Unions, Greens and left in general will never be satisfied with how much of other people's money they can get their hands on, even while they decry profits that provide them with that money through jobs. And they don't care how much their greed stops employers from taking on people who just want to work for their future and for their self-respect. The ACTU and unions are Crime Inc., doing nothing for workers that can't be provided by the law of the land.

ttbh says, "Unions, Greens and left in general will never be satisfied with how much of other people's money they can get their hands on,... "

Well correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't he receive a handout from the government himself? Isn't he a recipient of an old age pension entitlement and thus gets his hands on other people's money?

This article is a re-hash of similar erroneous claims about Australia's wage structures. Firstly, on the subject of youth unemployment being double that of the national average, if the author had looked at the World Bank and other international data collection bodies, he would have found that this is common across all nations in the world. Secondly, the Australian wage is set by a Commission which takes into account all economic factors and has been doing that since 1922. So the drivel about wages being an inhibitor to business growth is just tripe! Lastly, there was such a thing as equity and fairness in Australia, so that an employee should be entitled to a wage, which increases in line with the productivity and changes in business profits.

erroneous claims
Cyclone,
Absolutely nothing erroneous about the labor costs here being too high !
Also, the Old Age Pension is no handout, it was paid for in our working lives & we still pay taxes to keep the likes of you & Paul1405 with everything we buy !
So, get a life & pay your share for when your time comes !

It's not a high minimum wage that threatens small businesses across this wide brown land ut the exorbitant cost of energy, transport, water and gas, etc, etc!

And indeed the costs that governments add on as well as the usual horde of profit demanding, paper shuffling parasitic middlemen!

A modern fit for purpose rail freight rollout would also assist as would reducing the debt burden and associated costs.

Then there's the cost of government and a horrendous tax burden that could be made massively cheaper with two outcomes! The jettisoning of all state governments and equally massive tax reform that is made manifest as an unavoidable flat tax of just 15% and then, only kicking in above a very generous tax-free threshold!

Many businesses would do much better as co-ops rather than the most expensive businesses, i.e., franchises where all the cream goes to the (the world owes me a living) parasitic franchiser/money-hungry landlord!?

With all the above combining in any way, the only way a majority of these businesses can survive, is if the majority of their staff, live below the poverty line!

All these outcomes need to be laid at the feet of those that create them but are quarantined from any consequences, i.e., pompous, pulpit pounding, popinjay politicians?
Alan B.

thinkabit,

You never come up with an argument; you just play the man.

I'm not going to argue with you, because it is a waste of time. But, if the unions keep bleeding small business - the greatest employers of Australian labour, then a lot more people looking for work won't find it. Employers are already hesitant to put people on, thanks to the high minimum wage and low return from people wanting more but not putting anything in. People in trades, for instance, are choosing to just work for themselves with the help of family; large employers are sending their work off to China. As soon as the government is able to restart mass immigration, there will be plenty of people prepared to work for less. When push comes to shove, labour is just another resource, and its high time spoilt Australian workers started to appreciate what they have, and what they are going to lose if they keep demanding more - especially when they are not very productive.