the election, and stuff..
- Thread starter Blitzkrieg
- Start date
Goreripper
Metal as fuck
The interest rate argument is a pretty important one now thanks to the GST. Howard's made the interest rate issue even more critical because before the GST, interest rates could afford to go up a little without too much concern, but now that people are paying 10% more for everything already, with no real tax relief for regular workers to offset it, an interest rate hike would hurt even more. So it's true that an increase in the interest rate is going to hurt, and that it's more likely to increase under Labor, but no matter how carefully the Liberals manage the local economy, there's no guarantee they can pin down interest rates to less than 10% forever. It's a bit of a furphy at the moment anyway, because the enormous rise in fuel prices lately and the increase in medical costs due to the erosion of Medicare has virtually cancelled out much of the savings that regular people were making due to the low interest rate anyway.
Labor appears to be aiming to introduce policies that will offset any rise in the interest rate so that regular people aren't shortchanged should they increase. The Liberals just seem to be counting on their economic management skills keeping them low, and there's no guarantee they can do that.
Labor appears to be aiming to introduce policies that will offset any rise in the interest rate so that regular people aren't shortchanged should they increase. The Liberals just seem to be counting on their economic management skills keeping them low, and there's no guarantee they can do that.
Goreripper
Metal as fuck
I wasn't even aware that Victoria's public transport was privatised until now, but I do know that it is far superior than anything we have in NSW. MOre reliable timetables, cheaper fares, cleaner and better facilities. Privatisation doesn't always work. You can see that in the telcom and power industries, but it can be made to work and it appears to be working in Victoria's public transport industry. However, the fact that there's only one company running it now could cause it to break down due to the lack of competition, which is why NSW's transport system (particularly the trains -- buses and ferries have private competitors) is stagnating. If Carr sold off the trains to two or three companies, not only would the Government stop losing millions a year on them, they might actually be saved from collapse. I would actually support the privatisation of the railways in NSW to a degree, but I think that the Government bus service runs pretty well in comparison, at least as far as my (albeit) limited experience is concerned. It's certainly cheaper and more reliable than any private bus service I've ever used.phlogiston said:
They will never privatise the railways in NSW, ever. It is impossible to make a profit. The railways has lost money since day one, it is a service provided by the government. Victoria runs a hell of a lot better because they dont even have a quarter of the infrastructure or number of trains running. That doesnt change the fact we have morons running our system of course.
Goreripper
Metal as fuck
That's exactly what they did. The US made out that the UN was incompetent and unwilling to act according to their charter. This is not so. Saddam had actually agreed to allow the UN to inspect their weapons sites. He knew he was likely to become a target for US action in the wake of the WTC attacks and he also knew that if Iraq was invaded he didn't stand a chance. I'm not shedding any tears over the guy getting his arse kicked, but the way it happened was very wrong. It was a breach of international law, the same law Saddam breached when he invaded Kuwait. Just because we're the "good guys", doesn't mean we can break the law.TinMan666 said:
phlogiston
Bejabbers!
I can't speak about who's running the system, but I'm pretty sure the trains never made a profit here either. That's one of the reasons they gave for privatising them in the first place. It's also why one of them collapsed, and the other is bleeding money. You're probably right with the infrastructure though.spawn said:
The stupid thing here is that the two companies were given totally different areas! There was no competition at all! If I didn't wan't to get to the city on Connex trains (the group that ran my line) then I was shit out of luck.goreripper said:
Even worse, if I *was* in the city and I wanted a timetable to get to a station on an M-Train line (the other, now collapsed group) I couldn't get one from any Connex station. I actually had to go to a M-Train station to get one which, being on a different line, was one hell of a hassle.
Goreripper
Metal as fuck
spawn said:
You wouldn't have to privatise the entire system, but don't think it wouldn't be possible to sub-contract the running of different lines and departments to private enterprise. It might be difficult, but it's not impossible or unfeasible. I've heard the minister lately suggesting that restructures would stop train delays on one section of the system affecting other sections. Now I don't know if that's workable because I don't understand the system the way you would, but the fact is that the trains are so bad that they're going to have to come up with something to fix them. You can never say never to privatisation of anything in a capitalist system.
Goreripper
Metal as fuck
Spawn is right on the infrastructure issue phloggy. Sydney has a fuckload more trains and lines than Melbourne does. But Melbourne also has trams, so they don't need as many trains. And it's true that railways aren't profitable. They haven't been for a hundred years, but government concerns don't need to be profitable because they're funded by taxes.
A company big enough to be interested in buying a railway in the first place would ideally have some kind of plan to turn it into a profitable investment, if not immediately, then within a manageable timeframe, and they would certainly put a lot more effort into making sure it runs properly than a government, who can always blame someone else for the problems.
A company big enough to be interested in buying a railway in the first place would ideally have some kind of plan to turn it into a profitable investment, if not immediately, then within a manageable timeframe, and they would certainly put a lot more effort into making sure it runs properly than a government, who can always blame someone else for the problems.
phlogiston
Bejabbers!
*sigh* Again, this is a serious question.
How do they work Sydo? I thought it was the Reserve bank as well, but looking after the Australian economy in relation to the world economy.
How do they work Sydo? I thought it was the Reserve bank as well, but looking after the Australian economy in relation to the world economy.
Goreripper
Metal as fuck
That's actually pretty true. There's too many factors involved in keeping prices the same everywhere, unless we changed to a Communist economy. 
KoichCPA
Banned
KoichCPA
Banned
Goreripper
Metal as fuck
phlogiston
Bejabbers!
I'm with Koich. It doesn't need to be down to the individual consumer. Just broad brush-strokes would be fine.
Goreripper
Metal as fuck
Shannow
Stunt Plough Rider
phlogiston
Bejabbers!
Acutally, I'd be happy if Sydo explained the "Im rich, well educated and hard working; thus I like Howard" comment. For I also am rich, well educated and hard working. What am I missing?
