Tariffs

A mate of mine went on a family holiday to China in January. He relayed an interesting item from a local English language newspaper about a new pay deal which had been struck for manufacturing workers in Macau. Under the deal, the workers will be paid AUD $239. Not $239 a day. Not $239 a week. But $239 a month.

Uphill battle: Nicholson in The Australian.

Factoids such as this are illustrative, and depressingly so, as countries such as Australia grapple with the future of manufacturing jobs. The current discussion about the future of the car industry has been complicated by the high Australian dollar, which is driving up the cost of everything we export.

Regardless of whether our dollar was at 70 cents or at parity with the greenback we would still be wrestling with the exact same problems of competition amid the unstoppable forces of globalisation.

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  • Chris says:

    04:00pm | 06/02/12

    Thanks Gregg for your thoughtful comment… I am well aware of the education system in Asia given my kids are in it and I have about 50 staff up here all of whom are University Graduates… and I am happy to enter into a very detailed discussion about the differences.… Read more »

  • Leigh says:

    03:57pm | 06/02/12

    And we (SA) didn’t recover a red cent of the money we handed over to Mitsubishi when they left. The SA Labor governement is not consistent (see Minchin asking for consistency). We have just missed out on making school buses because our wonderful government gave the job to Malaysia. However,… Read more »

 

You really have to wonder how spectacularly insecure or under-endowed a bloke must be if he chooses to demonstrate his masculinity by shooting a majestic animal such as a giraffe or a hippo.

Those bastards in Canberra…Photo: Ray Strange

Yet these are the very people which the self-styled hard man from North Queensland, Bob “No Poofters” Katter, has surrounded himself with as he builds a support base for his fledgling Australia Party.

It is tempting to write Katter off as a harmless nut or an amusing novelty on the political landscape who will never exert any influence over policy. The polls suggest however that his party may poll strongly in his home state at a federal election.

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  • Weinstien says:

    01:25pm | 14/01/13

    Stop being such a protectionist. We import because it is cheap and relieves the price hikes which working Australia lived under when hacks like Katter, Menzies and Chifley ‘ran’ the economy. Protectionists think they are standing up for the little guy but in reality they are drive up the cost… Read more »

  • north face outlet says:

    01:58pm | 17/11/12

    Manners are quite different from country to country.Being criticized is awful!Let’s watch TV with a candle on.Thanks for taking me the movieI owe you for my dinner.No matter what happened, he would not say a word.No matter what happened, he would not say a word.They’re in red and white.Just wait… Read more »

 

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