Whoever: Hmmmm, so says the bludger who is not working whilst comfortably living off welfare himself ... his $120,000 a year superannuation income (he admitted that in a past post) full of OVERTLY GENEROUS TAX BREAKS (welfare), CONCESSIONS (welfare) and PAST EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS as he wasn't always self employed (welfare).

One has to remember here that to get that amount of Super the person must have been employed for a long time & paid his fair share of Taxes.

As far as "Super" goes. yopu are Taxed when it goes in, while it's in there it gets Fee'd to blazes, then gets Taxed when you finally get it.

I really wouldn't call that "Bludging on Welfare." The Government used you money while they had it, kept most of it anyway then doled it out to the Pensioner in a miserly fashion. so, my friend nhoj, Get, well you know.

579: Tasmanian Palmer United Party Senator-elect Jacqui Lambie says drug testing politicians might help explain some of the policy decisions made in Canberra.

I second that, or would I have to get on the end of the line.

579, I don't think it would be fair to test politicians for drugs, some legitimately need them. As I understand it, at this very moment our Tone is on medically prescribed 'human hormones'. Doctors fully expect with an intensive program of these drugs our Tone will be at least half human within 5 years! A medical miracle no less! Unfortunately the first political patent for human hormone treatment, Mathias Cormann, was an abject failure, despite 10 years of intensive treatment poor Mathias is still a 'Neanderthal', no change what so ever. Medical science does have its failures.
p/s This is the real reason our Tone wants all that dosh from a Medicare copayment. Medical research! Yes our Tone want Medical Science to find a way to turn Liberal politicians into human beings! Now such a discovery as that, would be right up there with something like finding a cure for baldness or hives or the 7 day itch! Those really important medical things.

<<Well, on the day of the last State of Origin Match I had several cartons of beer, bottles of Rum & some bottles of Whiskey as fellow passengers on the plane....>>
Indi...That joke fell flat. were we supposed to laugh?

Good evening to you JAYB...

I've heard nothing but good about these 'Men's Sheds', though I've never gone along to them personally, my GP has been a couple of times himself. After which he has even referred a few of his older (Widowed) patients there too. All apparently reporting back to him, in a most positive way ! They do really marvellous work, even with the young unemployed.

JAYB, I really have no idea what can be done with some of these young, mentally and physically healthy, unemployed people. I can certainly corroborate as to what can happen to them should they gravitate into drugs and ultimately a life of crime ?

It seems if you were to suggest they try to improve their basic standard of education, you could be roundly pilloried by those on the left...Why ? Surely there is nothing in that statement that could be described as political ? Nor could it be criticised as being anti-social, or even unfair or too hard, on a young person ?

I know of no trade, where even a basic level of mathematics is not required ? Even reading is essential, not to a standard where Billy Shakespeare's works are the preferred theme for discussion, rather than, 'the last race at tonight's Harold Park's dogs' ? Then why on earth do those of the left, criticise statements of a kind similar to this ? I really don't get it, to me it's basic common sense ?

Thank you for your 'heads up' on the 'Men's Sheds', most appreciated indeed.

Hi Jayb, & o sung, it is the feminists in control of education these days you can blame for much of the lack of math. They have dumbed it down so much to suit the girls, even the high achievers in senior math are arriving at university incapable of doing the work kids did 25 years ago.

A friend of ours got out of high school teaching, when he couldn't stand watching how the syllabus was going.

He started teaching remedial math at a couple of TAFE colleges to those kids wanting to do a trade, but with insufficient math. He loved it. For the first time in years he had a whole class that wanted to learn. It was pretty hard going with some, who could not make change for a hamburger, if the cash register didn't do it for them.

So many of these boys had done very little but muck around at school, & learnt stuff all. Some admitted it was not "cool" for boys to do well at school today. Very few of even the best could handle an electrical apprenticeship math without coaching.

He still does some TAFE, but is now doing mostly the same thing with university BSc students. It really surprised him how little math some kids, with high OP scores, able to get into difficult courses, really understood.

He is finding this a little less satisfying as many of the young ladies doing Environmental science are not even capable of junior high school math, & resent having to try to learn, rather than wanting to.

They expected to learn better ways to hug trees, not math. They expect a BSc because they feel green, not because they know anything.

Has been: the young ladies doing Environmental science .... They expect a BSc because they feel green.

Yes. It was the same with many of these yong fellows. They expect to be Motor Mechanics because they like "fast cars."

Sad, so sad.