What has made you Angry Today???????

[threedogs]

The fuel prices we are paying today , we were paying years ago when fuel was $200 plus a barrel
its nowhere near that now and still high prices. WTF

[BigRAWesty]

I apologise in advance if I offend but......
Really bloody cranky about baby boomers.......
Why do those who received a free education, fully funded healthcare and reasonably retirement age of 65 now create a situation where I will have to pay for all their health care and benefits through increased taxes while I work until I'm forkin' 70? First you made my generation pay for the education you got for free, never paid enough tax during the boom times to support our future infrastructure development and now this......WTF? How about putting your hand in your pocket you pr!cks and save GenX and those that follow the pain of paying for you......again.
EDIT: while living in/with the environmental disaster we will inherit.
Rant over.

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

I read a while ago an article which made sense, so of course the gruberment will never do it..
Went along the lines of $1 million for every retired person at 55..
They had to buy an aussie made car (bit late on this one..)
Go on a holiday in Australia,
Etc etc..

It made sense as it would continuly boost Australia's car industry, travel industry, tourism industry, engineering industry and so on and so on..

[jack]

AGE OF ENTITLEMENT and BABY BOOMERS

According to the Internet (so it must be true) Baby Boomers were born between 1946 and 1964 so I'm definitely one so I must be one of those pr!cks referred to in an earlier post.
When I was born life expectancy for males was 67.1 so people were expected to work about 50 years and enjoy a few years of retirement.

Life was good, we lived in the country, walked miles to and from school (no school bus and mum and dad couldn't afford bikes for four kids), we didn't complain.
We made our own fun (after the work was done, cutting firewood, feeding the animals etc.). We 'processed' our own chickens and lamb and supplemented that with underground mutton fairly often, we didn't complain. We didn't have technology, geez when we finally got a TV we had to stand up and walk to it to turn it on and off and to CHANGE channels (there were 3 channels).
Well we all survived primary school and that meant a bus ride to high school in the big smoke. Up even earlier to walk to the bus stop and we were lucky to get home by 5:30pm. Of course there was still work to be done, but we didn't complain. We all took it in turns turning the hand separator or churning the butter.

By the time three of us were catching the bus, mum and dad decided it was time to move to the big smoke (well not that big), I hated it but it was best for the family so we didn't complain.
It was normal to leave school at 15 and go to work, the lucky ones got an apprenticeship - that gave us 50 years of work before we could 'retire'.
Living in town opened up opportunities for part time work. My first 'holiday' job was filling muffler bodies with asbestos and fiberglass, geez that stuff itched but that's nothing to what the asbestos could still do to me. I had this and other 'holiday' jobs until I started full time employment, how I remember that first $35 pay packet. Naturally part of it went to mum and dad for board, but we didn't complain.
My lucky number didn't come up and I missed the Draft, time to buy a house and get married.
Recall buying our first home (no first home buyers grant around then), recall interest rates hit 18% (what are they now?). Babies came along (twins first up), it was time to stop after four children. No Baby Bonus then but we didn't complain, we got on with it. Lucky for us we had 'free' healthcare from 1975, it only cost us an extra 2.5% in our tax. It's exactly the same now, free in a public hospital, we paid the extra to get our own doctor. Still have top cover now and was still over $6000 out of pocket the other year (but we didn't complain, well a little bit).
My wife didn't work as in those days you looked after your own children, this meant I had to get another job to support the family.
Every Saturday morning in winter would see me ar5e up in the air hand picking spuds into large bags, then loading them onto the trailer. Always scored free spuds, life was good. Summer was spent hay carting, most of this was 'cash in hand' so I didn't complain.

Throughout this time we upgraded our house and bought a small property, loved it and so did the kids. Live started to turn full circle, with the kids having to catch the bus to and from school it was time to move into town.
The kids got an education and got on with life and are all doing well, so I'm not complaining.
Decided to upgrade my skills and started University part time ended up going full time and working part time. Yeap I got a massive HECS debt but I didn't complain, I paid if off. I've been working for the same company for the last 18 years and hope to continue for many more - but that may not be my decision.
Superannuation wasn't mentioned when I started working, we paid our taxes and assumed that if needed the pension would support us in our few years of retirement. There was never any money left over to put into extra super contributions anyway, we put it into the house as I don't like debt. If I make it another few years to 65 I probably won't need the pension unless I live to 80, which I doubt.
I'm trying to keep fit but slowing down and it's getting harder to get up on these cooler mornings. My back is about stuffed and my lung capacity has diminished a fair bit. I was tested for asbestosis and mesothelioma earlier this year, turned out I had whooping cough so I didn't complain.

These days most people start working at 20 compared to 15 for the baby boomers. Baby Boomers can retire at 65 and for GenX it may become 70 - unless my maths is wrong that gives us both a 50 year working life.
I'm glad I am part of the Baby Boomer generation, it's a hell of a lot better than my parents generation. Yeap I worry about the future for my kids, I think I've instilled a good work ethic in them. I'm more worried about my grand-kids, after seeing some of the current ME ME generation whingeing and complaining I'm glad I won't be around.

[TPC]

Well said Apollofish.

[DX grunt]

My first 'school holiday' job paid 50 cents per hour, and my first pay packet was $7.50. I was rich!!!!

[Bob]

Well said Apollofish.

X2.................

[Bloodyaussie]

Things were better in the good ol days before all these new fangle changes!!!

[jack]

Things were better in the good ol days before all these new fangle changes!!!

Not everything, but it was damn easier to diagnose and fix an engine fault for sure.

[Sir Roofy]

X2.................

X3...........................

[MEGOMONSTER]

I think the finance minister wants to tighten her squeeze.