What is it with Labor and idiots

Originally posted by ezirida: ↑

there's only one massive hole in this theory EBULL.. yr on the money about idiots but not about distribution of income / wealth

(by the way I do not condone simply matching wage rises with inflation.. nothing could be more absurd but that is the standard of economic debate these days )

the hole in this theory EB is that upper class and asset class welfare dwarfs the pittance handed out to the lower echelons..

furthermore, the lower echelons have actually in real terms suffered a -ve asset shock over the last few years borne out by ABS stats and the most interesting aspect of this is that they didn't have the income / savings / assets to actually meet that impact, so where did it come from ? (hint - bnpl / cheap loans / beg steal or borrow from pretty much anywhere )

the kicker is that the top quintile have barely been touched, somehow able to maintain a savings rate at a whopping $110K per year.. there, my friend is one of the root causes of front facing price inflation..

so the facts really do bear out, that the lower echelon have literally taken a basting, while the top end has waltzed through

and if you live in a tourist area like I do, it is clear that from the level of luxury car driving, latte sipping, airbnb filling and furthermore, renovations to just about everything, there is no cost of living crisis at the top.. they are spending like there is no tomorrow

traditional conservatism is about austerity and values .. if the LNP can tap back into that, they're in with a chance.

ALP almost got it right with the austerity narrative but then they went and decided the voice was a good idea, the arts needed massive funding etc etc.. It takes a quality politician to sell austerity and we don't have any of them here

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cheers bro.... theres no easy answers to managing inflation with conundrums everywhere. raise wages and the right cry poor and blame the workers for their greedy need for food andrent (either/or is not adequate they say).

yet the Libs keep chiding the gov for ignoring increasing expenses to families as if they want a 10% wage increase.... really only setting up a dilemma trap for the Labs - if they increase wages they can then be said to put more inflationary pressure and if they don't push wages up they're ignoring the need of the poor.

the Libs want it both ways but Albanese has taken the middle course and defused the dilemma by asking for an inflationary neutral pay rise.

yes its highly contentious and I would rather they'd push for a 3.5% rise to reduce inflationary pressure, but I can't blame them for going to the more neutral position.

on the other hand, austerity is an immoderate term. it implies a severity of budget and wage cuts rather than any increase at all. this has been shown in previous recessions to reduce GDP growth excessively.

will the Libs have the courage to argue against a pay rise? or will they go and hide in their offices again?