at the rest of the world occasionally, we'd realise that we've got very little to complain about.
Hell, Howard's decline in the polls began just after he said that "the average Aussie has never been better off" - he was right, but we didn't want to hear it.

Hallelujah baby jesus!

I've been on the planet for six decades and politically aware for four of them and for as long as I can remember Aussies have been whingeing and whining about how the county's going down the gurgler. I've given up trying to convince people that we're doing pretty damn well when compared to most other societies in the world. I just let the miserable bastards carry on with the 'Great Australian Winge', it just plain isn't worth the trouble arguing the point with people who are convinced that we're doomed.  I've lived long term in three countries besides Australia and none of those so-called Utopias come within a cooee of the lifestyle and personal wealth we take for granted.

We are indeed the Lucky Country, I just wish more people believed it.

To paraphrase someone famous, the price of wealth is perpetual vigilance

or

A fool and his money are soon parted. (It applies to nations as much as individuals ).

[motomaniac]

To paraphrase someone famous, the price of wealth is perpetual vigilance

or

A fool and his money are soon parted. (It applies to nations as much as individuals ).

that would be
 "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."
  --  Thomas Jefferson

[motomaniac]

Nathan, you are a very brave man. Haven't you learnt that telling the truth will only get you into trouble - everybody wants to blame somebody else for their perceived problems - can't have individual responsibility now can we. That would be Un-Australian.

I can see why you aren't in politics, the incumbents wouldn't know what to make of you. Probably think you were some kind of alien or something. 

VMX42

you NathanS and Firko should get together and embark on a World tour visiting every City that the Occupy Wall street movement has spread to and talk to the whinging people.Just tell them that its not the Governments or big corporations fault its their own greed.I 'm sure that they will see your point of view and all go home.Obama ,Bernanke and Wall st Bankers will be very pleased that you solved that problem for them and everybody will live happily ever after.

[TooFastTim]

not the Governments or big corporations fault its their own greed.

Wll sort of. The banks made the credit available to the people and they took it.

[motomaniac]

not the Governments or big corporations fault its their own greed.

Wll sort of. The banks made the credit available to the people and they took it.

The government relaxd the criteria for people seeking loans so that the banks had less reason to refuse them and when the crunch came the Government bailed out the Banks with the peoples money leaving then with a huge debt to pay back.Nobody gave any bailout or tarp money to small business or individual people who lost everything.

[TooFastTim]

Yes. I had this experience a few years ago (1994), needed a bigger house. Worked out I could afford 160,000, went to the bank for a pre approved loan and they came back with 360,000! More than twice I knew I could afford.

[motomaniac]

Yes. I had this experience a few years ago (1994), needed a bigger house. Worked out I could afford 160,000, went to the bank for a pre approved loan and they came back with 360,000! More than twice I knew I could afford.

They offered you more money because the more that they loan you the more money they make off you.So where is the greed coming from? They do the same with Countries that are stupid enough to get sucked into debt ........

[TooFastTim]

Precisely. And, having taken the 160,000, I was naive enough to wonder where people whom I knew I out-earned got the money for the new cars, the boat, the bikes, the overseas holidays etc..

[lukeb1961]

So, who thinks Senator John Button got it right?

[motomaniac]

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The skills market has gone where the money is. Always has, always will.







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The Hawke/Keating era aim for "the clever country" is widely misrepresented nowdays, BTW. It was about the country having the intellectual skills in place rather than just relying on selling resources. It wasn't about devaluing trades, or forgetting that we need people to build house

Is that why they closed trade wings at school and then abolished the "Tech" School all together.Oh I see the logic in that.drrrrrrrrrrr

[Mike52]

Is that why they closed trade wings at school and then abolished the "Tech" School all together.Oh I see the logic in that.drrrrrrrrrrr

I went to one of them Tech Colleges to learn me trade.
Wondered what happened to them.
Still we have a wonderful replacement in our Tafe schools.

Did you know that everyone passes at our local Tafe ?
Impossible to fail a course .
Something to do with funding I'me told 

[Nathan S]

you NathanS and Firko should get together and embark on a World tour visiting every City that the Occupy Wall street movement has spread to and talk to the whinging people.Just tell them that its not the Governments or big corporations fault its their own greed.I 'm sure that they will see your point of view and all go home.Obama ,Bernanke and Wall st Bankers will be very pleased that you solved that problem for them and everybody will live happily ever after.

Missing the point much?

The Yanks really are in a tough spot, but they don't seem to spend half as much time wringing their hands and telling everyone how tough it is...

We're arguably doing better than any other country, and certainly in the top few, but we forever carry on with the Chicken Little routine. I agree with the sentiment that we can't get complacent about our living standards, but the state of perpetual semi-hysteria is baffling.

[motomaniac]

Missing the point much?

The Yanks really are in a tough spot, but they don't seem to spend half as much time wringing their hands and telling everyone how tough it is...

We're arguably doing better than any other country, and certainly in the top few, but we forever carry on with the Chicken Little routine. I agree with the sentiment that we can't get complacent about our living standards, but the state of perpetual semi-hysteria is baffling.

Missing the point much?
 The heading of the topic is "the demise of manufacturing in Australia" The Yanks spend plenty of time talking about how forked they are .They are in a tough spot and unlike their recovery from the depression and WW2 they now have next to no manufacturing industry to work their wayout of the massive hole that they are in.No they didn't complain while they were living it up spending more than they earned  on goods made off shore while their neighbours progressively lots their jobs.
If there is a state of perpetual hysteria it might be because more and more people are realising that we are headed down the exact same path. If it wasnt fo our resources and China's demands for them we would be in  a very good state -all our eggs are in that basket.So our manufacturing sector doesn't matter does it???

[firko]

Quote from: motomaniac on Today at 05:11:51 PM
you NathanS and Firko should get together and embark on a World tour visiting every City that the Occupy Wall street movement has spread to and talk to the whinging people.Just tell them that its not the Governments or big corporations fault its their own greed.I 'm sure that they will see your point of view and all go home.Obama ,Bernanke and Wall st Bankers will be very pleased that you solved that problem for them and everybody will live happily ever after.

Missing the point much?

                                           
Yep Motomaniac, you've totally missed my point too but as I said in my post, I'm way over getting into pissing contests with folks who only see the dark side, life's too good (and too short)to waste it on negativity. My Australia's looking pretty good from where I sit but if I was in America, Greece, Italy, the UK or Mexico I'd probably be a miserable whinger, and with good reason. Thankfully due to luck of birth and a return air ticket from when I lived overseas I'm not a resident of any of those poor countries so I'm pretty content with my life in my country.