The Albanese government

[SirRumpole]

Are you sure about that Sir Rumpole?
There is no GST on Rents or Mortgages.
There is no GST on Health and medical services.
There is no GST on fresh food items and non restaurant/takeaway meals.
No GST on education
No GST on Water, sewerage and draiinage.
No GST on recognised Childcare services tht). have any educational componet(hence they all do).
For a low income family that would probably cover 80% of their expenditure.
The well off would be spending a lot more on items that attract GST.
If you abolished all GST, who do you think would end up with the most extra disposable income in their pockets?
mick

Council rates, power, public transport, insurance, car registration.....

 

[sptrawler]

Council rates, power, public transport, insurance, car registration.....

I do think most of those qualify for a concession rate, I may be wrong but I'm sure my mate mentioned that he gets cheaper council rates, concessional public transport, car rego, drivers license, medication, doctors visits and a few others.

Maybe they should have a welfare card, that gives anyone on any form of welfare an automatic 10% discount? Oh I forgot you can't do that a welfare card is discriminatory.

https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/concession-and-health-care-cards?context=60091

https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/benefits-low-income-health-care-card?context=21986

What discounts can you get on Centrelink with your concession card?

Here is a complete list of discounts you can get with your concession/healthcare cards. It does vary a little state by state.

www.thethriftyissue.com.au

 

[SirRumpole]

I do think most of those qualify for a concession rate, I may be wrong but I'm sure my mate mentioned that he gets cheaper council rates, concessional public transport, car rego, drivers license, medication, doctors visits and a few others.

Maybe they should have a welfare card, that gives anyone on any form of welfare an automatic 10% discount? Oh I forgot you can't do that a welfare card is discriminatory.

https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/concession-and-health-care-cards?context=60091

https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/benefits-low-income-health-care-card?context=21986

What discounts can you get on Centrelink with your concession card?

Here is a complete list of discounts you can get with your concession/healthcare cards. It does vary a little state by state.

www.thethriftyissue.com.au

Those probably only apply to pensioners, but there are plenty of "working poor" around who don't get any concessions.

 

[farmerge]

Are you sure about that Sir Rumpole?
There is no GST on Rents or Mortgages.
There is no GST on Health and medical services.
There is no GST on fresh food items and non restaurant/takeaway meals.
No GST on education
No GST on Water, sewerage and draiinage.
No GST on recognised Childcare services tht). have any educational componet(hence they all do).
For a low income family that would probably cover 80% of their expenditure.
The well off would be spending a lot more on items that attract GST.
If you abolished all GST, who do you think would end up with the most extra disposable income in their pockets?
mick

All true Mick but fuel, fags and booze no one goes without them.

 

[farmerge]

Those probably only apply to pensioners, but there are plenty of "working poor" around who don't get any concessions.

We have the Commonwealthy Health Care Card, get certain discounts from some Drs but is very limited. But something is better than nought.

 

[Smurf1976]

If you don't pay tax - virtually anyone on a pension, you miss out on a tax cut.
As I pointed out the bottom 50% of people pay only b2% of the tax.

I was thinking more of the self-funded people with relatively low incomes who do pay at least some tax and who frequently miss out on the various discounts, rebates and so on.

Especially so for those retired early, often involuntarily, and whose investments will be at least partly outside super.

 

[sptrawler]

Those probably only apply to pensioners, but there are plenty of "working poor" around who don't get any concessions.

I agree with you 100%, but what is forgotten is that even with these changes, the top end get $4,500, the bottom end get $50 and some concessions.
The middle class get $800 and sod all concessions, for every dollar given in welfare someone has to pay a dollar in the system, that is the way it has to be.
But the impression I'm getting is the middle class, I'm talking tradies who work for wages, they feel as though they are getting screwed to the floor and by the way Albo is contorting himself he is obviously aware of it.
It will be an interesting year, the RBA has had its head pulled in, so interest rates should stay steady for a while. Hopefully everything settles down, but I'm not confident it will, the job losses permeating out of the mining sector will add to the stress.
I heard that Greenbushes lithium has laid some people off, the nickel sector is on life support, all we need is a hickup in iron ore and it will really turn to manure.
There is a very angry undercurrent IMO.

 

[farmerge]

I agree with you 100%, but was is forgotten is that even with these changes, the top end get $4,500, the bottom end get $50 and some concessions.
The middle class get $800 and sod all concessions, for every dollar given in welfare someone has to pay a dollar in the system, that is the way it has to be.
But the impression I'm getting is the middle class, I'm talking tradies who work for wages, they feel as though they are getting screwed to the floor and by the way Albo is contorting himself he is obviously aware of it.
It will be an interesting year, the RBA has had its head pulled in, so interest rates should stay steady for a while. Hopefully everything settles down, but I'm not confident it will.
There is a very angry undercurrent IMO.

There is no real gain being in the middle and on wages.
If self employed somewhat different as the hourly rate can be adjusted plus there are some lurks and perks that are hard to dis-prove

 

[Sean K]

I should have added Bandt to the list of potential Judas' to knife Albo.

This is starting to look pretty scary for the next election result that will probably still be Labor but will require the Greens and/or Teals (Climate 200 is going to have to formalise a party at some point) to form government.

Imagine a Labor government controlled by the Greens.... I shiver.

Greens leader Adam Bandt has called for further changes to the tax cuts to ensure low- and middle-income earners get greater financial relief.

Albanese said the changes to stage three were sensible, but he remained open to negotiations.

“It has the same costs across the forward estimates, but it is a better package being put forward,” he told reporters in Canberra on Friday.

“We’ll wait and see. We’ll wait for them to go through their mechanisms as well. We’ll talk with all of the crossbenchers.”

Bandt said despite the changes to stage three, they were not adequate to provide enough cost of living relief.

“We now have the chance … to really tackle inequality and the cost-of-living and housing crisis in this country,” he told ABC Radio on Friday.

 

[Smurf1976]

But the impression I'm getting is the middle class, I'm talking tradies who work for wages, they feel as though they are getting screwed to the floor

I'd extend the definition a lot more broadly to anyone who works in a non-elite occupation.

Someone who spends their day stacking shelves, cutting hair, serving customers or in a run of the mill white collar job is likely having very similar thoughts.

 

[sptrawler]

I'd extend the definition a lot more broadly to anyone who works in a non-elite occupation.

Someone who spends their day stacking shelves, cutting hair, serving customers or in a run of the mill white collar job is likely having very similar thoughts.

No doubt, but I only go off conversations with my neighbour's and my own grown up kids, glaziers, Coles middle manager and a panel beating shop assessor, pie shop assistant, carpet cleaning contractor, pest control contractor, nurse, my own kids P.A, Sparkie, Library technician, carer.
But they are spread over a huge field and area from heavy industrial, council, self employed, health care, recruitment, local council and it isn't as though I load the conversation, I will tend to just ask how are things going, most of the time they just rant from there.

That is unusual, in the past the talked about the kids and what they have been doing, now it is just a rant about entitled minorities and how they wished they could just give up work, but it is never going to happen.

We aren't in a good space at the moment, the mortgage belt generation have never seen a hard time, so they are struggling to comprehend a tightening cycle.
The up side is, their kids will learn a lot.
The next big issue is going to be how landlords pay their highly geared investment mortgage, when the tenant can't pay their rent, $600-$700 a week is hard to find if you aren't working and the Govt can't subsidies that. Let's be honest, that is $30k-$40k a year.

It is all getting weird, as I said.

 

[SirRumpole]

Someone who spends their day stacking shelves, cutting hair, serving customers or in a run of the mill white collar job is likely having very similar thoughts.

I agree. Rent, power, council rates, fuel, mortgages and insurance are all going through the roof and are basically unavoidable.

The maxim "shop around" doesn't apply any more. Everyone is putting up prices and there is no escape.

 

[sptrawler]

I agree. Rent, power, council rates, fuel, mortgages and insurance are all going through the roof and are basically unavoidable.

The maxim "shop around" doesn't apply any more. Everyone is putting up prices and there is no escape.

Rent- Increased house values in Sydney/Melbourne have encouraged owners to look interstate for cheap investment houses and overpaid.

Power- The Govt has told base load coal they are done, so they can't fund new coal supplies, meanwhile we need them, blow the feet off moment.

Council rates- Councils always have to spend their budget, or they can't put up rates and wages etc.

Fuel- Well that is going nowhere but up, as they force the price of ICE cars up, so that EV's are an option.

Insurance- Well most people live on the East Coast and most have been sitting in a swimming pool this year, so insurance is going up,up,up.

But apparently everything is working out o.k. I must say Albo is trying a new modus operandi with regard increasing inflation, it is the same method Hawke used under the wages accord in the early 80's.

It lead to a very disenfranchised working class then and it ended up with the 'recession we had to have' under Keating, let's see if history repeats.
Like I said a while ago, it will be Kudos to them if they land it well, I'm cashing in the chips on spec shares myself, spec miners that need exploration money have trouble raising in hard times.
Well let's be honest, spec anything has trouble raising money in hard times.

 

[SirRumpole]

Insurance- Well most people live on the East Coast and most have been sitting in a swimming pool this year, so insurance is going up,up,up.

I don't live anywhere near floods and my home insurance is $2k+.

 

[sptrawler]

I don't live anywhere near floods and my home insurance is $2k+.

Well we live in W.A and it is dryer than an afghans jock strap and I'm sure ours will go up as well, that's life in a caring sharing community.

You can't have it both ways, care about those who can least afford it, then complain when you have to share the cost.

Enjoy.

It is only happening on your insurance, middle Australia is picking up the slack on all the fronts, pensioners get a CPI raise soon.

Self funded FWt's, I mean retirees just have to suck it up, that's why we have 7 cruises set up in the next 18 months.
I'm over it, time to put the feet up, grab a teat and become precious, stuff the franking credits swallow the pride and take $40k tax free pension.

 

[farmerge]

Well we live in W.A and it is dryer than an afghans jock strap and I'm sure ours will go up as well, that's life in a caring sharing community.

You can't have it both ways, care about those who can least afford it, then complain when you have to share the cost.

Enjoy.

It is only happening on your insurance, middle Australia is picking up the slack on all the fronts, pensioners get a CPI raise soon.

Self funded FWt's, I mean retirees just have to suck it up, that's why we have 7 cruises set up in the next 18 months.
I'm over it, time to put the feet up, grab a teat and become precious, stuff the franking credits swallow the pride and take $40k tax free pension.

Which only leaves me to carry the load while you mob of bludgers have a bloody good time !!!!

 

[SirRumpole]

You can't have it both ways, care about those who can least afford it, then complain when you have to share the cost.

Insurance is about risk, those who are most at risk should pay more.

The problem is what insurance companies think is a "fair" premium for a certain risk, factoring in their profit margins and what percentage of a person on an average wage should be required to pay for insurance.

If premiums become unaffordable then governments should step in and cover those with the greater risk which should reduce premiums for the rest of us.

There used to be an insurance company run by government, the insurance area is just another way of private companies making a motza at the expense of their customers who are a generally captive audience.

 

[mullokintyre]

Insurance is about risk, those who are most at risk should pay more.

The problem is what insurance companies think is a "fair" premium for a certain risk, factoring in their profit margins and what percentage of a person on an average wage should be required to pay for insurance.

If premiums become unaffordable then governments should step in and cover those with the greater risk which should reduce premiums for the rest of us.

There used to be an insurance company run by government, the insurance area is just another way of private companies making a motza at the expense of their customers who are a generally captive audience.

Insurance is about making money For the insurance industry.
mick

 

[farmerge]

Insurance is about making money For the insurance industry.
mick

When did we see or hear of an insurance company going belly -up

 

[Sean K]