What's going on with Labor?

[old man emu]

Ah! the early morning sound of Dan, Dan the Sanny Man in his forty-four door coupe!

 

  

 

If you were going to have a family gathering on the weekend, you had to ask for a second dunny can the week before.

 

 

[Yenn]

The reason you won't see retirees at the top restaurants is as you say purely fiscal, but not in the way you intended. It is hard to get a decent meal nowadays at a top restaurant and a lot easier at the local golf club, or pub.

 

I used to treat myself and my wife to a restaurant meal occasionally, but the quality has gone down and also the quantity, while the local eatery gives value for money.

 

 

[pmccarthy]

Daniel Andrews has signed us Victorians up to the Chinese Belt and Road initiative in defiance of our federal government. I think what is going on with Labor is the same as always, socialism.

 

 

[spacesailor]

Yen,

 

I agree entirely with you.

 

The last time I took my daughter &hubby out, we had to cook when we got  home.

 

The dessert must have come from Aldi,s, with bottled cream, straight from the preasure can.

 

 Not enough quantity, nor quality, to call it a meal.

 

spacesailor

 

 

[willedoo]

Daniel Andrews has signed us Victorians up to the Chinese Belt and Road initiative in defiance of our federal government. I think what is going on with Labor is the same as always, socialism.

 

pm, what's the Belt and Road initiative got to do with socialism, apart from the fact that a couple of participating countries are socialist. It's all about making money. There's dozens of countries signed up, from left leaning, through to right wing dictatorships. The main thrust of it is to globally ship goods faster and cheaper. All the participating countries stand to make money out of it. The man in the street will get very little if any socialist benefit from it. Companies, corporations and governments are the winners. I'd call that more capitalist than socialist.

 

 

[pmccarthy]

Influence follows money, in this case the influence comes from the Chinese communist party. 

by the way, we are shivering by the fire in a hailstorm, hope the weather is better up your way.

 

 

[willedoo]

It's actually nice and cool for late October, maybe the calm before the storm. You are right about the influence following money, but I doubt it has much to do with spreading ideology. With a lot of the poorer countries signing up, I think it's more of a debt bondage type of thing. The longer it takes those countries to pay back infrastructure loans, the longer China has secure trade and transport links. I can't see how it would affect us much, unless China funds major port infrastructure in Victoria. If that's not the case, it can only be good for market access for Victorian producers.

 

 

[facthunter]

 What weighs 3 tons and has 40 pistins and flies. ?  Nev

 

 

[pmccarthy]

A dunny truck. 

 

Labor here is planning massive infrastructure spend including tunnels, freeways and an airport link. I'm afraid we somehow will end up beholden to the Chinese. We have a rogue building union which gets $200,000+ for its construction workers and that money has to come from somewhere. The union on one side, the Chinese on the other, and our government in the middle. All socialist/communist organisations. (arguably the union is the biggest capitalist of all, but they follow the old manifesto).

 

 

[pmccarthy]

When I was young I was a member of the Workers' Industrial Union of Australia. They had a pamphlet which began:

 

We hold that there is a class struggle in society, and that the struggle is caused by the capitalist class owning the means of production, to which the working class must have access in order to live. The working class produce all value. The greater the share which the capitalist class appropriates, the less remains for the working class; therefore, the interests of these two classes are in constant conflict.

 

This came out of the push for One Big Union about the time of World War 1. I think this philosophy is behind the labor/Chinese/union relationships.

 

Here is a link to the WIUA pamphlet. http://www.reasoninrevolt.net.au/objects/images/image_viewer.html?d0452,43,1,S,

 

 

[willedoo]

It's basic Marxism. Karl Marx observed that the ruling class controlled the means of production and the working class sold their labour in return for a wage. The problem in his eyes was that the lower the wage, the higher the profit for the ruling class. It would still be like that if not for socialism through unions giving us certain workers rights and conditions like the 40 hour week (introduced by the USSR). Marx theorized that the answer was to place the means of production under the control of the workers.

 

As we know, there's many degrees of socialism; I guess the answer is to find the balance. Like it or not, we have socialism in this country, practiced by conservative governments as well as Labor. Every time they give out drought aid, that's rural socialism - the taxpayer propping up someone else's business. Every time we get a medicare rebate, it's socialism. Rich people pay more because they earn more and subsidize those on lower incomes. Many conservative voters have the luxury of a comfortable retirement due to a life long career of fair wages and working conditions brought about by unions, and workplace super introduced by a Labor government. They should think about that when they're grey nomading or going on sea cruises in retirement. If it wasn't for unions, three quarters of retired liberal voters would have the arse out of their pants.

 

I'm not a big fan of unions myself, but they're like ejection seats - they're better than the alternative.

 

 

[Methusala]

The most unpopular thing about unions is the required union dues. Australians don't see the small percentage added to each purchase that pays the producer's BCA fees etc. Workers must realise that their employer belongs to an employer's federation which opposes the unions. Bosses know that they need to have an organisation to lobby government and act in industrial disputes. They are, in this sense, far more sophisticated than their workers. I think that capitalist political parties are also more sophisticated than the labour arm. This is why they win the majority of elections and have the strongest voice in politics.

 

 

[Bruce]

In recent years, the unions have lost the war in a big way. Younger people, "educated" by the media, regard unions as evil. Only the police and specialist doctors have effective unions these days, although they are careful to call their union an association or a college.

 

The result of  this for most  of the rest is that wages are depressed and profits and executive wages are high.

 

Young people, in particular, are having trouble with high house prices and big utility bills. They might think that food prices are high, but that is yet to come. 

 

 

[old man emu]

Wouldn't today's young people really moan if they had to give up what the Labor Party and trade unionism has attained for the employee?

 

12 Hour days, 6 days per week. No annual holidays. No job security. No Basic Wage. No leave loading. No sick pay. No maternity/paternity leave. No compassionate leave. No worker's comp.

 

Then there's no Social Security payments. No compulsory superannuation. No WH&S.

 

In the 19th Century some employees did enjoy better employment conditions than others, but it was generally the Quaker business owners who made an effort to look after their workforces by providing good housing, education and a modicum of recreational leave. 

 

 

[nomadpete]

It's all about balance.

 

Unfortunately balance tilts towards whatever most benefits the viewholder.