Drew’s Twitters
- canion: RT @isaacforman: Was LeBron's decision show this drawn out? September 7, 2010
- canion: RT @ssharwood: and this is the bloke who wants question time to be faster and more functional! #auswaits September 7, 2010
- canion: Spit it out!!! September 7, 2010
- canion: @mjcp you are cracking me up! September 7, 2010
- canion: See what happens when you run with a visionary policy? It can win votes! #ausvotes #auswaits September 7, 2010
Hannah’s Twitters
- hbear: RT @Lyall: #AusVotes RT @robcorr: Best. Filibuster. Ever. September 7, 2010
- hbear: RT @KateLundy: New post: National Broadband Network decisive http://bit.ly/c0eEjE #nbn #ausvotes September 7, 2010
- hbear: @TanyiaMaxted I'm going to a wine night tonight in Adelaide - think I'll just be sampling the champagne! September 7, 2010
- hbear: RT @Pollytics: So - we get the NBN, the filter gets canned by the Greens BoP in the Senate, we have a tax summit and proper climate chan ... September 7, 2010
- hbear: Wahoo! #JuliaGillard #ausvotes September 7, 2010
The Haves and Have-Nots
[This news report from the ABC](http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200703/s1871154.htm) illustrates much of what is wrong with the society that Prime Minister Howard has created in his ten years of government.
Younger people are struggling to keep up financially, while those of the older generation (more typically Howard supporters) are doing just fine, thank you very much.
This has the potential to create a massive financial crisis in this country. If wealth isn't equitably distributed we run the risk of creating a massive underclass of people that can't afford to buy a home, can't afford to save money, and live on credit and loans. That will benefit the banks and other credit providers (and of course their shareholders) and will also benefit people who own multiple properties and rent them out (whilst at the same time claiming tax benefits through negative gearing - a distortive tax system that should be scrapped, in my opinion). Of course, the shareholders and landlords are more likely to be the older generation, who have the cash to invest. So they make more money off the younger generation. The rich get richer...
So for all the talk of the economic boom that is occurring in Australia, and particularly Western Australia, it is crucial that we keep in mind that the boom is not being applied equitable. Many people continue to struggle. The last thing we need is for them to also give up hope of things ever improving. What this country needs is an economic framework and a vision for the future that offers hope to the next generation.