For those who don't know, the Fortune 500 is a list of the 500 biggest corporates in the world.

There are 9 Aussie companies in the list.

1 - A big miner making too much from mining
2 & 3 - the two big food sellers/retailers charging us too much for food!
4 though 7 - the big 4 banks, charging too much interest with too many fees
8 - our big Telco who is an expert at sending you a chillingly painfully over priced bill every so often
9 - a big Oil Company that I thought was American with the shortening of California & Texas.

The motto here is probably, "learn how to rip people off blind!".

au.finance.yahoo.com/photos/which-australian-companies-made-fortune-s-500-latest-list-slideshow/telstra-photo-1341965711.html

No government regulation on profits Banks especially = Greedy fatcats .

Whinge whinge whinge.

Living in the lucky country. Everywhere else in the G20 is in deep shart. Half the world isn't even affected by the GFC cos they're too poor to begin with. Half the planet doesn't have electricity or clean water in their homes, let alone a flushing toilet or 3. A billion people on this planet would probably sacrifice a granny or cut a finger off for the chance just to live in peace, without war.

And yet it's all so tough living in this country with 5% unemployment. Great health care available to all. Clean water, reliable power. Laws that protect you. Levels of corruption as low as exist anywhere. Phones you carry in your pocket that let you instantly talk to anyone else in the world, for an affordable price. (how much was a long distance call in your parents time eh?) Enormous fekin supermarkets that have endless varieties of produce from all over the country and the world.

To think that companies here make a profit! Wow, that's rude of them.

Would you be happier if food, petrol, bank fees, and phone bills were suddenly halved? My bet is the extra in your pocket would be absorbed with stuff you don't really need or appreciate and within a year you'd be back to whinging. Because ACA/TT tells you that's how you should feel on your giant flat screen TV.

I think things will obviously change. As for the health system one of my parents was just about to fly to Singapore to get (paid for herself) critical medical treatment, The Public health system let her down like many other Australian people.
This country is going to come down to people who have money and people who dont.The people who don't will be left for dead.
It will probably end up where the pension is wiped out and so is the dole like many other countries.
Were very lucky have plenty of opportunity to be capitalized on but the i think the good times are over.

As for banks You have no choice but to put your pay in the bank. To remove your pay from a banking institution will cost you money. Banks fail to comply with reserve bank rate cuts then when the bank goes broke the government bails it out.

kiteboy dave said...

Whinge whinge whinge.

Living in the lucky country. Everywhere else in the G20 is in deep shart. Half the world isn't even affected by the GFC cos they're too poor to begin with. Half the planet doesn't have electricity or clean water in their homes, let alone a flushing toilet or 3. A billion people on this planet would probably sacrifice a granny or cut a finger off for the chance just to live in peace, without war.

And yet it's all so tough living in this country with 5% unemployment. Great health care available to all. Clean water, reliable power. Laws that protect you. Levels of corruption as low as exist anywhere. Phones you carry in your pocket that let you instantly talk to anyone else in the world, for an affordable price. (how much was a long distance call in your parents time eh?) Enormous fekin supermarkets that have endless varieties of produce from all over the country and the world.

To think that companies here make a profit! Wow, that's rude of them.

Would you be happier if food, petrol, bank fees, and phone bills were suddenly halved? My bet is the extra in your pocket would be absorbed with stuff you don't really need or appreciate and within a year you'd be back to whinging. Because ACA/TT tells you that's how you should feel on your giant flat screen TV.

It is very true. We are bloody lucky and have more than we need. But we got thru the GFC based on our strong economy due to mining etc, not due to Govt policy at the time.

But in WA - the richest State in the best country in the world - the MRI machine in the children's hospital was paid for by Telethon.
Ambulances queue for an hour in the ED driveway.
People die in wildfires caused by powerpoles that should have been replaced 30 years ago, and they claim no money is the problem... but power bills have doubled in 5yrs.
The list goes on....
BUT instead the Govt spends money on a footy stadium and a realignment of the river foreshore to benefit big business developers.

Imagine how lucky the lucky country could be with statesman type leadership, not 3 year plans to be re-elected....

(and your big groceries chain prices / choice: ask a farmer what he thinks about the Woolies / Coles dupololy screwing him)

You have ridiculed those who object to the profits of big companies, but considering the 4 banks who increase fees at whim and you have to use them (asked to be paid in cash lately???), and the duopoly in supermarkets, and the mum n dad owned petrol stations being a thing of the past - is that really better than what we had say 20 - 30yrs ago?
All those changes were not implemented for OUR good - it was for selfish reasons

www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/federal/we-want-the-milk-without-cost-of-cow-20120710-21tq1.html

Are retailers / duopoly really screwing us? Economist's view I happened to read the other day.

Also Mark - you don't have to use the big 4 banks. Go to your nearest credit union, join today. Mine is not run for profit - fees are enough to keep operating, that's it. There are a huge number of banks/credit unions in Australia. Forget the advertising and go choose a smaller one. www.apra.gov.au/adi/pages/adilist.aspx

Buster said...
This country is going to come down to people who have money and people who dont.The people who don't will be left for dead.

Another common misconception that isn't really supported by facts. They were discussing a recent OECD report into living conditions in australia on the radio not long ago, how it showed that the gap between rich (excluding a couple at the very top) and poor has been steadily decreasing in the last decade in this country. ie the rich are pulling the poor up. And in fact the poor in this country have been getting richer faster than the rich in many other countries.

kiteboy dave said...

Whinge whinge whinge.

Living in the lucky country. Everywhere else in the G20 is in deep shart. Half the world isn't even affected by the GFC cos they're too poor to begin with. Half the planet doesn't have electricity or clean water in their homes, let alone a flushing toilet or 3. A billion people on this planet would probably sacrifice a granny or cut a finger off for the chance just to live in peace, without war.

And yet it's all so tough living in this country with 5% unemployment. Great health care available to all. Clean water, reliable power. Laws that protect you. Levels of corruption as low as exist anywhere. Phones you carry in your pocket that let you instantly talk to anyone else in the world, for an affordable price. (how much was a long distance call in your parents time eh?) Enormous fekin supermarkets that have endless varieties of produce from all over the country and the world.

To think that companies here make a profit! Wow, that's rude of them.

Would you be happier if food, petrol, bank fees, and phone bills were suddenly halved? My bet is the extra in your pocket would be absorbed with stuff you don't really need or appreciate and within a year you'd be back to whinging. Because ACA/TT tells you that's how you should feel on your giant flat screen TV.

There's a man saying exactly how I see it.

Spend some time in the 3rd world to see how lucky we have it.......

To be born in this beautiful, free, clean and relatively safe country is a true blessing upon your life. Don't waste any part of it feeling hard done by.

Even if the doomsdayers predictions of our wealth ending came true we would still be luckier than 95% of countries on the planet.

Waterloo said...

Mark _australia said...



...Imagine how lucky the lucky country could be with statesman type leadership, not 3 year plans to be re-elected....

So where can we buy one of these?

Bob Katter for King of Australia!

I see the Libs are pitting Clive Palmer against him in the upcoming election. I wonder how many votes he could buy in Katter country?

Australia set a new world record on June 30, 2012 of 21 years of continued economic growth - an achievement unmatched by any other developed country in recent times.

evlPanda said...

Australia set a new world record on June 30, 2012 of 21 years of continued economic growth - an achievement unmatched by any other developed country in recent times.

Yes, but somewhat at the expense of the national debt, through various economic and spending stimuli.

The gross debt has grown from 5% of GDP (gross) in 2008 to a current 14%. Basically we are borrowing to sustain growth. Through the policies, the mining boom is not even funding itself.

Australian export goods still consist uniquely of raw, unprocessed material sent to countries such as China and Japan. Those countries resell the products back, in the case of metals and natural gas, in the format of expensive products such as cars, machinery and electronics, which we do not manufacture.

Also, such an approach to the export economy means that we are vulnerable to fluctuations in the world market, which we cannot possibly influence. Diamond or gold prices drop and mines will close, simple as that.

Anyways, Australia is still the lucky country, by far. Plenty of other places will fold before Oz.
And yes, do the Credit Union bit - much less arrogant a product than the big 4, those same banks that outsourced all of their IT and centers to India.

pierrec45 said...
The gross debt has grown from 5% of GDP (gross) in 2008 to a current 14%.

My personal, gross debt is like ~500%.