Good post, Nick.
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Good post, Nick.
Last edited by Lance B; 01-06-2014 at 12:57am.
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Interesting....I object to my tax going into the pockets of companies such as Glencore Xstrata via subsidies when those same companies hide all their profits in tax havens and dodgy tax minimisation (avoidance?) schemes so they pay NO tax and get unfettered access to Australia's natural resources. I'd actually like my taxes to be used to help educate Australian children and pay for health care etc, not to go directly into the pockets of multinationals. I'd like them to contribute too - after all, they are making massive profits from stuff thhat belongs to all of us.
Collect taxes from corporations, close superannuation loopholes for the very wealthy, and ensure th big banks don't steal people's money. It's not the little guy who occasionally needs assistance who is the "leaner", it's the corporations and wealthy who have made an art form of avoiding paying any tax whatsoever and believe they are entitled to do so.
The age of entitlement needs to end for those people, not for the pensioner who has worked all their life, or the single mum, or the student trying to get an education so they can get a decent job and pay their taxes.
The current government is simply shifting wealth from low and middle australians and creatinng a pool of unemployed so they can force wages down and further imrpove their own position.
They are not governing for the people, they are governing for themselves and people like ex-australian Mr Murdoch, who pretty much control the sh#t we, the public, are fed.
end rant.
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There are three things I would like to see. Twitter and facebook revolution anyone?
1. BAN ALL POLITICAL DONATIONS
2. create website that all candidates get 30 minutes to explain their policies created by a govt funded studio IE ABC.
3. BAN ALL OTHER POLITICAL ADVERTISING Maybe run the candidates policies segments on a govt TV station too
And a personal dream, now we are getting close to having the technology, move from representative democracy to direct democracy with the control party proposing laws that EVERYONE gets to vote on.
All of the above raises some really interesting outcomes, name as many as you can :-)
Just my 1.88 cents worth
An interesting idea. I first came across this in a SciFi book by Frank Herbert, the Dosadi Experiment I think. In it the Demopol (a system where everyone got to vote on everything) was totally manipulated by those who controlled the flow of information and the timing of, and the questions to be asked. Perhaps the internet would level things out a bit, but the control of information and the agenda is crucial. I'm not sure that I like the idea. It sounds like crowd control.Originally Posted by Bally
Yes, I came to this idea when we were discussing the sorry shape of Australian politics at a BBQ. We were discussing how very simplistically, representative democracy came about when the cities got too big for everyone to cast a black or white stone to vote on something. With the tech being where it is today, it should be possible for everyone to cast an electronic stone on any law proposed. It is a very loose idea which would need lots of work and I'm doubtful if it could ever happen. But it was a very interesting discussion point. The main one was that it would destroy the power of pressure groups. You can't pressure a whole country like you can a single pollie.
The idea of stopping political donations is a much more realistic and serious idea. I have spent some time in the US recently and their politics is where ours is heading. The right is full of nut jobs, the left is full of nut jobs, the center is ignored, and anyone with enough money buys influence. How in a country with 350 million can they think that two guys from one family and a husband and wife represent the 4 best people to run the country for 16 to 32 years. Cause unless you are rich and can buy media influence you can't run. We have seen what money can buy in Australian politics recently, and I think that bringing all candidates to an even field would let us see more choices more clearly and eliminate some of this them and us politics. I struggled to find out exactly what the independents in my electorate even had to say, so I ended voting based on the only 4 choices that could be called informed. A lot of good people and good ideas are being kept out of politics cause of the sound bite nature of the so called news organizations. We see little good analysis, we get daily issues, and no follow up. The behavior of both sides of politics in recent years has been atrocious and we are worse off for it.
I don't know if my ideas for change are good, but a change is certainly needed. My finger in the air polling suggests that no one thinks that the politicians really have the people and country at heart. This is the crime. With great power comes great responsibility and we hold very few of these arse-wipes to account. Really the crim Craig Thompson is a classic. The punishment for a pollie holding the electorate in the sort of contempt he did, should be more than a slap on wrist and being bailed out by donations from political supporters.
The system might not be broken, but it is surely damaged.
Our political system surely needs work, but then it always will. One thing that should be done is having a permanent corruption investigation (standing Royal Commission or something like that). The NSW experience demonstrates that, and there is no indication that federal politics is any better (eg Craig Thomson, but I'm sure it doesn't stop with him). There is a saying that "you get the government you deserve", and in many ways we are to blame for our government, but we never voted for corruption and that can be minimized if we try.
Excellent idea. And real punishments for politicians that get caught. Jail time.
Threadstarter
And you don't think one particular news organization influences a lot of people already?
Don't give them more reason to "inform" people how to vote on to many things.
The younger voters now appear to use the internet for news from many sources now hence Barack Obamas surprising success .The Chinese emperors used to call salarys for public servants anti corruption fees [no beating about the bush] , hence the Chinese proverb ,power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.With any society we will always need independent checks and balances with real powers ,before anyone points out the bleeding obvious ,yes Queensland lacks an upper house in state politics and is prone to interesting legal and ICAC appointments.One person jokingly said to me from Newcastle, you QLD guys will need a passport if going interstate at this rate,to this I replied ,yes there is a galaxy far away ,and its called Queensland regards Nick.
Oh, *sigh*. (So this thread's still going!)
To now it can be summarised, "What is any politician thinking?"
Come to think of it, what is anybody thinking?
To paraphrase "Skyhooks", "Hook Airs?"
"Hot air" would be equally correct
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To me they are all the same. The problem is not the people, it's the system created that allows them to flourish.
The reality is any politician can promise whatever crap he/she wants to and they in for 4 years. There is no measurement of their success until the next election.
For once, I'd like to see a party measured on their policies. When you get hired as a CEO, you get an employment contract which stipulates performance criteria. If you don't meet them, you get fired. I'd like to see politicians have to deliver their election promises, broken into four years with a failure to deliver 80% of their promises deemed as a fireable offence. Perhaps then they may actually have to think about their promises because they'll only last a year.
I'd also like to see more serious punishment for offences that would normally be considered fireable in an average corporate. Using your company car for your own personal use would result in you being fired. How someone manages to keep their job after that is a mystery to me.
Yes please, some damn accountability.
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