Thread: The rich get richer.... Poor get...

“While money can't buy happiness, it certainly lets you choose your own form of misery.”

“The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made.”

“Those are my principles, and if you don't like them...well I have others."

― Groucho Marx

Originally Posted by nugge t

Aint all one sided I wouldn't have thought

and that is exactly the point.

there is good and bad on all sides

generalisations that all unions are evil are just as obnoxious as statements that all employers are greedy.

in this day and age of entitlement, both sides want it all instead of working out a way of sharing the nations good fortune.

but you cant change human nature....

and a little fact

http://www.afr.com/p/national/rich_n...n9ZrpVIm1THiZO

Agree with Inc there is good and bad on both side. I used to be an AWU rep and cannot stand that particular union anymore (a certain Bruce Wilson used to be our main organizer). Do not like militant unions like this CFMEW etc. I do believe some unions have a place and can benefit employees. Unions like the Police, Nurses and Hospitality tend to be a lot more reasonable with real grievances.

Originally Posted by BigJon

Can you be more specific about this lopsided system?

Yep, I earn great money and have some skills, but look at some unskilled work eg our Haul Pack drivers that earn over $120k pa but person who works at Bunnings earns $40k and often can work harder and longer. Huge differences in pay scale. I am certainly not complaining about what I earn but can see the inequality in it.
My belief is that everyone that is prepared to put in the effort and commitment should be able to earn a good wage. This howver is not the case in large.
There seems to be the mentality because we earn more we work harder. That is utter BS, most of us that earn decent money have done so through positioning ourselves and a lot of luck. Outside the mining industry most of us would be earning significantly less. It is extremely difficult to get into the mining industry unless you have either been in it or know someone that can influence.
In general most people work about as hard as one another whether in a low paid retail job or a high paid mining, executive or trade job.
Not for a minute begrudging us or anyone earning decent money, but look at some of it a lot of Uni jobs that take 6 plus years to get qualified for earn sub $100k pa and pretty much will do so for life. Same position in mining will double their income.

I think you should all be grateful for what you have and the fact that you live in this great country, I know I am

Now should I go to work or finish putting the gearbox in

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHo2pXO_XAI]Harry Enfield - Considerably richer than you - YouTube[/ame]

Hi

The opening premise here seems to be the old one about "if you are poor it is your own fault" This has been demonstrably proven false many times.


This all depends on what country you are talking about, in the US it is just getting worse, thanks to the big end of town and the GFC.

US Income Inequality Soars to Highest Levels on Record | Global Research

In "socialist" Australia our inequality is nowhere near as bad as the US due to our tax system being more of a sliding scale.

You may find this interesting and much more relative to the issue than a lot of the micro economic generalisations i have read so far in this thread.

Wealth Distribution and Income Inequality by Country | Global Finance

You will note in the US that the top 10 own almost 30% of the wealth and that is 10 year old data, it is now over 50%

Our societies were built on the concept of the common good and a large middle class, this is now being eroded and societies are becoming more polarised, more selfish and less inclusive as a result.

The idea of "trickle down economics" has also been thoroughly discredited, it generates wealth only for the already rich.

In the end it all comes down to what type of society we wish to live in.

On a micro level is seems there is a lot more at play than simple laziness

Study: Poverty Worsens Decision-making

This is a complex issue which needs more than slogans and unsupported assertions

Steve

Originally Posted by BigJon

Right there is the classic mistake. The deciding factor isn't how much you earn. It is how much you spend and what you spend it on. (With the proviso that you aren't making less than you need to eat and have somewhere to sleep)

If you have expensive hobbies (I did see horses mentioned) then that is a choice. An alternative choice would be to invest the horse money and get a cheaper hobby! (knitting anyone?).

Hey thanks heaps captian obvious that piece of advice really helped

however have you seen the price of wool

Tombie I find your post disrespectful to humanity. You obviously have no idea about the reality of life. If you take the silver spoon out of your mouth and get off the high pedestal you may stand a bit taller. My bank balance is zero but I am a much wealthier man than you. My wealth is not cash but love, understanding and compassion for real people.

I mean no disrespect to you personally as I don't know you personally but your post is very poor. I have worked hard all my life, like I would assume you and others, but I got badly ripped off by low life business partners and screwed over by a dishonest bank manager and solicitor. People I should have been able to trust. There was a time I could have boasted about my cash worth that could probably have been in your league, but I was cheated out of it. Health issues got in the way and have now sidelined me for the long haul.

But reading this post started by you shows me how poor you are and how wealthy I am. So thank you.