Dollar Reaches Parity...

[Paul H]

yeah that 'rant' may have been oversimplified, but it touched on the key solution to a problem that only has that as a plausible one.

australia= isolated location, low population, high cost of labour/high minimum wage. and in this context, the governments importation taxes policy is harmful to local business

high minimum wage in australia means that economies of scale are hard to achieve locally, and even if goods are coming from overseas, with the various importation charges, a giant costco or a kmart that runs 24/7 is not going to be profitable simply because there isnt enough demand to sustain it.

location, population and minimum wage wont be changing any time soon, so theres not much in terms of choice for a retailer who has to make huge outlays for wages, not to mention rent costs, simply to stay afloat. if youre wondering why hop farms in the US can offer such low prices, well the US has a minmum wage of ~$8/hour and a population that can afford to drive product prices down through excessive spending and allow a business to stay profitable. (although this spending is what caused the 'bubble' to begin with)

the only way to get people to spend more at retail stores in australia is to lower the prices and increase variety to compete with intl stores like the 'rant' said. if the government lowered taxes for shop owners, then owners would be able to afford to pass savings onto customers as well as take a risk on offering a greater variety of goods.

i say let the boat people in, more population the better. competition drives innovation after all and businesses will have more in their pockets at the end of the day.

'rant' over, now back to exam studies

I'm all for a reduction in taxes so what services do we cut first? NBN, Health or education to name a few. Allowing more people into the country can stimulate spending but if those who come in are low/no skilled goat herders from Sri lanka or afghans then the only money they will be spending will be money derived from social security benefits that are funded by you guessed it taxes.

:icon_cheers:


Paul

 

[Paul H]

Care to explain simply why people who might struggle to sometimes put food on the table should reconsider buying overseas products when the difference in their pocket is so ridiculously high then?

My understanding (correct me if I'm wrong) is that you are either a business owner or at least involved at a managerial level of business.

For those who aren't, shopping for anything CAN be as simple as less money spent = more money in pocket for basics.

Yes the economy might be more complex than that article is making out but the real effect on real people should also be takedn into account.

I feel for the genuine battler out there doing there best for their families & I'm not one for regulation so I wont tell you where to spend you hard earned, but you can't, as the author suggests bag the retailers or suggest that the answer simply lies in lowering taxes. It polarises people into positions without the necessary information.

:icon_cheers:

Paul

 

[Nick JD]

Citra has been pelletized at Hops Direct.

$2.58 for 90g. :icon_chickcheers: Oh yeah.

 

[boriskane]

I'm all for a reduction in taxes so what services do we cut first? NBN, Health or education to name a few. Allowing more people into the country can stimulate spending but if those who come in are low/no skilled goat herders from Sri lanka or afghans then the only money they will be spending will be money derived from social security benefits that are funded by you guessed it taxes.

:icon_cheers:


Paul

by reducing import taxes the idea is that consumer will spend their money locally, and the government could recoup the losses through GST. or they could just choose not to buy the latest high tech fighter jet plane that can go invisible.

yeah thats the achilles heel of the theory haha

 

[DJR]

Citra has been pelletized at Hops Direct.

$2.58 for 90g. :icon_chickcheers: Oh yeah.

And my brother from another mother,

Amarillo VGXP01 c.v.Pellet Hops New Crop
A/A 7. 8 - 10.7% $16.00/lb

Make sure you get 4-5 lbs at least, split em out if thats too much - otherwise the $43 postage makes it not too cheap. My workings on 5lbs @$16USD + 43USD shipping comes to about $4.80 per 90g or so.

 

[brettprevans]

I've checked every day for a month and the one day I don't check they update their site.

 

[dcx3]

Another good economics rant for you.

 

[boriskane]

Another good economics rant for you.

guess its a good thing i dont study economics

 

[brettprevans]

If everyone Studied a little economics then things would be a lot better. Informed citizens is a good thing. It's like informed voters. Unfortunately people cone to an election and loose 90% of their intellect and choose not to be informed.

Tell u what though dealing with GDP results from past years which are most up to date is a bitch ATM with conversation rates and trying to convey the details to non finance/ non topic/ non stats people

 

[boriskane]

If everyone Studied a little economics then things would be a lot better. Informed citizens is a good thing. It's like informed voters. Unfortunately people cone to an election and loose 90% of their intellect and choose not to be informed.

Tell u what though dealing with GDP results from past years which are most up to date is a bitch ATM with conversation rates and trying to convey the details to non finance/ non topic/ non stats people

free tertiary education, just like the scandinavians

 

[pk.sax]

Our problem is that most people do NOT view their economic input as being much of a significant factor to the greater economic problem the aussie economy is.

and I am NOT referring to where we spend our hard earned. Most people in australia work in the tertiary sector, i.e. service industry aka retail, customer service.. bla bla.. The level of autonomy and independence of our economy is desperately low and that tends to bring a general lack of respect for us whenever foreign business comes here because the local competition is SHIT. Places we import our products from (ignoring China and even India for a moment) are more competitive than us because our own secondary production industry is economically insignificant to the primary (agriculture & mining) industries that employ a tiny part of our population. The way that money flows to the population is through benefits and public spending, aka "pay the lazy" money. The service and retail industries have to employ the majority of our people because there just isn't that much tangible industry out there to do so otherwise. And retail needs cheaper goods so we shit on our small secondary industries even more..... vicious cycle.

The government really DOES need import tariffs and needs to spend the mining and agriculture tax dollars into propping up the manufacturing and processing industries so they can compete, or else we will keep sinking deeper in this hole.

</eco rant over>

 

[pk.sax]

free tertiary education, just like the scandinavians

That would be a bloody good start, invest in the people to increase the skill levels. Slash the population of check out chicks.

 

[JonnyAnchovy]

Socialism. Just putting it out there.

 

[jimi]

How long are orders from Hops Direct taking to arrive?

Just did my order already can't wait

 

[stanko]

Placed my order on the 23/9/2010 , and still waiting .

 

[DJR]

Placed my order on the 23/9/2010 , and still waiting .

Geez, that's long.

Mine took a week and a half, or so.

 

[jimi]

Geez, that's long.

Mine took a week and a half, or so.

There's a email notice of prgress/processing yes?

 

[boriskane]

The government really DOES need import tariffs and needs to spend the mining and agriculture tax dollars into propping up the manufacturing and processing industries so they can compete, or else we will keep sinking deeper in this hole.

yeah i see the usefulness of it in this sense. protecting 'infant industries' through tariffs is essential for early development and for the industry to establish and become competitive like you said. but i wonder whether the world economy is too far developed in terms of which countries are suited for different industries for australia to be able to develop their manufacturing and processing industry.

wages and rent are so high over here compared to third world economies, it will be very difficult for australian industries to prop up profitable factories. imo i just dont see australian companies ever bringing their production facilities back here. when china and indonesia et al become too expensive people will just head somewhere else.

anyway i seem to look at it, whenever i imagine the retail industry being fixed up, i keep seeing a future with australia turning into the US: more population in a multicultural society with a strong agricultural and mining background, sounds familiar.

step 1. lower minimum wage
step 2. generate an 'american dream' type slogan
step 3. let the illegal immigrants in and the lesser skilled ones could work in the manufacturing industries churning out Bonds undies to bring back the 'australian' icon

 

[felten]

Socialism. Just putting it out there.

better red than dead eh comrade

 

[goomboogo]

And my brother from another mother,

Amarillo VGXP01 c.v.Pellet Hops New Crop
A/A 7. 8 - 10.7% $16.00/lb

Make sure you get 4-5 lbs at least, split em out if thats too much - otherwise the $43 postage makes it not too cheap. My workings on 5lbs @$16USD + 43USD shipping comes to about $4.80 per 90g or so.

I think you'll find he's not paying for postage. Bringing them back in his luggage.