[Tuesday] Or, how I learned to stop sleeping and keep posting

[Lana Torrin]

There has been a significant amount of attention paid to wealth inequality in recent times. What impact the Occupy movement had in bringing attention to the issue I am unqualified to gauge.

What was the Occupy movement even about? As far as I could tell it was about pissing me (as a middle class worker) off by shitting up the streets and making me spend an extra 10 mins getting to work in the morning.

Well applying some critical thinking to my post perhaps you can work it out. It consists of two sentences so it shouldn't be too hard.

You had 3 points, of which the last one is specific to you.. The other 2 are specific to your country, which im not in.. So pretty much the occupy movement outside of the US was a 'look at me!!!' event. Well done for attempting to change what you see as an injustice in your own country. All of the people in the occupy movement in Australia are idiots.

Are you trying to suggest that Australia doesn't have the problems of wage inequality and business influencing
Politicians?

Yes. 75% of Australian adults are in the top 10% wealthiest in the world. You know that 1% everyone hates? We're it. And the lowest 10% wages are growing faster in Australia than everywhere in the world but Greece, Portugal, Spain and Ireland but Australia isn't using debt to fuel that growth. (Those statistics are a year or two old now, doubt Greece is having much growth atm.)

The "Aussie battler" is for the most part a myth. If you are earning 150k as a household you aren't a battler just because you can't afford your mortgage on a 4 bedroom house, two new cars and a trip to a tropical island every summer. Cost of living and cost of lifestyle are two very different things.

So how is the job market there for soon to be mechanical engineers with moderate to good knowledge of the english language or should i just suck it up and learn german already?

If you can apply it to mining drilling or rig construction, Fucking awesome.

[Me]

There has been a significant amount of attention paid to wealth inequality in recent times. What impact the Occupy movement had in bringing attention to the issue I am unqualified to gauge.

What was the Occupy movement even about? As far as I could tell it was about pissing me (as a middle class worker) off by shitting up the streets and making me spend an extra 10 mins getting to work in the morning.

Well applying some critical thinking to my post perhaps you can work it out. It consists of two sentences so it shouldn't be too hard.

You had 3 points, of which the last one is specific to you.. The other 2 are specific to your country, which im not in.. So pretty much the occupy movement outside of the US was a 'look at me!!!' event. Well done for attempting to change what you see as an injustice in your own country. All of the people in the occupy movement in Australia are idiots.

Are you trying to suggest that Australia doesn't have the problems of wage inequality and business influencing
Politicians?

Yes. 75% of Australian adults are in the top 10% wealthiest in the world. You know that 1% everyone hates? We're it. And the lowest 10% wages are growing faster in Australia than everywhere in the world but Greece, Portugal, Spain and Ireland but Australia isn't using debt to fuel that growth. (Those statistics are a year or two old now, doubt Greece is having much growth atm.)

The "Aussie battler" is for the most part a myth. If you are earning 150k as a household you aren't a battler just because you can't afford your mortgage on a 4 bedroom house, two new cars and a trip to a tropical island every summer. Cost of living and cost of lifestyle are two very different things.

So how is the job market there for soon to be mechanical engineers with moderate to good knowledge of the english language or should i just suck it up and learn german already?

If you can apply it to mining drilling or rig construction, Fucking awesome.

That, and its not half bad outside of the primary industries as well. A friend of mine pretty much walked straight from uni into an engineering job with the local utilities company. As long as you have a uni degree in something relevant everyone I know has gotten decent work within a few months of graduating. If you already have experience I'm sure it'd be even easier. Uni degrees are the kicker though, since just about everyone gets one nowdays if you don't have one its hard to get anything.

[Zeekar]

current plan is to get my diploma by end of february and then get a job with the company for which ill be working on my diploma project, get experience there, learn german or work on my english and if the situation continues to go on the current route in my country search for employment elsewhere.

[Me]

Regardless though, the wealthiest people in Australia are significantly more wealthy than most people in Australia, and the lowest paid will be pretty badly off struggling to make ends meet.

If you think Australia doesn't have many of the same problems as the rest of the Western world you are incredibly naive.

vOv Australia isn't as strataed as the US or UK. cbf looking up the figures but Australia is almost all what you'd call "middle class". Yeah there's a few really rich and some really poor but the vast, vast majority is just in the middle.

http://www.seek.com.au/jobs-resource...es/salary-info Disregard the top three because lol mining and there isn't a massive variation. Plus welfare payments are very generous for disabled, parents, bludgers, students and pretty much everyone else (students should get more but vOv).

Old article but it shows how Australia is pretty damn good in many measurements http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3726692.html

[Chrien]

Pretty sure we just had an earthquake in melbourne. Was kinda cool (obviously was a minor one)

[ctrlchris]

Pretty sure we just had an earthquake in melbourne. Was kinda cool (obviously was a minor one)

Confirmed

e-
Facebook is exploding with dumb fucks going HURRRRRRRRRRRRRRR WAT A HUGE EARTHQUAKE MY WHOLE HOUSE SHOOK HUUUUUUUUUR

NOW TAKING DONATIONS FOR THE RECOVERY FUND.
IF WE BAND TOGETHER WE CAN OVERCOME THIS.

WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY
WE CAN REBUILD HIM

[Smuggo]

vOv Australia isn't as strataed as the US or UK. cbf looking up the figures but Australia is almost all what you'd call "middle class".

This is pretty much the case in all of the Western world, have you never been to the US or western Europe? The issue at hand though is that a very small percentile earn such a vast amount that's perversely distorted, while those at the bottom can't afford to feed themselves properly. Yes there's lots of people in the middle doing okay, but the issue is that many at the top continue to live exorbitant lifestyles, while those in the middle tend to have to pay for it through taxes and those at the bottom still struggle.

[Me]

vOv Australia isn't as strataed as the US or UK. cbf looking up the figures but Australia is almost all what you'd call "middle class".

This is pretty much the case in all of the Western world, have you never been to the US or western Europe? The issue at hand though is that a very small percentile earn such a vast amount that's perversely distorted, while those at the bottom can't afford to feed themselves properly. Yes there's lots of people in the middle doing okay, but the issue is that many at the top continue to live exorbitant lifestyles, while those in the middle tend to have to pay for it through taxes and those at the bottom still struggle.

Unless its a banana republic with the rich syphoning off tax money how exactly do "those in the middle tend to have to pay for it through taxes"? They tend to be rich as they got lucky in business, can kick/hit/catch a ball or act/sing/whatever better than you or just simply were born into it. And how exactly does someone being super rich and living it up like a playboy affect you in the middle in the slightest?

Yeah it sucks for the poor people to be poor but that's what welfare is there for. You could make an argument for increasing taxation and welfare payments but its "those in the middle [who] tend to have to pay for it through taxes [due to there being a fucktonne more of them than Richie Rich] and those at the bottom still struggle."

[Smuggo]

vOv Australia isn't as strataed as the US or UK. cbf looking up the figures but Australia is almost all what you'd call "middle class".

This is pretty much the case in all of the Western world, have you never been to the US or western Europe? The issue at hand though is that a very small percentile earn such a vast amount that's perversely distorted, while those at the bottom can't afford to feed themselves properly. Yes there's lots of people in the middle doing okay, but the issue is that many at the top continue to live exorbitant lifestyles, while those in the middle tend to have to pay for it through taxes and those at the bottom still struggle.

Unless its a banana republic with the rich syphoning off tax money how exactly do "those in the middle tend to have to pay for it through taxes"? They tend to be rich as they got lucky in business, can kick/hit/catch a ball or act/sing/whatever better than you or just simply were born into it. And how exactly does someone being super rich and living it up like a playboy affect you in the middle in the slightest?

Yeah it sucks for the poor people to be poor but that's what welfare is there for. You could make an argument for increasing taxation and welfare payments but its "those in the middle [who] tend to have to pay for it through taxes [due to there being a fucktonne more of them than Richie Rich] and those at the bottom still struggle."

Because those at the top have tended to avoid being taxed because they can afford to. They have throughout history influenced policy and politicians with their money. And lastly they expect taxpayers to bail-out their companies and subsidise their losses and top up the low wages they pay.

[Chrien]

fyi this isn't some fringe theory its been talked about by people like Robert Reich, Paul Krugeman and Joseph Stiglitz.

In more interesting news the massive earthquake near Melbourne was a 5.4!

[Kransthow]

Unless its a banana republic with the rich syphoning off tax money how exactly do "those in the middle tend to have to pay for it through taxes"? They tend to be rich as they got lucky in business, can kick/hit/catch a ball or act/sing/whatever better than you or just simply were born into it. And how exactly does someone being super rich and living it up like a playboy affect you in the middle in the slightest?

iirc the idea is that the rich tend to pay fuck all in taxes while tending to get the greatest benefit from the government

[tekai]

fyi this isn't some fringe theory its been talked about by people like Robert Reich, Paul Krugeman and Joseph Stiglitz.

In more interesting news the massive earthquake near Melbourne was a 5.4!

5.4? sounds like an average dick

[Kransthow]

fyi this isn't some fringe theory its been talked about by people like Robert Reich, Paul Krugeman and Joseph Stiglitz.

In more interesting news the massive earthquake near Melbourne was a 5.4!

5.4? sounds like an average dick

Don't worry guys, it was just chris getting firm from his tonks ban

[Dirk]

Proposed to girlfriend, great success!

Now under the thumb forever more. Please reserve me a space in the emo thread.

[Tropic9]

Well done Dirk. Congratulations and welcome to the club

[ctrlchris]

Big up dirk

Outs to mrs.dirk

[Chrien]

Congrats!

[Smuggo]

Congrats Dirk.

[cheeba]

congrats Dirk!!

[Calks]

Congrats Dirk.

Happy Birfday Nordstern.

Highlight of my day so far was seeing Ian Hislop. Oh the exciting life I lead...