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Lid posted:http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ne...medium=Facebook I wonder if the Australian Brick & Bricklayer Training Foundation might benefit somehow if more people decide to become bricklayers
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Mar 3, 2015 11:08
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Zetsubou-san posted:The AEC has guides (pdf) to help school teachers run student elections, there was an article in the local paper about it. The article mentioned that official ballots and boxes were provided. No word on democracy sausages. My grade 8 class did this for SRC representative, took an excursion to the AEC and everything. I won by donkey vote. Democracy In Action.
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Mar 3, 2015 11:12
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cpaf posted:I wonder if the Australian Brick & Bricklayer Training Foundation might benefit somehow if more people decide to become bricklayers Bricklaying is moving up in the world. 
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Mar 3, 2015 11:16
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Cleretic posted:I won by donkey vote. Democracy In Action.
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Mar 3, 2015 11:16
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Can we stop posting FDOTM cartoons already?
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Mar 3, 2015 11:18
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Mar 3, 2015 11:21
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Mar 3, 2015 11:23
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Lid posted:Why doesn't the media report on the people who die while undergoing chemotherapy every day? - An essentially identical comment to one on The Guardian. Actually several. Actually The Guardian commentators are insane in the complete opposite direction. Taking breast cancer as an example (one of the more common and more survivable cancers if treated) (treatment = surgery if recommended + chemo/radio as recommended)  The line goes down when someone dies. A = overall survival, B = survival not counting people who died from unrelated causes Note I can't quickly find a survival curve that stretches out to 10 years but the survival tends to flatten out after 5 years for people who took treatment and continue to go down for those who refused. BloatedCorpse fucked around with this message at 11:27 on Mar 3, 2015 |
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Mar 3, 2015 11:25
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Dear god.
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Mar 3, 2015 11:25
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Quantum Mechanic posted:The NSW Government are selling the poles and wires because we decriminalised sodomy. Started to watch that video and immediately fell asleep. Nevermind the abhorrent content, that guy has to be the most boring person to listen t.
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Mar 3, 2015 11:31
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time to add some more respectability to the much maligned and misunderstood greyhound industry.quote:A GREYHOUND trainer who tried to throw his dog over a 2m fence to escape the track before punching the club manager in the face is fighting a lengthy ban from the sport.
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Mar 3, 2015 11:43
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Jumpingmanjim posted:What does the ALP stand for? What do the greens stand for? Depends who they're talking to.
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Mar 3, 2015 11:49
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A wild Moron appears! Moron uses Troll! It has no effect.
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Mar 3, 2015 11:55
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There's no way the desperate, sweaty look with those strands of hair falling over the forehead while leaning over a map ISN'T a Downfall reference. Subtlest  of all time.
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Mar 3, 2015 12:08
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Pope is obviously cribbing my A-grade posts for inspiration 
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Mar 3, 2015 12:16
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I have a politically aware English lefty friend who is coming to Australia and doesn't really know anything about it, and has asked for reading recommendation to get an overview of history/politics etc. What's a good longread that sums up the entire bizarre and disgusting asylum seeker debacle, for the benefit of somebody who hasn't done the obstacle course of smoke and mirrors for the past fifteen years? Like, every now and then I wonder what it must look like to somebody who arrives from overseas, to find Australia frothing at the mouth at a tiny group of political refugees. Virtually anything good that I can think of having read comes from the understanding that you've already been schooled in the propaganda, I want something for fresh eyes. I know Christos Tsiolkas wrote that piece in the Monthly a while back, but I didn't like it, largely because it does what Howard wanted everybody to do and frames it as a question of general immigration rather than the resettlement of people in danger for their lives.
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Mar 3, 2015 12:18
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SeekOtherCandidate posted:There's no way the desperate, sweaty look with those strands of hair falling over the forehead while leaning over a map ISN'T a Downfall reference. Subtlest Not to mention the light fixture swinging and plaster falling from the roof under the impact of artillery.
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Mar 3, 2015 12:19
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freebooter posted:I have a politically aware English lefty friend who is coming to Australia and doesn't really know anything about it, and has asked for reading recommendation to get an overview of history/politics etc. What's a good longread that sums up the entire bizarre and disgusting asylum seeker debacle, for the benefit of somebody who hasn't done the obstacle course of smoke and mirrors for the past fifteen years? Like, every now and then I wonder what it must look like to somebody who arrives from overseas, to find Australia frothing at the mouth at a tiny group of political refugees. Virtually anything good that I can think of having read comes from the understanding that you've already been schooled in the propaganda, I want something for fresh eyes. http://www.bookdepository.com/Killing-History-Keith-Windschuttle/9781893554122
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Mar 3, 2015 12:22
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ewe2 posted:So many questions about this. Why now, six months after the sale went through? Is there a point to the article mentioning one of Xu's neighbours is a major shareholder of Cubbie? What's in it for Joe, who one would have thought might have needed whatever he's clearly expecting for this unaccustomed toughness months ago? Why, again, if the rules are that clear, did noone think "hey this might contravene FIRB"? From a couple of pages back. This is a pretty big deal because the property was purchased by an Australian company and pretty much every type of advisor with a foreign client would have set up a similar structure to handle Australian residential assets. For Hockey and the FIRB to come out and say that this isn't allowed, they've pretty much pissed off every major legal, financial and accounting firm in the country who would have given the same piece of advice to all their clients for years on end. Sure Hockey is probably after a big scalp but there are also so many legitimate ways to get around this that it's going to end with nothing but a big flop.
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Mar 3, 2015 12:26
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freebooter posted:I have a politically aware English lefty friend who is coming to Australia and doesn't really know anything about it, and has asked for reading recommendation to get an overview of history/politics etc. What's a good longread that sums up the entire bizarre and disgusting asylum seeker debacle, for the benefit of somebody who hasn't done the obstacle course of smoke and mirrors for the past fifteen years? Like, every now and then I wonder what it must look like to somebody who arrives from overseas, to find Australia frothing at the mouth at a tiny group of political refugees. Virtually anything good that I can think of having read comes from the understanding that you've already been schooled in the propaganda, I want something for fresh eyes. Greg Hunt recommends Wikipedia
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Mar 3, 2015 12:30
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freebooter posted:I have a politically aware English lefty friend who is coming to Australia and doesn't really know anything about it, and has asked for reading recommendation to get an overview of history/politics etc. What's a good longread that sums up the entire bizarre and disgusting asylum seeker debacle, for the benefit of somebody who hasn't done the obstacle course of smoke and mirrors for the past fifteen years? Like, every now and then I wonder what it must look like to somebody who arrives from overseas, to find Australia frothing at the mouth at a tiny group of political refugees. Virtually anything good that I can think of having read comes from the understanding that you've already been schooled in the propaganda, I want something for fresh eyes. These threads.
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Mar 3, 2015 12:36
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freebooter posted:I have a politically aware English lefty friend who is coming to Australia and doesn't really know anything about it, and has asked for reading recommendation to get an overview of history/politics etc. What's a good longread that sums up the entire bizarre and disgusting asylum seeker debacle, for the benefit of somebody who hasn't done the obstacle course of smoke and mirrors for the past fifteen years? Like, every now and then I wonder what it must look like to somebody who arrives from overseas, to find Australia frothing at the mouth at a tiny group of political refugees. Virtually anything good that I can think of having read comes from the understanding that you've already been schooled in the propaganda, I want something for fresh eyes. Sounds like they will be pre-loaded with your views so hardly worth it really.
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Mar 3, 2015 12:38
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Keith Windschuttle
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Mar 3, 2015 12:43
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Senor Tron posted:Just follow your nose. I had no idea what a stobie pole was, and when I saw this post did a search for "stobie pole crash" That's a whole lotta cars cut in half. Goddamn. 
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Mar 3, 2015 13:02
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Gorilla Salad posted:I had no idea what a stobie pole was, and when I saw this post did a search for "stobie pole crash" The Greens Are Tearing Families Apart
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Mar 3, 2015 13:09
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Gorilla Salad posted:I had no idea what a stobie pole was, and when I saw this post did a search for "stobie pole crash" Saw the tail end of a prang on Magill Rd when two boy racers were having a bit of a drag back 5 or so years ago. One of the cars involved found a stobie pole ended up in significantly more than two bits.
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Mar 3, 2015 13:10
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Quantum Mechanic posted:The NSW Government are selling the poles and wires because we decriminalised sodomy. Also at the Goulburn candidates' forum, the Outdoor Recreation Party's Wal Ashton argued that all local cafes would be "run by ethnics" if penalty rates were not deregulated. "I do not support these rigid laws. And in actual fact, if you want to have all our cafes run by ethnics - and nothing against ethnics - that's what will happen, because that's the only way you can actually pay labour on the weekend," Mr Ashton said, to murmurs from the audience. "Sorry, guys," he added.
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Mar 3, 2015 13:38
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homebrew posted:Saw the tail end of a prang on Magill Rd when two boy racers were having a bit of a drag back 5 or so years ago. One of the cars involved found a stobie pole ended up in significantly more than two bits. I remember pictures of that going around. hosed up. E:  
Mad Katter fucked around with this message at 13:50 on Mar 3, 2015 |
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Mar 3, 2015 13:42
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I love how this guy is basically admitting that café owners systematically pay "ethnics" (read: non-whites, I assume) below minimum wage, AND that he is scared of those same people.
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Mar 3, 2015 13:43
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It's like a significant number of people still live in the "we don't hired no coloured folk" 1930s (and 1940s, 50s, 60s, 70s, etc)
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Mar 3, 2015 13:47
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Ethnics is such a good dog whistle. I had a real dog whistle like that once but the cops made me get rid of it because people's windows kept shattering
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Mar 3, 2015 13:47
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Mithranderp posted:I love how this guy is basically admitting that café owners systematically pay "ethnics" (read: non-whites, I assume) below minimum wage, AND that he is scared of those same people. in this particular context "ethnics" is usually cafe owner-ese for "people whose kids don't resent their parents enough to get a job at mcdonalds instead of at their parents cafe" fuckin ethnics and their solid family unit UGH
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Mar 3, 2015 13:52
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Mithranderp posted:I love how this guy is basically admitting that café owners systematically pay "ethnics" (read: non-whites, I assume) below minimum wage, AND that he is scared of those same people. They pay 'ethnics' $15 an hour flat rate off the books, no tax no super. Sometimes even less, so yeah great lets deregulate penalty rates because this industry has way too much regulation as it is! Anyone know what rights someone on a student visa working more than 20 hours a week, off books under minimum wage actually has? I work with a couple of people who are employed through an agency which uses the fact these people are trying to support families, while studying and paying high tuition costs but who are only allowed to work 20 hours a week to completely exploit them. Obviously there is many issues with this but if one of these people were to complain would they have any grounds for an underpayment claim? or would the fact they work more than their allowed 20 hours a week just put them in the poo poo and get them deported? Really breaks my heart to see poor men and women working 7am to 11pm on $16 an hour flat rate. The agency collects upwards of $25 an hour for them from the company that requests the workers. Pretty sure this agency supplies workers to a lot of the hospitality industry in Sydney, what can I do about this?
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Mar 3, 2015 14:00
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Graic Gabtar posted:Sounds like they will be pre-loaded with your views so hardly worth it really. I just wanted to let you know that you are really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really loving stupid
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Mar 3, 2015 14:20
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dance my puppets, dance!! *giggles like an overweight 12 year old making his space troopers kiss*
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Mar 3, 2015 14:22
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tomkash posted:Really breaks my heart to see poor men and women working 7am to 11pm on $16 an hour flat rate. The agency collects upwards of $25 an hour for them from the company that requests the workers. Pretty sure this agency supplies workers to a lot of the hospitality industry in Sydney, what can I do about this? All letting it go on does is drive down available work for people who want to find legit jobs, and provide unscrupulous businesses with higher profits. If those people want to 'support families' they can apply for a work visa and pay tax like everyone else.
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Mar 3, 2015 14:37
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tomkash posted:They pay 'ethnics' $15 an hour flat rate off the books, no tax no super. Sometimes even less, so yeah great lets deregulate penalty rates because this industry has way too much regulation as it is! Call the ATO. The hard part is that not all of the workers may be legal to work or reside in Australia. Calling that in is bound to get a few people deported. I know from experience as an "illegal" that they are probably pretty drat desperate. I worked at a job with horrible hours and pay and I was grateful for what money I could pull in. It's a sick depressing cycle. I lucked out and became a DJ which gave me enough money to hire the legal help I needed. It's a hosed situation on your end. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't. Raged fucked around with this message at 14:51 on Mar 3, 2015 |
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Mar 3, 2015 14:49
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So, a few pages ago I foolishly agreed to dedicate some time tonight to explaining Australian Housing Bubble 101. Here goes. What is a “Bubble”? A bubble, in financial and economic terms, is a laymen’s metaphor for a market that is overpriced. It’s a ridiculously overused term, and not really that useful in terms of prediction. However it’s great when looking back in hindsight. “Oh, the bubble burst, look at that”, they cried from their comfortable armchair out on the street corner of their foreclosed home. It’s a metaphor that consists of three main elements: - Prices are higher than intrinsic value, and the latter is ridiculously hard to truly gauge at any one point in time; - Trading is more frequent and more intense. You can easily find some news recently about how auctions and home sales are moving faster in Melbourne and Sydney; - It can “Burst”, i.e. experience a sudden drop back to more “realistic” prices. This is what a lot of goons in here are hoping for, and unfortunately the bursting part isn’t nice for anybody, but more of that in a while; What causes a Bubble? Well, it’s complex, clearly. But a significant element can be held down to a term called Information Asymmetry. This is where a certain number of actors (rational or not) in a market have more information, and higher quality information, than others. So in the case of housing, those with the most and best information are usually those who pay regular attention to the drivers of the market, can understand what they mean, and respond accordingly in a disciplined way. Unfortunately due to the nature of the Australian population and our short history as a nation, most people are not in this category. To illustrate, here is a link to our most favourite of charts: http://i.imgur.com/V7pL4bx.jpg Usually, the people I described above with the best information are the “smart money” and “institutional investors” categories, because they get in early and predict what the market will do. In the event that a bubble doesn’t occur, you can see that these two categories will not lose out significantly when compared to the grey dotted line – i.e. “normal prices”. They have the choice of either selling out in the “bear trap” phase, or hanging on and selling out for a substantial amount more in the Mania phase. Those who lose? The public. This is because they’re usually not educated in economics, or finance, or Marxism, or any number of factors that influence the housing market. Their education is heavily influenced by peer groups. The baby boomers, for example, have been telling each other for years that “property only goes up”. During the GFC, when property went down elsewhere in the world, the message changed to “Well at least property still goes up here!” All it then takes is people doing this to each other en masse and you get the drift. Information asymmetry exists in most markets. It is a function of education, skill, attention, opportunity, vision, etc. A lot of markets have protections to account for and limit information asymmetry, because of the tendency for them to be exploited by, well… capitalists.
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Mar 3, 2015 15:00
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Where is the government in all this? Each layer of government has a stake in the status quo – local, state and federal. Due to the different tax systems they each use, they have different drivers of revenue. Local governments have rates and fees. State governments have the GST and various other taxes like stamp duty, but also play their part by “releasing land” for development. The Federal government collects income taxes and distributes GST. Unfortunately, those drivers at each level affect the behaviour of the governing body. Local governments are run by councillors who are elected by local residents. They are incentivised to ensure the existing residents are kept happy and pay the rates. State governments are incentivised to get the maximum amount of money possible for releasing land, and some still collect taxes like Stamp duty (based on percentage of value of land/house), fees for database searches, etc. Federal government is incentivised to ensure those who already have property are kept happy by not seeing its value reduce. They also collect income tax from builders, real estate agents, banks, the list goes on. The whole system as it is has evolved into this big beast where each layer of government has a direct incentive to ensure it continues. And as you’d expect, there are consequences for this action. What’s interesting though is the role of the Reserve Bank of Australia. The RBA meets on the first Tuesday of every month and decides what to do with interest rates. These rates affect every loan made by banking institutions in the country. If they push the rates up, loans get more expensive. If they push them down, loans get cheaper. The RBA also heavily influences the “lending requirements” of the banks. When you get a bank loan, you have to meet certain criteria in both who you are, and what you bring to the table. “Who you are” is things like what you do for a career, are you educated, do you have dependents – all things that can affect your ability to pay the mortgage. “What you bring to the table” are things like a deposit, or some other collateral. Both of these things are used by the bank to determine not whether to lend to you. The problem is, all banks are competing with each other. So they want more loans on their books. What happened in the GFC was that because of a lack of proper regulation, the banks upped the ante on each other and made more and more bad loans by gradually reducing the criteria that a sane bank like ours would keep going. The RBA solves all this by saying stuff like “alright, we want you guys to tighten up your lending requirements. You will all meet a target of debt to equity ratio on new loans by this date”. The banks might grumble in public, but in private it does them a favour because the system is strengthened. What about Negative Gearing? Ugh. Ughhh. Negative gearing is one of those ideas that looks good on paper but is pretty dumb in practise, unless carefully administered. The theory goes, you let bank interest and expenses used to maintain an investment property be claimed against the income of that property. Except somewhere along the line, we decided that no, you don’t just claim it against the income of the property, you can also claim it against your overall personal income. The net effect of this is that people take out HUGE loans for an investment property, on the assumption that the price of the home will go up. These loans effectively mean you’re paying more on the mortgage and fees than rent is bringing in. You can then use this to offset your main home and reduce tax and just ugh. It’s all based on this assumption that property always goes up. The interesting thing about this phenomena is that it can actually have the effect of causing rents to be cheaper than the cost of owning a home, which I find a lot of Goons complain about.
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Mar 3, 2015 15:01
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So who can stop a bubble forming and how? Bubbles form in markets due to what’s called “systemic behaviour”. You can’t pin blame on any one individual because it’s the system itself which is flawed. It becomes a choice for the various oversight agencies that contribute to the functioning of the market, as to whether to stop it happening, or let it happen. The difference between highly regulated markets, and laissez-faire markets. To understand this though, we have to look at the current Australian housing situation as a symptom of history. This article below highlights a nice comparison between the Australian and German systems: http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2011/06/how-germany-achieved-stable-affordable-housing/ Basically, Germany made a decision a long time ago to heavily regulate housing. This included not only the building and maintenance of housing, but also strict controls over the rental market. Because their housing situation is different, the population do not have a vehement loathing of renting. Somehow over the last century we Australians have got it in our thick skulls that the Dream is to own your own home. It’s a status symbol, investment, ego-extension, whatever. Home owning is also largely one of the laziest investment decisions a person can make. There are far better performing asset classes than homes if a person is willing to do their homework. Unfortunately, most Australians aren’t. They are the public as indicated in that bubble chart. Not lazy, per se, but just zero tolerance for taking any sort of investment risk. Anyway, ultimately the task of ensuring a bubble doesn’t form is down to governments and the RBA. Since the RBA has control over how much loans cost, they can help a bubble form by reducing rates – which they have done over the last few years. The RBA has a dilemma though. In times of economic downturn, more expensive loans mean businesses can’t afford to take risks by taking on debt. Government infrastructure spending is more expensive. So they have to decide whether it’s worth risking a housing bubble in order to make businesses, consumers and governments go out and take loans to boost the economy – ie create jobs. We haven’t seen the current federal government do this recently, because they refuse to fund certain types of infrastructure, and have this vicious, irrational hatred for debt. So naturally, the RBA has no choice but to reduce rates to fulfil its mandate. They have risked a bubble due to the intransigence of the various layers of government.
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Mar 3, 2015 15:02
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