The state of the economy at the street level

[farmerge]

Don't leave it to late mate...
As you would know, the older we get the longer it takes for da body to heal...

Kind regards
rcw1

Waiting for the knee to collapse and the shoulder to give up the heavy lifting

 

[Smurf1976]

Just how much work per week is reasonable? 40 hours, 50, 60 ... more ? less? I

In a past life for a period, several years, I did pretty full hours.

It's doable subject to a few things:

1. Management needs to be top. No BS.

2. No kids.

3. Either you're single or your partner "gets it". Bonus if they also work in an industry that involves odd hours and being stuck at work when things go wrong.

4. Health and fitness. You need to be healthy and you need to see exercise as a priority not a time filler.

5. You need the right outlook on life. It's definitely not for everyone.

There does come a point though where it's time to move into white collar professional work, management or indeed anything that's more normal with the hours.

 

[qldfrog]

In a past life for a period, several years, I did pretty full hours.

It's doable subject to a few things:

1. Management needs to be top. No BS.

2. No kids.

3. Either you're single or your partner "gets it". Bonus if they also work in an industry that involves odd hours and being stuck at work when things go wrong.

4. Health and fitness. You need to be healthy and you need to see exercise as a priority not a time filler.

5. You need the right outlook on life. It's definitely not for everyone.

There does come a point though where it's time to move into white collar professional work, management or indeed anything that's more normal with the hours.

Real question is why?
I did work extra long, WE,etc as a white collar..but key point is why?
And $ is not the answer, at least for me.
You can do it for needs..food health housing for you and family. So via $ as a mean
For challenge..when building a business/ entrepreneurship...
For a greater goal: saving lives,etc
And for some fame, greed, showing off in a Maserati or a Tesla...
But whoever you are you have only one life. So every hour you work, you are trading your life against $.
Think about it that way.
Some say or feel that their work is their life.humm I have my own view on that
I happily early retired after COVID government decisions killed my business role so before 53 and no regrets.
I could have made thousands/ millions more..and?

 

[Belli]

Apart from upgrading some camera equipment recently - which I didn't actually need to do; it was a want - and buying a couple of sets of guitar strings yesterday, the economy at street level isn't getting anything from me today. Got all the essentials such as food and drink, on hand at home and as it is a wet, gloomy day outside, I'll immerse myself into a book. Haven't done the numbers but I probably spent less than $150 last week. Retirement doesn't have to be expensive. It can depend on what you do and your approach.

 

[mullokintyre]

There can be multiple conclusions drawn from the following graph.
But whichever way you look at it, it aint good.
Mick

 

[farmerge]

Real question is why?
I did work extra long, WE,etc as a white collar..but key point is why?
And $ is not the answer, at least for me.
You can do it for needs..food health housing for you and family. So via $ as a mean
For challenge..when building a business/ entrepreneurship...
For a greater goal: saving lives,etc
And for some fame, greed, showing off in a Maserati or a Tesla...
But whoever you are you have only one life. So every hour you work, you are trading your life against $.
Think about it that way.
Some say or feel that their work is their life.humm I have my own view on that
I happily early retired after COVID government decisions killed my business role so before 53 and no regrets.
I could have made thousands/ millions more..and?

Though I agree with this post of Mr Frog, I do have my reasons (outlined in an earlier post), for still working the hours I do.
Working is not the be all for me, as I get a great deal of satisfaction for what I do.
This year there seems to be more work available than a stick can be poked at, so to me it makes sense to take it now to make up somewhat for the 2.5 year lay-off I suffered.

 

[dyna]

as I get a great deal of satisfaction for what I do.

Same here.
And that from someone " retired " from swinging a pick and shovel out in the hot sun all day ( you can't get an apprentice to do that kind of work or they quit ! ) for ..um, decades now.
Why retire if you've found " work " is what you really love to do ? Just take a look at Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger.
Lots of other things to do , of course , like reading , exercising every day of the week ( taking care of the physical eliminates any tendency to have the mental wobbles , I 've discovered )
The really important thing though , is to have a life partner on the same wavelength . lucky in love and the greatest surprise of all : lucky at cards , too. Nothing , absolutely nothing to moan about.

 

[qldfrog]

Same here.
And that from someone " retired " from swinging a pick and shovel out in the hot sun all day ( you can't get an apprentice to do that kind of work or they quit ! ) for ..um, decades now.
Why retire if you've found " work " is what you really love to do ? Just take a look at Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger.
Lots of other things to do , of course , like reading , exercising every day of the week ( taking care of the physical eliminates any tendency to have the mental wobbles , I 've discovered )
The really important thing though , is to have a life partner on the same wavelength . lucky in love and the greatest surprise of all : lucky at cards , too. Nothing , absolutely nothing to moan about.

As I said to each his own, I hope you have your own business and at least are your own boss.
Had the powers in charge not decided to kill my role in my startup, I would still be working there at least a part time
But when time came to start a new business from scratch again, I drew the line, there is much more varied experiences, travels to be done if you do not need the $.
And having a decent size farmlet keeps me busy, physically fit wo the job repeativeness nor the mental stress and duress attached to a pure mental work,
As I say to each his her own..as long as you seriously ask yourself why you carry on, and do not just carry on by default
Week end soon over, have all a great night

 

[Smurf1976]

Real question is why?
I did work extra long, WE,etc as a white collar..but key point is why?
And $ is not the answer, at least for me.
You can do it for needs..food health housing for you and family. So via $ as a mean
For challenge..when building a business/ entrepreneurship...
For a greater goal: saving lives,etc

For me the reasons were multiple:

Fear is a great motivator. Suffice to say my family's financial circumstances when I was a child varied between reasonable and desperate and the effects of the latter are seared into my mind and will never be forgotten. A miserable time indeed.

That's always motivated me to prefer owning over renting and to prefer money in the bank over debt. Because things can and do go wrong and it's too late to prepare once you need it.

Plus the work was interesting enough that for a fair bit of it, I wouldn't really even consider it as being work to be honest. Smurf likes electrical things, being paid is just a bonus albeit a personally important one.

Plus there's the serving the community aspect. If I think back to the on site blue collar work and the most memorable days, the ones that turned into ridiculous hours and/or involved physically miserable working conditions, bottom line is there was an impact on the rest of the community if it wasn't done ASAP.

Others I know have a similar story. Suffice to say the wealthiest person I know, at least they're the wealthiest to the best of my knowledge, actually was homeless at one point. That's one hell of a motivator and odds are they'd never have pushed themselves anywhere near as hard without it.

 

[qldfrog]

For me the reasons were multiple:

Fear is a great motivator. Suffice to say my family's financial circumstances when I was a child varied between reasonable and desperate and the effects of the latter are seared into my mind and will never be forgotten. A miserable time indeed.

That's always motivated me to prefer owning over renting and to prefer money in the bank over debt. Because things can and do go wrong and it's too late to prepare once you need it.

Plus the work was interesting enough that for a fair bit of it, I wouldn't really even consider it as being work to be honest. Smurf likes electrical things, being paid is just a bonus albeit a personally important one.

Plus there's the serving the community aspect. If I think back to the on site blue collar work and the most memorable days, the ones that turned into ridiculous hours and/or involved physically miserable working conditions, bottom line is there was an impact on the rest of the community if it wasn't done ASAP.

Others I know have a similar story. Suffice to say the wealthiest person I know, at least they're the wealthiest to the best of my knowledge, actually was homeless at one point. That's one hell of a motivator and odds are they'd never have pushed themselves anywhere near as hard without it.

But the why has to be questioned often enough to allow you to check..when is enough enough.
That attitude can also be influenced when you see colleagues passing away...
Cheers..not all is doom and gold is rising?

 

[farmerge]

For me the reasons were multiple:

Fear is a great motivator. Suffice to say my family's financial circumstances when I was a child varied between reasonable and desperate and the effects of the latter are seared into my mind and will never be forgotten. A miserable time indeed.

That's always motivated me to prefer owning over renting and to prefer money in the bank over debt. Because things can and do go wrong and it's too late to prepare once you need it.

Plus the work was interesting enough that for a fair bit of it, I wouldn't really even consider it as being work to be honest. Smurf likes electrical things, being paid is just a bonus albeit a personally important one.

Plus there's the serving the community aspect. If I think back to the on site blue collar work and the most memorable days, the ones that turned into ridiculous hours and/or involved physically miserable working conditions, bottom line is there was an impact on the rest of the community if it wasn't done ASAP.

Others I know have a similar story. Suffice to say the wealthiest person I know, at least they're the wealthiest to the best of my knowledge, actually was homeless at one point. That's one hell of a motivator and odds are they'd never have pushed themselves anywhere near as hard without it.

MY father came out to Australia as a child migrant under the fairbridge foundtion way back in the 1920's. He had a saying that has stuck with me through thick and thin.
The wealthiest person is the one with their health and two bob in their pocket, with no debt and a loving family.
Couldn't be more true.
RIP Dad.

 

[Smurf1976]

But when time came to start a new business from scratch again, I drew the line, there is much more varied experiences, travels to be done if you do not need the $.

I was thinking this thread had gone terribly off topic but actually there's some very real relevance here.

My observation is that right now we're seeing a lot of capacity withdrawal across the economy. By that I mean people or physical things (machinery etc) that are able to produce, they're not broken etc, but they're not actually being used in practice.

Workers choosing to not work at all or at least not work in the trade or profession for which they are qualified, instead doing something comparatively easier is one example.

Production cuts in various industries, eg energy very obviously, is another. Capacity's there but it's not being fully utilised.

Landlords not even bothering to put a tenant in their properties, indeed the very notion of owning property and not having it tenanted, is another such example.

Given how widespread it seems to be, it's not just one industry or location, I can only assume the underlying reasons are extremely broad in nature. My theory being it's a symptom of a society awash in fiat money and government largesse, removing the need for some to work and the incentive for others to do so. If you won't starve without trying to hard, and there's no prospect of achieving something as basic as owning a house no matter how hard you try, then what's the point? It's not hard to see many thinking that way.

 

[qldfrog]

I was thinking this thread had gone terribly off topic but actually there's some very real relevance here.

My observation is that right now we're seeing a lot of capacity withdrawal across the economy. By that I mean people or physical things (machinery etc) that are able to produce, they're not broken etc, but they're not actually being used in practice.

Workers choosing to not work at all or at least not work in the trade or profession for which they are qualified, instead doing something comparatively easier is one example.

Production cuts in various industries, eg energy very obviously, is another. Capacity's there but it's not being fully utilised.

Landlords not even bothering to put a tenant in their properties, indeed the very notion of owning property and not having it tenanted, is another such example.

Given how widespread it seems to be, it's not just one industry or location, I can only assume the underlying reasons are extremely broad in nature. My theory being it's a symptom of a society awash in fiat money and government largesse, removing the need for some to work and the incentive for others to do so. If you won't starve without trying to hard, and there's no prospect of achieving something as basic as owning a house no matter how hard you try, then what's the point? It's not hard to see many thinking that way.

Fully agree and the relevance is true.
USSR collapsed due to the same factors. There is to be a reward for effort, and socialism erodes this thru taxes and over regulations.
Both on individuals and businesses
As the West even with so called right government follows that voters attracting socialism path, incentives for doing more than minimal disappear,and the society goes downward...
Nothing new there and absolutely un debatable by any honest person.
I am old enough to know that it is pointless to fight the Feds/the system.
So as many do or should, I take act, and adjust to the new paradigm.
[Don't blame me, I always vote for the better good of the country, not my own interest..and so always in the minority]
That attitude multiplied by the thousands is the root cause of rental scarcity, frog and many stopping work or switching professions creating skill shortages, rising inflation, building delays etc.
More legislation and using the stick approach..via super access, regulations will be counterproductive but the next step anyway.it is coming but useless.

the answer is simple: risk/effort reward.
As for bringing in migrants, it will not take them long to release where their interests are.
A reset is indeed required for the west to survive,but not the wef reset....

 

[JohnDe]

It appears that the economy has enough umph left in it to allow people to ensure that last weeks AFL round was a complete success and sell-out.

In a statement, the AFL said all nine games had sold out and more than 220,000 people had attended the matches including 60,000 from interstate.​

Capitalism is alive and well, people are still finding money to pay for entertainment.

South Australia to host AFL Gather Round for three more seasons, following successful inaugural event

South Australia will host the AFL Gather Round for the next three seasons, the league has confirmed.

The news comes on the final day of the inaugural event, which both the AFL and the South Australian government have hailed as a success.

The inaugural Gather Round brought nine AFL matches to South Australia, including a game at Mount Barker's Summit Sport Park and two at Norwood Oval.

In a statement, the AFL said all nine games had sold out and more than 220,000 people had attended the matches including 60,000 from interstate.

Speaking outside Adelaide Oval on Sunday, AFL chief executive officer Gillon McLachlan said the Gather Round would move to other states in the future.

"We're going to take on the road at some point but, when you've started something from nothing, the state's done what it's done … I think you need a level of tenure," he said.

Mr McLachlan said the three-year commitment would allow clubs, players, supporters and local venues to have certainty in planning.

"AFL supporters can put this in their calendar as a place where all 18 clubs come together," he said.

Earlier on Sunday, Mr Malinauskas said the state was competing against Western Australia and New South Wales, which also wanted to host the Gather Round.

"Others might try to trump us on money but what we trump every other state around is we are a footy state," he said on Sunday.

"The South Australian public have backed it in and that's our trump card."
The league said next year's Gather Round would include matches in the Barossa or McLaren Vale wine regions.

Under the agreement, the AFL and the state government have committed to establishing a community football legacy fund, the details of which are yet to be announced.

Mr Malinauskas thanked everyone who travelled from interstate for the event, as well as South Australians for "backing this concept in", and said next year would be "bigger and better".

"Gather Round is about bringing people together," he said.

"Footy does that unlike anything else, which is why this is an event that I think is going to have a bright future."

While Mr Malinauskas said he could not disclose how much the state government had spent on this year's Gather Round, he said the figure was "less than half" of the government's $40 million major events fund.

The state government has yet to calculate the full cash injection generated from the Gather Round, but Mr Malinauskas said its "value" had been proven and pointed to record hotel bookings and sold-out crowds as markers of success.

"It has undoubtedly exceeded all our expectations and hopes," he said.

 

[Dona Ferentes]

It appears that the economy has enough umph left in it to allow people to ensure that last weeks AFL round was a complete success and sell-out.

In a statement, the AFL said all nine games had sold out and more than 220,000 people had attended the matches including 60,000 from interstate.​

Capitalism is alive and well, people are still finding money to pay for entertainment.

All that implies is that the old maxim of

Bread and Circuses​

is still around, and State Governments will spend other peoples (our) money until it's all gone.

 

[JohnDe]

All that implies is that the old maxim of

Bread and Circuses​

is still around, and State Governments will spend other peoples (our) money until it's all gone.

And hasn't that been the way for thousands of years? The bread and circuses can only operate when there is money in the economy.

The state government didn't pay for people's tickets "all nine games had sold out and more than 220,000 people had attended the matches including 60,000 from interstate"

 

[qldfrog]

Fully agree and the relevance is true.
USSR collapsed due to the same factors. There is to be a reward for effort, and socialism erodes this thru taxes and over regulations.
Both on individuals and businesses
As the West even with so called right government follows that voters attracting socialism path, incentives for doing more than minimal disappear,and the society goes downward...
Nothing new there and absolutely un debatable by any honest person.
I am old enough to know that it is pointless to fight the Feds/the system.
So as many do or should, I take act, and adjust to the new paradigm.
[Don't blame me, I always vote for the better good of the country, not my own interest..and so always in the minority]
That attitude multiplied by the thousands is the root cause of rental scarcity, frog and many stopping work or switching professions creating skill shortages, rising inflation, building delays etc.
More legislation and using the stick approach..via super access, regulations will be counterproductive but the next step anyway.it is coming but useless.

the answer is simple: risk/effort reward.
As for bringing in migrants, it will not take them long to release where their interests are.
A reset is indeed required for the west to survive,but not the wef reset....

Take long to realise..
not release .it was 3am...

 

[divs4ever]

It appears that the economy has enough umph left in it to allow people to ensure that last weeks AFL round was a complete success and sell-out.

In a statement, the AFL said all nine games had sold out and more than 220,000 people had attended the matches including 60,000 from interstate.​

Capitalism is alive and well, people are still finding money to pay for entertainment.

most major sport sold out a couple of decades ago , i can entertain myself much cheaper and effectively

 

[UMike]

Definitely a divide between haves that will spend and havenots that can't.

 

[divs4ever]

i could but choose not to , one reason is the ( majority of ) sport is now such a farce and the apex of hypocrisy .

remember Ben Johnson's positive drug test ( and most of the competitors behind were to test positive in the future events ) or Flo Jo who was on stuff only the select pharmacy insiders knew to exist at the time ,

only a matter of time before they even cripple lawn bowls and darts