I get in to work and realise that I don't have a lot to do today. So let's see how much I can blog. For those of you who think Australia is a bastion of freedom and fairness and laid back goodness, think again. Australia is a ridiculously expensive place, that it's so tough for those who are just below middle class to survive. I've talked about health care and taxation and the inequities built into the system (which are indicative of any Western nation). What kind of system is fair where the biggest earners are the ones paying the least amount of tax? CEOs and Managing Directors of massive companies pay less tax than their Secretaries, is that right? Then the companies themselves, who flaut international laws and tax regimes in order to pay minimal tax (if they even pay). Let me use a common example here, car registration. Cars are expensive enough on their own, but registration itself is ridiculous. You'd think renewals would be cheaper for registration, but the silly system in place in some jurisdictions just makes it insane. If your car is insured for comprehensive stuff, which would cost about $650 per year, approximately, you have to pay additional compulsory third party coverage in addition to your registration. Registration itself is okay, it's usually in the realm of $350 per year, but the third party stuff is insanely ridiculous - it's an additional $550 per year! So for insurance, registration (with the third party stuff built in) it's $1,550 per year! You can buy a second hand car for that kind of price! It's absolutely stupid. I could live with it if there were actual other side benefits, but the cost of public transport always rises (for a service that is not effective), and the state of the roads (at least in my city) is horrible! There's always roadworks, traffic backed up everywhere and the roads are degrading. And they're taking my money why?! And it makes no sense, because a car depreciates in value as it ages, but the renewal cost will always be the same (or it will increase with the insurance premium). Let's add to that the stupid idea of stamp duty (WHAT THE HELL) and concepts such as a luxury car tax! That's right, in Australia, if you buy a car over $60,000, the government will charge you an additional premium because they think you're rich! What gouging of the public.
This all harkens back to a bigger problem - just bad government. I don't believe in a two party system anywhere, because that's not real democracy. They conservative and liberal governments in Australia have stupid policies. You just can't avoid them, there's no common sense or thought given to the long term. Can we have better? We deserve better!
Damn, overall this has been a very lazy day. Things are a little bit sketchy. But let's call it a day. I want to just turn to mind off and sleep.
Joaquin out.
