Lucky to get our own money back?
It's a wonderful time to be a tax payer. Both the federal government and the Victorian state governments are very proud at the tax savings they are giving us. Cuts for everyone including business. Their surpluses are in the billions so what a great job they must be doing. Perhaps. Or can it be that we are so overtaxed they don't know what to do with the money. If they don't lower taxes now, the billions of surplus will be so large in the future that everyone will notice how much we have been ripped off. Better to cut it now so it looks like they are doing us a favor. Don't forget they don't have ANY money of their own it's all ours that they took from us in the first place. So really they're only giving back what they took that they didn't need in the first place. Imagine if they didn't give it back and spent the whole lot on making this the best country in the world. Best water, air, food, industry, innovation, health and future. I thought that was what we put politicians in power for not just to retain power.
Is Global Warming real?
To be quite honest I don't really care. The arguments are going to go on for years and years and similar to cigarettes they know they are killing us but there's just too much money involved to do anything about it. Western society is geared up to tackling the problem once it gets serious. Take medicine as an example. Over 95% of medicine is geared up to correcting the problem once you have got it. Other than vaccination they work on early detection. All good but too bloody late. We're all obese, unfit and unhealthy. If the government really wanted us healthy, pursuits that kept us healthy would be tax deductible such as gyms, sports, etc. Regular health checkups would be free and healthy foods would be very inexpensive.
So back to global warming. Regardless of whether it is true or not we shouldn't be polluting. It is the equivalent of second hand smoke. Drive into Melbourne and look at the smog. How good can it be for the inhabitants, let alone the environment? We should be trying to use renewable energy, cleaner cars, better products just to improve our own environment. We have been treating our sewerage for centuries so we don't harm each other, yet we blast each other with car fumes and power station wastes, etc as if it just doesn't matter. We need to take a different view.
I don't think the Western countries will change, let alone the developing nations of China and India, so if Global Warming is true we are probably stuffed. That doesn't mean we can't make meaningful changes. An election is coming. Your next vote will mean the difference between future generations having a nuclear country (which is totally unnecessary) or a new approach (but untested government). Think very carefully before you vote. The next direction of government will lead us into the 22nd century for good or bad.
How much do we need?
I was watching a very interesting program on SBS the other night focusing on Australian values compared to their countries. It showed us as a greedy nation. I think it is true. Apparently the West relies on consumerism to support its economies. We have to buy to thrive. The more we buy the better the economy, although not necessarily the ecology of the planet. A good example is electricity - we consume huge amounts of it. We have been programmed to buy electrical goods. Our children need computers for school, we have them at home, now we have dvds, videos, flat screen tvs, etc, etc. The government was very happy for us to buy the latest goods, to have new cars, new goods, etc - the economy is strong. But now every time we use them we are damaging the environment, so we are being told to slow down. Don't buy air-conditioners even though every summer is hotter again.
We are consumers because we have been taught to do so. If we stop the economy goes bust and we all suffer. Wanting things is not bad in itself, it is why we want them and how we achieve getting them. And if you do make it to the top - has some compassion for the rest of us - you may join us again quicker than you expect.
