Lol, was on the phone to him while I was reading that post so I asked him who he voted for. He said "you first". I though that was a little gay, but anyways. I voted John boy and he said yeah, he voted for "Johnny eyebrows too"!!
Why did it take you 15mths to discuss with your BROTHER who you voted for.... Howard would of retired if he won or lost so it doesn't matter who you voted for. The country would still be ****ed.
Like I said, I dont like or talk politics in this household. The most I EVER read about it is here, on Aussie Fchat. I thought he voted for eyebrows, but I thought I would confirm again while he was on the phone. Politics are boring and they dont interest me. Seriously. It dont matter anyways, all politicians suck major balls! My thoughts EXACTLY!
i get a 30% deduction on new plant and equipment purchases by june 30, buying everything that needs replacing and some.
Just in case anyone missed this in the other Rant thread...... kinda says it all.... To All My Valued Employees, There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of this company, and more specifically, your job. As you know, the economy has changed for the worse and presents many challenges. However, the good news is this: The economy doesn't pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job; however, is the changing political landscape in this country. However, let me tell you some little tid-bits of fact which might help you decide what is in your best interests. First, while it is easy to spew rhetoric that casts employers against employees, you have to understand that for every business owner there is a back story. This back story is often neglected and overshadowed by what you see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside. You've seen my big home at last year's Christmas party. I'm sure all these flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealised thoughts about my life. However, what you don't see is the back story. I started this company 28 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 2 bedroom flat for 3 years. My entire living area was converted into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building a company, which by the way, would eventually employ you. My diet consisted of baked beans, stew and soup because every dollar I spent went back into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a wonky transmission. I didn't have time to go out with women. Often times, I stayed home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and partying. In fact, I was married to my business -- hard work, discipline, and sacrifice. Meanwhile, my friends got jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made a modest $50,000 a year and spent every dime they earned. They drove flashy cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer clothes. Instead of hitting David Jones for the latest hot fashion item, I was trolling through the discount stores extracting any clothing item that didn't look like it was birthed in the 70's. My friends refinanced their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I, however, did not. I put my time, my money, and my life into a business with a vision that eventually, some day, I too, will be able to afford these luxuries my friends supposedly had. So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9am, mentally check in at about noon, and then leave at 5pm, I don't. There is no "off" button for me. When you leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend all to yourself. I unfortunately do not have the freedom. I eat, and breathe this company every minute of the day. There is no rest. There is no weekend. There is no happy hour. Every day this business is attached to my hip like a 1 year old special-needs child. You, of course, only see the fruits of that garden -- the nice house, the Merc, the vacations.. you never realise the back story and the sacrifices I've made. Now, the economy is falling apart and I, the guy who made all the right decisions and saved his money, have to bail-out all the people who didn't The people that overspent their pay suddenly feel entitled to the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life for. Yes, business ownership has its benefits but the price I've paid is steep and not without wounds. Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you, is starting to eclipse the threshold of marginal benefit and let me tell you why: I am being taxed to death and the government thinks I don't pay enough. I have state taxes, Federal taxes, Property taxes, GST, Payroll taxes and Workers compensation. Taxes on taxes - I have to hire an accountant to manage all these taxes and then guess what? I have to pay taxes for employing him. Government mandates and regulations and all the accounting that goes with it, now occupy most of my time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a cheque to the Australian Tax Office for $288,000 for quarterly taxes. You know what my "stimulus" cheque was? Zero. Zip. Zilch. The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the guy who has provided 14 people good paying jobs and serves over 2,200,000 people per year with a flourishing business? Or, is it the single mother sitting at home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her next welfare cheque? Obviously, government feels the latter is the economic stimulus of this country. The fact is, if I deducted (Read: Stole) 50% of your pay you'd quit and you wouldn't work here. I mean, why should you? That's nuts. Who wants to get rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, I agree which is why your job is in jeopardy. Here is what many of you don't understand ... to stimulate the economy you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Had the government suddenly mandated to me that I didn't need to pay taxes, guess what? Instead of depositing that $288,000 into the Canberra black-hole, I would have spent it, hired more employees, and generated substantial economic growth. My employees would have enjoyed the wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and better salaries. But you can forget it now. When you have a comatose man on the verge of death, you don't defibrillate and shock his thumb thinking that will bring him back to life, do you? Or, do you defibrillate his heart? Business is at the heart of Australia and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate it, not kill it. But the power brokers in Canberra believe the poor of Australia are the essential drivers of the Australian economic engine. Nothing could be further from the truth and this is the type of change you can keep. So where am I going with all this? It's quite simple. If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, my reaction will be swift and simple. I fire you. I fire your co-workers. You can then plead with the government to pay for your mortgage, your 4WD and your child's future. Frankly, it isn't my problem any more. Then, I will close this company down, move to another country, and retire. You see, I'm done. I'm done with a country that penalises the productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, will be my citizenship. So, if you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the economy; it will be at the hands of politicians who swept through this country and changed its financial landscape forever. If that happens, you can find me sitting on a beach, retired, and with no employees to worry about.... Signed, Your Boss.
I started my business from scratch 16 years ago and here's what I've discovered..... Most employees work hard and take pride in their work Good employers know that without good staff, they have no business Staff know and accept the boss earns more than them and has made sacrifices to get there Most business owners understand that tax is necessary and don't keep b****ing about it The business owners that moan about taxes usually have other problems. I'm an avid reader of business stuff because I have to be, and I like to come to Ferrarichat to talk about fun things like fast cars and forget about business for a while.
[QUOTE="Megan";138416318]Well, they'd better not, because they are likely to get a slap in the face from me - and I am the least violent person you could come across!![/QUOTE] I look forward to meeting you.
I for one am against this package,IMO future generations wiil bear the price via tax,death duties ect. I would prefer that Government puts pressure or incentives to business large and small to keep staff. I for one in my business ,we are in the eye of the storm,top heavy to much staff but I will hold onto all my loyal workers/friends. A tale to tell. my mother is a Sherrin of the Football makers.During the 29/30 depression her father Syd Sherrin kept all his staff on,he was not a rich man but felt it was his duty to keep unskilled and skill football makers on.During those hard times his family put money into this proud business in order for it to survive. He felt that he wanted to help the local workers many whom lived around Abbotsford and Collingwood and whom also followed the greatest football club in the world ,Collingwood F.C. makes you feel proud of your family and its heritage/history.
Yes, Kerry Packer had a problem with his ticker from memory and had a heart attack. He didn't like paying anymore tax than neceasarry either. Other than the obvious problems I have , the reason that I get annoyed is because of the waste MHH. I don't mind paying taxes if its used wisely. The government seems to be doing less with more and yet we are expected to do more with less. Don't know about SA, but in VIC we haven't had any major infrastructure investments other PPP's which end up in us paying tolls.
Freeway to replace the Hume Hwy out of Melbourne along with improvements along the whole length of it to the border (which I know should have been done YEARS ago, so we can swap the blame back and forth about which party dropped the ball not doing it.) Monash widening project A very intensive under/overpass project in Box Hill/Blackburn to improve the crossing of the rail line. That's just off the top of my head for road projects. I'm sure there is a lot more that can be done, but then of course, most people would complain the gov is spending too much
I'm glad we (the US) aren't alone in the stimulus plan crap. Just curious, I know Australia and the rest of the world are hurting from the meltdown; however, I always though that the Australian financial and banking system is rather sound (due to tigher regulations).
You're quite right but its anticipated that unemployment will rise steeply, economic growth will disintegrate, and there will be falls in demand for goods/services. The stimulus is being brought in to ensure this period is as brief and painless as possible by keeping money churning through the economy. Part of it is a $950 payment to lower income earnerswhich most on this board agree is a waste of $12 billion. most here feel that its a political ploy to win votes for an early election. Unfortunately it will create an even larger uneccesary budget deficit that will take years of surpluses to recoup. The other 30 billion component is for various infrastructure that australia needs but probably won't go far enough. IMO Australia's infrastructure i.e roads, ports and rail are so far behind the rest of the world that everytime our govt throws money at people from a plane in the sky rather than invest it in the future of our economic growth we take another step backwards.
The simplistic response is: We're not hurting due to the banking stuff (yes, the regs were better, and we never hit the sub-prime in the same way as the USA), we hurting because of reliance on exports and therefore we are hurting because other countries are. Like I said, a simplistic view, and many will yell at me for being stupid, but hey, this is how i see it.
