I thought....

[catsnknots]

That Kevin Rudd was the saviour of the GFC and that he and Swan were so good that they set Australia up for the future. 

How come we are struggling so much right now if they did such a sterling job? 

Did they get it wrong? 

Did they go too far with that second stimulus package that was the only stimulus package that the coalition questioned? 

Did they really think far enough ahead to help steer Australia in the right direction and if so then why are so many businesses going to the wall? 

[the_hawk*]

---

@catsnknots wrote:

That Kevin Rudd was the saviour of the GFC and that he and Swan were so good that they set Australia up for the future. 

How come we are struggling so much right now if they did such a sterling job? 

Did they get it wrong? 

Did they go too far with that second stimulus package that was the only stimulus package that the coalition questioned? 

Did they really think far enough ahead to help steer Australia in the right direction and if so then why are so many businesses going to the wall? 

---

I was surprised the stimulus worked so well and cusioned the fall out as much as it did.

The issue came about to start with by people spending more than they had by using borrowed money and some banks and even goverments invested in high risk high return investments that were built like a pack of cards, when one failed the whole thing came down mainly due to investments in the US. even our council got caught up in these sceams of borrowing localy and investing in the US at returns that were much higher, the old saying if it sounds to good to be true, then it probably isnt was ignored, they believed the spin and were greedy, now we are paying for it with some of the highest rates in the country.

Australia had a huge amount of personal debt and still has, and now wages for the average working class person (not average wage for Johns benifit) has fallen due to many not haveing full time jobs (38 hours a week) they dont have surplas money to spend, many house prices have dropped or not risen in working class areas and banks wanting people to have equety in their homes will no longer re mortage or allow further redraws so money is tight. 

Many are still paying what they own yet can no longer borrow more, and as more companies fail this trend will continue because the people will not have money to spend until we are faced with a depresion like never seen before. 

[i-need-a-martini]

Who is struggling?

What businesses are going to the wall?

[lakeland27]

imagine how bad it would be if the then opposition got their way.  they opposed stimulus.

[i-need-a-martini]

Well have a look at what Hockey has just announced today. Cuts to medicare, education and health are imminent (is that the right word?).

The irony is that I was listening to Christine Lagarde on Q&A last night saying the complete opposite. So couldn't believe what I read in the paper today. Obviously Hockey was not watching.

[lakeland27]

 yes, austerity has failed everywhere.  the ideaology behind this governments policies spell disaster and failure too.

 but being an almost religious article of faith for the right they'll plunge straight in, the only restraint is the publics dislike of the policies such as the revitalised worknochoices. at least it will be brief,  but its going to cost a lot to restore the country to health again.

[boris1gary]

The Age today,

The Treasurer flagged that other programs, including the aged pension for people over 65, were also overdue for review and would have to be examined.

The pension was introduced in the 1950s when life expectancy was 55, but Mr Hockey said costs had ballooned with the average lifespan stretching today to 85.

Oh dear, just how many lies were there?

[lakeland27]

hockey is in talks with philip nitschke i hear

[freakiness]

this is interesting.

http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/government-pushed-spc-to-slash-wages-in-ret...

The Abbott government pressed SPC Ardmona to slash pay for workers by as much as 40 per cent under a radical bailout plan for the food processor.

Three union officials told Fairfax Media they had meetings with SPC Ardmona managing director Peter Kelly before Christmas in which Mr Kelly said he was being pressured by the Abbott government to put workers on the award if the company wanted a $25 million subsidy.

Moving workers on to the award would have dramatically cut living standards for hundreds of people at the Shepparton plant, with pay cuts of $20,000 to $30,000 a year for many. Other sources involved in the restructure have separately confirmed to Fairfax Media the Abbott government's pay push at SPC Ardmona. Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane refused to directly answer questions on the issue.

The government has been pushing struggling companies such as Toyota and SPC Ardmona to overhaul their workplace agreements as it has repeatedly warned about high wages, which has become a key political issue. That is despite the wage price index growing at just 2.6 per cent last year, the slowest growth in the 16-year history of the series.

Mr Macfarlane said on Wednesday costs had to fall. ''I do want to reduce labour costs but it's not necessarily reducing wages,'' he said.

[lakeland27]

i heard one of them interviewed yesterday, it sounds like they tried to pull the same thing at toyota as well.