I was talking to someone at a training course the other day. They had worked in quite a few countries over the last decade or two, but had initially settled in Australia. Now they have come back to live again.

They were saying that Australia is now tough to live in and puts too much competitive pressure on their kids. They mentioned Switzerland, Italy, and Spain as places that they had been that had a better quality of life.

Is this true? Have we become a small country that puts too much pressure on kids to compete and are we all fighting over things that other countries don't bother with?

What has caused it?

For me, the ideal would be to have housing costs affordable enough so that we could all get a job and pay the mortgage and still have money left over for leisure activities and spend to keep the economy going.

How come we can't have it if it seems other countries have it?

We are a funny country. No where near the mythical laid back culture of folklore. Obsessed with what others are doing, money and never admitting when you are wrong. The classless society is far from classless. I found European countries and the US way more tolerant and friendly. And they can merge. Country Australia is still fantastic place to live.

My 2 cents ..property to income ratios out of synch , sucking to much disposable income out of the system , leaving little to live on , what was achievable by our parents 40 years ago on 1 income is difficult to achieve on 2 incomes , I sometimes wonder when it will collapse , then again it's not much point dwelling on it as it is what it is , we just have to adjust our lifestyles a little , maybe the hippies on the commune south of Coffs actually have it right and the rest of us are a slave to the system .

Too true Bazz but "Bundadgen" idealogy isn't a guarantee for longevity.
I think there are 7 members in the ground that didn't make very old bones at all " God rest their soles".
But yeah the $7,000 share buy in and $27 per week rates is better than any caravan park anywhere especially the unridden X/off south side of the headland that is inaccessible to all but those who live there -

HEAPS off boobs and doodles in the summer time takes a little getting used to

It's definitely tougher for the younger generation starting out . I blame that on tax minimisation schemes like negative gearing.

I watched a doco the other night about working people living in their cars in the USA. Showering at gyms before heading to work. Basically just scraping by .

Has to make you wonder , when will national pride go out the window for poor bsatrads like that. I wouldn't want to fight for an existence like that in the event of a war. You would be fighting to preserve what the wealthy have.

If young people saved and lived like our parents , they too could afford a house .
Thats one old car to share , no two big mobile plans , endless nets , three big TV s . Have sheets on the windows for years , not fully furnished .
That is what is needed to do the house thing .
Young people don't like the sound of that .

Since fractional reserve lending began in the early 70s and the access to vast amounts of credit borrowed from the future some things have resulted. (It was an very clever ploy by the elite who had been losing ground since the end of WW2). Create money out of thin air (which essentially occurred even on the gold standard) but vast multiples and make sure only the 1 percent can get most of it and at wholesale rates).

1. Massive increase in assets especially those that allow speculation through government granted licenses such as land.

2. This has far outstripped wage increases especially as competition through a global market has increased.

3. This has in turn created vast oligopolies as mergers and acquisitions increased due to the easy access of credit. Which puts further pressure on wages.

4. Land and these mergers essentially transfer wealth to the FIRE sector who produce nothing and hence do not add the ultimate real wealth of a nation. Nor does it create needed jobs.

5. With easy access to credit we have become a consumerist society that must have what they want at all costs. Young adults will not go without nor accept a simple dwelling like my parents did.

Its an an economy built on the sand of credit, that borrows from the future and this future wealth is landing back into hands of the 1 percent.

The clever foxes are winning again

The needle of history just keeps returning to the start.

Not an exhaustive list mind you.

Select to expand quote

Imax1 said..
If young people saved and lived like our parents , they too could afford a house .
Thats one old car to share , no two big mobile plans , endless nets , three big TV s . Have sheets on the windows for years , not fully furnished .
That is what is needed to do the house thing .
Young people don't like the sound of that .

I used to think something like that too, but what is toughing it out really cost these days?

Sure, you could hang sheets on the windows, but most houses come with something already and even cheap curtains are available. I think our parents might have done what they did because there was no cheap alternative like their is now.

Even flat screen TVs are cheap. Sure, you may not need 3, but what is the difference in costs?

One TV is worth $400, three worth $1200. Make that $2000 and $6000 if they are better TVs, but does that really change the equation much when houses are $500K?


In this case, I am not even talking about young people. Normal people seem to be doing it tough and the mortgage costs seem to be a big part of it, but then again, maybe people have gotten into a pattern of spending that they don't need?

Back in the day when I was a kid I was good with an axe chopping / splitting fire wood, it was free exercise and free heating. We next to never went to fancy restaurants, Pizza Hut was a treat.
No coffee machine on the bench, no such thing as a take away coffee.
No brand name joggers, sunnies, caps etc, hell most of my cloths were either sewn by mum or hand me downs. Bloody great as I only had 2 older sisters

Back then people saved / waited and paid cash for stuff.
Now it's just get it now and put on credit.

Select to expand quote

FormulaNova said..

Imax1 said..
If young people saved and lived like our parents , they too could afford a house .
Thats one old car to share , no two big mobile plans , endless nets , three big TV s . Have sheets on the windows for years , not fully furnished .
That is what is needed to do the house thing .
Young people don't like the sound of that .

I used to think something like that too, but what is toughing it out really cost these days?

Sure, you could hang sheets on the windows, but most houses come with something already and even cheap curtains are available. I think our parents might have done what they did because there was no cheap alternative like their is now.

Even flat screen TVs are cheap. Sure, you may not need 3, but what is the difference in costs?

One TV is worth $400, three worth $1200. Make that $2000 and $6000 if they are better TVs, but does that really change the equation much when houses are $500K?


In this case, I am not even talking about young people. Normal people seem to be doing it tough and the mortgage costs seem to be a big part of it, but then again, maybe people have gotten into a pattern of spending that they don't need?

Yes but those $ 6,000 of good TVs are probably on loaned money , so it actually costs over $ 12,000 instead of saving $ 400 for a average TV . People throw out perfectly working smaller TVs.
Thats already one fiftieth of the cost of the house , and that's just big TV cost .
Two average cars , ( 45,000 for both ) , on loan will end up costing well over $ 100,000 , that's one fifth of the cost of a house . Or you could save and buy a perfectly good car for $ 10 ,000.
Do that with all the stuff you want but don't really have to have and it makes a huge difference.
If you can do this , a house is totally doable.

Select to expand quote

Imax1 said..

FormulaNova said..

Imax1 said..
If young people saved and lived like our parents , they too could afford a house .
Thats one old car to share , no two big mobile plans , endless nets , three big TV s . Have sheets on the windows for years , not fully furnished .
That is what is needed to do the house thing .
Young people don't like the sound of that .

I used to think something like that too, but what is toughing it out really cost these days?

Sure, you could hang sheets on the windows, but most houses come with something already and even cheap curtains are available. I think our parents might have done what they did because there was no cheap alternative like their is now.

Even flat screen TVs are cheap. Sure, you may not need 3, but what is the difference in costs?

One TV is worth $400, three worth $1200. Make that $2000 and $6000 if they are better TVs, but does that really change the equation much when houses are $500K?


In this case, I am not even talking about young people. Normal people seem to be doing it tough and the mortgage costs seem to be a big part of it, but then again, maybe people have gotten into a pattern of spending that they don't need?

Yes but those $ 6,000 of good TVs are probably on loaned money , so it actually costs over $ 12,000 instead of saving $ 400 for a average TV . People throw out perfectly working smaller TVs.
Thats already one fiftieth of the cost of the house , and that's just big TV cost .
Two average cars , ( 45,000 for both ) , on loan will end up costing well over $ 100,000 , that's one fifth of the cost of a house . Or you could save and buy a perfectly good car for $ 10 ,000.
Do that with all the stuff you want but don't really have to have and it makes a huge difference.
If you can do this , a house is totally doable.

I don't actually know any people in the 'young and trying to buy a house' demographic, but it would be interesting to hear what they are doing. Whether they are wasting money on luxuries, or whether its actually tough.

There are random stories on news.com.au or smh that talk about people that save up to get a deposit, but invariably they helped by their parents, and/or living at home. Sometimes the maths doesn't even seem to work out. I know what it cost me to live without wasting money, and these people are doing much better than that.

When I went to buy a house in 2000/2001, I think they were affordable. Now they are crazy and in my opinion overvalued. Interest rates are low now, but you can't count on that for long.

I think I probably agree on the car thing too. I buy cheap cars, but I know enough about cars to keep costs down and still have something reliable. I think other people go for new cars as they have no ability to pick a good one or maintain it, or maybe they are trying to buy a decent car at the same time?

Unfortunately the only people I know that buy new cars are well paid people in their 50s that are claiming them as work expenses.

Sometimes my wife yells at me when I buy too many surfboards in a few months..
Life can be hard

Kfc does not do home delivery either, sometimes I wonder how we all get by

My kids are a perfect example on why it doesn't work .
Id say , over and over ....
Save before buying , Go the cheap phone , use us , live at home , eat our food , save a quarter of your pay , it goes on and on , and I'm not even drinking .
No wonder they left home , all my harping .
In my day it wasn't harping , all my friends parents had the same ideals as mine , it was normal.
And it worked .
Now it's like pushing s.it uphill.
S,pose it will work out.

Select to expand quote

FormulaNova said..

Imax1 said..

FormulaNova said..

Imax1 said..
If young people saved and lived like our parents , they too could afford a house .
Thats one old car to share , no two big mobile plans , endless nets , three big TV s . Have sheets on the windows for years , not fully furnished .
That is what is needed to do the house thing .
Young people don't like the sound of that .

I used to think something like that too, but what is toughing it out really cost these days?

Sure, you could hang sheets on the windows, but most houses come with something already and even cheap curtains are available. I think our parents might have done what they did because there was no cheap alternative like their is now.

Even flat screen TVs are cheap. Sure, you may not need 3, but what is the difference in costs?

One TV is worth $400, three worth $1200. Make that $2000 and $6000 if they are better TVs, but does that really change the equation much when houses are $500K?


In this case, I am not even talking about young people. Normal people seem to be doing it tough and the mortgage costs seem to be a big part of it, but then again, maybe people have gotten into a pattern of spending that they don't need?

Yes but those $ 6,000 of good TVs are probably on loaned money , so it actually costs over $ 12,000 instead of saving $ 400 for a average TV . People throw out perfectly working smaller TVs.
Thats already one fiftieth of the cost of the house , and that's just big TV cost .
Two average cars , ( 45,000 for both ) , on loan will end up costing well over $ 100,000 , that's one fifth of the cost of a house . Or you could save and buy a perfectly good car for $ 10 ,000.
Do that with all the stuff you want but don't really have to have and it makes a huge difference.
If you can do this , a house is totally doable.

I don't actually know any people in the 'young and trying to buy a house' demographic, but it would be interesting to hear what they are doing. Whether they are wasting money on luxuries, or whether its actually tough.

There are random stories on news.com.au or smh that talk about people that save up to get a deposit, but invariably they helped by their parents, and/or living at home. Sometimes the maths doesn't even seem to work out. I know what it cost me to live without wasting money, and these people are doing much better than that.

When I went to buy a house in 2000/2001, I think they were affordable. Now they are crazy and in my opinion overvalued. Interest rates are low now, but you can't count on that for long.

I think I probably agree on the car thing too. I buy cheap cars, but I know enough about cars to keep costs down and still have something reliable. I think other people go for new cars as they have no ability to pick a good one or maintain it, or maybe they are trying to buy a decent car at the same time?

Unfortunately the only people I know that buy new cars are well paid people in their 50s that are claiming them as work expenses.

Re interest rates.
Home loan bank interest back in my day were......
wait for it .....

17.75%

kids have it so so much easier now

interesting to see how hard life is for everyone. we've been in our second house for 25 years. I just looked at the furniture. the only thing i didn't build is the really comfy 2 seater sofa that I bought from Vinnies in pinjarra for $150 last year. didn't even haggle on the price. we have 1 small digital TV . it replace the one we bought over 30 years ago, that was made redundant by digital tv.
I see people carting so much crap to the tip, boxes of computers and tvs.all the stereos in my sheds are from the tip.............
I wonder if people are just getting sucked into consumerism and its dragging us down
I do recall my first home loan hitting 18%. back then that made the repayment the same cost as renting a house. thats why we've always bought something at the arse end of the market and fixed it up

The major cities very different to everywhere else. Pump priming the economy with migranrs who only want to live in the cities no good.

Select to expand quote

Craig66 said..

FormulaNova said..

Imax1 said..

FormulaNova said..

Imax1 said..
If young people saved and lived like our parents , they too could afford a house .
Thats one old car to share , no two big mobile plans , endless nets , three big TV s . Have sheets on the windows for years , not fully furnished .
That is what is needed to do the house thing .
Young people don't like the sound of that .

I used to think something like that too, but what is toughing it out really cost these days?

Sure, you could hang sheets on the windows, but most houses come with something already and even cheap curtains are available. I think our parents might have done what they did because there was no cheap alternative like their is now.

Even flat screen TVs are cheap. Sure, you may not need 3, but what is the difference in costs?

One TV is worth $400, three worth $1200. Make that $2000 and $6000 if they are better TVs, but does that really change the equation much when houses are $500K?


In this case, I am not even talking about young people. Normal people seem to be doing it tough and the mortgage costs seem to be a big part of it, but then again, maybe people have gotten into a pattern of spending that they don't need?

Yes but those $ 6,000 of good TVs are probably on loaned money , so it actually costs over $ 12,000 instead of saving $ 400 for a average TV . People throw out perfectly working smaller TVs.
Thats already one fiftieth of the cost of the house , and that's just big TV cost .
Two average cars , ( 45,000 for both ) , on loan will end up costing well over $ 100,000 , that's one fifth of the cost of a house . Or you could save and buy a perfectly good car for $ 10 ,000.
Do that with all the stuff you want but don't really have to have and it makes a huge difference.
If you can do this , a house is totally doable.

I don't actually know any people in the 'young and trying to buy a house' demographic, but it would be interesting to hear what they are doing. Whether they are wasting money on luxuries, or whether its actually tough.

There are random stories on news.com.au or smh that talk about people that save up to get a deposit, but invariably they helped by their parents, and/or living at home. Sometimes the maths doesn't even seem to work out. I know what it cost me to live without wasting money, and these people are doing much better than that.

When I went to buy a house in 2000/2001, I think they were affordable. Now they are crazy and in my opinion overvalued. Interest rates are low now, but you can't count on that for long.

I think I probably agree on the car thing too. I buy cheap cars, but I know enough about cars to keep costs down and still have something reliable. I think other people go for new cars as they have no ability to pick a good one or maintain it, or maybe they are trying to buy a decent car at the same time?

Unfortunately the only people I know that buy new cars are well paid people in their 50s that are claiming them as work expenses.

Re interest rates.
Home loan bank interest back in my day were......
wait for it .....

17.75%

kids have it so so much easier now

You must be my age , I did 17.5% .
We had 30% deposit and borrowed 270 grand .
It was in a cheap area , we had sheet curtains , no floor coverings on a slab . ( ok , bedrooms had carpet ) , we had old recycled carpet rugs . Five years later i self cork floored the rest .
One TV. No nets or mob phones . ( I still use a $90 flip phone , ( delivered ) , on a $27 plan , endlless calls and txts ).
I survived .
It wasn't so bad , I could still raise kids , ride a trail bike , and piss a little against the wall.

Select to expand quote

landyacht said..
interesting to see how hard life is for everyone. we've been in our second house for 25 years. I just looked at the furniture. the only thing i didn't build is the really comfy 2 seater sofa that I bought from Vinnies in pinjarra for $150 last year. didn't even haggle on the price. we have 1 small digital TV . it replace the one we bought over 30 years ago, that was made redundant by digital tv.
I see people carting so much crap to the tip, boxes of computers and tvs.all the stereos in my sheds are from the tip.............
I wonder if people are just getting sucked into consumerism and its dragging us down
I do recall my first home loan hitting 18%. back then that made the repayment the same cost as renting a house. thats why we've always bought something at the arse end of the market and fixed it up

Re-using Stuff, fixing things that break, making do...
Chuck away society... hard to not be when stuff is so "cheap"

I hate when stuff break these days - it cannot be fixed! or if it can, it costs more than the Thing cost to buy.

Current case in point:
10w LED rechargeable work light - $45 3 years ago.
Battery pack is knackered now^, Guess how much to replace it? You cant, you gotta make it or get one made.
Batteries alone (4 of) are $20 each! (18650 Li-Ion)
Soldering Li-Ion batteries? Hmmm maybe not.

So far... I'm in for $120 odd in Batts and bits* to fix a $45 worklight- 'cause I refuse to throw it out and get another cheap arse $45 light!

^This will be the future for your electric cars... beware!
*(To be fair... capacity has gone from 3600mAh to 10400mAh )

Back in the day you had to hit the ball over the fence for a six, not just over a rope 10m in from the fence.....

again, today's kids are on easy street ....

Select to expand quote

Craig66 said..
Back in the day you had to hit the ball over the fence for a six, not just over a rope 10m in from the fence.....

again, today's kids are on easy street ....

Remember at a kids party , when u had pass the parcel the lucky end kid got the prise ? Now u have to engineer a prize for every kid . It may be a little rough nowadays but it takes the fun out of it . Could u even consider musical chairs without being sued ? . No wonder kids have their faces in phones during parties nowadays.
Yawn!
In my day we got 1st , 2nd or 3rd for a event . Now everyone gets an equal finishing prize .
Yawn !
It was an incentive to try .
Complaining is the new try.

Select to expand quote

Craig66 said..

FormulaNova said..

Imax1 said..

FormulaNova said..

Imax1 said..
If young people saved and lived like our parents , they too could afford a house .
Thats one old car to share , no two big mobile plans , endless nets , three big TV s . Have sheets on the windows for years , not fully furnished .
That is what is needed to do the house thing .
Young people don't like the sound of that .

I used to think something like that too, but what is toughing it out really cost these days?

Sure, you could hang sheets on the windows, but most houses come with something already and even cheap curtains are available. I think our parents might have done what they did because there was no cheap alternative like their is now.

Even flat screen TVs are cheap. Sure, you may not need 3, but what is the difference in costs?

One TV is worth $400, three worth $1200. Make that $2000 and $6000 if they are better TVs, but does that really change the equation much when houses are $500K?


In this case, I am not even talking about young people. Normal people seem to be doing it tough and the mortgage costs seem to be a big part of it, but then again, maybe people have gotten into a pattern of spending that they don't need?

Yes but those $ 6,000 of good TVs are probably on loaned money , so it actually costs over $ 12,000 instead of saving $ 400 for a average TV . People throw out perfectly working smaller TVs.
Thats already one fiftieth of the cost of the house , and that's just big TV cost .
Two average cars , ( 45,000 for both ) , on loan will end up costing well over $ 100,000 , that's one fifth of the cost of a house . Or you could save and buy a perfectly good car for $ 10 ,000.
Do that with all the stuff you want but don't really have to have and it makes a huge difference.
If you can do this , a house is totally doable.

I don't actually know any people in the 'young and trying to buy a house' demographic, but it would be interesting to hear what they are doing. Whether they are wasting money on luxuries, or whether its actually tough.

There are random stories on news.com.au or smh that talk about people that save up to get a deposit, but invariably they helped by their parents, and/or living at home. Sometimes the maths doesn't even seem to work out. I know what it cost me to live without wasting money, and these people are doing much better than that.

When I went to buy a house in 2000/2001, I think they were affordable. Now they are crazy and in my opinion overvalued. Interest rates are low now, but you can't count on that for long.

I think I probably agree on the car thing too. I buy cheap cars, but I know enough about cars to keep costs down and still have something reliable. I think other people go for new cars as they have no ability to pick a good one or maintain it, or maybe they are trying to buy a decent car at the same time?

Unfortunately the only people I know that buy new cars are well paid people in their 50s that are claiming them as work expenses.

Re interest rates.
Home loan bank interest back in my day were......
wait for it .....

17.75%

kids have it so so much easier now

Yeah, I remember mum and dad going through that period, just after they bought their house. Not so great, but better than renting forever.

I wonder, if you sit down and compare the house prices and interest rates, is it that different?

I shouldn't be lazy and actually do the sums, but I think mum and dad's house was $80K when they bought it, and would be worth maybe $400K now. Do the low interest rates now make up for the higher price?

One thing people often forget is that high interest rates dampen demand and when they are high no one wants to buy and prices are low.

I guess this topic has moved onto interest rates and house prices, but is there more to it than that?

What about jobs? I entered the job market, right into a recession, but it seemed like there were still jobs to be had. Has it become harder for people to get good jobs these days?

Back in 1990, people seemed to still take on apprentices, lots of jobs still had junior roles, and no one had ever thought of the idea of a person doing a job without getting paid for it.

Select to expand quote

FormulaNova said..

Craig66 said..

FormulaNova said..

Imax1 said..

FormulaNova said..

Imax1 said..
If young people saved and lived like our parents , they too could afford a house .
Thats one old car to share , no two big mobile plans , endless nets , three big TV s . Have sheets on the windows for years , not fully furnished .
That is what is needed to do the house thing .
Young people don't like the sound of that .

I used to think something like that too, but what is toughing it out really cost these days?

Sure, you could hang sheets on the windows, but most houses come with something already and even cheap curtains are available. I think our parents might have done what they did because there was no cheap alternative like their is now.

Even flat screen TVs are cheap. Sure, you may not need 3, but what is the difference in costs?

One TV is worth $400, three worth $1200. Make that $2000 and $6000 if they are better TVs, but does that really change the equation much when houses are $500K?


In this case, I am not even talking about young people. Normal people seem to be doing it tough and the mortgage costs seem to be a big part of it, but then again, maybe people have gotten into a pattern of spending that they don't need?

Yes but those $ 6,000 of good TVs are probably on loaned money , so it actually costs over $ 12,000 instead of saving $ 400 for a average TV . People throw out perfectly working smaller TVs.
Thats already one fiftieth of the cost of the house , and that's just big TV cost .
Two average cars , ( 45,000 for both ) , on loan will end up costing well over $ 100,000 , that's one fifth of the cost of a house . Or you could save and buy a perfectly good car for $ 10 ,000.
Do that with all the stuff you want but don't really have to have and it makes a huge difference.
If you can do this , a house is totally doable.

I don't actually know any people in the 'young and trying to buy a house' demographic, but it would be interesting to hear what they are doing. Whether they are wasting money on luxuries, or whether its actually tough.

There are random stories on news.com.au or smh that talk about people that save up to get a deposit, but invariably they helped by their parents, and/or living at home. Sometimes the maths doesn't even seem to work out. I know what it cost me to live without wasting money, and these people are doing much better than that.

When I went to buy a house in 2000/2001, I think they were affordable. Now they are crazy and in my opinion overvalued. Interest rates are low now, but you can't count on that for long.

I think I probably agree on the car thing too. I buy cheap cars, but I know enough about cars to keep costs down and still have something reliable. I think other people go for new cars as they have no ability to pick a good one or maintain it, or maybe they are trying to buy a decent car at the same time?

Unfortunately the only people I know that buy new cars are well paid people in their 50s that are claiming them as work expenses.

Re interest rates.
Home loan bank interest back in my day were......
wait for it .....

17.75%

kids have it so so much easier now

Yeah, I remember mum and dad going through that period, just after they bought their house. Not so great, but better than renting forever.

I wonder, if you sit down and compare the house prices and interest rates, is it that different?

I shouldn't be lazy and actually do the sums, but I think mum and dad's house was $80K when they bought it, and would be worth maybe $400K now. Do the low interest rates now make up for the higher price?

One thing people often forget is that high interest rates dampen demand and when they are high no one wants to buy and prices are low.

Things change over the life of an average home loan . It's 15 to 25 years . No use whinging about politics or just whinging.. Economy , interest rates , bla bla,
Just have to be as tight as a fishes ass.
There are no other options.

Select to expand quote

landyacht said..
interesting to see how hard life is for everyone. we've been in our second house for 25 years. I just looked at the furniture. the only thing i didn't build is the really comfy 2 seater sofa that I bought from Vinnies in pinjarra for $150 last year. didn't even haggle on the price. we have 1 small digital TV . it replace the one we bought over 30 years ago, that was made redundant by digital tv.
I see people carting so much crap to the tip, boxes of computers and tvs.all the stereos in my sheds are from the tip.............
I wonder if people are just getting sucked into consumerism and its dragging us down
I do recall my first home loan hitting 18%. back then that made the repayment the same cost as renting a house. thats why we've always bought something at the arse end of the market and fixed it up

Spot on. Some people are drowning in their own s#it, but think it's someone else fault. Once upon at time, a good weekend was when you had your mates around on Saturday night for a BBQ and a holiday was at a caravan park near the beach. Now too many people think they have to go out to a flash restaurant to have a good time and holidays have got to be overseas somewhere.

We don't have it tough. People in Sierra Leone, Lagos, parts of the middle east and and South America have it very hard in comparison. Blame our government all you want for the alleged misery of life in Australia, just don't forget we could have a corrupt government like South Africa or Burma does and you're screwed if you ever need free government support like we get here. $2 a day is the average wage of a farmer in Brazil, and there's almost no opportunities or government support if you can't work. People there work extremely long and hard just to feed thier family and never get about the poverty line.

Our economy provides countless opportunities to find safe work or start enterprises........

Anyone can easily make a case for carrying a burden that someone else dosnt have, but on a global scale, if your born here in Australia, you're set for life.

If you can't work, the government looks after you for life with enough money that will keep you fed and sheltered at the very least. (As well as your kids if you have some)

If your house is on fire, the fire Department will put it out - no cost to you.

If you have cancer or loose a limb in an accident, the hospital will care for you at no expense, the best they can, for the rest of your life.

Only three examples of how life in Australia is awesome, but the government benefits and blessing of living here go on and on. On a global scale, life here is off the chart. Plenty of people whinge and moan about how hard life is here, all they need is 6 months in a poor, corrupt country, where a big portion of the worlds population live, and the last thing on their minds would be negative gearing and how bad our health system is.

Most people are pretty grateful for thier plot in life. Some people don't have any idea about how good things are here.

^^^
Exactly

Yeh ya right above.

Kite285, you are half right,. If you have cancer or missing a limb you will be looked after and therefore we live in a very lucky country. But to pay for that the rest of us work BS hours to cover it.

I personally work minimum of 240+hrs a month and yes I have luxuarys like internet ect but I still feel like I am just treading water.

Government takes 40% of everything I earn and then I still have 1400 a month child support before I even get started, try adding on a mortgage to "get in front" and your fuct. Never mind car etc to get to the job.

We are a lucky country but I think I would rather be a farmer earning 2 bucks a day,...at least I would only owe everyone $1 a day and not $3.

I've lived in 7 different spots worldwide, yeh Australia's a top spot but trying to make a crust to cover costs it's the worst spot I've lived, it's the only country where I wake thinking of work and money
in European country's itd be family breakfast exercise then work, ive been taking note this week in general conversation with friends and cafe clients , were under pressure financially as a whole, I have plenty of Europeans visiting and they just don't seem to be as worried in general about life
All I can say is I had a better lifestyle but in a less pristine environment in other countries. It's like we're paying for the privalage

I wonder if the strength of our dollar has anything to do with anything?

I mean, if it was lower, and not held up by exporting dirt from the ground and adding no value, would we be so keen to go on the overseas holidays, and buy more imported goods?