579, you talk about the US.

My wife was there las year, went into a very crowded bar, as they all are, and was amazed at the fact that the bar ladies always remembered the drinks for the group she was serving. She would simply wait for the signal, as getting close to the bar was impossible, then she would take the money from the stack on the bar, hand out the drinks and never get them wrong.

Funny thing is, she was on $7.50 per hour, BUT, if she did a good job, she got what ever was left at the end of the night as she survived on tips. She achieved this as she was highly skilled and that's the difference between here and the US, because here you get paid even if you are hopeless. Not only that, but being hopeless is insufficient grounds for loosing your job. It's a joke!

Here, hospitality businesses are dropping like flys because they can't afford the wages, especially penalty rates.

As for pensioners, where did I say they should pay to see the doctor, unless of cause they have a self induced illness.

Finally, I am not against welfare, just welfare waste. HUGE DIFFERENCE.

< Is it OK if I stoop that low? >
You do it every day!

Now you're implying I slashed your tyres and ripped off your beloved stickers?

Did you not imply that baby boomers were creating difficulties?
Somehow it never entered your mind that perhaps people like yourself and the state, particularly those crooks you undyingly support are responsible for the difficulties that are upon us?

Now your only concern is your crooked mates are losing money... er votes and blaming successful folks for detesting the type of larcenist you are. No one ever slashed my tyres or ripped stickers off my car. But then I don't advertise my undying support for crooked criminals either. Karma must be a bitch!

It grieve,s me to talk to you.
But how could you in I believe Victoria slash my tire?
Are you just wrong or lieing?
I am a baby boomer, even you must know the word boom says many more of us being born in those post ww2 years, sees a big inflow of those who are on the pension.
So plainly untrue are your words, our differences may be because you intellectually just can not bring understanding to the debate.
You charges are false/wrong your manners non-existent can we each avoid talking to or about one another?
Honestly and earnestly can we avoid one another.
Your sniper style of posting is something I can do without
May I assure you, you are in fact not hot stuff.

I never expected an answer.
The thought that I was making a bombing run on my age group, baby boomers is, well madness.
As the other charges are.
But as the thread is now likely dead it is a pity we did not delve deeper in to the changes about to come.
Labor hurt single parents, it was something that had to be done.
Liberals [shame about the baby bonus] will too.
In fact welfare is under review in Britain too and we will return to this subject often,
Change is going to shake followers of both sides of politics, if China,s growth ends and it will.
We will not have enough to fund endless growth in the non productive sector.
Non productive? not meant as other than truth if we do not address this issue we will see an end to end of work age all together.

Yes Belly, the damage was done back twenty years ago, or more, when our governments, in all their wisdom decided we, a tiny remote nation would be better served with a level trade playing field.

It was a huge mistake and has, and will continue, to cost us dearly.

I seriously doubt we can ever reboot our manufacturing industries, to any sustainable levels, and the taxes collected by the service sector will simply not be enough to keep the wheels turning. Welfare on all levels will suffer but at least the illegals debacle seems to be under control. For now.

The only real solution in my view is a better fairer tax system, but big business won't allow that.

In short, we are screwed and our population is too small to recover in our life time, i say that because of the 22 odd million here, only about 6 million work, and of those, only just over half pay posetive taxes.

So we can only hope the future generations can make a go of things. Good luck with that I have to say.

That is why rehctub, governments of all colours now collect more in GST, licensing fees, stamp duty, fuel excise & tax, development charges, & still have to attempt public-private partnership deals to get anything done.

Yes we will waste billions in undeserved welfare payments, ridicules university courses of non subjects, boat people, union controlled big manufacturing, & all the other vote buying handouts, but have no funds for the things that help develop a prosperous nation.

At least with the incredibly expensive & unreliable alternate electricity generation, the last person to leave won't have to turn out the lights. They will have failed some years back.