compared to 40 years ago has halved,
SoG,
Isn't it rather alarming from our perspective how both intellect & pragmatism are diminishing in our society. Countries previously labelled third world are experiencing the opposite, they're getting more & more education & manufacturing is at an all-time high. Why ? Because our lot is now too stupid & incompetent to keep up what we started hence so much of our industry has moved offshore. Some CEO's are in fact so mindless that they entrust our communication & banking details to offshore outfits whose loyalty will very soon be seen not to be in our best interest.

"Because our lot is now too stupid & incompetent to keep up"

Indy...you know just too well what the problems are, and you are dead on correct with imbalances. While the white kids grow fat and stupid, the 2 and 3,s are putting and winning.....which the government knows just tooo well.

The winds of change are a foot.

BLUE

Yabby:>> We could of course bring back tariffs tomorrow. We could
force our women to go back to the sewing machines, to sew
Australian clothes for instance, a return of the sweat shops.<<

I can see it now, mobs of bedraggled Aussie women working till all hours to fill their quota of Chesty Bonds athletics.

Why we do not manufacture in the first world has its base in the global union disruptions that started in the mid sixties and carried on till the mid seventies at which point the money started moving manufacturing to cheaper climes where they had free rein to do as they wished at sweat shop prices, but only after the UN Development Organization had our traitorous pollies sign away our tariff protection rights. They can take us to World Court if we don’t let them bombard us with any junk they produce. Why do you think we are getting apples from infested China, it’s disgusting.

>> How would the poor be able to afford them?<<

No Yabby your line is "let them eat cake"...lol

Individual, the dumbing down, the loss of manufacturing, the stripping of sovereignty over our trade options did not just evolve it is a plan to switch the social and economic polarity of the world. The former rich nations will be the indebted and the former poor are to prosper. Until prosperity raises fixed costs and once again they come back to the now indebted us, and like a dirt farmer dangles a carrot in front of the donkey they give us a lifeline if we would do as they say , and for as little as they could possibly pay us. They want us technologically void, defenseless, with no more education than is required to operate a cash till and card skimmer.

I would like to offer some help and advice to the South African gentle man who wrote that.
I have [for free] the plans for a barbed wire boat, he is welcome to them.
His brief [hopefully] stay here told him little.
China imports too.
We very much ride on its back.
This is called world trade,tell me, do, are we to reintroduce tariffs to protect us from cheap imports but hope our exports are not subject to the same blind stupidity?
A total lack of understanding of a subject is no reason to plow in with observations that look what they are, idiotic.
I ask this question.
What country would you rather live in than this one?
And remember as a free gift you too can get those plans for free, use rusty barbed it works best.

What country would you rather live in than this one?
Belly,
You're right. That's why those who care are speaking up. In my book I'd say we're already far too dependent on offshore money & supplies. We have a defence force which requires offshore equipment to maintain its efficiency. Do you think anyone will invade Australia. No-one is that silly as to get an army moving when all you have to do is stop sending supplies. Just imagine if Toyota & Dunlop stop supplies. Bang ! The Army is at standstill. Stop delivery of Marine engines & the Navy's going nowhere. What I'm saying is that we've got no plan B for when this global thingomajig goes hemispheric.

Belly,
Are you not being a bit sensitive to some outside observations?

I question the accuracy of the mans point 2, but that aside, his obsevations mirror that of many citizens here. Maybe we should look at his observations and not attack the carrier.

Posters seem to have focased on his point 1, in relation to the demise of our own industry. I tend to agree with individual to some extent on this and his assertion of the need for a plan B. There are many things that could affect our imports/exports and thus our economy. Not only direct conflict or trade sanctions. A regional conflict, in say Korea or China/Tiawan, would affect shipping both ways.

So is there a need for a plan B and does our Government have such or simply kept its existance quiet? Who amongst us has the confidence that it has been considered or, given recent debarcles, thinks the government is capable of implementing this if the need arose?

Sonofglion, belly and Yabby, I particularly would like to read your thoughts on this.