freediver wrote on Jun 3^rd, 2016 at 6:56pm:


And the less they do, the less "inclusive" a society is.

The heavy legacy of the Reagan/Thatcher years is the ever-shrinking wealth in the hands of the majority of citizens. This project was exported to the developing world through the carrot of IMF loans, and it’s led to the concentration of the world’s capital. It also led directly to the GFC, which has seen even more wealth concentration, higher corporate bonuses, and in the US, no financial regulation.

Thus, it will all happen again. This is the cycle of an economy without restraint.

freediver wrote on Jun 20^th, 2016 at 9:13pm:


My parents had a proportionately higher level of discretionary income than my children do.... wealth is perhaps in some cases defined by how you waste it.

When discussing comparative wealth, you need to look at a lot of factors, including opportunity cost of home purchase, car purchase, etc, transport costs, costs of living etc.

When we have private roads and privatised power supply that costs us hugely more than the old public roads and power etc, these all eat into comparative wealth.

I'd like to see some solid figures on these things.  What I do know is that upward pressure on working incomes is permanent and much higher than it was back then, and there are more people these days doing the con jobs to get a quick buck than there were then, which raises the bar for everyone.

I remain astounded that Australia rates 10th or something for 'wealth' in the world - compared to who?  Faroffistan?

The entire concept of wealth needs to be looked at close and across the board... not just at the lovely incomes of some while the rest struggle.

freediver wrote on Jun 21^st, 2016 at 12:59pm:


No, FD, Australians work more hours that they ever have. Quality of life is not determined by the amount of gadgets one has.

Your Hegelian belief in the telos of liberal democracy is a myth. The reason people all over the world are up in arms over their economic situation, from the US to Russia, is that real wages have decreased. The situation has worsened in many developing countries.

This is not a socialist argument, but many of those pushing it, from Trump to Putin, are indeed proposing socialist solutions. Trump proposes trade walls, tariffs and money printing. His pitch to capture disgruntled working class men is captured in the slogan, "making America great again".

Australia is one of a few countries in the world which has seen a rise in real wages and working conditions. Try pushing your argument in South Africa, the Philippines, or in the host of developed countries that are still recovering from the global financial crisis. 

If they don't laugh at you, they'll chop off your head.

In most parts of the world, life for the majority of people is not getting better and better. Australia is one of the few countries where it has - for now.

Karnal wrote on Jun 21^st, 2016 at 4:02pm:


OK, so it does not apply to Australia. What countries does it apply to? I assume you would not say this about China either.

And where are you getting this from? Green Left Weekly?

Bump for Gandalf:

freediver wrote on Mar 13^th, 2017 at 7:34pm: