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[Calaber]

Same with the 3 + 3 cent levy to upgrade black spots on the Pacific Highway. Once a tax goes on it never comes of, they just stop advertising that you are paying it.

Well, I'd say that it's being spent exactly as originally intended right now.

 

[Aussie Trev]

I don't think so because most of those "black spots" no longer exist as the Pacific Highway, a federally funded road by the way, is rerouted and upgraded.

 

[Nitro_X]

It's official !!!
ScoMo has said publicly exactly what I expected and predicted as far back as mid last year.

'We have not one, but two crises. We have a medical crisis which has caused an economic crisis.'

This is the scapegoat the government has been secretly hoping for, to blame for our BS over-indebted economy.
An excuse to unleash massive monetary and fiscal stimulus in an attempt to kick the debt can down the road, justify their positions in our society and bail out the corrupt bankers and our over inflated housing market.
And they do it with impunity.

When will our political and corporate leaders be held accountable for their actions?
These very wealthy individuals could lose their job today and they could live a comfortable life and probably retire early if they wanted too.
How many bank CEO's, State & Federal politicians or bureaucrats will ever need to line up at Centrelink to claim unemployment benefits just to survive?

.

 

[keith reed]

This country is rich enough to never have to go into debt. There are those people that are so obscenely wealthy to the point of being ridiculous. The government is so scared of them that they pander to them in any way they can. If they had any balls they would stop them shipping their money into overseas tax havens and tax them fairly. No matter how they tax them they will never have to worry about paying their bills. People like Alan Joyce and his ilk should not be paid such exorbitant salaries no matter how important their jobs are while there are people living in cars unable to feed themselves and their children.
Also it is long overdue that we stopped pandering to the USA and blindly following them from one trumped up war to the next. Having the means to defend Australia is fine however we can save the country a lot of money if they confined the military spending to Australia. Just because the top military want expensive new toys to play war games doesn't mean they have to have them.
I remember when there was no unemployment. It wasn't until we started borrowing money from the IMF that our problems started. They insisted that we have a percentage unemployment as part of the deal. The rot hasn't stopped and until we change our ways it will not.
This governments neo liberal policies of thinking that if they give more to the rich then if will filter down to the poor is laughable.

 

[Nitro_X]

yeah, for me it's getting more and more difficult to trust anyone with significant wealth and power, whether they are in the public or private sector (and many move in and out between the private corporate world and politics).

Remember the public media shaming of the ex AusPost CEO, back in 2018 I think*.....he was in the multi-million $$ remuneration club.
I laughed when the then PM Turnbull publicly stated at the time, he thought many CEO salaries were too high.
This coming from a multi-millionaire (net worth about $200+ million). Turnbull made most of his wealth working for Goldman Sachs Investment bank then moved into politics, Turnbull's wife is also a lawyer with a background in investment banking, she was also once Lord Mayor of Sydney etc...etc...
Anna Bligh ex Queensland Premier is currently the chief of the Australian Bankers Association....
ScoMo worked for 5 years at the Property Council of Australia as national research officer....the PCoA is THE peak lobby group for many multi-BILLION $$ property development and construction companies....

Again, just a small sample of the interconnections of the wealthy elites.
Bank bail-outs....mortgage holidays....cash handouts...money printing....GovCo selling bonds to the RBA for all the new public debt being accrued....the working class are getting shafted again...

It's going to take a monumental community effort to "lockdown" these corrupt f-uckers because there are so many of them, hiding and swimming in the global swamp of power and money games.

.

 

[Calaber]

Nitro
Just a question for you.

Is there any way someone can become very wealthy without being corrupt?

 

[VS 5.0]

Nitro
Just a question for you.

Is there any way someone can become very wealthy without being corrupt?

Win tonight's $80m Powerball Jackpot.

 

[Nitro_X]

With all the BS pouring forth from our global corporate and political leaders, I've seen a shift.
A shift in the consciousness of the so called 'common man'....it's almost like two groups are emerging in western society:

1. Those who have just given up, saying what can I do about it all anyway? ..so bend over and take one for the team
2. Those who think, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em....they learn to play the game and take whatever they can get along the way. If I don't, someone else will....so....*shrug*

The big question is, have we got the backbone to push for real lasting change, or shall we submit to our designated fate and maintain the status quo?

Similar questions may have been asked or ideas brought forward throughout history, by greater minds than my own.
I'm just a simple common man, so why do I now ponder this existence?
Which of the two options is the easy path? Which option is the right path?

.

 

[Nitro_X]

Nitro
Just a question for you.

Is there any way someone can become very wealthy without being corrupt?

Great question!
That would depend on the individuals moral compass, how they view the world, and how they perceive or question their own actions, I guess.
And, how others may judge them. How did they get to their position in life? How were they assisted, who assisted them.
What are/were the motivations for their path in life?

Why is the "core" motivation for human society, based on our political and social structures, always been to accrue financial or material wealth, that's the general 'end game' is it not?
Why MUST we strive for perpetual ever expanding economic growth and consumption, at any cost?... because money is the center of gravity?
When inevitably, as proven time and again through history, perpetual economic growth is unnatural and flawed ideology because it only seems to create boom / bust cycles.

Our bankers have broken the law and regulations thousands of times, yet Australia accepts that they are just "misbehaving" if we throw a few new regulations at them, pretend to enforce them, because apparently the existing laws were not enforceable and if they promise to be good, they can get on with screwing us over?

When I talk about corruption it is always in the context of ethics, morals, integrity.
So maybe there are varying degrees of corruption.

The wealthier one becomes, the more they have to lose, losing wealth is not an enjoyable past-time in our world, the wealthier one becomes the more they feel the need to protect that wealth or increase it, fear of losing what you believed you worked hard for would cause a moral dilemma, allowing one to justify shifting their ethical goal posts....
How much wealth is enough? How many houses, cars, yachts, or gold plated possessions does one person need?

When you're wealthy you have more social power, more options, more opportunities.
We have allowed our societies to evolve this way.
Social stratification has increased over the last 40 years, and the 'wealth gap' has widened.
The middle class/working class/ and even the poor are pushed into ever increasing financial debt to create the illusion of wealth.
Why don't you ask the PM, the Treasurer, the RBA chief and past CommBank CEO's the same question?

The most direct answer I could give you at this point is, probably not.


.

 

[J_D 2.0]

Nitro
Just a question for you.

Is there any way someone can become very wealthy without being corrupt?

Its a zero sum game. You don’t get rich without ******* someone else over (usually many people). Complete and utter fact. No single person is actually “worth” millions to the system but it’s what they gouge out of it and claim they are worth it.

The fact of the matter is every company still works when their CEO is on holidays ergo they aren’t that important (no one is irreplaceable) and if we lived in a meritocracy most of them wouldn’t actually be considered for the job they have as they aren’t as smart as the people that are actually running the show.