Well said Armchair Critic, we should all get what we earn, not what we would like to be given. I really don't mind if someone wants to go surfing all day every day, provided no one else has to support them while they do it.

I could have been a wealthy man today, if I had chosen to be. Instead for 6 years I spent half my effort racing cars, quite successfully, but in the day when you paid your own costs, & were not paid to do it.

I then chose to go sailing around the Pacific islands for 6 years. These were my choices, & I am glad I made them, but I had no right to have expected others to pick up my costs while doing such things, & did not.

Actually it is quite surprising how much you can earn in out of the way places, if you have some skills, & are happy to use them.

There is far too much sit down money paid to too many drones today, about half of them mislabelled as public servants. Newman tried to do the right thing, & got rid of over 20,000 of them, without effecting government services at all. The silly girl Labor have as leader replaced all of them with interest. Of course, public servants are all good loyal left voters to a man/girl.

ttbn,

By perceived wisdom, I think you mean the collective wisdom and experience of some of the brightest minds in the world that has enabled 90% of the world to be dragged out of poverty. That living standards have improved ever decade since WWII is evidence of this.

Paul,

No one in his right mind wants a bloated bureaucracy, it's just that every time a "progressive" socialist government gets in, the numbers of public servants rockets without the commensurate improvement in services. Queensland is a prime example of where Labor beefs up the public service with no discernible improvement in services.

SM,

I would like to see evidence of your claim that 'free' trade has lifted “90% of the world out of poverty”. What percentage of the world lived in poverty before 'free' trade came into being?. Free trade has been around only since the 1990s, and today, 80% of the world's people live in poverty – on less that $10 per day. Almost half of these people live in China and India. 'Free' trade hasn't been much help at all, it seems.

“...  some of the brightest minds in the world” are into these trade treaties to screw some of the poorest people in the world. I'm not sure what you call a 'bright mind', and I don't know who your are referring to in the context of trade. More likely they are rat-cunning spivs and politicians (same thing, really).

All trade is between nation states, and controlled by very rich people. It has nothing to do with lifting people out of poverty. The people working in sweat shops throughout Asia still live in poverty.

ttbn

http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/trade/publication/the-role-of-trade-in-ending-poverty
https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/pres00_e/pr181_e.htm
http://www.theeuropean-magazine.com/bjorn-lomborg/7511-free-trade-to-end-global-poverty

And there are 1000s more of similar articles.

In fact, the biggest hurdles to ending global poverty are the trade barriers that the rich countries have against imports from poor countries.

SM,

You have a right to be wrong: and relying on the World Bank, out to justify itself, and anything from the European Union is very wrong. Cheers.

But ttbn,

You do being wrong so spectacularly. Since you don't accept the educated opinions of the world's financial institutions, perhaps you could elucidate your "opinions" with some references of your own?