Correction: The ABS shows Aust. current accout DEFICIT to be around $A 21 billion. sorry! i'm showing my age. DEN71

Yes Den71, and we also have a government in denial, trying very hard to convince Joe average that things are fine and that they will somehow produce a magic pudding that will reboot out manufacturing industry.

While I understand governments desire to keep propping up the car industry, it's a 'dead in the water' industry, due to our inability to compete on this government induced global playing field.

You can live in a million dollar house, on a salary that allows for 80% of that, just so long as you keep borrowing money, but, what happens when your capacity to borrow runs out.

As long as we keep putting money in to something, it will survive, the trouble is, when the wheels eventually fall off, the result will be the same, just the debt will be much higher.

Perhaps the government should stop wasting so much money and buy the car industries to create an industry that we all own, then make it attractive to buy locally made cars. Let's face it, the current price would have to be cheap.

Just imagine if you received a ten cents per litre discount on your fuel if you own a New Australian made car.

They could even have a second and third tier approach, whereby those who can't afford new, can buy a second hand one and receive a smaller discount on fuel.

This type of scheme could be adopted to many indudstries, focussing mostly on goods we don't value add, but could.

Either way, the government needs to rechanel the hand outs and put them in to job creation schemes, rather than just topping up ones lifestyle, or helping another countries lost cause.

Now this government continually crows about what shape we are in, but, go back four years, we had some $20billion in the bank.

Imagine where we will be in another say ten years, if nothing changes.

Butch , this is beginning to sound like an Arjay conspiracy. What is happening around the world, and AU is faring very well in comparison. It's only fair to say we are going to get blowback from the world economic situation. Some businesses are not seeing the turnover, because consumer demand is dull, and they are preferring to pay extra on mortgage. A shift is on toward online shopping, which cuts overhead.
A person watching for odd biscuits, isn't that quality control. You have not demonstrated what an unskilled job is, and what is your preferred pay rate for unskilled work.

579, what do you see that will turn us around.

Is it the continued support of dead in the water companies?

Is it some form of job creation, through governments developing, or assisting to develop inf that value adds something, that won't compete with businesses here already doing a similar thing?

Is it redirecting welfare into job creation, again, not into something already being done?

Imagine if we had government owned/supported factories that catered for the welfare recipients, or at the very least, those who can work, but choose not to.

At the end of the day, simply throwing money at something, that's money you don't have, is not a long term fx, it's a short term band aid.

We have seen the resluts of labor's, just throw money at it approach over the past four years.

Do you think that has been wise?

What is unskilled you ask.

Well, my description would be someone on a broom, or a rake, perhaps a stop go sign. Even a vast numbe of compliance people were unskilled, until they did that Internet course.

No doubt you will pick that to pieces, but go right ahead, as your denial will not solve the problems that are mor than looming, as even some of our pollies are starting to admit we are in for a shaky time.

No doubt if the world economy worsens it will affect Australia, no need for a genius to predict that. Sometimes it makes sense to help a company out, if it is cheaper than paying the dole.
You have a grumble about non skilled workers, somehow you see them as lesser people.
Australia's unemployed is not out of hand 5.2%. 5% is full employment.
Your predictions are just that,a typical knocker.
The banks are sacking people, their profits are not enough, apparently.
Employment is being created we are not stagnant.

579;
There was a report about Toyota the other day.
I cannot vouch for its accuracy but it said that line workers in the
factory get $93000 a year for day shift.

Now having spent a lot of time in a car factory I know exactly what is
involved and I cannot see how the work justifies that pay rate.
There were other entitlements that seemed rather generous to me.
If they are paying these rates perhaps that is why they need the
government on board as paymaster.

The number $500,000,000 seems to be getting thrown around. At a pay
difference of $30,000 that would be a subsidy for about 16,000 workers.
So is that in fact what the taxpayer is doing, subsidising each
workers pay by about $30,000 ?

How many line workers are there in the assembly plants ?
Whatever the number I think the pay rate is too high for that sort of work.
Of course the dole would be more than $30,000 but then most would
find other work.

If I was an unskilled worker I would certainly take up the job.
It is rather repetitious, but many seem to thrive on the work.
Certainly when I was there they seemed a happy lot with only the normal whinges.