Our Nation has been sold down the river

[old man emu]

[JUSTIFY]For generations, the phrase "sold down the river" has been used to signify a profound betrayal. In the USA, for much of the first half of the 19th century, the threat of being 'sold down the river' was seen as tantamount to a death sentence for slaves. They were powerless to influence their fate. Now, towards the end of the first quarter of the 21st Century, Australians have been sold down the river by their Government. And that river is the Yangtze.[/JUSTIFY]

 

The Corona virus incident has shone the spotlight on how much of our economy's health is predicated on the economic health of China. It used to be said that when the USA's economy sneezes, Australia catches cold. Now, it seems, when China sniffles, Australia contracts double pneumonia.

 

Why is this so? It's because our Government has allowed China first access to our assets and our agricultural production in return for China's manufacturing output. Australians now can only access the dregs of our agricultural production, and have lost the ability to manufacture the essential things we need. We produce wool and cotton, but don't make cloth. We fish our waters, but don't get its bounty. We cultivate our lands, but don't get the choicest foods.

 

Coles is currently running an ad saying that Australia grows the world's best fruit and vegetables. When was the last time export quality fruit and vegetable appeared on our supermarket shelves? Our fruit growers are ripping their trees out of the ground for want of a reasonable return for their fruit. Meat? At the stock auctions, whole pens of the best sheep and lamb are being sold for export, leaving the scrag ends for home consumption. If you want decent Australian seafood occasionally, forget it. What ends up in our fishmongers is the fish John West rejects, or the imported muck of dubious cleanliness.

 

What is our Conservative Government's response to Corona virus hysteria? Nothing but talk about the Economy. That's a Conservative Government's raison d'etre . Money, money, money. And who controls the money? Supporters of Conservative Governments. What this Country needs is another Big Fella - Jack Lang, who will tell the Gnomes of Zurich where to shove their adoration of Mamon and set about placing the welfare of Australia's citizens first, last, and every other time.

[nomadpete]

In addition to your (in my opinion accurate) rant,

I note that all 'expert' government spokespersons, are telling us that any form of meaningful national quarantine (temporary border closure) is impossible due to the effect it might have on our economy. That translates to 'sure people will die as a result, but what about the economy!'

 

Money is more important than lives.

 

I read that during the Spanish 'flu epidemic, Tasmania, which had tight isolation/quarantine/transport policies, also had the worlds lowest mortality rate (per capita). However, the present government has announced that it was impossible to impose similar policies (incidentally similar to what China has imposed) because of the financial impact. They announced this AFTER the first cases were identified, so they could safely announce that 'its too late now anyway'.

 

Yes, indeed, this new 'flu is highlighting Australia's loss of control over its destiny. On many levels. Entirely due to successive governments failing to plan responsibly.

[old man emu]

I thought people with commonsense would agree with my post, but to then call it a "rant"???

 

rant: verb

To speak, write or shout in a loud, uncontrolled, or angry way, often saying confused or silly things:

 

E. Nuff said.

[nomadpete]

OME.

Please accept my apology. No offence was intended.

I thought I made it clear that I totally agree with your post.

 

P.S. I think that use of the word 'rant' has morphed into a less offensive meaning when used in forums.

 

And my own post is what I'd consider to be my 'rant' on the subject. Our nation has indeed been sold down the river.

[Yenn]

One of the reasons that the best food goes overseas is the fact that people overseas are willing to pay high prices. A few years ago I went to Tassie on holiday and tried to buy crayfish. The price was ridiculous and the vendor told me that he won't drop the price for Aussies when he can get the high price overseas. I can see his point of view.

A couple of days ago a dairyfarmer was on radio saying he had just got a 4c per litre rise in price. before that he was being paid the same as in 2000.

It is not just the government that is stuffing us up, we are doing a good job of it ourselves by wanting everything at dirt cheap prices.

I never tasted a steak until I came to Australia, even though I fattened cattle as part of my living in the UK. It was just too expensive for Poms to eat British steak.

[Jerry_Atrick]

I heard on BBC4 and Aussie representative of whatever association represents the crayfish indistry that Aussie Lobster will be available to ordinary Australians at the knockdown price of around $150/kg, much less than they could get overseas prior t the Coronavirus outbreak.. I used to go to the fishing coop in Apollo Bay and get Fresh Lobster for around $30 or so per lobster - was a lot of money back in the mid 90's.. it is nice - but not $150/kg nice.

[old man emu]

Drift alert

 

P.S. I think that use of the word 'rant' has morphed into a less offensive meaning when used in forums.

 

I agree. According to that lexicon of modern usage, Urban Dictionary "rant" means "to extensively talk about a given topic longer than needed whether anyone cares or not." About 1600, "rant" meant "to be jovial and boisterous," also "to talk bombastically," from Dutch randten (earlier ranten) "talk foolishly, rave,". In the mid-19th century, the name was often applied to the Primitive Methodists, with reference to their crude and often noisy preaching.

 

An interesting development of the word "rant" was rantipole "a rude wild Boy or Girl". This meaning soon corrupted into "ride rantipole" which meant "The woman uppermost in the amorous congress".

 

[Yenn]

I cannot see the average Aussie paying $150 per kilo for crayfish and if the foreign market is closed to the fishermen they will have to reduce their price or shut up shop. That would be good for the crayfish and lobsters. It may even result in a lower priced industry.

[old man emu]

What is hoped for is a lobster on every plate.

 

We've grown sick of chicken.

[Andy]

I thought people with commonsense would agree with my post, but to then call it a "rant"???

 

rant: verb

To speak, write or shout in a loud, uncontrolled, or angry way, often saying confused or silly things:

 

E. Nuff said.

Feeling fragile today?

[pmccarthy]

Herbert Hoover made many visits to Australia and was responsible for mining projects in WA, Victoria and NSW. He became known for his work to feed the Belgian people during the Great War. Probably not with chicken.

[old man emu]

Feeling fragile today?

The problem with the written word is that it cannot convey the nuances of communication that are provided by tone of voice and facial expression which accompany the spoken word.

 

a chicken in every pot :something suggestive of general welfare or prosperity as in "At least nowadays we have a chicken in every pot, and a car in every garage to boot!

 

First stated by Henry IV (King of France from 1589 to 1610) of France, "I want there to be no peasant in my realm so poor that he will not have a chicken in his pot every Sunday,"

[Bruce Tuncks]

In the 1950's, I well remember my grandmother providing crayfish every Saturday, and there were generally 2 big ones. She was a pensioner, so they must have been cheap then. In all my adult life, I may have had crayfish 2 or 3 times, and they were real small ones.

This is how overpopulation and resource depletion works, and there is much more to come.

I don't see how you can blame the Chinese when everything in the Big W or Bunnings is made in China.

[spacesailor]

Queensland mud crabs are in the same boat.

Legislated to toss back all large size old females , ( None breeders) and all under size, leaving only one or two per pot hauled up, fit for market.

Young crabs mating old infertile ladies is what our Overpopulation needs. LoL

spacesailor

[Marty_d]

I keep thinking the title of this thread is "One Nation" instead of "Our Nation", and subsequently think - who cares?

[pmccarthy]

I keep thinking the title of this thread is "One Nation" instead of "Our Nation", and subsequently think - who cares?

Me too! Nearly posted the same comment.

[old man emu]

I keep thinking the title of this thread is "One Nation" instead of "Our Nation", and subsequently think - who cares?

 

I wasn't being xenophobic with my first post here, so I can't see it aligning with certain ideologies of one fringe Party.

 

Long before those fringe Parties arrived on the scene, our Governments have cringed before the Powers-that-Be in Britain, and after 1945, the USA. At Federation, we had a vibrant industrial population which was capable with keeping abreast of the technological advances of the time, and contributing to them. But a refusal by "Old Money" to force the loosening of the British apron strings soon had us falling behind.

[spacesailor]

AND

Following America won,t help us in any ways.

spacesailor

[old man emu]

Proof positive that the Australian people have become service providers instead of wealth producers is shown by looking at the occupations of those people now force onto the dole queue.

 

They are refreshment industry workers from restaurants to food vans. They are recreational facility workers. They are non-essential goods retail workers. The only people who seem to still be employed are those who work in very small businesses with no more than a handful of employees, or in occupations like infrastructure construction where people tend to work alone.

 

If we had a steel manufacturing industry, and machinery manufacturing industry, would we have so many of our fellow citizens without work due to this COVID 19 epidemic?

[octave]

Proof positive that the Australian people have become service providers instead of wealth producers

 

Why is a service provider any less of a wealth producer?

[nomadpete]

A clear demonstration of pure capitalism at work.

Casualisation of the workforce reduces the running cost of any business by allowing instant response to labour requirements. Which is CEO speak that translates to the loss of job security for the workers. Hence the instant queues of unemployed that we now see.

Under the old ( more socialist?) Model, wages were lower but the businesses were expected to hold a buffer of capital to tide their workforce over for a little while if there was a reasonably short downturn of business. Of course that's a generalisation. Not all businesses did this. But enough might have done so, to buffer the economy somewhat.

[nomadpete]

Curiously, our highest capitalist representatives who have championed the 'User Pays' and 'End of the Age of Entitlement' are expecting the government to suddenly open the coffers to provide the workers with some financial support!

Whatever happened to the end of the Age of entitlement? (I do note that many, many workers have happily taken casual rates which are 50% higher wages than full time wages, but without the safety net of paid leave, and now suddenly paying the price for that decision).

But, Isn't that a welfare state response, which is something that our right wing politicians have always strongly opposed?

 

I'm not debating the details of proposed general government handouts. That's a separate argument. Just identifying an apparent about face of political ideology.

[willedoo]

I think Scotty FM and Co. were forced into it by pure necessity. For the Liberals, throwing that much money at the unemployed is akin to drinking battery acid. It's just not in their DNA. To do what they've done, their economic advisors must have them really spooked.

 

This is the government that wanted to extend the retirement age to 70 and only backed down when Scotty's poll figures were dismal leading into the election. The same government that not only screwed pensioners, but via the social security reform bill passed into law with the help of Hansen and Hinch, also took significant amounts of money away from carers, the unemployed, and struggling farmers seeking income support. So to suddenly open the cash box, this must be serious.

[old man emu]

Why is a service provider any less of a wealth producer?

 

By "wealth producer" I mean producing something that has permanency, not transiency. I'm not attacking the person who does find a source of income in providing a service. I'm just saying that we need more people engaged in producing real trade goods and having a secure income from that work. At the moment we have lots of people shuffling paper who use the coffee and take-away shops, domestic cleaning services and such. The moment the economy turns sour for whatever reason, it's the service sector that closes down and lots of people are in financial strife.

[octave]

By "wealth producer" I mean producing something that has permanency, not transiency. I'm not attacking the person who does find a source of income in providing a service. I'm just saying that we need more people engaged in producing real trade goods and having a secure income from that work. At the moment we have lots of people shuffling paper who use the coffee and take-away shops, domestic cleaning services and such. The moment the economy turns sour for whatever reason, it's the service sector that closes down and lots of people are in financial strife.

 

Many service providers are thriving at this time. Most people spend their money on goods and services . This morning the fellow who cuts my lawn has been.

 

People in the unemployment queues are not all service workers. On my morning walk I pass though an industrial area, this morning it was like a ghost town,. Those factories that produce objects are mostly closed and presumably the workers are either taking holidays or unpaid leave or have been let go.

 

I think that at the moment whether people have lost their income due to this event is less related to service vs production and more to do with what things are required. Delivery drivers are quite busy.

 

I understand that you are not having a go at service workers:smile: