We have a situation where the law makers in our country are insulated from the effects of their decisions as quite simply, they don't really care about how much fuel costs, or how much it's gong to cost to run the heater this winter, simply because they are immune to prices due to their pay packets.

Take our incompetent self interested current PM, his pay rise which is about to kick in is half of what a pensioner is expected to live on for an entire year.

Surely we deserve better. Surely these people can see the damage that is being done to their people by out of control immigration, the green tape forcing prices up and jeopardizing our mining future, which is about all we have left, and the casualization of our workforce leading to many being under employed. Yet these fools just keep adding to the misery of their peoples daily lives. In fact, having been in retail most of my working life, I have never seen so many in what I call survival mode, and that's a crying shame, especially given those who have created this mess, past and present, go about their daily lives without a care in the world as they are not effected.

As I say, it's easy to say when you're on $300K but what can be done about it.

Dear rehctub,

My only suggestion is for people to really make their
votes count at the next election. Take a good look
at the policies on offer. And listen to what's being
promised very carefully.

rehctub,

The trouble is that the people who once did care for those less well off have been turned by the big bucks themselves. The Reds no longer fight the capitalists because they have joined them.

As to whether we "deserve" better: I am not sure we do, so lacking interest as most of us are. Prof. David Flint says that Australian voters deserve a Donald Trump. I agree, but I don't think we are going to get one. Australians seem to be more interested in commenting on Trump than they are in taking a serious attitude to the idiot who is supposed to be running our country.

Dear Rehctub,

«Surely we deserve better.»

It appears that we do not!

Nobody ever gets anything, good or bad, which they do not deserve. This is the law of karma.

Those politicians on the other hand, are now spending the merits of their past lives - but at this rate, their merits will soon be all spent off.

«but what can be done about it»

Pray. Do good and avoid evil. Keep good company and avoid evil company.

Take refuge in God, for politicians are only here to torment us for a while, for our past misdeeds, while God's grace is eternal!

Dear rehctub,

As I stated earlier - we need to be really careful in whom
we select to run our country. Do we really want someone
like the person mentioned in the link below?

A Satirical Take on the Daily Shenanigans of America's
Current "Narcissist in Chief."

http://omfgtrumpblog.com/2018/06/12/pardon-me-and-you-too

Yuyutsu

Your a poor lost soul. So let's tick off the Jews who were gassed and melted down for valuables, deserved their fate: that's karma.

I've seen your reasoning on the poor recently...it's all their fault for sitting around not making an effort.

Far out!

Relax rechtub, Turnbull and his sable manager Rupert Murdock are about to be removed,but! tax reform and a fairer world will be fought tooth and nail by the richest of us no matter who rules

Dear Dan,

«So let's tick off the Jews who were gassed and melted down for valuables, deserved their fate: that's karma.»

This does not absolve the Nazis, their tormentors, who are now paying for it even more dearly.

«I've seen your reasoning on the poor recently...it's all their fault for sitting around not making an effort.»

It's not a fault to be poor.

Yes, if you sit around and make no effort to forward your life, then poverty will come, just as when you hit your toe with a hammer then pain will come. There is no crime, no judgement, just action and the results of action.

if you sit around and make no effort? is that why thousands die of starvation? why pensioners who worked some times two jobs must stay home, not spend, just to save enough to by the grand kids a present? why do two percent of the worlds population own 90 percent of its wealth?note for beginners, *they are all the same* is a cop out, it keeps bad government in power, and is wrong, always ,the only way the truly poor in our country at least, make an impact is in politics

Dear Belly,

«if you sit around and make no effort? is that why thousands die of starvation?»

This is one common reason, but not the only one.

Say a Nazi officer starved many Jews in WW2, then as a result, now and perhaps for the next 50 lifetimes, they are born in Africa or Bangladesh and die there of starvation.

Still, anyone has a choice and can do something to improve their lives, to learn, to save, something even if it is small. Perhaps not enough to save themselves from starvation, perhaps only enough to live just one more day, yet something.

But take that former Nazi: yes, they would be feeling so paralysingly guilty (and rightly so) that they would not even lift a finger to help themselves.

rechtub,
When Howard left office the PM salary was $296,000, when Rudd departed it was $508,000.

individual,

The current Prime Minister gets - $527,852.00. Ten times
the wage of the average Australian. The combined worth
of Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull is $133 million.

On the flip-side, I'm sure all the politicians in Canberra
are doing very well - salary wise, including all the perks.

Foxy,
So, Rudd's $200,000 payrise to Howard's & Turnbull's from Rudd by $20,000. Just for comparison re the dreadful Tories & the Workers' party.

At last! my lifetime search for the meaning of life is over, every single thing is labors fault!
Any debate, just throw the madness it is a Marxist plot at workers/Labor and wander off you win!
OH we could talk about how some one earning 600/800 a week ruins the economy but that may get in the way of our biases

Belly,
Don't despair, give us a few days & somone will come up with something good that Labor has achieved.
I always thought Superannuation was a great Labor initiative until I realised it was designed to oust the old age pension.

Yuyutsu,
Perhaps you were not being serious when your wrote: "Say a Nazi officer starved many Jews in WW2, then as a result ...they are born in Africa or Bangladesh and die there of starvation. Take that former Nazi: yes, they would be feeling so paralysingly guilty (and rightly so) that they would not even lift a finger to help themselves..... '

But if you were serious, there seem to be some flaws in your argument. I don't know how many Nazi officers starved (or otherwise mistreated) Jews, but let's say perhaps 50,000. It is clear that starvation and poverty in Africa affect a much larger number, certainly many millions. Some of those starving millions may be reincarnated Nazis now suffering, but there's not enough Nazi's to go round. Does this mean that all the other starving Africans are reincarnations of other evil people?

Are the starving Africans conscious of the fact that they are reincarnated Nazis? Do they remember what their previous Nazi selves did? If so do they remember it in German or an African language? Surely they would have to remember it to feel paralysingly guilty? Has any starving African ever said 'I realise that my current situation is due to my past sins as a German Nazi torturer and I feel so guilty about it that I am not going to plant a crop to feed my children.'

Christianity is increasing in Africa, so if a starving Christian African accepts Christ and is forgiven his sins, does this also mean forgiveness of past sins as a Nazi, or are these sins that cannot be forgiven even in Christianity and the cycle of reincarnation continues? Similarly, if it's necessary to do good in order to expiate previous evil, why make this so hard by reincarnating people in situations where they just suffer for a few years and die in childhood? Isn't this an evil act itself?

Finally, I think most of the Nazi officers were male. So why are African women starving? Did some Nazi men get reincarnated as women?

re incarnation is a lie.

I'm quite confused when we discuss out politicians's salary's? Prima facie, they're handsomely remunerated, especially when you take into account their base salary, together with the many allowances and other benefits they're in receipt of.

There again, one wise soul stated, when speaking of politicians salaries, '...you pay peanuts, you get monkeys...'? Somehow I think there's an element of truth in that statement.

Look, I really don't know how their salary's should structured? Perhaps based on their particular achievements while in office, or the hours worked? I don't think so. Most accept, they all work pretty damn hard. So how should it be done?

individual,

You should Google some of the outrageous salaries
of our politicians. They're available on the web.
Then you'll really get a shock. And that doesn't
include all the perks such as air-travel, offices,
staff, limos, et cetera. I think if their salaries
were made more equitable to that of their voters -
we'd possibly have no need for tax cuts. Think of the
savings.

runner,

There's a joke that describes a bloke who didn't
believe in re-incarnation. Well the Creator decided
to teach him a lesson. When this man died - he came
back as a blade of grass - swaying peacefully in a
field. Along came a cow and ate him. Before he knew it
he plopped out as a rich steaming pile in the same
field. Along came a farmer (who knew the bloke
previously). " Hi Colin, Gee, you haven't changed
one bit!" said the farmer.

You'd better be careful - about what you claim not to
believe in. There is such a thing as - Karma!

cont'd ...

I forgot to add - we should also watch how
we behave in our lives - because that will
determine what we'll come back as - just like
the bloke in the joke found out. (smile).
The joke was on him.

Yuyutsu,

I think you are beautifully innocent charmingly naive...you keep it up now!

Foxy,
I check on the salaries of politicians & public servants every now & then. I can't fathom how some public servants can earn $200,000 + on top of the PM's salary.
The Tax Commissioner, the head of Border Force are on $770-740,000 respectively. Centrelink is another appallingly immoral outfit with lierally hundres of high salary bureaudroids.
Government is morphing into an uncontrollable salary guzzler. ALP/LNP no matter who is in.
Try & owe the Tax department $20 & see how many hundres of thousands are spend on chasing you around. I'm convinced that in other countries they'd be done away with.

individual,

I don't like to think about it.

To me it simply seems like there's so much
money being wasted that could be put to better
use. I think we need a shake-up.

O SUNG, one option I would like to see put to the test is to pay far higher salaries, and have mandatory professional indemnity insurance for them, where we pay the premium, but they pay any excesses, which by the way would only be generated through their incompetence.

Given the waste we have seen over the past ten odd years, it would have been nice to get that back.

Dear Cossomby,

Nazi officers were just one example. Obviously there were others who recently starved many people, such as Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, the Kim dynasty, etc. Moreover, some could still be suffering for things they've done many centuries ago if not even longer. Further even, one could possibly reap the results of their actions in a different species, on a different planet, galaxy or even in a different universe.

We generally do not consciously remember anything from our past lives, but bury it deep in our subconsciousness (and so it should be, otherwise we wouldn't be able to function normally in our current family and society), yet these subconscious memories still weigh on us even without our awareness.

Interesting question: if a starving Christian African accepts Christ... Well, if they truly accepted Christ, then they would still remain poor and starving, that wouldn't change, but it would no longer bother them, no longer disturb their peace. As for those who still need to pay for their actions over many more lives, while it is rare and so unlikely for such a heavy sinner to accept Christ, in theory, should this happen then there are esoteric ways to have their karma exhausted faster (such as feeling the pain of others, even assuming many starving bodies all at once) so they will no longer need to be reborn.

While it is not strictly required to do good in order to expiate previous evil, doing good can bring about such favourable circumstances that encourage and support one to cease doing further evil.

Regarding dying in childhood - yes, this happens too. Why, many Jewish children were starved in the holocaust.

Regarding gender, why should this be a big deal? You could just the same have asked about other bodily properties, such as how a blonde Aryan would be reborn as a black-haired Negro.

Yuyutsu,
what's your view on why God tolerates the suffering of innocent children ?

Dear Individual,

«what's your view on why God tolerates the suffering of innocent children?»

1) Children (and people in general) are just bodies, so they cannot suffer any more than dolls, teddy-bears, cars and robots - it is rather the souls which assume and identify with a [human] physical body who can suffer. They assume that body because they desire to enjoy pleasures through it - and as a result they indeed get some little pleasures through it, but also greater sufferings.

One who has a desire for pleasures, is not innocent!

There is a place in Africa where they trap monkeys by drilling a hole in a tree and placing grains inside. The hole is large enough for a monkey to put their extended hand through, but not large enough to take their closed fist out. Stupid monkeys fail to release the grains, so they are caught. All a monkey needs to gain their freedom, is to let go of the grains: Give up that desire to enjoy, then you will immediately also stop suffering.

2) God doesn't come into it because God is not a being or a personality, so it is meaningless to attribute any action or attitude to God, including tolerance.

Yuyutsu,
WOW !
The body thing is pretty strange a view but I like the monkey-closed fist one. Imaging having a similar system at the voting booths but with trees & holes instead. Would be interesting to see how many left/right voters' hands get stuck :-)