I know what SL was refering to, he doesn't think we need a competitive basic manufacturing component in our economy. Why would I want to compare living standards?..
"Your comment about returning to the 80's . Do you really want to ? Cars were crap. Travelling was much more expensive . Shops ( including petrol stations ) not open on weekends . Medical technology non existent . No mobile phones or internet . Very few freeways . Terribly hard to borrow money . I could go on...."
C'mon, really don't be ridiculous, I think you need to better interpret what I said.. I was referring to 80's PRICES.. travelling is not a need in most cases its a want..
Wages is only one component of prices..
Lets put the current poor economic conditions in the US aside for a moment.. The cost of living in the US has for a long time generally been much cheaper than in Aust. and wages there have been lower I would imagine. Now, a low cost of living can be supported by lower wages there is no dispute about that. If you look back far enough, the cost of living in Aust. was relatively low and hence it was able to be supported by lower wages (and from ONE income earner). Tell me the cost of living has not skyrocketed more recently and made it significantly harder..(even with TWO income households).
A quick simple google search would have convinced you, rather than waiting for me to convince you with a link. But here it is anyway.
