Inflation

[Smurf1976]

If you'd told someone in the mid 2000's that less than half a generation later plumbers would be earning 150k/year plus and uni grads would be doing 70 hour weeks for about 60k they would have laughed at you, and yet, here we are.

For most that's true.

I distinctly recall this being discussed at meetings in 1998 however.

Meetings of the "union" variety - plenty had foreseen back then where it would all end. Definitely 1998, I'm certain of that date due to the circumstances of the time. The (state) government blew itself up not long after and an early election was called.

Prime Ministers, other politicians and the highly educated may not have been able to work it out but the average tradie saw it coming right from the start. The energy situation we have today was being discussed, though not in the same meeting, at the same time for the record and that's another thing that was blindingly obvious.

Sometimes the best way to see what's really going on is to drop all the fancy stuff and strip it back to basics. Less people trained but the work still needs doing = this is going to be a problem.

 

[farmerge]

And also sent an entire generation to university during the GFC (because it's not like there was any work to even take a gap year off for was there?) rather than into trade schools etc as "Any degree is better than any trade".

If you'd told someone in the mid 2000's that less than half a generation later plumbers would be earning 150k/year plus and uni grads would be doing 70 hour weeks for about 60k they would have laughed at you, and yet, here we are.

Fun fact: University enrollment numbers hit an all-time high in 2010/2011. They've been on a steady decline ever since.

And then we those that spend their life at university doing one degree after another, professional students, and never working, finishing up as over educated and 65 yars of age. Oophs retirement here i come.

 

[farmerge]

And then we those that spend their life at university doing one degree after another, professional students, and never working, finishing up as over educated and 65 yars of age. Oophs retirement here i come.

Good evening Mr Divs, I trust your Easter was a pleasant one.

 

[divs4ever]

Good evening Mr Divs, I trust your Easter was a pleasant one.

nothing special for me , just four non-trading days in a row ( refer to my avatar , LOL )

but thanks for the thought

but interesting ( maybe even educational ) times ahead

 

[over9k]

For most that's true.

I distinctly recall this being discussed at meetings in 1998 however.

Meetings of the "union" variety - plenty had foreseen back then where it would all end. Definitely 1998, I'm certain of that date due to the circumstances of the time. The (state) government blew itself up not long after and an early election was called.

Prime Ministers, other politicians and the highly educated may not have been able to work it out but the average tradie saw it coming right from the start. The energy situation we have today was being discussed, though not in the same meeting, at the same time for the record and that's another thing that was blindingly obvious.

Sometimes the best way to see what's really going on is to drop all the fancy stuff and strip it back to basics. Less people trained but the work still needs doing = this is going to be a problem.

That doesn't look good on a political campaign though does it?

"More people going to university than ever before, most educated population in history" etc etc sounds a hell of a lot better when the narrative is university = good, trades = bad. Hell, you can even prove it with data. "Look, more uni grads than the last government by miles".

Politicians go the way the wind is blowing and until this particular narrative changes (it is now, finally, more than a decade too late) we're stuck with toothless alcoholic builders than bombed out of school at 16 earning as much as a fully qualified GP doctor and it isn't going to change by next week.

There's an entire generation of absolutely livid uni grads for a reason.

 

[divs4ever]

we're stuck with toothless alcoholic builders than bombed out of school at 16 earning as much as a fully qualified GP doctor and it isn't going to change by next week.

nothing wrong with being toothless ( i had them all removed by 21 ) no more mercury amalgam poisoning , expensive trips to the dentist , no more fluoridated toothpaste ( just soak the dentures when i sleep ) so i am slow to answer the phone , but quick out the door when i need to

and no HECS debt ready to ravage my income

just remember the current scenario was all carefully planned , over decades , a misadventure maybe , an accident , absolutely not !

 

[over9k]

just remember the current scenario was all carefully planned , over decades , a misadventure maybe , an accident , absolutely not !

I'm not sure about decades div but otherwise, yes, 100% correct.

Fact is that someone has to do the truck driving, ditch digging, shelf stacking etc etc that actually enables society to function. You can't have an entire country of managers.

 

[divs4ever]

I'm not sure about decades div but otherwise, yes, 100% correct.

Fact is that someone has to do the truck driving, ditch digging, shelf stacking etc etc that actually enables society to function. You can't have an entire country of managers.

yes the BIG push into tertiary education , either to avoid conscription into Vietnam ( i was a fraction too young for that ) and then afterwards to disguise the unemployment figures

and you would be surprised at the uni graduates i have worked with in jobs that only needed primary school graduates , because there were no jobs for that career ( useless folks like architects , physiologists and others )

we might not have a nation full of managers but we sure have an excess of those with student debt ( which comes back to bite the economy in other ways )

and truck-driving , well that industry has been steadily mutilated over the decades as well , maybe somebody dreamed it would all be replaced by railways , planes and helicopters.

 

[farmerge]

yes the BIG push into tertiary education , either to avoid conscription into Vietnam ( i was a fraction too young for that ) and then afterwards to disguise the unemployment figures

and you would be surprised at the uni graduates i have worked with in jobs that only needed primary school graduates , because there were no jobs for that career ( useless folks like architects , physiologists and others )

we might not have a nation full of managers but we sure have an excess of those with student debt ( which comes back to bite the economy in other ways )

and truck-driving , well that industry has been steadily mutilated over the decades as well , maybe somebody dreamed it would all be replaced by railways , planes and helicopters.

We have 2 sons eldest left school at 16 to do heavy diesel mechanic apprenticeship. The other went on to uni and is a qualified vet specialising in surgery. Guess who makes the most money

 

[divs4ever]

We have 2 sons eldest left school at 16 to do heavy diesel mechanic apprenticeship. The other went on to uni and is a qualified vet specialising in surgery. Guess who makes the most money

dad ( the farmer ) ??

but the mechanic should be doing very well if suitably diligent

 

[farmerge]

dad ( the farmer ) ??

but the mechanic should be doing very well if suitably diligent

Dad the farmer still working, eldest son mechanic at Tom Price highly qualified and highly paid, younger son vet, highly qualified and well paid but not in the same league financially. Both could comfortably retire before turning 50 thou

 

[divs4ever]

Dad the farmer still working, eldest son mechanic at Tom Price highly qualified and highly paid, younger son vet, highly qualified and well paid but not in the same league financially. Both could comfortably retire before turning 50 thou

wait until you see what inflation does , i lived through the 70's inflation can be a real eye-opener as can a fair-dinkum recession

 

[moXJO]

I got one of my sons to do an electrician apprenticeship. Imo it made sense considering the electrification of everything.
After his 4 years he can go do what he wants.
No one cares about the high pay. Not many young people want to do a trade. Not many stick because it's hard work. Hence the lack of trades.


Education in this country is terrible though. Tafe at the moment has the worst teachers on the planet.

 

[farmerge]

wait until you see what inflation does , i lived through the 70's inflation can be a real eye-opener as can a fair-dinkum recession

Likewise but we all survived somehow

 

[basilio]

Check out what inflation looks like in Argentina.
Whole different world. Don't want to go there..

How Argentina went from one of the world's richest nations to 100 per cent inflation, with 'mountains of money worth nothing'​

By Inga Ting
Posted 10h ago10 hours ago, updated 2h ago2 hours ago

Inflation is so high in Argentina that bundles of bank notes are needed to make even small purchases. (Supplied: Kristopher Perry)
Help keep family & friends informed by sharing this article

Few people know what $US220,000 ($334,200) in cash looks like. Analis Navarro does.

She showed up with a backpack of her life savings to buy the land for her house in El Calafate, Argentina.

No deposit. No mortgage. Just one lump sum payment.

Decades of arduous penny-pinching came down to 22 bundles of crisp $100 bills. Stacked vertically, they stood no more than two hands high.

Analis Navarro bought the land for her home in Argentina with cash. (Supplied: Analis Navarro)

Sounds sketchy? Not at all, says the former kindergarten teacher. "There's almost no bank credit here. I saved for 20 years to buy that land. It would have been impossible otherwise."

Bank financing is rare in Argentina. Most people buy their properties outright with cash. It's little wonder — with interest rates pushed to stratospheric levels, Argentina's benchmark rate of 78 per cent is more than 20 times Australia's.

Why cars can triple in value in just 18 months in the country where inflation is 100 per cent

Argentina's economy hit 100 per cent inflation in February — the highest it's been in 32 years. But the crisis has done nothing to dampen Argentines' enthusiasm for spending.

www.abc.net.au

 

[divs4ever]

Check out what inflation looks like in Argentina.
Whole different world. Don't want to go there..

How Argentina went from one of the world's richest nations to 100 per cent inflation, with 'mountains of money worth nothing'​

By Inga Ting
Posted 10h ago10 hours ago, updated 2h ago2 hours ago
View attachment 155623
Inflation is so high in Argentina that bundles of bank notes are needed to make even small purchases. (Supplied: Kristopher Perry)
Help keep family & friends informed by sharing this article

Few people know what $US220,000 ($334,200) in cash looks like. Analis Navarro does.

She showed up with a backpack of her life savings to buy the land for her house in El Calafate, Argentina.

No deposit. No mortgage. Just one lump sum payment.

Decades of arduous penny-pinching came down to 22 bundles of crisp $100 bills. Stacked vertically, they stood no more than two hands high.
View attachment 155624
Analis Navarro bought the land for her home in Argentina with cash. (Supplied: Analis Navarro)

Sounds sketchy? Not at all, says the former kindergarten teacher. "There's almost no bank credit here. I saved for 20 years to buy that land. It would have been impossible otherwise."

Bank financing is rare in Argentina. Most people buy their properties outright with cash. It's little wonder — with interest rates pushed to stratospheric levels, Argentina's benchmark rate of 78 per cent is more than 20 times Australia's.

Why cars can triple in value in just 18 months in the country where inflation is 100 per cent

Argentina's economy hit 100 per cent inflation in February — the highest it's been in 32 years. But the crisis has done nothing to dampen Argentines' enthusiasm for spending.

www.abc.net.au

watch England do it's best to equal that ( and it might be in a tight race with the next EU nation to achieve that feat )

 

[qldfrog]

watch England do it's best to equal that ( and it might be in a tight race with the next EU nation to achieve that feat )

for now decades, I have lamented the Argentina-sion of Australia ,China here replacing the US for them and a focus on raw materials, easy live and urbanisation of the "elites"..a path not to follow a century later

 

[wayneL]

for now decades, I have lamented the Argentina-sion of Australia ,China here replacing the US for them and a focus on raw materials, easy live and urbanisation of the "elites"..a path not to follow a century later

I reckon there will be a great reset in the was, but perhaps not in Klaus' model.

Perhaps, perhaps not.

 

[Smurf1976]

There's an entire generation of absolutely livid uni grads for a reason.

Moral of the story is don't follow the herd.

 

[over9k]

Moral of the story is don't follow the herd.

Try telling that to a clueless 18 year old kid whose teachers, parents etc will basically disown them if they don't.

"You can study anything you want, as long as you go to university". It's boomer mentality/bad advice which, to be fair, was actually correct in the 70's.

But university is hardly the only thing boomers are out of touch about is it?