An indebted population is a compliant one.
Opinion Domestic Politics BF style
- Thread starter bomberclifford
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Pauline Hanson was being diplomatic when she suggested that Senator Faruqi should piss off back to Pakistan:
bomberclifford
Importer/Exporter
Someone leaked the quiet part to friendlyjordies
Regardless of what you think of Jordan
The commentary from Gina and Dutton is very far from
Labor and liberal are the same
Regardless of what you think of Jordan
The commentary from Gina and Dutton is very far from
Labor and liberal are the same
- Mar 1, 2014
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The move to a cashless society took a turn for me today. At the local butcher shop they display a sign which states that 'all tap and go card transactions will incur a 1.1% surcharge unless the card is inserted and a PIN used'. When I attempted to do this I was told that as the transaction was under $25.00 the Debit Card fee would be higher if I inserted my card. We are talking a piddling amount as the transaction was less than $10.00 but the point is this, that condition is not explained on the sign at the point of sale and had I followed the instruction I would actually have paid a higher surcharge while believing that I was avoiding any surcharge.
I am not sure how a surcharge on card transactions has been allowed to resurface. Some years ago the card companies tried a similar thing and the surcharge was quashed by the Government of the day. Given their concern over the high cost of living maybe it is time for the present Government to look at the situation. At face value a surcharge of approximately1.1% may not appear to be much but if it is added to all card purchases it adds to the inflation rate and the cost of living. You have to wonder how many surcharges we incur through wave and pay card transactions without realising it.
I guess that the moral in the story is to pay cash while we still can.
FOOTNOTE:
Apparently the RBA is conducting a review into Debit Card surcharge rates and the Albanese Government will act on that revue. Any bans on card surcharges will not come into place until 2026. If we are waiting on the RBA this could take some time. The problem for the Reserve Bank is of course that businesses charge a fee to offset the cost of bank fees on card transactions. If the surcharge is stopped business may build a service fee into retail prices and this will in turn fuel inflation. The solution may be to pay cash and avoid the surcharge.
www.abc.net.au
I am not sure how a surcharge on card transactions has been allowed to resurface. Some years ago the card companies tried a similar thing and the surcharge was quashed by the Government of the day. Given their concern over the high cost of living maybe it is time for the present Government to look at the situation. At face value a surcharge of approximately1.1% may not appear to be much but if it is added to all card purchases it adds to the inflation rate and the cost of living. You have to wonder how many surcharges we incur through wave and pay card transactions without realising it.
I guess that the moral in the story is to pay cash while we still can.
FOOTNOTE:
Apparently the RBA is conducting a review into Debit Card surcharge rates and the Albanese Government will act on that revue. Any bans on card surcharges will not come into place until 2026. If we are waiting on the RBA this could take some time. The problem for the Reserve Bank is of course that businesses charge a fee to offset the cost of bank fees on card transactions. If the surcharge is stopped business may build a service fee into retail prices and this will in turn fuel inflation. The solution may be to pay cash and avoid the surcharge.
Debit card surcharges to be scrapped by 2026, government promises
There is an end in sight for consumers getting hit with sneaky surcharges when they pay on card, with the federal government prepared to ban the practice by 2026, promising to give consumers and small businesses "a fair go."
www.abc.net.au
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Interesting table posted by former SA Senator Rex Patrick on the eye watering salaries (and salary hikes) of the top politicians and bureaucrats/judges at the Federal level.
Made even worse when you consider that is just ONE level of the bureaucracy and it's replicated at the State and Local level.
Take a look at the salaries of South Australian fat cats. Take note of the salary sacrifice numbers column as well with many of the ageing CE's taking advantage of sacrificing large chunks of their pre-tax salary to sweeten their post retirement bank accounts.
Can't bothered looking up how much money is being spent on the salaries of the CEOs of the 68 local councils in South Australia (the CEOs of most metro councils get around $470k), and other statutory bodies, govt boards and committees but you get the picture. And the salary of the SA Governor has just been increased by $85k, bringing her into line with the amount paid to every other state Governor (median salary across all states $520k).
Not news but the fact we are over-governed in this little country of ours comes at a whopping up front cost to taxpayers.
Made even worse when you consider that is just ONE level of the bureaucracy and it's replicated at the State and Local level.
Take a look at the salaries of South Australian fat cats. Take note of the salary sacrifice numbers column as well with many of the ageing CE's taking advantage of sacrificing large chunks of their pre-tax salary to sweeten their post retirement bank accounts.
Can't bothered looking up how much money is being spent on the salaries of the CEOs of the 68 local councils in South Australia (the CEOs of most metro councils get around $470k), and other statutory bodies, govt boards and committees but you get the picture. And the salary of the SA Governor has just been increased by $85k, bringing her into line with the amount paid to every other state Governor (median salary across all states $520k).
Not news but the fact we are over-governed in this little country of ours comes at a whopping up front cost to taxpayers.
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Plus there is no superannuation concessional cap on these state government positions allowing them to salary sacrifice well above the $30,000 concessional limit. For example, look at Matt Opie who's drawing a salary of $50K while salary sacrificing $350K pre-tax into super which then gets taxed at a concessional rate of 15% instead of the normal income tax rate (which would be 45% for the bulk of his salary).
Well from a financial perspective the SA Government doesn't care - the income tax concessional tax benefits that comes from doing that is a revenue hit taken solely by the Federal Government. Just a guess, but I reckon the personal tax savings of that salary sacrifice arrangement was probably the carrot that the SA Govt used to get Opie to sign his contract.
You'd think they would care about the 'look' of it when most South Australians are in a cost of living crisis though. But afaik this table, published on the Public Service Commissioner's website, has never come under any real scrutiny in the SA media so wgaf eh?
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The Federal salaries are realistic. The PM and ministers are responsible for managing millions of people. Even backbenchers for around 50 thousand. The one's which are over the top are department and judges salaries. WTF are advisors / managers for the PM and ministers earning way more than them? They aren't 100k a year jobs, but $300k-$350k, at triple the average wage, would be a good salary and more in line with them versus their bosses.
- Mar 1, 2014
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Leon Bignell you have got to be kidding.
Leon Bignell is to consult the AFLPA with a view to examining how delisted AFL players are compensated and counseled. Mr Bignell wants to apply this to polies who loose their seat in an election.
I would have thought unseated polies, even one term wonders, would have a generous pension package and unlike AFL players many of them are not 18 year olds, fresh from school, who are required to move interstate to ply their trade. Most polies are practising lawyers or people in professional practice with a fall back position. As an example Steven Marshall seems to have done well for himself.
Doubtless Leon Bignell will be afforded a tidy sum of taxpayer funds to enable his staffers to conduct this research.
Leon Bignell is to consult the AFLPA with a view to examining how delisted AFL players are compensated and counseled. Mr Bignell wants to apply this to polies who loose their seat in an election.
I would have thought unseated polies, even one term wonders, would have a generous pension package and unlike AFL players many of them are not 18 year olds, fresh from school, who are required to move interstate to ply their trade. Most polies are practising lawyers or people in professional practice with a fall back position. As an example Steven Marshall seems to have done well for himself.
Doubtless Leon Bignell will be afforded a tidy sum of taxpayer funds to enable his staffers to conduct this research.
- Nov 6, 2014
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- Apr 27, 2008
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- Chael Sonnen: Moral Champion
Dutton going with 'people are sick of culture wars and want something done about the cost of living! So I'm declaring war on culture wars! here's what I'm going to do to fix culture wars and hope you all forget and I have no idea and no intention of doing anything about cost of living'
Why is it every modern conservative is a thunderous twerp that's morally bankrupt and economically useless? Albo and Labor about to spin it's third surplus in a row and all liberals can say is that it doesn't count because he stands in front of more than one flag?
Why is it every modern conservative is a thunderous twerp that's morally bankrupt and economically useless? Albo and Labor about to spin it's third surplus in a row and all liberals can say is that it doesn't count because he stands in front of more than one flag?
Carn Dutton is not representative of every modern conservative.
He's a special type of ****wit. I really feel for you guys if you have to endure him as PM.
- Apr 27, 2008
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He absolutely is representative of conservative thinkers.
Because politicking in the western world is no longer about implementing bold long term policies to tackle the big problems facing current and future generations. Its all about campaigning on the rhetoric of the margins - using peoples fears, prejudices and ignorance as the pivot.
The fact is that we're no longer in an era of the two major parties battling for the centre and the minor parties and independents squabbling over what's left.
Support for minor parties and independents continued to ratchet up in each election in the past 2 decades and reached an inevitable tipping point at the 2022 election, when the primary vote divided into a third each for Labor, the Coalition and 'none of the above'. Another collective swing away from the major parties at the next election would make the 'none-of-the-above' vote the largest bloc of the three.
Dutton is nothing if not a smart politician who has learned the lessons of Trump and others. His shift to embrace identity politics and division is as much about shoring up the support of the rising numbers in the right side of his party as it is about neutralising the drift of conservative votes to the independents and capturing the growing numbers of disillusioned working class voters in the outer metro and regional centres in NSW, Qld and Victoria who were once regarded as 'rusted on' Labor voters.
Meanwhile we have a PM who is perceived as being inactive and ineffectual as a leader who has not recovered from the massive personal blow he received from the failed Voice referendum. Those who hoped he would deliver bold change and reform have been left disillusioned and angry.
And what was once considered inconceivable just 2 years ago is now a distinct possibility - Dutton could well be the next PM in just over a few months, albeit in a minority government. He is now seen as preferred PM over Albanese in many opinion polls, despite his one and only detailed policy proposal (nuclear energy) having been widely condemned and exposed as an ill thought out and hugely costly thought bubble that will do nothing to fix Australia's current and medium term energy issues.
One thing is certain - Dutton has shown that his approach has been successful in political terms and he will only ramp it up even further in coming weeks. This will be a very ugly and divisive election campaign.
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Make Australia Great Again.
www.theage.com.au
Coalition MPs want Trump-style ‘Australia first’ economics pitch
Conservative critics say the Coalition’s economic agenda is tissue-thin. There are mounting calls to go big and bold before the Reserve Bank lowers interest rates.
