Where is the mining boom spin off for the rest of us?
Well, there are many people who are asking the same question. Here is an example for you from the geographical heart of the boom, WA.
Quote (because i liked the article:-)
The hype gets bigger the longer we wait
The boom might be a comin', but the build up seems unbearable.
There might well be, as was said many a year ago, three kinds of lies - lies, damned lies, and statistics - but try telling that to West Australians these days.
Virtually every economic prediction for the state is predicated on the belief there will be a boom. The figures tell us so.
That's true. There are many billions in investment planned in the resources sector, and it's that phase of the industry, not production, that drives the wider economy. Advertisement: Story continues below
My personal economic barometer - how many people I know shifting here - has ratcheted up in recent months. They're all coming largely because (a) wherever they are isn't travelling that well, or (b) they've heard this is where the money is.
The destination of choice is "up north" to take advantage of those outrageous wages being paid by resources companies.
Most of my acquaintances are happy to throw in jobs around the world and move here on the likelihood that they will soon be much better off.
And its the developed world they're coming from, including the US. Those not headed for the mines or offshore gas projects are pretty happy with what they see as well above average wages in Perth.
Meanwhile the lifers, who have seen it all before and expect to see it all again, await with some trepidation.
Who among them wants rising house prices (unless they're selling and downsizing), an eternal wait for a tradesman, choked up roads and public transport, or a general increase in the cost of just about everything?
Not many, if any, but that's the price to pay of every boom.
There's a strange kind of limbo feeling in the air. We all expect it's coming, but it's not quite here.
That endless supply of statistics and the barometer most often quoted in an analysis of the wider economy, the residential property industry, is putting a brave face on some average recent times, by predicting a rosy 2011.
Or at least some of them are. Others, chiefly the building lobby, point to "dire" supply shortages and want government help.
Whatever the truth, fewer are prepared to take the plunge at the moment. They want to see the good times be officially "declared".
Businesses say they need plenty more workers. Hundreds of thousands by some estimates.
Meanwhile some of those that thought they were better off coming here - and didn't go up north - are having second thoughts.
The cost of living has balanced out much of those wage gains. They're about to encounter the same issues as the lifers. Reality hits hard.
The only certainty is that it'll all happen again one day. And again.
