Dear Shadow Minister,

I think I conceded an enfeebled intellect for the both of us actually.

As to participation rate look at what happened to it after the GFC;

https://www.statista.com/statistics/191734/us-civilian-labor-force-participation-rate-since-1990/

So 7% of the employed workforce just decided they didn't want to work any more? And then when things got “better” they decided to continue not working. Why do you think that was mate? Let's see your thinking cap for once.

SR,

Fair enough.

With regards the UBI, the whole concept of creating vast bureaucracies to tax people and give their money back seems patently ridiculous. If people need welfare then give it to them based on their needs.

As for the US participation rate, it has dropped 3% from 2008 to 2017 but seems to be picking up again as unemployment drops. As for the reasons I can only guess that with the GFC some people simply dropped out, took retrenchment packages, or retired.

It amused me how so many think a job and a basic income is a given.

Unless you create your own job, i.e business, then your job is the product of someone else's risk and you had better brace yourself as wages and conditions are about to go south very quickly.

The warning signs have been there for quite a while, however the likes of unions just don't see that what goes up, must also be allowed to come back down. It's the basic principle of supply V demand, and the demand for jobs is going to explode, but the supply of jobs is reducing meaning fierce competition for the fewer jobs.

You can't say you were not warned.

rechtub, finally someone having the stones to tell it like it is. You were short and sweet. I have tried to explain to some of these brainiacs that we have priced ourselves out of the market. I hope everyone had a good time while they were demanding more and more, now we see the results of that stupidity and greed. It amuses me that the govt and unions carry on about all these jobs and retraining and so on. The truth is quite different. With the thousands of jobs becoming vacant, there are not enough jobs to cater to all these retrenched workers. I will put it another way. Our labour cost is too expensive. We cannot compete. Anyone who suggests we make things to sell to ourselves, is a fool. It is clear to any thinking man that the only things that are making money and exports for Australia, involves little or no value added, or Aussie labour. Fortunately scale of economy takes care of the things we do export and lucky for us, we do. Dig stuff out of the ground, grow stuff on the ground. Crops, livestock etc; all with a minimum cost per unit product. I have cautioned many times, inflation is our enemy. Tell the govt to stop their push for higher inflation, it must be kept at a low and constant rate. If it is allowed to rise it helps create Ponzies, which every ten years or so is massaged into a GFC, by the powers that be so they scrape off billions at our expense. So the people must take stock by accepting that they are going to feel pain, even more than thus far. The property market MUST take, self imposed hit to the tune of minimum 20% to 30%. As should wages. I have warned that either we control the downgrading of our assets and incomes or it will be done for us by the banks and their malicious ,mal-vivant mongrels.