Agree with all that. If people dont have children, then they are literally saying "conditions are unfavourable for bringing additional people into the world (ie Australia)." When citizens make this decision, it is overirdden by the state in the name of getting a guernsey to get re elected on an image of "keeping the economy humming". Again, the govt interfers with the wishes of the people.
Perhaps the economy should contract as a natural reaction to declining birth rates until conditions are favourable again. Obviously if there are less people, they need less goods manufactured, and less services.
Case in point - Japan Their net migration is currently 0.51% of the population. In Australia, our rate is 1.9%. Thats only 0.6% off the height of the 1950s baby boom in America, where at its peak the birth rate was approx. 2.5%!
So here we are almost mimicking America in the 50s, when their economy was rapidly expanding in the midst of a true (post-war) boom, but our economy is stagnating, and unproductive. Genius.
The tax rates have not changed in the last 4 years, so bracket creep is eroding your standard of living as well.
Earn 70K a year, and effectively 20% of your income goes to the ghub mint. The more you earn, the more that percentage increases. Thats one reason we are unproductive - the tax rates do not foster any incentive to work longer hours.
Meanwhile the NDX is having another crack at the ATH? ha ha Not even a pneumonia outbreak can stop this "new bull market"!
(20min delay)