Yo Kev, where’s my free swimming pool?

dancan says:

10:17am | 11/05/10

Send me a copy.  I’m sure it will be far more enthralling than anything generated by this up coming electron.

Extra points if you include a gerbil

Paul2 says:

09:26am | 11/05/10

The Super Tax replaces the cash they were hoping to reap from the ETS, which wasn’t about the money after all what with saving the planet and all that.

joe says:

11:55am | 11/05/10

Didn’t they spin that their first budget was going to be tough to rein in inflation. Yeah right - it wasn’t. Remember when inflation was the big Howard baddy they had to tackle. Then 5 minutes later they had to splash the cash like drunken sailors.  Its all spin. Why do the media even repeat these vague spin lines from Rudd and Swan?

Ryan says:

10:35am | 11/05/10

@Steve the Elder : let us all guess, you are a baby boomer, the same ones who got free education, cheap housing, job opportunities by the ton, record boom times and a social system engineered to you every step of the way (through no fault of your own, we understand this). And now you are one of those boomers that stay in their job instead of retiring because they didn’t invest conservatively in the lead up to their retirement or have extricated every last cent out of their super to invest in property which in turn shoves the price of property well out of the reach of every generation following yours. By staying in that job, no following generations get the same opportunities nor pay that you have managed to demand for so many years. Now you feel you have the right to whine about these generations that have been screwed by the baby boomers who are doing nothing more than try to provide for their families at half of the standards your generation demanded. Sure seems obnoxious if you ask me.

Mazzy says:

12:05pm | 11/05/10

like you steve the elder i did this as well we also had 16% home loan . we just had to manage because the choices we made were our own responsibility. so enough of the whingers.

Steve the Elder says:

12:06pm | 11/05/10

@Ryan: I have been a self funded retiree for the past 5 years and I switched to cash long before the crash. Being a baby boomer meant I did not believe the financial planners (con men) who said the market would go on climbing forever. I paid off my home after surviving 17% interest rates; have never been to Bali or Phuket with the kids and I still pay income tax to support young bludgers like you.

Chris says:

12:10pm | 11/05/10

Pretty much everything that Ryan said.

Thanks, Baby Boomers. You are the most molly-coddled generation in history and you have the nerve to pin our problems on those struggling under you. When I’m 45 and finally finish paying off my student debt, IF I’m lucky to have a decent career, I might be able to look into finally owning a new car, or even sinking myself into half a million dollars of debt for a tiny house in an area with no transport, schools, or jobs.

Adam MacLeod says:

12:19pm | 11/05/10

@Mazzy, don’t forget 16% of 100K is much less than 7% of 500K.  House prices are SOOO much more expensive now than in the 1980s.

There’s a number of reasons for that, but the fact that we still allow negative gearing on investment properties would have a lot to do with it.
The Henry Tax report suggested phasing this out, but we shouldn’t hold our collective breath for that to happen.

Steve the Elder says:

12:21pm | 11/05/10

@Chris : moved out of home yet? or are you still bludging on your baby boomer parents? Never mind, they might die any day now and leave you their wealth. Just remember: he who waits for a dead man’s shoes goes a long time barefoot.

Ryan says:

12:58pm | 11/05/10

@Steve the Elder: how much did you pay for your house at 17% Steve? Did you pay for your education Steve?
As for the income tax, well good on you for keeping working and keeping those “bludgers” from progressing through, hey you need a pat on the back for that, then again, do you or do you not use Super as a vehicle to pay less income tax Steve? I mean you wouldn’t be caught dead contributing a large amount of your wages into Super and then drawing it down later would you?
Spare us the whining about the generations your generation has screwed, the facts are out there and no Steve most of the generations that have followed yours, “bludgers” as you call us, have not been to Bali or Phuket with the kids, something that is different between your generation and ours is that ours wont be a generation of obnoxious “skii-ers” robbing our kids blind then “spending the kids inheritance” and expecting them (or public pension) to support me in later life. They don’t call baby boomers the ME generation for nothing.

stevem says:

01:49pm | 11/05/10

Adam, If negative gearing was the cause everybody would have 2 or 3 investment properties & every second house would be an empty rental property screaming for tenants. Negative gearing doesn’t help but the lack of supply is the real cause of high house prices.

Chris says:

02:19pm | 11/05/10

@Steve the Elder

I had to move CONTINENT to get a decent job in the big-business padnering financial climate of the Howard era. I paid my own way through university and haven’t lived at home for five years. Even when I did, I paid board, cooked, cleaned and otherwise helped my family to pay my way.

My parents earned what they have and they are entitled to it, but never once have they accused people younger than them of having it easier than them. The children of the post-war baby boom happened to be born in a time of prosperity not seen before or since. Those who didn’t make use of it were fools.

So, instead of assuming that I am one of the mythical army of young bludgers, let’s get back to the fact that Baby Boomers own everything, control all the money and were afforded priveledges of which my generation can only dream.

NCG says:

04:30pm | 11/05/10

Chris & Ryan; I’m only 27 and suspect a similar age to you; unfortunately you are giving my generation a terrible reputation. Quit your complaining, get off your arse, work hard and reap the benefits. Crossing your arms and saying “they had it easy, why not me” is insanely childish and will only ever end badly. While 16% on 100K is considerably less than 7% on 500K, remember that comparative to the average wage, 100K was significant in the 80’s.

I do however have a significant problem with the idea of ‘Ski-ing’ by the baby boomer generation, as it’s nothing short of selfish in my view. Considering that previous generations made the sacrifice and effort to save and invest in order to pass it on, I’m unsure why baby boomers feel it’s their right to spend this intergenerational collective wealth?

Chris says:

05:11pm | 11/05/10

@NCG

I never complained. I said that my parents were entitled to what they earned and by extension implied that anyone else who earns their keep deserves their just reward. But if there’s one thing that I am and you should be sick of is being constantly heaped into a category of people that scarcely exists.

Read my post mate, I paid for my life during my degree, I’ll pay for the degree that they didn’t, I’ll carve a career out of crippling competition that they never dealt with, I’ll buy a house that even after adjustments for current dollar values will cost FAR more and they will STILL complain that we have it too easy.

I’ve probably been off my arse longer than you, despite we being the same age. I’ve never been without a job since I was 15. What do i have to show for it? Not a lot. Things are harder than they were 40 years ago. Anyone who says different either has no idea what they are talking about, or are looking at the world through a perspective skewed by a charmed life.

Ryan says:

06:04pm | 11/05/10

@NCG : We weren’t the ones complaining, we were merely pointing out the FACTS to Steve here who decided he wanted to have a go at our generation, I believe he classifies us all as “bludgers” who are apparently whining and I quote “I understand that many middle class working families throughout Australia need help to achieve these things. I just wish they would stop whinging about it. “

As for sitting on our asses, well if having held significant contributory roles in fortune 500 companies in three different countries around the world in my 35 years of life is considered sitting around bludging and whining then sure I fit that category. Oh and yes I have experienced the baby boomer induced glass ceiling, its very much alive and well.

EJ says:

02:42pm | 11/05/10

But the 40% super tax hasn’t been passed by parliament yet. How can they make a budget when they don’t actually have any money to budget with??

soultrader says:

11:30am | 11/05/10

@ Nicki
Hi - how are you doin?
Just a reminder - Mr Rudd said the buck stops with him and he is assuming all responsibility for Labor’s policy failures. But I suppose, assuming responsibility and resigning are 2 completely different things.
He could do at least that for working families becaue there is no silver bullet anymore - he gave it away.
Cheers.

NCG says:

04:41pm | 11/05/10

Given his current approval rating, free firearms could be a risky move

Chris says:

05:43pm | 12/05/10

I notice that none of this was anything that you personally had to endure. My point from one of my earlier posts is that the Baby Boomer generation had it the best of anyone. We, of the younger generations have far more to deal with at a much higher personal cost. But that isn’t to say that we think we are hard done by. Of course the Great Depression was worse, it devastated the entire Western world. Nobody will argue that. However, you can’t tell us that we are doing so well and use them as an example. You weren’t there either, so move over and share the boat.