Market info, Holding shares in a public company has nothing to do with politics. It is not being a "lefty" to believe Business should have some controls on them. There is no such thing as "pure capitalism" or at least I dont know of any example where it exists.
I do know of examples where Govt is heavily involved in business and the people are very appreciative.... China,Singapore.
Australia has a democratic socialist political system and that is the system I prefer.Whereby the Govt and business BOTH have a role.Govt should stay out of business as far as possible,however business also needs to be kept in check for their own good and also sometimes there is a greater good issue.As an Australian reflecting "normal standards" how does that preclude me from owning shares? I suggest you get a basic understanding of political systems before you start criticizing.Your comments reflect your own ignorance rather than my confusion, dishonesty or mental health. Why retreat to insult? What might seem lefty is just a normal central view,but once again the extreme right views see it otherwise.No one has abhorrence for free enterprise.What normal "middle ground people" have is a healthy skepticism based on experience that business often behave badly and need to be kept inline.After the GFC Wall Street bankers castigated regulators for not putting more limits on them.Even though for years they fought regulation and rallied politicians for more freedom,which they later said they should not have had.Business needs to be protected against themselves. Any extreme ideology left or right is dangerous.Abbotts start has shown him making some early calls based on ideology which may create some serious problems down the road.
