The widening gap between 'rich' and 'poor' isn't necessarily a bad thing on it's own. If the real purchasing power of the 'poor' is inreasing, then does it matter that the 'rich' also increase but at a faster rate? If the richest people end up 100, 200, 500 times richer than the ‘poor’, but those poor are essentially middle class in terms of their standard of living, does it matter?
In other words, if we can raise the bottom level, does it matter where the top goes?

The widening gap between 'rich' and 'poor' isn't necessarily a bad thing on it's own. If the real purchasing power of the 'poor' is inreasing, then does it matter that the 'rich' also increase but at a faster rate? If the richest people end up 100, 200, 500 times richer than the ‘poor’, but those poor are essentially middle class in terms of their standard of living, does it matter?
In other words, if we can raise the bottom level, does it matter where the top goes?

most Australians don't want a bar of them.

This was sort of the cream on top of the wrong cake that made up your post.

I can't remember the exact number, but The Greens pulled something like 14% of the primary vote in 2010.

Edit: Exact number was 1,458,998 primary votes to Greens candidates.

Not bad for a party that "most Australians don't want a bar of".

Edited by notorganic: 17/4/2012 05:52:13 PM

when the people who voted greens realise the underlying mantras of the greens movement they will die in the water...unless of course there are enough australians that are so complacement, lazy and have zero drive or ambition that they become socialists, so they can become passengers and bludge off the system........idealism at its best....

You're making a positive claim here champ. You have the burden of proof.

what amazes me about you Matt is that you always want solid proof, but you bat and wank on about religion and politics and social issues and rarely have any hard proof, but of course thats different.....have you ever attempted you use the powers of deduction?????

have you read any of the idealisms of the australian green movement???? what they really believe ...the way they would have you and i live????

Same-sex marriage, personal integrity and even burning the Australian flag were among the hot topics as Opposition Leader Tony Abbott faced questions from people in Melbourne's eastern suburbs today.

Hundreds of people, mostly elderly, filled a forum at Wantirna, with regular bursts of applause following Mr Abbott's responses suggesting most of them were already on his side.

The Opposition Leader repeatedly hinted at conservative spending when peppered with queries about investment in everything from youth community groups to self-funded retirees, should he run the country.

"When you've got a $20 billion surplus, it's a lot easier (to spend generously) than when you've got a $50 billion deficit, and that's the problem," Mr Abbott told the forum, pointing to a drastic turnaround in budget results since Labor came to power in 2007.

A local orthodox priest in the audience voiced concerns that same-sex marriage would create social disorder and corrupt family values, and urged the coalition leader to tackle the issue.

Mr Abbott received the heartiest applause of the afternoon when he responded, restating his - and his party's - firm stance against same-sex marriage.

Mr Abbott said that while he wanted a non-discriminatory society that encouraged stable relationships, marriage should remain between a man and a woman.

One man called on the coalition to outlaw the burning of the Australian flag, saying "it should be illegal to burn a national symbol".

Mr Abbott said flag desecration should never occur, but said creating new legislation specifically against the practice was unnecessary.

When quizzed on his personal integrity, Mr Abbott said he had strived throughout his two decades in politics to be authentic, and that people should never allow things within their control to break their promises.

"I think I can put my hand on my heart and say I have done my damndest to be true to the things that I have stated I will do," he said.

Mr Abbott also used the forum to criticise the carbon tax, and to reiterate the coalition's policies on paid parental leave, flexible child care and a bipartisan approach to a new National Disability Insurance Scheme.
AAP

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/hot--topics-greet-abbott-in-wantirna-20120417-1x52y.html#ixzz1sHgTyGJn

Good old Phoney Tony preaching to the choir again.

hey champ have you got proof of that????? thats just a media release its not fact...lol...

oh unless you use the info ..then its legitimate.....

oh here's matt in action...!!!!

[youtube]yTl9zYS3_dc[/youtube]

I don't even know what to say to this. How old are you?

14% still confirms that most Australian don;t want a bar of the Greens or their ideological claptrap. I also believe that this will have been the Greens' peak position, and they'll begin a decline back to where they belong, on the lunatic fringes of society.

As for doing your best to smear Abbott in line with the Labor unofficial campaign to "get him" - Abbott is not the leader of this nation, Julia is, together with the new Greens leader. And she needs to go. Abbott was a fine minister in a great government and will do just fine cleaning up the shit he is going to inherit.

14% still confirms that most Australian don;t want a bar of the Greens or their ideological claptrap. I also believe that this will have been the Greens' peak position, and they'll begin a decline back to where they belong, on the lunatic fringes of society.

There ya go, being left-wing is on the lunatic fringe of society

I don't even know what to say to this. How old are you?

Would you like me to explain the relevance that you're missing?

I'm shocked.

It's hilarious that a Julia fanboy accuses someone else of doing a Bradbury. Pot...kettle...what's that next one?

SHADOW treasurer Joe Hockey has condemned systems of ''universal entitlement'' in Western democracies, contrasting this attitude with the concept of ''filial piety'' thriving across Asia where people get what they work for and families look after their own.
Speaking in London, Mr Hockey said that by Western standards the highly constrained public safety net in Hong Kong and other Asian places might seem brutal ''but it works and it is financially sustainable''.

''Contrast this with what we find in Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States. All of them have enormous entitlement systems spanning education, health, income support, retirement benefits, unemployment benefits.''

Government revenues fell far short of meeting the cost and the difference had to be made up by borrowing.
While he was less critical of Australia, saying that over the years there had been some key decisions to reduce spending, Mr Hockey said it still had ''a lot of spending by government which many voters see as their entitlement''.

Pressed on the ABC’s Lateline about whether the Coalition would look at the whole range of entitlements, Mr Hockey said: "Yes.’"

Australia needed to be "ever vigilant" and to compare itself with its neighbours. Australia had moved a long way but this "doesn’t mean we shouldn’t move further’".

In his speech, he said countries with a lower level of entitlement were free to allow business and individuals to be successful. "It reduces taxation, meaning individuals spend less of their time working for the state, and more of their time working for themselves and their family."

Both sides of the Western political spectrum were to blame for the entitlement mentality. "Perhaps the real problem is the exuberant excesses of politicians."

But now, he said, "the age of unlimited and unfunded entitlement to government services and income support is over ... We are now in an era where leaders are much more wary about credit risk."

Surprised that nobody has posted about Joe Hockey's little rant on Lateline, or is it just that what he said is indefensible and you LNP fanboys like to gloss over their shortcomings?

Surprised that nobody has posted about Joe Hockey's little rant on Lateline, or is it just that what he said is indefensible and you LNP fanboys like to gloss over their shortcomings?



Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/hockey-blasts-attitude-of-entitlement-20120418-1x7zs.html#ixzz1sRt1wYif

i try not to watch to much ABC as it's heavily left wing......