Whatever today's economic data shows about how close Australia is to recession the truth is we are already experiencing the biggest dive in living standards in half a century — and have been for two years, writes Peter Martin.
That period during 2020 was the first time in ages I’d felt positive about the economy. Due to the immigration tap being turned off demand in my industry increased and pay and conditions got better.
After Labor decided to open the immigration flood gates, the shoe is obviously on the other foot again as far as employer vs employee relationships go. Pay has flat lined and conditions like WFH are getting wound back. Thank you Labor for living up to your liberal lite™ tag.
I’m suffering from the recession too but I don’t blame immigrants, because they’re coming into an economy just as bad as I live in. That means where they’re coming from is even worse. And besides, complaining about immigration is hypocrisy unless you’re aboriginal.
If the government had any sense they’d tax the rich and use the money to increase infrastructure spending. That’d create more jobs and improve all our lives. Imagine high speed rail from Melbourne to Perth, going at speeds comparable to a plane. Imagine how many jobs a project like that could provide. And what about solar and wind power? Government should be hiring thousands of people to build solar farms. That’s the sensible thing to do with a surplus of immigration; use that productive power to make the country better. Any money paid to immigrants goes straight back into the economy when they buy stuff, so in a functioning economy it should be no problem.
It’s not about blaming the immigrants themselves, it’s the rate at which the government has chosen to bring them in. We can’t build housing at anywhere near that rate to accommodate them.
All that happens is those at the bottom end of the socioeconomic spectrum end up not being able to get a rental and living in their car or a tent.
Those in the next few rungs up end up with reduced standard of living also. Meanwhile the 1% laugh at us losers calling each other names and squabbling amongst ourselves instead of pointing the pitchforks at those who orchestrate it.
The government is building housing as fast as they want to build housing. They’re providing subsidies to external developers to build suburbs zoned for residential only. You know how fast the Soviet Union built housing when they put their minds to it? It’s just a matter of taxing enough from the rich, and investing in government run industry instead of relying on corporations.
Money in the accounts of the rich is static. It doesn’t move through the economy, it sits there are gets leveraged so they can take more. Money in the hands of the workers moves. We spend it on rent and groceries and doctors visits. The cause of a recession is simple: we don’t have enough money to spend past the essentials. If there are more workers in need of money, so what? Build them houses and give them the benefits of taxes. Ideally paying them to build houses and killing two birds with one stone. The reason the government hasn’t done this is they don’t want to. They’re in the pockets of big business.
That period during 2020 was the first time in ages I’d felt positive about the economy. Due to the immigration tap being turned off demand in my industry increased and pay and conditions got better.
After Labor decided to open the immigration flood gates, the shoe is obviously on the other foot again as far as employer vs employee relationships go. Pay has flat lined and conditions like WFH are getting wound back. Thank you Labor for living up to your liberal lite™ tag.
You xenophobe.
I’m suffering from the recession too but I don’t blame immigrants, because they’re coming into an economy just as bad as I live in. That means where they’re coming from is even worse. And besides, complaining about immigration is hypocrisy unless you’re aboriginal.
If the government had any sense they’d tax the rich and use the money to increase infrastructure spending. That’d create more jobs and improve all our lives. Imagine high speed rail from Melbourne to Perth, going at speeds comparable to a plane. Imagine how many jobs a project like that could provide. And what about solar and wind power? Government should be hiring thousands of people to build solar farms. That’s the sensible thing to do with a surplus of immigration; use that productive power to make the country better. Any money paid to immigrants goes straight back into the economy when they buy stuff, so in a functioning economy it should be no problem.
It’s not about blaming the immigrants themselves, it’s the rate at which the government has chosen to bring them in. We can’t build housing at anywhere near that rate to accommodate them.
All that happens is those at the bottom end of the socioeconomic spectrum end up not being able to get a rental and living in their car or a tent.
Those in the next few rungs up end up with reduced standard of living also. Meanwhile the 1% laugh at us losers calling each other names and squabbling amongst ourselves instead of pointing the pitchforks at those who orchestrate it.
The government is building housing as fast as they want to build housing. They’re providing subsidies to external developers to build suburbs zoned for residential only. You know how fast the Soviet Union built housing when they put their minds to it? It’s just a matter of taxing enough from the rich, and investing in government run industry instead of relying on corporations.
Money in the accounts of the rich is static. It doesn’t move through the economy, it sits there are gets leveraged so they can take more. Money in the hands of the workers moves. We spend it on rent and groceries and doctors visits. The cause of a recession is simple: we don’t have enough money to spend past the essentials. If there are more workers in need of money, so what? Build them houses and give them the benefits of taxes. Ideally paying them to build houses and killing two birds with one stone. The reason the government hasn’t done this is they don’t want to. They’re in the pockets of big business.