Thanx Shaun
yes, as Jimmy Swaggart once had to say on national TV..

"I...have...sinned" :) but in my case it was not messing with some hookers, I made an incorrect assumption about Almanac and posted it without due research.. I've since apologised to him. ("Some wont Integrate" thread.)

I thoroughly enjoy our interaction here... and I see great possibilities for implementing social/political change via this web site. I think as more and more people participate, it will be taken more seriously by those in the Political arena. That's why I try to use headings and good spacing.

My current bee on my bonnet is this '

WE WANT A PEOPLES BANK ! I checked my sons account today (he asked me to transfer some money for him) and I noticed that he got charged THIRTY SIX DOLLARS ! for just 'atm' etc use ... the mind boggles... that was for on month, those mongrels are simply STEALING in my opinion. They slash personell, they outsource jobs, .. they then charge us MORE.... and MORE..and MOREEEEE... ! So, clearly the concept of 'privatization and competition' in the banking sector has done SQUAT for the financially challenged battler.

They COULD (if they chose) reduce fees, and charges in many areas. OR.. They could simply not ADD NEW ONES like they recently did with Netbank.. 50c per transaction. Its a LICENCE TO PRINT MONEY !

I thought Bendigo Bank might offer some help but they charge MORE for eftpos/atm transactions. 70c instead of 50c like the CBA who give 15 free transactions per month.

So, I'll repeat it WE WANT A PEOPLES BANK ! I could not give two hoots about any impact on shareholders in the major banks. I care more about 'financial services affordability' for the lower socio economic people

David, you will have millions of people agreeing with you. I am sick and tired of hearing about shareholders. I want a peoples bank also. There is no need for all the fees, it is a rip off, and it is time Australians stand up and make a noise. To make matters worse, whilst the CEO's and shareholders fill their coffers, the banks are downsizing the branches, people are losing jobs and many jobs are going overseas (call centres). The usual speeches regarding staff losses and branches closing, is that people do not use the bank branches. We do not even need huge branches, just having branches nearby is great. Not everyone likes to do on line banking. Lets keep the momentum going!

The protected status of Banks in this country has been an issue for me for a number of years now.

In 2004-5 the top four - ANZ, CBA, NAB and Westpac - between them scored a net profit after tax of $13.8 billion. So if we add back the tax, plus the contributions of the other "little" banks such as St.George, Adelaide, BankWest etc. it would appear that every man, woman and child in Australia has forked out a minimum of $1,000 each, to make up this surplus of revenue over expenses.

That $1,000 - extracted from each man, woman and child, remember - is what is left over after paying for the CEOs, their fellow directors, the few employees they still have hanging around, and their overseas call centres.

Note that the $1,000 has to come from somebody's after tax income. It is the amount that is in addition to that which we pay for the services actually received. And it is paid by every man, woman and child in Australia, not just the wage-earner.

I have written about this many times. I was even published once in a broadsheet newspaper, but only because I put a humourous spin on it.

After the perpetual inability of our treasurer to get his sums right, and the tragic waste of our money on so many levels of government, this obscene racketeering upsets me most about trying to run a business in Australia.

To the barricades!!

Boaz, you have lost your downward envy, thats brilliant. Rail against the Banks, fight the greedy not the needy. The damage to our communities by these parasites far out does anything your Unions, single mums and refugees can manage. Keep it up Comrade.

David, You have the notion, have you the plan yet, to set this notion into action, I certainly hope you have. If not would you please work on it because almost everyone would agree with the notion of a community bank, as you know I am on the poor side of society, however I would be happy to trrow $10 at the idea, who else is so inclined, David, what a man you are.

Hi Shonga,
The reason we advocate tax cuts is primarily because the Howard government has already privatised so much and increasingly so, and therefore the cost of essential services (education, health, personal home security, etc) to tax-payers has aready gone up. So, if that's their political philosophy, then I believe workers should pay less tax, in order to pay for their increased services costs.
51% of federal tax revenue comes from individual incomes. They're not interested in individual workers and families anymore, only big business. They couldn't care less anymore about public education and health services to the tax-payer. We need that money ourselves to pay for what was in the past provided by the government. Labor is practically the same.
Besides, Australian workers are one of the most highly taxed in the world. We have to endure taxation and rate charges at three levels of government. It's absurd. If I taught in Japan, I'd pay a flat income tax rate of 4%!
We also think federal tax revenue should be collected through the banking system, not through personal incomes and businesses. The banks are crucifying the people of this nation and the Howard govt. is letting them. In the U.K, it's unlawful for the banks to charge fees, but here they do what they want. We should collect tax revenue through the electronic banking system, debits and credits, rather than personal incomes. That way large corporations will be forced to pay their share of tax through the banking system, if they are trading in Australia, and individual bank accounts will be taxed proportionate to debits withdrawn. All other federal taxes (and some state taxes) including PAYE should be abolished. The revenue raised will be substantial, more than is currently raised, and we will be able to adequately fund education and health services. The debit tax council has done alot of research on this already.