Col I am happy you and your partner are doing well but it is irrelevant to the debate.

Just as an aside Edward Heath (Conservative) was PM of the UK in 1973 not Wilson. He had been in power for 3 years.

In an enterprise of unskilled workers (and don't get on your high horse that they should retrain, many cannot) if individuals negotiate it comes down to the lowest common denominator.

A case in point in the printing industry, one worker decides that he will do overtime at the casual rate thus ensuring he gets ALL overtime offered. If the others want overtime they have to work at the casual rate as well.

This individual bargaining may be OK for employers like you but it only works to reduce the earning capacity of others.

We could all take a lesson from Sidney Myer who said "It is the duty of capital to employ" but unfortunately we live in a society where it is the duty of capital to make profits by sourcing its work overseas.

Get ready to move back to England because Labor will win the next election here and send the greed class (of which you are the main advocate on OLO) back to 1974 where you belong.

I met an person (seems relatively new to Australia) get paid $100 for a 45 hour week, she worked there until she could find another job and left. She didn't do anything about because "She needed the work and experience". Rampant exploitation. I suppose the tax payers and her family had to make the rest up for this poor girl. This of course isn't "efficient" for the economy because she doesn't spend all that much and other people (taxpayers) esstenially pay her wage. I see this happening everywhere, technically people can take these people to court, in reality they can't. I would hate to see what happens when the economy goes down.

The Trickle down effect, is rich people pissing all over the rest of us.

Steve Madden “irrelevant to the debate”

It is very pertinent. It is people doing what they want against the machinations of social engineers and manipulators.

You are right of course, Heath, a particularly useless tool who was ousted by the much better suited, energetic and star, dear Margaret.

Heath was the whimp who “fell on his sword” rather than face down the communist infiltrated and controlled miners union run by Gormley and Scargill.

I was wrong about the exact year, however I do remember in 1972, studying by kerosene lamp because of power outages caused by a lack of coal for power stations. The blackmail and thugery of the unions was one of the things which helped me form my views of the right of individuals to freely negotiate.

Now for another reality “In an enterprise of unskilled workers”

No enterprise would exist if it relied exclusively on “unskilled workers” – someone has to have some skill to organize “the unskilled” into a productive unit or they will sit on their butts and do nothing all day. Those who manage the unskilled are worthy of greater remuneration.

As for “Get ready to move back to England because Labor will win the next election here and send the greed class (of which you are the main advocate on OLO) back to 1974 where you belong.”

Wedge politics Steve, instead of being even a little bit creative in your view (which I must admit is probably too great a challenge even on a good day).

You cannot deal with people who achieve, whilst you appear to wallow.

You simply suggest they leave. If I did that, Australia loses my innovative and productive energy which pays the taxes which the likes of you like to play lady bountiful with.

“Greed” - The war cry of the “co-dependent”,

The last time I looked, “co-dependency” was classed as a mental disorder, “independency” was not.

I figure they will carry you away to the laughing academy before they come for me.

The “greedy” are those who collectively want for free what I have worked for.

Col

$27.36 plus $17 for those on state awards,who did not get the federal increase, $44.36 a week. Ha Ha

Turned purple yet.

:)

Steve Madden “$27.36 plus $17 for those on state awards, who did not get the federal increase, $44.36”

Hardly Steve, I bill the government over twice that and private industry even more – and I am talking hourly rates.

What people earn is limited by what they are prepared to accept.

For myself, I expect and get a lot more. However, I earn it too.

It is payout time for years of focused dedication to developing rare and valued skills and then finding out how to market them.

What you do not get is

people get what they focus their efforts on.

Men and women who did not bother at school, do not keep up to date with their skills or bother to develop any skills at all, who expect the world to hand them a living just for being there are suckers.

No one deserves the world on a plate and those who think they do or think some politician is going to get it for them are double-suckers.

High incomes and the notion of job security is bought at a price, the price is not going down the pub or hanging around with your mates or doing what the indolent folk do.

What it costs is called "investing in yourself" and working smart, not hard.

For me, I never wanted to be on the “minimum wage” and I never wanted to be "snug-and–secure" with a "safety net".

As the old saying goes, you cannot expect to soar like an eagle if you hang around with turkeys.

See ya later "gobbler".

Col

Yet another post on your favourite two issues.

1. Telling us how smart you are and how much you make.
2. Blaming the victim for everything.

For your enlightenment I was billing BHP IT $400 per hour over 10 years ago when working on the DSS technology upgrade at Tuggeranong Offices ACT.

I do not tread on people more unfortunate than myself and blame them for their situation, I help them for nothing. (Voluntary work)

Try helping someone Col, you may find it addictive.