As we all know Australia is the lucky country and Wayne, Glen and Peter have been the best guardians of this most bountiful country.
Glen has managed inflation exemplary by keeping it with in the target band: 2~3 (high in my opinion)
But we all know when we go to the store (either one of our 2 choices) we spend a small fortune on nothing much, and of pretty poor quality.
Now don't even get me started on housing, water, electricity and gas.
About the only thing that has gone down is electronics (due to Chinese automation).
So it was with some amusement I noticed some graphs which were purportedly created by Deutsche Bank to illustrate how farked up Venezuela has gotten.
Obviously housing, fuel, milk (and you thought housing was bad) are not included in the inflation calculations.
Therefore I'd like to see inflation go a lot higher than 3% to make the essentials more affordable.
Neither Venezuela nor Australia use USD as their currency (though it is very common and necessary in Venezuela).
Besides that, Australia's GDP per capita is five times that of Venezuela.
I'm not sure what your point is but, yep, Australia is expensive!
Select to expand quoteFlySurfer said...
[br]As we all know Australia is the lucky country and Wayne, Glen and Peter have been the best guardians of this most bountiful country.
Glen has managed inflation exemplary by keeping it with in the target band: 2~3 (high in my opinion)
I might suggest Ian Mac did a pretty good job too....
I suspect that tax increases on tobacco might be a big factor in those graphs, and I am at a loss as to why a graph lumps bread with wine and cigs.....one is a staple, the others are discretionary....classic use of irrelevant data to support a point...if that is what you are getting at then I agree.
Select to expand quoteFlySurfer said...
[br]
So it was with some amusement I noticed some graphs which were purportedly created by Deutsche Bank to illustrate how farked up Venezuela has gotten.
I think I might have mentioned that to you before in passing. The people there prefer USD as they know it'll still be worth something the next month, and the government severely limits the amount of foreign currency you can buy, and also set the exchange rate to really unrealistic values.
They brought in the "Bolivar Fuerte" after the old Bolivar depreciated so badly. I wonder what comes next? 'Bolivar Fuerte Verdad'? 
I am surprised Venezuela doesnt get as much coverage, as things there at the moment seem very worrying.
I wonder how skewed using alcohol and cigarettes is when the excise duties have increased, but maybe not representative of other foods and products.
Feel sorry where these things cost a lot in Venezuela, but you earn next to nothing. I haven't had to buy black market food here.
Select to expand quoteFlySurfer said...
[br]As we all know Australia is the lucky country
I'm guessing you're too young to realise that this phrase was meant as an ironic indictment of Australia, criticising the fact that we have just fallen on our lucky dumb asses as a country, lacking in any genuine enterprise and instead deriving our wealth from natural resources, etc, while other countries have had to make their wealth from nothing. (Switzerland being an ideal example.)
The original quote comes from a book by Donald Horne. In the decades following his book's publication, Horne became critical of the "lucky country" phrase being used as a term of endearment for Australia, once saying, "I have had to sit through the most appalling rubbish as successive generations misapplied this phrase."
Select to expand quoteHarrow said...FlySurfer said...
[br]As we all know Australia is the lucky country
...while other countries have had to make their wealth from nothing. (Switzerland being an ideal example.)....
I thought they made their wealth by sitting on the fence in wartime and looking after the wealth of both sides' rich. Along with facilitating global money laundering. I'll concede they've attracted industries of over-priced watches, yummy-but-tooth-breaking triangular chocolate and big pharma.
Select to expand quoteHarrow said...
I'm guessing you're too young to realise that this phrase was meant as an ironic indictment of Australia, criticising the fact that we have just fallen on our lucky dumb asses as a country, lacking in any genuine enterprise and instead deriving our wealth from natural resources, etc, while other countries have had to make their wealth from nothing. (Switzerland being an ideal example.)
The original quote comes from a book by Donald Horne. In the decades following his book's publication, Horne became critical of the "lucky country" phrase being used as a term of endearment for Australia, once saying, "I have had to sit through the most appalling rubbish as successive generations misapplied this phrase."
I think "this most bountiful country" should be evidence of my correct application.
I realize my sarcasm is lost on some... soz.
Select to expand quoteCambodge said...
I thought they made their wealth by sitting on the fence in wartime and looking after the wealth of both sides' rich. Along with facilitating global money laundering. I'll concede they've attracted industries of over-priced watches, yummy-but-tooth-breaking triangular chocolate and big pharma.
Regardless of an opinion on the Swiss, what do we do? Dig up our coal and iron ore, send it overseas, and then buy it back at many times the price as a vehicle. Where would we be without our natural resources? We really are the (dumb)-luck country.
Select to expand quoteFlySurfer said...Harrow said...
I'm guessing you're too young to realise that this phrase was meant as an ironic indictment of Australia, criticising the fact that we have just fallen on our lucky dumb asses as a country, lacking in any genuine enterprise and instead deriving our wealth from natural resources, etc, while other countries have had to make their wealth from nothing. (Switzerland being an ideal example.)
The original quote comes from a book by Donald Horne. In the decades following his book's publication, Horne became critical of the "lucky country" phrase being used as a term of endearment for Australia, once saying, "I have had to sit through the most appalling rubbish as successive generations misapplied this phrase."
I think "this most bountiful country" should be evidence of my correct application.
I realize my sarcasm is lost on some... soz.
It really is common for people to believe that 'we are the lucky country' to mean we are blessed, rather than just getting by from dumb-luck. I can understand Harrow's comment. The media always talks about how 'we are the lucky country'.
Emoticons! That's why they are there
Select to expand quoteFlySurfer said...
I realize my sarcasm is lost on some... soz.
No, not at all. Just adding the history trivia.
Select to expand quoteHarrow said
Where would we be without our natural resources?
Still rich.
There are many examples of rich countries with few natural resources. Singapore, South Korea and New Zealand spring to mind. What they have in common is that, like us, they are democratic, peaceful, well governed and relatively free from corruption.
You underestimate the Australian people. Obviously with our abundant natural resources it makes sense to generate some of our wealth in this manner, but to suggest we are a "one tricky pony" is an insult to the ingenuity of your fellow citizens.
Likewise there are many examples of countries that have abundant natural resources, and are poor, not least of which is Venezuela, destroyed but their incompetent, populist, leftist government. Nigeria, Iran, Iraq...
What concerns me in Australia, everybody is taking about how governments is increasing taxes, reducing social services and constant chatter about the ever increasing debt levels. Last time I checked, we compete in a global economy which we export red dirt and gas being our main drivers of revenue for Australia. That?s like having a pie shop that only sells steak and mushroom pies with a couple of chips on the side. To add further concern, we have one major customer that purchases our one brand of pie, which is China.
Economists and Government believed that China would be this wonderful customer that would keep consuming our resources at record levels that would help growth for another 20 years. To add further uncertainty, China growth is slowing faster than expected.
What concerns me, we have not been creating or developing new revenue streams or growth industries, which we can fall back onto once our resource boom eases. We all keep blaming Government but it?s not all the responsibility of government to create wealth. It?s all our responsibility but it requires risk and investment into business which in Australia is difficult. We all like to invest in bricks and mortar but unfortunately that does not create sustainable revenue streams for Australia.
Our ability to compete with the high Australian dollar and high cost of business is adding more pressure. Many of our most promising start-ups are choosing to head to the USA and UK to start their global empires because of the high cost of business and the inability to source start-up funding in Australia.
Births over deaths each year
China about 22m
India 25m
So in effect China needs to accommodate and feed our entire population EXTRA each year
They cannot slow down anything, its impossible, it will stop when either we run out of red dirt
and coal or they stop their population growth. Go back to sleep people, there's a lot of dirt
and a lot of new chinese every year. India is behind them for consuming our stuff, just give
them time. What happens when our resources are gone, total disaster and no more entitlements.
Not only are we lazy, we are dumb too,
Select to expand quoteDom said...
What concerns me, we have not been creating or developing new revenue streams or growth industries, which we can fall back onto once our resource boom eases. We all keep blaming Government but it?s not all the responsibility of government to create wealth. It?s all our responsibility but it requires risk and investment into business which in Australia is difficult. We all like to invest in bricks and mortar but unfortunately that does not create sustainable revenue streams for Australia.
Our ability to compete with the high Australian dollar and high cost of business is adding more pressure. Many of our most promising start-ups are choosing to head to the USA and UK to start their global empires because of the high cost of business and the inability to source start-up funding in Australia.
The government are the only ones that can have the 'hands on the levers' of the economy, so they ultimately are the ones that have to create this diversity of work. They need to manage the value of the dollar to make our industries viable, or subsidize industries, or add levies to imports. The minute you say the word 'subsidy' the public start crying as if its something evil.
They seem to have gone the other way and not worried too much about diversity, although having said that, I read something this morning about 'Universities being a growth export'.
What's that all about? When did they change from being to educate our young to becoming money making businesses? That sucks.
So, who do you think can develop new industries that are globally competitive without help from the government?
Select to expand quoteboofta said...
Births over deaths each year
China about 22m
India 25m
So in effect China needs to accommodate and feed our entire population EXTRA each year
They cannot slow down anything, its impossible, it will stop when either we run out of red dirt
and coal or they stop their population growth. Go back to sleep people, there's a lot of dirt
and a lot of new chinese every year. India is behind them for consuming our stuff, just give
them time. What happens when our resources are gone, total disaster and no more entitlements.
Not only are we lazy, we are dumb too,
I am not sure which way you arguing, that the demand for minerals will continue or that it won't.
Even though China want to grow, they too suffer from inflation and an overheating economy. When their cost of labour becomes too high, they don't sell as much, so they need to slow things down sometimes.
It will be interesting to see if they slow growth. If they do, and we rely on them to buy lots of iron ore and coal, we are going to slow down too.
A banana republic indeed.
A bit of a misnomer of the problem of "cost blowout", In another thread i happen to mention "wage indexation" and "The harvest judgement of 1907" decrees an indexed wage although no definitive limit between changes of inflation and reassigning wage level "award". Either way, with law in Australia whether criminal or civil the cost of living is high because of required individual legal fulfillment e.g. transport and paying fare or toll or registration fees e.t.c. ...
To operate your person legally is extremely expensive as a physical personal individual. So wages are high in human resource terms for employers, And for the individual legal cost of operating a house is the same e.g. dwellings on private land and council zoning and policies.
Second factor, tax on employee wages is a drop in the ocean of the economy for government revenue in operating the public areas, but tax or tariff is always set in levels and generated through "consumption" of a product or service, so it requires buying not saving to generate these, which is why the energy utilities are bunkum, "Use less energy" is the jingle, now you pay less tariff and tax!!!! Moreover,m no-one can afford it, so they don't use it, so they don't generate enough!
It's big business that generates the tax and tariff payments to the government.
In many other countries a person can bolt a 300Kg 8Kw wind turbine to the side of there flat unit or slum or wealthy upper middle class apartment no matter the noise, in Australia you tend to find what you have done wrong by being prosecuted by council though you are the dwelling and land owner!
Everything costs here like a weight on the back.
Select to expand quoteAUS1111 said...Harrow said
Where would we be without our natural resources?
Still rich.
There are many examples of rich countries with few natural resources. Singapore, South Korea and New Zealand spring to mind. What they have in common is that, like us, they are democratic, peaceful, well governed and relatively free from corruption.
You underestimate the Australian people. Obviously with our abundant natural resources it makes sense to generate some of our wealth in this manner, but to suggest we are a "one tricky pony" is an insult to the ingenuity of your fellow citizens.
Likewise there are many examples of countries that have abundant natural resources, and are poor, not least of which is Venezuela, destroyed but their incompetent, populist, leftist government. Nigeria, Iran, Iraq...
Yep, totally agree AUS1111. We have exploited our opportunities exceedingly well. It started with using land for grazing of sheep...
Our resources sector is super efficient. To imply we are a one trick pony is a massive over simplification. If every worker in the iron ore sector only knew how to dig a hole with a shovel, and throw the ore on a cart I'd be worried. But these businesses develop skill sets that are applicable to any industry. Think of Finance, HR, Supply Chain, Project Management resources (to name a few) that get the benefit of world class training at the likes of BHP or Rio Tinto and then move on to other industries.
Another thing I don't agree with is the whole Gina Rhinehart moan about Africans that work for $2 a day. What a crock! Do you think any of our major companies want illiterate, innumerate, completely unskilled workers operating equipment worth tens of millions of dollars?
Where would we be without our natural resources? Applying our high level skills and excellent work ethic to another opportunity and being competitive I suspect.
