Is is really all doom and gloom?

[PandaBear]

It depends on where you are and what you do for a living. Like the great depression, not everyone is affected the same.

I'd imagine in AUS, NZ, Canada etc things would be fine if you are not in the export part of the economy. US manufacturing come back strong because of the dollar devaluation.

I personally think that this time we are seeing a fundamental structural shift like the 80s, where manufacturing and blue collar based work is reduced to service based. We will see automation cuts into employments in the service sectors. Follow where your money goes as a percentage, and you'll see where employment goes. The financial sectors still have lots of hidden debts and they are not going to write it down all of a sudden, so a lot of them are still not investing, hiring people, spending money, etc.

Since AUS is not really a loan and borrow based economy, I think it will be fine without the big boom and bust cycles we see in EU and US.

 

[Win]

Originally Posted By: dwcopple
my governor just passed a ridiculous law that I now have to pay 20% of my healthcare coverage,


Oh my, that's just awful. I only have to pay 100% of my wifes and mine.

 

[kkat]

I have not had a raise in 3 yr's, some of my co worker's have not had a raise in 5+ yr's. My hour's were cut from 40 to 35 per week 2 yr's ago,(I will say it was volenttary amongst us.. so no one would get laid off .. there's only 9 of us) I do get some over time after 8 but it's far and few. My health care cost's have gone up annually and I HAVE SEEN MY PAYCHECK get smaller and smaller the last 3 year's,Next year will not be any better, My boss just told us that he is now just happy to keep us working somewhat, (including himself) and not worrying about the company turning a profit. Survival is the name of the game right now. at least for small company's.

 

[andyd]

This feeling of general malaise is not helped by the winter solstice. 9 hrs 5 min of gloomy over cast light.

 

[John_K]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2

If your total student loan is only $26k, youre better off than a LOT of recent grads.

My wife has a doctorate in a medical profession, it was worth it, and will be moreso in the end.

The biggest issue facing our (the ~30yos) generation is the prerception that we deserve everything, spending too much money on stuff of little value, and not living beneath our means enough. Vanity will be our downfall.


Exactly. When I graduated college 26 years ago, I still had roommates and rode public transit for a few years so I could pay off loans and get a good financial footing. Now kids expect to graduate and walk into a brand new house with stainless steel appliances and buy a $30k new car. Vanity and being spoiled will be our downfall.

John

 

[Trav]

Quote:
my governor just passed a ridiculous law that I now have to pay 20% of my healthcare coverage


WOW those terrible politicians are crazy, everyone knows state employees have a god given right to freeload of the taxpayers.
Heck the taxpayers should even repay the money you borrowed to go to school, I would complain, its just not right people have to pay their bills.
Time to get the sign out and go protesting!

 

[tomartomau]

Although Aus has significant resource exports, Coal, Gas and Uranium, the economy is really only as strong as the resoource 'boom', which I assume will decrease in the next few yesrs, due to manufacturing declining across the world, particulary China and parts of Asia.

I guess we could always exports Kangaroo and Emu. Here is a fast fact, as far as I know we are the only country to eat it's national embelem!

Disclaimer, I am a School Teacher (Public system), wife and three children.

 

[Pablo]

What do you teach?

 

[tomartomau]

Hi Pablo,
I teach primary, however I am moving into just teaching science across 4-7 years as from next year. I am what they refer to as a Mature age entry, I have a previous degree and did further study to become a teacher.

 

[91344George]

Things really started to fall apart for the US and Europe when the criminal leaders cut deals with slave nations like China to create a so called "global economy".

Once the healthy amount of good paying stable jobs started leaving in droves for places like China, Mexico, and the like the end of prosperous nations like the USA was only a matter of time.

The elite want to enslave the entire world with their unconstitutional trade agreements and so called "global economy" which actually is more of a global feudalism.

 

[andyd]

Heh heh The great bulk of what I know, I learned in grades 1-5 of elementary school. The next 12 yrs or so was mostly buzz words.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: 91344George
Things really started to fall apart for the US and Europe when the criminal leaders cut deals with slave nations like China to create a so called "global economy".

Once the healthy amount of good paying stable jobs started leaving in droves for places like China, Mexico, and the like the end of prosperous nations like the USA was only a matter of time.

The elite want to enslave the entire world with their unconstitutional trade agreements and so called "global economy" which actually is more of a global feudalism.


There are similar trades in AUS and NZ with China, but the way they are priced is very different. You won't see a GPS for $100 or a bottle of shampoo for $3, you see a bottle of shampoo for $20, a $500 GPS, etc. Their government tax more to support the stability and their trade has a lot of resource export to balance the imports.

In the US at least, all bets are off in trades. The consumers, retailers, importers all win, but the government and the workers lose (unemployment, social program, lost tax base, trade deficit, currency devaluation, etc).

We do have high productivity and efficiency per dollar, but remember, that has to come from somewhere as you cannot pull something in the thin air for free. Like the Blue Collar post said, someone is being underpaid for the work so you can have this cost advantage you are enjoying, and they are receiving welfare and social services instead of standing on their own.

 

[tomartomau]

Goos point Panda Bear. We do pay a high tax rate
Taxable income

0 - $6,000
Nil

$6,001 - $37,000
15c for each $1 over $6,000

$37,001 - $80,000
$4,650 plus 30c for each $1 over $37,000

$80,001 - $180,000
$17,550 plus 37c for each $1 over $80,000

$180,001 and over
$54,550 plus 45c for each $1 over $180,000

Also if you have children you get Parenting Payment A and or B depending on your circumstances, this is a very generous scheme.
A person who is on a Disability Pension would get $800 or so and partnered about $550 p/f. We have rent assistance for those who rent (and recieve unemployment benefits, or on a low income).

The system has been (imo) been abused at times as the system encouraged single people to have children and not work, as they would get substantial benefits ($1200 p/f, Also If you are eligable for unemployment, Disability then most of the time your medications are $5.60. The previous government also gave first home owners a $14000 home owners grant. It is all relative and a comparison often cannot be made due to different monetary systems, but I can see that the government takes less in tax than Aus.

Additionally 2L of milk is about @1.99, Bread $2.00, Fuel $138/L, Rent average $350.00 p/w. These are approximates only and will differ from state to state and in rural areas.

 

[crinkles]

We are definitely better off than the united states.

I try to live below our means, and yes we have many state benefits even if you are employed!

Life is all about uncertainty and change, the more i make peace with that the more comfortable life becomes. You just can't fight it!

 

[Silk]

Originally Posted By: tomartomau

In Aus, we are relatively small, approx 21 million,


In NZ we are irrelevantly small at around 4 million,and that creates at whole lot of problems too. Like Aust,we need to export to survive,more money has to come in than goes out, and it's hoped that with Aust and China being our biggest markets there is some stability there (apples to Oz are going well). But we have had major earthquakes,mines blowing up,ships running aground and flooding, which suck huge amounts of money the country needs for other things. I think if we could put a lid on natural disasters we'd be a lot better off.

On a personal front we are worse off than we were as a young single income couple with 2 babies and a crippling mortgage. I wrong footed when I sold my business of 10 years and took on a low paid job in a small town as a breather before getting a better job....and a few months later the crash hit, and now I'm stuck there. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but although my job has no prospects, it's a steady secure job....maybe.

 

[dwcopple]

Originally Posted By: Win
Originally Posted By: dwcopple
my governor just passed a ridiculous law that I now have to pay 20% of my healthcare coverage,


Oh my, that's just awful. I only have to pay 100% of my wifes and mine.
But I'm sure that you make at least 50% more than me too. Benefits are considered part of my salary. That is where the private sector is ignorant. I've been there too. Boo Frickin' Hoo. You are used to that. Imagine if you took the job at reduced wages because of your benfits package, then they freeze your wage for two years instead of your "guaranteed" step increase and ask you to pay 20% of your 17K family insurance plan. See it more clearly now?

 

[dwcopple]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Quote:
my governor just passed a ridiculous law that I now have to pay 20% of my healthcare coverage


WOW those terrible politicians are crazy, everyone knows state employees have a god given right to freeload of the taxpayers.
Heck the taxpayers should even repay the money you borrowed to go to school, I would complain, its just not right people have to pay their bills.
Time to get the sign out and go protesting!
FYI I work for an ISD, which makes an annual profit of $2 Million plus that we GIVE to the local public schools so that they can even stay afloat. We are funded by millage and also get Medicaid funds from the Medical billable services that we supply to the students in need. I would rather work somewhere that these stupid politics didn't affect me, but I enjoy working with children and special needs/neurological type patients and the school system is the best source for that around. I took a $10K annual paycut to work there, and now legistlature wants to increase that paycut??? How am I supposed to take care of my family...oh I see, go get a 2nd and 3rd job right, because I'm a freeloading POS public employee who is so spoiled that I don't even realize it???

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: dwcopple
FYI I work for an ISD, which makes an annual profit of $2 Million plus that we GIVE to the local public schools so that they can even stay afloat. We are funded by millage and also get Medicaid funds from the Medical billable services that we supply to the students in need. I would rather work somewhere that these stupid politics didn't affect me, but I enjoy working with children and special needs/neurological type patients and the school system is the best source for that around. I took a $10K annual paycut to work there, and now legistlature wants to increase that paycut??? How am I supposed to take care of my family...oh I see, go get a 2nd and 3rd job right, because I'm a freeloading POS public employee who is so spoiled that I don't even realize it???


There are some pretty good stories of lazy, freeloader public employees. My brother works contracts, and it is disgusting, especially when people with 1/3 the productivity play the race card and then stay employed. There are a ton of bad stories about this.

But there are a ton of uniquely qualified experts, people who work hard and make real efforts to help others, such as yourself. People love to forget them and just villainize all public employees as a whole. There are pros and cons to working in the public sector. Some of them justify lower compensation. But it doesnt justify making everyone a villain and overgeneralizing when people dont really know what they are talking about.

 

[Win]

Originally Posted By: dwcopple
then they freeze your wage for two years instead of your "guaranteed" step increase and ask you to pay 20% of your 17K family insurance plan. See it more clearly now?


Yeah, I think so. You're upset that you don't get automatic wage increases, and that your Cadillac medical coverage plan is only 80% paid for by someone else.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Win
Originally Posted By: dwcopple
then they freeze your wage for two years instead of your "guaranteed" step increase and ask you to pay 20% of your 17K family insurance plan. See it more clearly now?


Yeah, I think so. You're upset that you don't get automatic wage increases, and that your Cadillac medical coverage plan is only 80% paid for by someone else.



Well, if the employment setup was such that the entry was at a lower than standard wage, with the impression that a planned step/grade increase would bring him somewhere closer to parity, but then was withdrew, I'd say that is grounds for being upset. If it was a developmental type program, Id be very upset, public sector or not.

And $17k is a good deal of money for a health plan, but is that the public employee's fault or the private doctors "right" to increase prices in a disproportionate amount (hint: federal workers' wages were frozen last year and for 2012, were doctors'?). But define Cadillac? I pay more for my healthcare as a public employee than many of my peers do... And by the way, I just looked in the AIChE report on engineering salaries - Im not overpaid... but you probably still think I am. Gross generalizations never do anyone any good.

Until we are willing to offend people, this stuff just happens. There are performers and producers in the public and private sectors that get things done and are worth far more than they are paid, and there are freeloaders... on both sides. To lump everyone as a freeloader is just plain stupid.