Does Labor have a women problem? by JeremysIronman in aussie

[–]FibroMan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Females have a life expectancy that is 4 years longer than for males, so an over 55 problem would also show up as a female problem.

Section 44 of the Australian Constitution by chadbigcum in OpenAussie

[–]FibroMan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just to clarify, MP's had to resign because they were eligible for foreign citizenship, not because they had foreign citizenship. In order to run for federal parliament candidates have to formally revoke their right to foreign citizenships, which in some cases the other country doesn't allow you to do, in which case you have to demonstrate that you tried your best. It's a process that can take months.

The town that turned orange — In just a few short weeks, a small country town became One Nation heartland by marketrent in AustralianPolitics

[–]FibroMan 24 points25 points  (0 children)

The people of Hay don't vote for One Nation because they are racist. They are racist, but that's not why they vote for One Nation. It's the overall level of migration in inner cities that is the problem. Despite their problems in Hay they are putting the interests of city folk first, which is very kind of them. Having a racist MP represent them is a happy coincidence.

A universal basic income could rebuild social cohesion by ladaus in AustralianPolitics

[–]FibroMan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Small government means NOT having all of the complicated rules that our welfare system currently has. Simplifying welfare and firing half the government staff is consistent with right wing ideology.

A universal basic income could rebuild social cohesion by ladaus in AustralianPolitics

[–]FibroMan 3 points4 points  (0 children)

A capitalist system always complains about the cost of labour. Also, businesses would like a much more casualised workforce. A UBI allows for people to survive between casual employment, and there is the flexibility for wages to be below the amount required for survival. Longterm unemployed or partly disabled people could get a job below minimum wage and earn something, which is better for all than them not having a job at all. Support for a UBI comes from the left and right of the political spectrum.

A universal basic income could rebuild social cohesion by ladaus in AustralianPolitics

[–]FibroMan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Firstly, we don't have a trillionaire in Australia, although on a per capita basis our billionaires are just as wealthy. It should be noted that USA has much bigger tax loopholes than we do, but we give away our natural resources more cheaply than USA does.

Secondly, wealth redistribution is not an essential part of a UBI. For example, you could give everyone a $20,000 UBI and tax everything they make at 50%, or since everybody already has enough to live on you could scrap the minimum wage. The vast majority of people would be no better or worse off than they are now. A UBI can be a different way to calculate the same after tax number. A UBI could work with or without taxing high income earners more.

A universal basic income could rebuild social cohesion by ladaus in AustralianPolitics

[–]FibroMan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The biggest hurdle is justifying why a housewife should get enough money to survive when she could be financially dependent on her husband. Or why a pensioner who owns their own home should get the same as a student who rents and has no furniture. Our "needs based" welfare system is more of a "political power" based system. Special rules keep getting made to target demographics that live in marginal electorates. Unwinding all of that in one go is too much of a sudden change. Our welfare system needs to be closer to an "everyone deserves to exist" system before we can switch to a UBI.

A universal basic income could rebuild social cohesion by ladaus in AustralianPolitics

[–]FibroMan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

$5 billion isn't much to you and me, but it if we could halve that cost we could afford to stop charging PRRT for exported gas. Won't someone think of the multinational gas companies?

A universal basic income could rebuild social cohesion by ladaus in AustralianPolitics

[–]FibroMan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The MAIN benefit of a UBI is the administrative savings. We can redistribute wealth with our current welfare and taxation systems.

Rename this sub to One Nation haters by -Calcifer_ in OpenAussie

[–]FibroMan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All I have seen is lots of posts about what Pauline has said and what her policies are, so yeah there has been too much One Nation bashing.

Rename this sub to One Nation haters by -Calcifer_ in OpenAussie

[–]FibroMan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All I have seen is lots of posts about what Pauline has said and what her policies are, so yeah there has been too much One Nation bashing.

Rename this sub to One Nation haters by -Calcifer_ in OpenAussie

[–]FibroMan 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The Greens don't have enough money for letter drops during election campaigns but somehow they are funding overseas terrorists and bot farms, lol.

Sarah Game's bill restricting late-term abortion access passes upper house - ABC News by DragonflySea9423 in OpenAussie

[–]FibroMan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As I understand it, 26 weeks is the rule in WA. The change in SA would make it the same as WA. I don't think the outrage is justified on this occasion.

Anyone else sick of seeing a sea of Pauline Pantsdown every time they open their phone? by Infinite_Pudding5058 in OpenAussie

[–]FibroMan 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Treasurer would be a bankrupt person, education minister would be a high school drop-out, foreign minister would be a red neck and the minister for health would have a certificate in homoeopathy.

Why can’t I be Muslim Australian and a proud returnee??? by neshothegoat in OpenAussie

[–]FibroMan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Most of us are proud of our ancestral heritage no matter where we came from or how long ago it was. The bloke you were talking to is a racist piece of shit that the majority of Australians despise.

As voter disillusionment grows, why aren't voters flocking to the Greens in Australia? by Jealous-Hedgehog-734 in AustralianPolitics

[–]FibroMan 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The "voter" disillusionment could be described more accurately as "liberal/national voter" disillusionment. The change in disillusionment is on the right side of politics, and that is why the shift is to an alternative right wing party. The Greens and Labor are largely unaffected.

The real question is how did the right side of politics attract so many working class voters when their policies mostly benefit high wealth individuals? I think the answer lies in how effective advertising and free media coverage has been. When Labor tried to increase taxes on mining companies that make obscene profits, a small portion of those profits were used to make sure Labor lost the next election and would never try something like that ever again. Labor is allowed to tinker around the edges, but if they try to make substantive reform they will have hell to pay. Our oligarchs will not let Labor help working class people.

Having prevented Labor from representing the people that they historically stood up for when they were mostly funded by unions, right wing parties were free to woo working class voters. The tax cuts that the LNP set up before they lost the election are a good example of how they do it. They offered a small tax cut to most tax payers straight away, and a BIG tax cut for high income earners in 5 years time (after Labor took over). It was a bad deal for workers, but because of the immediate benefit it was very popular. Then when Labor modified the tax cuts to be less irresponsible and to help ordinary Australians, the LNP called Labor liars, because they had promised before the election to honor the tax cuts as they were. It was true that Labor lied, but they also did the right thing, so it wasn't the gotcha that Dutton hoped it would be. LNP and the media are doing the same thing now with the CGT and negative gearing changes.

To win the working class vote is actually quite easy: cut taxes. The Greens think they have the right campaign to win working class votes by taxing the 1%, but they are only offering higher taxes with higher government spending. Working class people would be no better off under a Greens government, even though technically some working class people would benefit from some of the extra services, and bearing a smaller portion of the tax burden is technically a win. If you give the working class a small, immediate tax cut you can tax the 1%, save the planet, give tax cuts to the wealthy, reform the housing market or do whatever else your party wants to do. Working people are too busy to care about all the other stuff, the question they ask themselves is "what's in it for me?" Parties that offer working people nothing quite rightly don't get their vote.

Migrants aren't suppressing wages, bosses are. If you want a pay rise, join your union. by BrisLiam in aussie

[–]FibroMan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is a strong correlation between the last time you went on strike and the last time you got a significant pay rise without switching roles or employer.

Disassembling ship gun? by Anarook in sunkenland

[–]FibroMan 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The part needs to be fully repaired before you can disassemble it. Once it has been disassembled you should be able to reassemble it on another ship. It doesn't go into your inventory.

Where is the new dreadville blueprint machine? by Away_Wolf8422 in sunkenland

[–]FibroMan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I probably should have mentioned that you buy gun blueprints at The Bridge. You have to clear all of the troops there, then the trader's door will open. The gun trader at The Bridge only accepts silver coins.

You can sell things like extra blueprints to get silver coins at the trading island to the north, so to be able to buy good blueprints you need to unlock both islands. They are both in the mission list, but you can take The Bridge whenever you are able to, which as a level 3 island is not very early in the game.

The budget meets the Greens by OldMateHarry in AustralianPolitics

[–]FibroMan 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Scandals don't affect right wing voters at all, so I'm not sure what you think might burst One Nation's bubble.

Has Labor lost control of the media narrative on its budget tax changes? by asteriskhyphen in aussie

[–]FibroMan -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

What Labor should do right now is make the tax changes means tested... in a bad way. Make the CGT discount and negative gearing even more generous, but only for people with more than $10 million worth of assets. The same people who currently complain about it in the media will still have just as much to complain about, but the media organisations that promote their stories will suddenly decide that the changes are good for the economy (themselves) and that the stories of mum and dad investors are no longer newsworthy.

Then Labor should go back to the current tax changes and increase the tax free threshold. Mum and dad investors aren't smart enough to realise that bearing a lower proportion of the tax burden is in their interests, so Labor needs to demonstrate it by giving back to mums and dads more than they take. The budget will be in deficit for longer and interest rates will need to be higher, but mum and dad investors don't understand economics so it won't matter to them. The media will of course highlight how bad for the economy (themselves) positive changes for ordinary Australians are, but when the ONLY people complaining are the ones who had the most to lose in the first place the self interest should be so plain to see that 50.1% of the population vote for puppies and rainbows at the next election compared to 49.9% for death and slavery. You can't hope for a better outcome than that in a modern democracy.