I don't take you as stupid Doog, so you must be ignorant, because for the last time MY BUSINESS HAS NOT BEEN EFFECTED! GET IT!

I would like to say that the government should be able to put out some help to the small businesses that need it, if only to encourage industry and entrepreneurship, but there will always be someone else further down the line who will suffer from that decision. The problem we're really going to have to worry about is that while costs are "decreasing", prices of the final goods aren't.

webbrowan, I have been a retail butcher for 40 years tomorrow to be exact, 28 of those in my own business.

Back in 89 when I bought my first shop, my turnover was $8,000 per week, my GP was 28% and my rent was less than 2% of my turnover. There was no super, no work place health and safety levies etc and very little government red tape to speak of, and I had one staff member costing me about $500 per week for his 55 hours, which left me with a net profit of about $1500 per week, which was enormous in those days.

The reality is, and this is relevant to your comments, if I had that same shop today, turning over the same amount with the 28% GP, I would go broke. In fact, your typical small retail butcher today must have a GP of at least 50% just to make a small wage, the 'buying ones self a job scenario'.

It's all the additional costs that have led to the consumer paying more than double for their goods, while at the same time seeing owners making far less in actual dollars, let along in adjusted terms.

This is why so many small businesses today either close on Sundays, or pay cash to their workers, simply because the wages, especially those at 200% are unaffordable for those who want to run a legitimate business.

With all the talk about not wanting to cut penilty rates, rarely do you hear mention of the needs of the business, only ever the employee who only has a job in the first place due to someone tking a risk, sometimes a huge one at that as so many loose their houses over failed businesses and its not always due to incompitence or poor management.