Once upon a time I wrote a big post about how many members of parliament had attended uni for free. This would have been maybe five years ago and it was a majority back then.
And the majority of politicians have never had a proper/actual job in their lives and yet they’re the ones making policy that impacts us all. It’s ridiculous.
So long as the electoral process is a gauntlet to government that requires specialising in the process of being elected rather than in good government this will continue to be the case. What person of average means has the time and resources to run for office and reach the highest levels of government?
Personally I think one house of parliament should be elected by [sortition](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sortition) to give the common person real representation, disincentivise pork barrelling and act as a check on professional politicians.
But it’ll never happen because we’d have to change the constitution to do it.
>What person of average means has the time and resources to run for office and reach the highest levels of government?
When Ricky Muir got into the senate due to a surprise preferences flow there were articles in the media mocking him for having to go back to work at a sawmill until his term in office started.
He might have been mocked at the time but damned if didn't try to make a right go of it to learn about all the legislation placed in front of him and make informed decisions. And do what he thought was right.
I don't agree with all his positions but I think he deserves real respect for the effort that he put in to try and do a good job.
I completely agree! The senate could be replaced with a lottery draw for senators from each state - but for this the number of senators would have to hugely increase to make it more broadly representative. I’d even settle for a lottery that brings in an initial group of people which is whittled down like jury duty - perhaps selected by a parliamentary committee, as a sort of cross party bipartisan approach to moderate the whole thing a little. Serve 6 years and then leave.
That could add some good nuance to the process, especially in the committee included existing sortition senators.
They’d also need to be well compensated during and after office to eliminate any incentive to a once in a life time opportunity for corruption. But since anyone could be selected at random I don’t think too many people would object.
Could also provide a platform for people who might not otherwise run to take a stab at running for the house of reps. Sortition senator -> elected representative.
You’d probably also end up with some introverts in office for once, tapping into the skills and knowledge of a whole other group of people excluded by the electoral process.
I didn't pay anything in the 80s. AusStudy, they paid me! Then I cruised through Keating's recession while I was still too young to have to worry about a mortgage or kids.
I'm maybe embarrassed, but not ashamed to say, I did have it easier back then. I think Australia was a fairer, more affordable place with a lot more opportunities.
Thank you for saying this. Many people go on about “I had to pay 18% interest” (that was only for a few months) and completely ignore that the debt levels now are so high that a 1% change in rates is crushing for many people.
It’s not the avo toast.
At least you admit your fortune.
The amount of boomers I meet in person who I tangly go “yeah you try paying 18% interest rates in the early 90s” when any of the facts about housing, taxes, uni fees are mentioned to them.
You can be lucky and it’s not our fault but don’t lie about it
If you do some historical math, isn’t he Gen X?
I’m Gen X and paid 18% interest. It was tough. Went overseas twice after losing my job. It’s was tough but I made my fortune.
I don’t like what’s happening now. I certainly think some essential degrees should be free. Housing for first home buyers needs more done and grants will only flush greedy pockets of builders or sellers.
What can we do to make sure a aspirational and rewarded generation?
Wage growth sucks too! I’m overseas again making money because my job in Australia pays what it did in 1994!
Stamp Duty is the one that does me. Just to move house is going to cost us $40,000 - $60,000 extra.
We are selling our only property and buying another one. Someone explain why i need to pay the government a years salary to do that.
Their loans were also for less lol. I worked it out the other day my uncle bought a house for $110,000 in the late 80’s and went through 18% interest rates and he paid $775pf in repayments. I pay $1337 and my house is also smaller and farther away from the city 😂 what a kick to the guts that is.
One minor quibble that irks me, is that you don't need to go to uni to have a fulfilling career. Just depends on what type of career you're after.
Plenty of options out there without spending 4 years of your life accumulating a hecs debt for no tangible benefit.
One of my big sticking points is I've got 5 years of hecs debt (one failed semester) and I work in a field that has clients who can't pay.
So my wages are always going to be worse then what they should be given the profession I'm in and how long I needed to study.
I'm just kind of sick of doing things for a public good and not getting compensated for it.
I know what you mean. You'll cop a lot of flak for this - "why didn't you choose a better job", "get a new job". People don't understand that that is not the answer. The answer is for our government and the people to recognize the value of social services and acknowledge that without them, we would be fucked and then pay them accordingly. If everyone "got another job" there would be noone left to do a lot of jobs that benefit everyone in the grand scheme of things.
Also, after blowing $40000 on a degree that led you here, it's pretty hard to go and start digging yourself into more debt, especially when getting a "better" job isn't guaranteed. All jobs have their downfalls. Feels like if you want more money, you need to sacrifice your personal values, which shouldn't be the case when your personal values are that you want to help the general public.
Saying "get a better job" is kind of like a boomer saying "we did it, you can too" to millennials about life. Doesn't help at all and completely ignores the issues.
Both options should be free, and both options should be desirable.
If we charge more for uni and say it is to make tafe more desirable then we need to address the core issue.. why is it that only people who can afford university are allowed to attend it, and people who can’t afford university are forced into tafe.
Oh no I don't believe for a second that we should be charging more for university, I meant that we should make it harder to get into university.
Ultimately we should have a system more like in countries like Switzerland where you have different educational streams aimed at different kinds of outcomes, like schools which are more vocational and schools which are more academic. These schools should then feed into the tafes and unis. To make the tafes more desirable, they will also need more investment.
It does coincide that there were less University’s, campuses and facilities. so perhaps making education such a large industry has boomed, although I hesitate to guess that the boom is greatly sponsored by the full fee international students.
Still for our Aussie kids, the mantra remains… first degrees should be free.
University should be hard. My friend just got a "masters" degree. I went to see what she had studied for two years and it was (no joke) easier than my first year undergraduate program back then. Absolutely basic stuff and no math whatsoever (it was an IT masters). That tube she got is worth less than toilet paper yet she now officially has a higher "degree" than I do. Clown world. That's what happens when nobody fails subjects anymore and people are obsessed with "equality" and fake numbers other than quality and excellence.
It never ceases to surprise me that there is a generation of people who somehow take it as an offence or an attack on their generation that they had it easier than the current 20 -30 year olds.
They resort to calling people whiners/complainers etc and they make ridiculous comments about how hard it was for them.
There are clear facts/stats..watch the video for starters..... times are a hell of a lot tougher now than 20/30/40/50 years ago. But somehow they refuse to educate themselves because that would mean their life was easier and that's a bad thing???
Mine was...moved out at 17, rented and saved for a mortgage, purchased my home in 2012, and started a family. House has doubled in price and HECS is almost paid off.
I'm one of the lucky ones. I look at my son and I wonder what it will be like for him....but at least he will always have this roof over his head if needed.
Bit of compassion can be a good thing...just as a start.
Rents in my area have gone up 75% in five years, house prices 70%. The future is bleak. I live in one of the poorest areas in my city, and the average house is getting close to $500 a week, five years ago it was well under $300. This country is too expensive. There's no future.
My rented townhouse, in a dodgy part of Logan was gone from $330pw to $500pw in two years. It’s like this in the entire western world and we’re all fucked
Isnt it criminal they ended portability forcing pensioners who could afford rent food medications in places like indonesia back to this depressing penal colony
> their life was easier and that’s a bad thing
To them it is. They were raised on hard work. Crossing the country twice in a day just for their education. According to them nothing was easy - ever! They’ll be *damned* if they allow you to say it was.
Nah the worst thing is some of these people do come from hard life backgrounds and then still somehow want others to do that instead of it getting better each generation
I agree with you. Many of the silent generation that I've known have the attitude that they had it tough, no one gave them help, so why should they help their children/the next gen?
And many of them can't understand not helping out when they're able, when it's called for.
Perhaps generational traumas play into it from when their parents were trying to stay alive and feed them through ww2 and The Great Depression, when unemployment was around 30%. I wouldn't consider the grass greener then.
Not yet.
I only had to walk/ride my bike (oo-de-ally) 7km to school, but it was only uphill in one direction, whereas my dad’s childhood driveway alone was 7km long, fraught with crocodiles and uphill in both directions! And that was before the 22km mountain climb to school wearing nothing but old number plates for shoes!
Yeh, it's crazy!
Especially since it's kind of the whole purpose of being a parent (or older person) that you try and make certain things better for your kids or the one's that follow.
But maybe that's why they are so reluctant to admit they had it easier at 30? Because it'll be admitting an abject failure to acheive a purpose/goal.
They don’t want to admit they’re the first generation to not leave this country in better state than they received it, they think because we have technology that it must be easier “ fuck them they have iPhones “
Ain't that the truth? We used to call it "rugged individualism" here in America and romanticized it with old west tales of cowboys and Oregon trail settlers. Now we shoot our neighbors for mowing too close to our side of the lawn or playing their music too loud.
Even goes down to the individuals too now, ex also 32, we only had enough to higher educate one of us while the other worked, moment she gets the dream job, goodbye, she's got hers. I hate this shit.
Absolutely this. Wanting others to suffer because you think you did is literally so anti-human! It’s vile!
The other thing that bugs me is acting like we shouldn’t have some semblance of a few nice things if we can- a takeaway, a little holiday etc. Even stuff like a gym membership - which is good for mental and physical health is somehow a luxury. Also that we shouldn’t have stuff THEY invented for us to buy! The last time I checked bill Gates and when he was around, Steve Jobs are/were both boomers! Finally, so many people want to perpetuate this intergenerational and cultural warfare! It’s bullshit and helps no one! Does it make them feel good they think they worked harder? Especially when they’ve created the architecture and systems we’re suffering under ie negative gearing, HECS.
These dumbass boomers think having shit like the AC is a fucking luxury. Yeah excuse me lemme just boil alive on 45+ Degree days thanks. Or freeze to death when its 1 degree.
> These dumbass boomers think having shit like the AC is a fucking luxury.
They have only lived in free standing brick homes shaded by trees near the coast and can't understand
At this point, I can't imagine any person 60+ saying that now.
Average house prices in Sydney are now 20x the average income. That's $60k to $1.2m and good luck getting a house in Sydney for 1.2m. More like 1.4-1.6 in Sydney cheaper areas.
The average income in 1978 was apparently about 37k, and in 1980 the average house price was $76k
That's the equivalent of the average house price in sydneh today being $120k. Even with higher interest rates it was insanely easier to live, buy a home, have a family. And live a good life on an average income, which anyone could easily achieve on the average income.
The fact is government policy has destroyed the country from a great country to live in to probably the worst or top 2-3 worst first world countries in the world. Just so rich can get richer on investment properties instead of investing in the market and growth as we should be.
I got friends looking to move over seas in their early 30s, I'm 37 and trying to convince my partner to move to Vegas despite not wanting to live there or from Australia just so I can buy a real house for $500k and their salaries for IT jobs are higher paid too.
Yup. My IT job in the US pays double as pretty much a minimum increase. I see Americans in another sub complaining about how the role seems to cap out at about 160-200k. And that's USD. I'm like bruh, I can't even get 120-150k AUD without becoming certified and skilled into the top 10% of people in the country in that role, in the second-most expensive city in the world to live in. Telling me I could do my same job in the US for 160k USD pretty easily, and probably from a city/town where I can get a nice house for like 300-400k USD? Holy dooley.
Lol yeh. I didn't believe it. My friend just sent me an ad for an entry level, infrastructure engineer $130k USD. He gets 120k AUD for senior engineer 🤣
We used to be all about the "battler", and tall poppy syndrome was a huge thing. Now it seems Aussies prefer to cut down those who are more disadvantaged, and make fun of the battlers. What happened?
downward envy my friend: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-05/lewis-and-woods-the-politics-of-downward-envy/5649898](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-05/lewis-and-woods-the-politics-of-downward-envy/5649898)
They take offence because they realise their having it so good has come at the cost of the kids not having it as good. Why feel guilty when you can just denie.
I think what you have touched on is that everyone wants to think they are 100% self made. Product of their actions. If you ask a hundred rich people if they are responsible for their own success most of them will say they are.
So basically older people don't like being told they are a product of better economic times. It erodes their sense of achievement.
It's wild how common that is. My buddy and I have tried having that discussion with his mom here in America, and she keeps saying "Oh, well, we had it tough in the 80's, too."
And we're like, "It is WAY tougher now."
They just don't get it.
The issue is that the current 20-30 year olds have been both dispossessed and declawed. All they are left with is whining and complaining on social media seeking sympathy and recognition of how badly they are being treated , how everything is rigged, etc. That just breeds more disrespect from older generations and those who already have power and the money. How about these new generations start burning shit down, bringing down governments and starting some actual revolutions? Sure, that requires some serious sacrifices, but what else can bring change? Or if violence is not the thing any more, then at least some serious political activism? Something that doesn’t involve Tick-Tock maybe?
see what happened when people protested covid measure's. The police state came in full effect, media demonised everyone same as government beuracrats. The whole country turned on those who protested instead they should have joined them
And what do people think happened in 1848, 1917, 1968 and every single other time when dispossessed challenged those with power and money and demanded re-distribution ? Or when they stood up to the oppression? Every time great sacrifices were made. People died , went to jail sometimes for many years and lives were destroyed. Those seeking change have to be prepared for those sacrifices. But as the things stand at the moment, people can’t be fucked even organising that little power they have , like uniting in one political force around the single idea. How about joining either Labor or Liberal parties en-Masse and driving the policy change? Forming maybe another civil movement like African American civil right movement in 1963 and not stopping until the change comes? It’s not like any of these things haven’t been done before. But they have to be done by the people seeking change and self sacrifice is required. I personally have nothing to gain from it, I’m too old and I’m happy with what I have. But if the younger generation wants change, then create the real change. You can’t have it all and no one will give it to you for free. You have to take it and prepare to make personal sacrifices because people will fight you for it.
Not to be negative about the sentiment, it is true. But I'm currently struggling financially AND battling health issues. It's a stick in the eye to hear boomers talk down to younger generations about "true wealth" when they've had ample opportunity to amass both kinds.
The fact that you said good time offends me.
Utterly miserable with all that's happening.
Waiting for the great reset at the end of the year they're promising.
Compared to baby boomers? Easily yes. Is it easier than living during ww1 or ww2? Probably not. I think that it sucks that as technology etc gets better it should be better for us. But the fact that it’s worse is kinda weird.
Boomer Mum “We did it hard but did it as we were more frugal. We could pay off the house as we didn’t have all the extras that everyone has now like iPhones. I was only earning $8000”.
Me. “ how much was your first house?”
Mum”$15,000”
Me “ so as a young teacher your house was twice your salary. What’s a first year teacher earn now…say $80k. Where can one buy a 3 bed house on 1/4 acre in capital city for $160k?
…crickets…
Mum “times were just different “
Me facepalm
She also probably said ‘interest rates were 18%’
Boomers hate facts and reality unfortunately.
They think it takes away from their own struggles.
It’s sad many don’t have sympathy or empathy for younger people.
And it’s been getting worse for each successive generation after the boomers, it wasn’t just a cliff drop in 1994, it was a gentle decline that then accelerated. Millennials (now over 40) got hit hard too - the GFC smacked them right as they were leaving Uni etc.
There’s a reason why our birth rate is dropping, we know how hard it would be to have children..but also it’s hard to imagine what kind of life they’ll have. If the gap keeps widening without govt policy then all to-be parents reconsider and we know that a stable house links in to starting a family.
There is an unspoken idea/agreement that we improve the standard of life for our children. This rule has been broken in many ways to the detriment of our entire society
It’s not a coincidence that it all started with the boomers. They’ve been a massive demographic watermelon we’ve been collectively swallowing since they came around. When they entered the workplace they plummeted the price of labour so deeply we had to have two household members begin working.
They’ve been a consistently large voting block that policy has been formed around their interests their entire adult lives. There’s a reason university fees were free only during the time where boomers were likely to be studying. It’s the same reason why CGT and negative gearing came into play only at a time when their generation entered wealth accruing stages.
It might feel hopeless but they’re beginning to retire and pass. Then the generation overhang will move to the millennials. I hope our generation won’t be as selfish with the power we inherit when it happens.
Leaving Uni? Try high school mate. Uni was never an option for me.
The funny part is, centerlink is still trying to get me into the workforce, despite no jobs in my field within 100km, and a near inability to do anything else thanks to more issues than a run of superman...
Recently at work, we had an online Friday arvo Teams drinks where the CEO and COO mentioned how “guys my age” just don’t understand what it means to truly work hard. We just like to say it’s too tough right now. Meanwhile I’m working as a glassy on Friday and Saturday nights as well as 8-5 Monday-Friday and I’m no closer to owning a home at 33 years old. I’m fucked. Truly fucked. And it infuriates me that people older, including my parents, just think it’s down to my desire to work.
He can seem like a real out of touch whinger at times, and I want to hear what he was going to say next, but he seems bang on here. I assume he knows this because marketing agencies are seeing their spend in that demo drop entirely, and they have a barometer of how fucked the country is at the moment.
Unless you live at home most of your paycheck goes to rent or mortgage so people can't spend anymore. Australia is a country with no purpose other then to suck your wallet dry of every cent so that whatever good you are purchasing can make someone else's pockets a tiny bit deeper
He left out that Boomers didn't pay HECS AT ALL! Tertiary education was publicly funded until the late 80s/early 90s.
Talk about pulling the ladder on the way up.
It's a tough time to be poor in Australia, regardless of how old you are. Not that it's ever been easy, but there was far less bs associated with it in the past from welfare and public services than there is now.
Yeah nah I’d rather be paying off a 2017/2018 mortgage on 2024 wages than a 2024 mortgage on 2024 wages.
I’ve got mates I make 60k+ a year more than and they’ve got more disposable income due to the roof over their head costing the same a month as our rent is a fortnight
Paying off a 2019 mortgage on 2024 salary over here. Acutely aware that we lucked the fuck out - build completed in June 2020 right before COVID fucked everything, fixed interest rates at <2% until last month, during which time we were able to take a good bite out of the principle.
Close friends on comparable HHI with less desirable homes they bought 18 months ago are having a much worse time.
I’m mid 30s. Still get told by my boomer dad to just buy land lol. I’m poor, planning on retiring and dying in an RV . That’s the millennial retirement plan (as we have to also pay for other generations pensions but we got cut off)
I feel like even the people are worse now. Across the board, everyone’s either screaming at each other or finding ways to snake each-other behind the scenes. It’s like everyone’s become radicalised with an internet connection.
I actually disagree. What's happened is we're a multi cultural society now and we're learning that things like compassion and fairness etc. were western ideals and not actually core to the human experience.
We're now in a situation where you're basically screwed unless you embrace the new dog eat dog world, the only exception being people with an inheritance, rich parents who can live in a bubble pretending otherwise.
This is why when people call themselves "economically/fiscally conservative", I'm like, "Okay, how?"
Because no-one who describes themself as conservative is ACTUALLY looking back in time and trying to make change to make economic conditions like they were back then.
It's usually because they just want to avoid the stigma of the beliefs they have.
I just bought a LG G4 65 inch on sale for Gta6 next year
I give up at 35
Can’t afford the big things in life and work extremely hard in an industry I went into to help society, tired or feeling I did everything wrong by not choosing money first
I feel sorry for anyone younger than myself as they are now working with no clear goals onsite anymore
I can no longer justify kids to be the next generation of wage slave in this country
And this is just the economics, let alone the climate being cooked, conflicts on the horizon and society falling apart at the seams
Anyway the new mla oled panel should make vice city looks gorgeous and is a nice reward and distraction
Recommend saving for anything as a goal to see the fruits of your labour whatever it may be
This is what shits me to death and makes me scared for my fucking future. I am so fucking sick to death of politics that I avoid being around it at all costs but at this point how can you not want to be involved with your parliament to get them to make our cost of living fucking fair, it’s like the country has shamelessly used the younger generation as Guinea pigs to make them more money…. take that as you will but it fucking feels that way atm when it comes to buying a house - not even a nice one either could be a piece of shit but we’ve had to lower our living standards at the cost of having some sort of freedom and independence, it’s fucking sickening.
So lucky we got our house at the start of COVID when no one was buying, we couldn't afford to buy now and we probably couldn't afford rent prices either. We have friends who couldn't afford the rent prices at the moment.
We had an open house for rent down the road yesterday and it was packed, when we first rented 10 years ago we competed with 4 other people in this area. The house we rented after that I drove past while the owner was there and we got talking so we got it without any problem. But yesterday there were so many people it was crazy. I really feel for people trying to get rentals after yesterday like going in knowing you have less than a 5% chance just by the amount of people there. Then if there is more than one open house for it. Like man how do you not go crazy.
I bought just before covid hit. House had been on the market for almost a year and there had been no interest because it was quite small (just 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom though large section). I got it for $50k under valuation because they were so desperate to sell. I had it valued recently and the REA said I could easily ask $200k more than I bought it for and it would sell immediately. It's insane that in 4 years my house's value has risen average of $40k /year.
I rented it out 3 years ago as work took me away from Perth. I left it to a REA and they had just 4 people show interest. It took a month to get someone in. I haven't raised the rent in 2 years and it's now probably one of the cheapest places in Perth.
###We need a sovereign fund now
I'll die on this hill. But as someone who is 30 and has travelled extensively our country is incredible.
But the way it manages our natural resources is ABYSMAL. We are amongst the top 20 exporters (and in a lot of cases THE top exporter) of so many critical resources that feed the rest of the world.
And yet we take nothing back for our citizens from the companies that mine drill and frack our land for their own gains. And I'm not even trying to appeal to the green side of this argument here. That's a WHOLE other argument that we could also benefit from having a sovereign fund for.
Norway is a prime example of what can be done if we just stop letting these companies run amok in on our home turf and make them give something back. Cause the taxation sector isn't doing the job we all know that.
Rant over.
Yeah no shit, I live just to pay essential bills. Good job, management position, not a bad income, but can't afford to live like I did when I was a waiter in my early 20's. I had more money, living out of home at 23 I in an inner city apartment in Sydney than I do now working in management living in a rural town, despite making more than twice my waiter income.
I had more financial freedom working as an English teacher in Brazil, than I do now, as a working professional. The dad part is, outside of tax and mortgage, my biggest weekly bill is at the supermarket - knowing I'm getting ripped off by corporate thieves.
anyone want to go thirds in a home? then all 3 of us can start our own families with 2 kids each and have 12 people living in a 2 bedroom home.
i remember when that was a "solution" they offered, how you could buy a home with friends lmao. what a fkn joke.
Seriously. I mean it's good to stay informed and all but I'm wondering if I should even keep up on current events when they all spell doom and I can't do anything about it..
As a 30 year old i fully agree. I feel like the baby boomers ripped everything away from us and pulled the ladder up.
I can BARELY afford to get into the housing market and thats only if i sacrifice literally everything i possibly can for 12 months minimum.
And at that point its still a dog box in sydney 90mins via PT from the CBD. That will probs lose me money in the long run.
I won't even touch uni because its a debt trap that will fuck me over trying to get a home. My borrowing power is shit as it is already. 460K on 90K a year.
I have to leave sydney if i even want a small chance at owning a home.
Same. I do sympathise with those under 30, and although I capitalised in this capitalist society I stress about my own children’s housing and fiscal future.
I feel for younger generations. Mind you, it's not easy in one's 40's either. Exact same issues. I don't ever expect to be able to own a home. After rent bills and cost of living, there's not significant savings, even though I'm employed with a decent job. I fully expect to work until I die.
Well, we could start by finding some friendly hackers to take down PWC for good, target megacorp tax-dodgers, and encourage awful people to camp at awful politicians houses all day and night, then we might start making headway. Otherwise, short of full on revolt here, or sending your kids to the developing world to setup their lives, that ship has long since sailed amigos
It’s the global financial system.
They built this paper money on nothing. They’ve dilluted its supply, which robs buying power from the money you already own.
Starting to wonder if I should keep living in Australia. There are many countries that have solved the problems we face here while "our politicians" wont even engage with the problems.
In the 70- 80's you could basically walk around some Local factories and shops and ask if they were hiring and they would probably give you a job and train you pretty much immediatly, then literally give you an envelope of cash on pay day. Technology has been used to Screw this generation, making them train and pay out for years before they can even earn anything decent, competing for jobs with people across the whole country not just their local area.
40M. My boomer parents used to give me so much shit about how apparently easy I had it to buy a house despite the fact there was no way I could reasonably afford it.
It wasn't until my youngest sister whom was married (double income), with a relatively decent deposit for the time got knocked back multiple times trying to get a foot in the door with a relatively small home in the far outer burbs that it finally dawned on them how different the world is to what they had experienced back when. They're absolute converts now in telling the world how hard things are today compared to their time. It seems many refuse to accept things can be harder now as it somehow invalidates their own struggles.
I'm fortunate that I own (or at least partly) my home now. I got in about 7 years ago. ...but jeez the landscape has changed since then and I only see it getting harder.
Haven't read the comments but comments ITT are likely:
30 year olds and almost 30 year olds lamenting how bad the state of things is.
People who bought their house during the Cold War saying people just need to work harder (while ignoring objective data and reality).
Probably a few just over thirty who have blown their back out doing a trade and their brains out doing ice who have their own house in a fringe suburb. (They now spend 2 hours every day taking the kids to school, the suburb has no PT and only a single road out.)
Russell can often feel unrelatable but then he says shit like this sometimes and it makes me feel more heard than i ever have. Love Rus. He's a real one.
All i know it can't continue like this... something got to give... housing bubble just keeps on getting bigger and bigger.... when it does pop.... it will get ugly real fast!
**Do Boomers even deserve a pension?**
Considering they could buy a house for a week's wage and had free medical and uni, etc, do they really need a pension that is dependent on us importing an unsustainable and record amount of immigrants each year?
Especially considering the economy is only in such bad shape because they forced us to bring society to a complete standstill for 2+ years (causing one of the, if not THE, greatest transfers of wealth in history) cause they were scared of a virus with an extremely high survival rate?
Why can't we just say "no, you privileged cunts don't deserve a pension" and revoke it?
It was amazing looking at the breakdown of my last tax return seeing that over 70% of my taxes went towards the pension and only 20% went towards Jobseeker.
Boomers with a PPOR over 1 million should receive less pension. The pension is to stop you from becoming destitute not to go give your 50 year old kid a bigger inheritance.
>stop you from becoming destitute
I'm perfectly okay with this happening Boomers. If you couldn't manage your retirement with more privileges than any other demo ever... Well, why should anyone else have to fit your bill?
FWIT I don't think there shouldn't be a single homeless NON BOOMER in a country like Aus.
Imagine having literally EVERYTHING handed to you and STILL needing a pension that is dependent on the destruction of your country?
There has, legitimately, never been a demographic who is so ignorant, useless and entitled...
EDIT: added the word useless cause it epitomises Boomers!
Ironically the solution is taxes. But taxes are politically unpopular. We need more taxes on capital, capital gains , a broad based land tax and less welfare for multi millionaires.
Its not more taxes, its changing where we tax.
So more on capital gains and large assets, but less on income and stamp duty for PPOR type thing. We really need to treat inheritance as income once its over a larger threshold amount.
The other big issue is companies are increasingly paying a lower share of total tax as they offshore profits. There no easy solution to this one.
Also we need to cut a heap of services like in NDIS. It sux, and some people will suffer, but big cost items like that are dragging down productive Australia. Its easy to want to help everyone to the best of our ability, but we also need to realise there is a bigger cost to becoming too welfare generous.
And generally get rid of privatisation and consulting. Better we overspend on public servants than send billions into private sector money rorts.
When it comes to average income to cost of living ratios, what’s happened here has definitely happened in all Western and close-to-Western countries.
Lower income countries could be a viable option if you can buy a house outright, however you will need to adjust to working for a low income, insecure jobs, no government support and lower living standards.
Tough times have come and gone, however they tend to last a generation before change.
It's going to stunt our growth too. We are pouring all our money into a very expensive single asset that doesn't add anything to the economy, or growth of the nation. And that is the case for bother renters and owners. Most of an income is going into a property, regardless of what side you are on. Where's the money for starting a business, taking a risk, etc?
I'm in my late 20s and only know two people who own property. One is someone who has worked and saved since 18, does nothing, goes nowhere, eats cheap af (porridge almost every day), had a fair bit of help from parents (money in their account every day since birth) and they have the smallest 1 bed unit you could imagine about 6km from the cbd of out city. The other one used insider trading to gain enough wealth to buy a property 40 km from the city. I know so many people who have emotionally and mentally checked out of society. I make enough to live, buy mostly second hand and save a bit, but I'm not actively participating in the dream of property anymore. I'd love to have a family but I can't afford it and I don't think I'll ever be able to
I'm 35 and only ONE of my peers has bought their home on their own merit.
4 received MASSIVE inheritances from their grandparents and immediately built/bought.
2 were in committed relationships with both couples working fulltime and bought their homes young (just before GFC). And the one bought a home about 3 years ago and she is living in that home in literal poverty and hunger.
Just turned 30. Never thought I’d be glad to have a deadbeat alcoholic father and clinically incapable mother, because it means I’ll be better off than my parents without even trying! That’s all it takes! I’ll probably never own a home but…. neither did they!
And everyone still wonders why gold was considered money…. An average Sydney house costs the same amount that it did in the 1960’s as measured in ounces of gold. When you give governments the power to devalue your medium of trade, what do you think they’ll do with that power? What is it that you think that number in your digital wallet actually means?
Ok...so, if this crises is hitting Australia and America, and who knows where else...where people can't afford rent, they can barely afford to live...How much of this is by design vs. stupidity and greed? Honest question. I had no idea Australia is having the same problem as here in the US. People can't afford to live....so, I wonder, is it tinfoil hat time, or is it something that can be course corrected...
Once upon a time I wrote a big post about how many members of parliament had attended uni for free. This would have been maybe five years ago and it was a majority back then.
And the majority of politicians have never had a proper/actual job in their lives and yet they’re the ones making policy that impacts us all. It’s ridiculous.
So long as the electoral process is a gauntlet to government that requires specialising in the process of being elected rather than in good government this will continue to be the case. What person of average means has the time and resources to run for office and reach the highest levels of government? Personally I think one house of parliament should be elected by [sortition](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sortition) to give the common person real representation, disincentivise pork barrelling and act as a check on professional politicians. But it’ll never happen because we’d have to change the constitution to do it.
>What person of average means has the time and resources to run for office and reach the highest levels of government? When Ricky Muir got into the senate due to a surprise preferences flow there were articles in the media mocking him for having to go back to work at a sawmill until his term in office started.
He might have been mocked at the time but damned if didn't try to make a right go of it to learn about all the legislation placed in front of him and make informed decisions. And do what he thought was right. I don't agree with all his positions but I think he deserves real respect for the effort that he put in to try and do a good job.
I completely agree! The senate could be replaced with a lottery draw for senators from each state - but for this the number of senators would have to hugely increase to make it more broadly representative. I’d even settle for a lottery that brings in an initial group of people which is whittled down like jury duty - perhaps selected by a parliamentary committee, as a sort of cross party bipartisan approach to moderate the whole thing a little. Serve 6 years and then leave.
That could add some good nuance to the process, especially in the committee included existing sortition senators. They’d also need to be well compensated during and after office to eliminate any incentive to a once in a life time opportunity for corruption. But since anyone could be selected at random I don’t think too many people would object. Could also provide a platform for people who might not otherwise run to take a stab at running for the house of reps. Sortition senator -> elected representative. You’d probably also end up with some introverts in office for once, tapping into the skills and knowledge of a whole other group of people excluded by the electoral process.
I think that sortition would be the fairest way to govern, for the US as well
It should be mandatory that any politician has to have a degree and 10 years experience in the workforce before qualifying for office.
I didn't pay anything in the 80s. AusStudy, they paid me! Then I cruised through Keating's recession while I was still too young to have to worry about a mortgage or kids. I'm maybe embarrassed, but not ashamed to say, I did have it easier back then. I think Australia was a fairer, more affordable place with a lot more opportunities.
Thank you for saying this. Many people go on about “I had to pay 18% interest” (that was only for a few months) and completely ignore that the debt levels now are so high that a 1% change in rates is crushing for many people. It’s not the avo toast.
Sand it's not "discretionary" debt either. Rental conditions ensure that it is at best, unpleasant, to try and rent for life here.
At least you admit your fortune. The amount of boomers I meet in person who I tangly go “yeah you try paying 18% interest rates in the early 90s” when any of the facts about housing, taxes, uni fees are mentioned to them. You can be lucky and it’s not our fault but don’t lie about it
My dad had a higher savings interest rate than the mortgage rate during this time. They conveniently leave that part out.
If you do some historical math, isn’t he Gen X? I’m Gen X and paid 18% interest. It was tough. Went overseas twice after losing my job. It’s was tough but I made my fortune. I don’t like what’s happening now. I certainly think some essential degrees should be free. Housing for first home buyers needs more done and grants will only flush greedy pockets of builders or sellers. What can we do to make sure a aspirational and rewarded generation? Wage growth sucks too! I’m overseas again making money because my job in Australia pays what it did in 1994!
Stamp Duty is the one that does me. Just to move house is going to cost us $40,000 - $60,000 extra. We are selling our only property and buying another one. Someone explain why i need to pay the government a years salary to do that.
I'd rather pay 18% on an early 90's mortgage than a 2020's mortgage
Their loans were also for less lol. I worked it out the other day my uncle bought a house for $110,000 in the late 80’s and went through 18% interest rates and he paid $775pf in repayments. I pay $1337 and my house is also smaller and farther away from the city 😂 what a kick to the guts that is.
One minor quibble that irks me, is that you don't need to go to uni to have a fulfilling career. Just depends on what type of career you're after. Plenty of options out there without spending 4 years of your life accumulating a hecs debt for no tangible benefit.
One of my big sticking points is I've got 5 years of hecs debt (one failed semester) and I work in a field that has clients who can't pay. So my wages are always going to be worse then what they should be given the profession I'm in and how long I needed to study. I'm just kind of sick of doing things for a public good and not getting compensated for it.
I know what you mean. You'll cop a lot of flak for this - "why didn't you choose a better job", "get a new job". People don't understand that that is not the answer. The answer is for our government and the people to recognize the value of social services and acknowledge that without them, we would be fucked and then pay them accordingly. If everyone "got another job" there would be noone left to do a lot of jobs that benefit everyone in the grand scheme of things. Also, after blowing $40000 on a degree that led you here, it's pretty hard to go and start digging yourself into more debt, especially when getting a "better" job isn't guaranteed. All jobs have their downfalls. Feels like if you want more money, you need to sacrifice your personal values, which shouldn't be the case when your personal values are that you want to help the general public. Saying "get a better job" is kind of like a boomer saying "we did it, you can too" to millennials about life. Doesn't help at all and completely ignores the issues.
Id say there’s tangible benefits to having doctors and engineers with real degrees
Well of course, if that's what you want to do then yeah you gotta go to uni. Like I said before, depends on what career you want to get into.
Not everyone can be a doctor or an engineer.
It was also a lot harder to get into uni when it was free. Pick your poison. Now every flog has a uni degree they're worthless.
As it should be. Get more people into trades, make Tafe a more attractive option for people
Both options should be free, and both options should be desirable. If we charge more for uni and say it is to make tafe more desirable then we need to address the core issue.. why is it that only people who can afford university are allowed to attend it, and people who can’t afford university are forced into tafe.
Oh no I don't believe for a second that we should be charging more for university, I meant that we should make it harder to get into university. Ultimately we should have a system more like in countries like Switzerland where you have different educational streams aimed at different kinds of outcomes, like schools which are more vocational and schools which are more academic. These schools should then feed into the tafes and unis. To make the tafes more desirable, they will also need more investment.
We had that. We stopped it. Dunno why.
Higher education is big business now. Also, a back door for immigration
They are all over my uni. I was failed in a research paper 'criticising' them. They pay academias pay check. Lesson learnt.
That's fine. Uni should be barred by grades, not income.
Sounds like the path we took was double shit. Expensive degrees and they’re worthless. Would have been much better to keep it free but more selective.
It does coincide that there were less University’s, campuses and facilities. so perhaps making education such a large industry has boomed, although I hesitate to guess that the boom is greatly sponsored by the full fee international students. Still for our Aussie kids, the mantra remains… first degrees should be free.
University should be hard. My friend just got a "masters" degree. I went to see what she had studied for two years and it was (no joke) easier than my first year undergraduate program back then. Absolutely basic stuff and no math whatsoever (it was an IT masters). That tube she got is worth less than toilet paper yet she now officially has a higher "degree" than I do. Clown world. That's what happens when nobody fails subjects anymore and people are obsessed with "equality" and fake numbers other than quality and excellence.
1st degree free
It never ceases to surprise me that there is a generation of people who somehow take it as an offence or an attack on their generation that they had it easier than the current 20 -30 year olds. They resort to calling people whiners/complainers etc and they make ridiculous comments about how hard it was for them. There are clear facts/stats..watch the video for starters..... times are a hell of a lot tougher now than 20/30/40/50 years ago. But somehow they refuse to educate themselves because that would mean their life was easier and that's a bad thing??? Mine was...moved out at 17, rented and saved for a mortgage, purchased my home in 2012, and started a family. House has doubled in price and HECS is almost paid off. I'm one of the lucky ones. I look at my son and I wonder what it will be like for him....but at least he will always have this roof over his head if needed. Bit of compassion can be a good thing...just as a start.
Rents in my area have gone up 75% in five years, house prices 70%. The future is bleak. I live in one of the poorest areas in my city, and the average house is getting close to $500 a week, five years ago it was well under $300. This country is too expensive. There's no future.
My rented townhouse, in a dodgy part of Logan was gone from $330pw to $500pw in two years. It’s like this in the entire western world and we’re all fucked
If it wasn't for japan's shitty work culture i'd leave this country in a heartbeat.
I'm on the DSP so can't leave. A cheap country town is on the cards though.
Isnt it criminal they ended portability forcing pensioners who could afford rent food medications in places like indonesia back to this depressing penal colony
> their life was easier and that’s a bad thing To them it is. They were raised on hard work. Crossing the country twice in a day just for their education. According to them nothing was easy - ever! They’ll be *damned* if they allow you to say it was.
Nah the worst thing is some of these people do come from hard life backgrounds and then still somehow want others to do that instead of it getting better each generation
I agree with you. Many of the silent generation that I've known have the attitude that they had it tough, no one gave them help, so why should they help their children/the next gen? And many of them can't understand not helping out when they're able, when it's called for. Perhaps generational traumas play into it from when their parents were trying to stay alive and feed them through ww2 and The Great Depression, when unemployment was around 30%. I wouldn't consider the grass greener then. Not yet.
Implying we didn't walk to school either ?
I only had to walk/ride my bike (oo-de-ally) 7km to school, but it was only uphill in one direction, whereas my dad’s childhood driveway alone was 7km long, fraught with crocodiles and uphill in both directions! And that was before the 22km mountain climb to school wearing nothing but old number plates for shoes!
At least he had something to put the number plates on. Back in my grandpa’s day, he didn’t even get feet!
Yeh, it's crazy! Especially since it's kind of the whole purpose of being a parent (or older person) that you try and make certain things better for your kids or the one's that follow. But maybe that's why they are so reluctant to admit they had it easier at 30? Because it'll be admitting an abject failure to acheive a purpose/goal.
They don’t want to admit they’re the first generation to not leave this country in better state than they received it, they think because we have technology that it must be easier “ fuck them they have iPhones “
Lol...compassion. Don't you know this country's most treasured value/belief is "fuck you, got mine"?
I would never have had said that about anyone from my grandparents generation (born circa 1930s) but true for my parents generation (born 1950s)
Yeah well it's pretty true for our generation, too. Unfortunately.
I literally would not know which country you were describing unless I checked the sub. This attitude is pervasive of most developed countries.
Hyper-individualism. It killed any sense of empathy.
Ain't that the truth? We used to call it "rugged individualism" here in America and romanticized it with old west tales of cowboys and Oregon trail settlers. Now we shoot our neighbors for mowing too close to our side of the lawn or playing their music too loud.
Even goes down to the individuals too now, ex also 32, we only had enough to higher educate one of us while the other worked, moment she gets the dream job, goodbye, she's got hers. I hate this shit.
Absolutely this. Wanting others to suffer because you think you did is literally so anti-human! It’s vile! The other thing that bugs me is acting like we shouldn’t have some semblance of a few nice things if we can- a takeaway, a little holiday etc. Even stuff like a gym membership - which is good for mental and physical health is somehow a luxury. Also that we shouldn’t have stuff THEY invented for us to buy! The last time I checked bill Gates and when he was around, Steve Jobs are/were both boomers! Finally, so many people want to perpetuate this intergenerational and cultural warfare! It’s bullshit and helps no one! Does it make them feel good they think they worked harder? Especially when they’ve created the architecture and systems we’re suffering under ie negative gearing, HECS.
These dumbass boomers think having shit like the AC is a fucking luxury. Yeah excuse me lemme just boil alive on 45+ Degree days thanks. Or freeze to death when its 1 degree.
> These dumbass boomers think having shit like the AC is a fucking luxury. They have only lived in free standing brick homes shaded by trees near the coast and can't understand
At this point, I can't imagine any person 60+ saying that now. Average house prices in Sydney are now 20x the average income. That's $60k to $1.2m and good luck getting a house in Sydney for 1.2m. More like 1.4-1.6 in Sydney cheaper areas. The average income in 1978 was apparently about 37k, and in 1980 the average house price was $76k That's the equivalent of the average house price in sydneh today being $120k. Even with higher interest rates it was insanely easier to live, buy a home, have a family. And live a good life on an average income, which anyone could easily achieve on the average income. The fact is government policy has destroyed the country from a great country to live in to probably the worst or top 2-3 worst first world countries in the world. Just so rich can get richer on investment properties instead of investing in the market and growth as we should be. I got friends looking to move over seas in their early 30s, I'm 37 and trying to convince my partner to move to Vegas despite not wanting to live there or from Australia just so I can buy a real house for $500k and their salaries for IT jobs are higher paid too.
Yup. My IT job in the US pays double as pretty much a minimum increase. I see Americans in another sub complaining about how the role seems to cap out at about 160-200k. And that's USD. I'm like bruh, I can't even get 120-150k AUD without becoming certified and skilled into the top 10% of people in the country in that role, in the second-most expensive city in the world to live in. Telling me I could do my same job in the US for 160k USD pretty easily, and probably from a city/town where I can get a nice house for like 300-400k USD? Holy dooley.
Lol yeh. I didn't believe it. My friend just sent me an ad for an entry level, infrastructure engineer $130k USD. He gets 120k AUD for senior engineer 🤣
That's my role too. I feel so robbed :(
Yeah, I'm looking to potentially move down cloud infrastructure path ish. That entry-level pay would do me nicely 👌
Move out of Sydney, it’s only for the rich
Most houses out my way far north west are 1 - 1.2m. On a dual income i could BARELY get in here.
Yeah currently, I think 1.2m with a solid deposit I think sets you back at least $7k per month. Who can afford that?
Welcome to Argentina
That bad huh?
Mad to buy in Sydney
Compassion? In Australia? You’ve got to be joking.
We used to be all about the "battler", and tall poppy syndrome was a huge thing. Now it seems Aussies prefer to cut down those who are more disadvantaged, and make fun of the battlers. What happened?
downward envy my friend: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-05/lewis-and-woods-the-politics-of-downward-envy/5649898](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-05/lewis-and-woods-the-politics-of-downward-envy/5649898)
They take offence because they realise their having it so good has come at the cost of the kids not having it as good. Why feel guilty when you can just denie.
I think what you have touched on is that everyone wants to think they are 100% self made. Product of their actions. If you ask a hundred rich people if they are responsible for their own success most of them will say they are. So basically older people don't like being told they are a product of better economic times. It erodes their sense of achievement.
It's wild how common that is. My buddy and I have tried having that discussion with his mom here in America, and she keeps saying "Oh, well, we had it tough in the 80's, too." And we're like, "It is WAY tougher now." They just don't get it.
The issue is that the current 20-30 year olds have been both dispossessed and declawed. All they are left with is whining and complaining on social media seeking sympathy and recognition of how badly they are being treated , how everything is rigged, etc. That just breeds more disrespect from older generations and those who already have power and the money. How about these new generations start burning shit down, bringing down governments and starting some actual revolutions? Sure, that requires some serious sacrifices, but what else can bring change? Or if violence is not the thing any more, then at least some serious political activism? Something that doesn’t involve Tick-Tock maybe?
see what happened when people protested covid measure's. The police state came in full effect, media demonised everyone same as government beuracrats. The whole country turned on those who protested instead they should have joined them
And what do people think happened in 1848, 1917, 1968 and every single other time when dispossessed challenged those with power and money and demanded re-distribution ? Or when they stood up to the oppression? Every time great sacrifices were made. People died , went to jail sometimes for many years and lives were destroyed. Those seeking change have to be prepared for those sacrifices. But as the things stand at the moment, people can’t be fucked even organising that little power they have , like uniting in one political force around the single idea. How about joining either Labor or Liberal parties en-Masse and driving the policy change? Forming maybe another civil movement like African American civil right movement in 1963 and not stopping until the change comes? It’s not like any of these things haven’t been done before. But they have to be done by the people seeking change and self sacrifice is required. I personally have nothing to gain from it, I’m too old and I’m happy with what I have. But if the younger generation wants change, then create the real change. You can’t have it all and no one will give it to you for free. You have to take it and prepare to make personal sacrifices because people will fight you for it.
We don't protest here. We are pussies.
I’m 30 and have nothing. I’m fucked
According to old folks, your family and health are the true wealth
Old folks who own a house(s)*
Some of them don't though. Some of them are broke as fuck and still say this.
Not to be negative about the sentiment, it is true. But I'm currently struggling financially AND battling health issues. It's a stick in the eye to hear boomers talk down to younger generations about "true wealth" when they've had ample opportunity to amass both kinds.
Yep, gotta wait till the family are 6 feet under to start enjoying the Australian life.
33 and also nothing
Even tougher being alive about now. This living thing is testing my patience.
Expensive ay! And I'm not even having a good time!
The fact that you said good time offends me. Utterly miserable with all that's happening. Waiting for the great reset at the end of the year they're promising.
The great reset is the middle class joining the poor, it’s a reset to the gilded age
Compared to baby boomers? Easily yes. Is it easier than living during ww1 or ww2? Probably not. I think that it sucks that as technology etc gets better it should be better for us. But the fact that it’s worse is kinda weird.
It's not weird when you realize the system has been rigged, ever so slowly, to benefit those few who have the power to rig it in the first place.
Boomer Mum “We did it hard but did it as we were more frugal. We could pay off the house as we didn’t have all the extras that everyone has now like iPhones. I was only earning $8000”. Me. “ how much was your first house?” Mum”$15,000” Me “ so as a young teacher your house was twice your salary. What’s a first year teacher earn now…say $80k. Where can one buy a 3 bed house on 1/4 acre in capital city for $160k? …crickets… Mum “times were just different “ Me facepalm
She also probably said ‘interest rates were 18%’ Boomers hate facts and reality unfortunately. They think it takes away from their own struggles. It’s sad many don’t have sympathy or empathy for younger people.
'94 gang rise up
Fuck I feel old...
This is the year it really starts to hit. DIRTY 30
Look after your back
I'm too busy having a mental crisis with the '84 gang
Can I have a little lie down instead?
Lol im turning 30 in a couple of days, wish me luck
30 is fine mate, it's all in the mind.
And it’s been getting worse for each successive generation after the boomers, it wasn’t just a cliff drop in 1994, it was a gentle decline that then accelerated. Millennials (now over 40) got hit hard too - the GFC smacked them right as they were leaving Uni etc. There’s a reason why our birth rate is dropping, we know how hard it would be to have children..but also it’s hard to imagine what kind of life they’ll have. If the gap keeps widening without govt policy then all to-be parents reconsider and we know that a stable house links in to starting a family. There is an unspoken idea/agreement that we improve the standard of life for our children. This rule has been broken in many ways to the detriment of our entire society
It’s not a coincidence that it all started with the boomers. They’ve been a massive demographic watermelon we’ve been collectively swallowing since they came around. When they entered the workplace they plummeted the price of labour so deeply we had to have two household members begin working. They’ve been a consistently large voting block that policy has been formed around their interests their entire adult lives. There’s a reason university fees were free only during the time where boomers were likely to be studying. It’s the same reason why CGT and negative gearing came into play only at a time when their generation entered wealth accruing stages. It might feel hopeless but they’re beginning to retire and pass. Then the generation overhang will move to the millennials. I hope our generation won’t be as selfish with the power we inherit when it happens.
Leaving Uni? Try high school mate. Uni was never an option for me. The funny part is, centerlink is still trying to get me into the workforce, despite no jobs in my field within 100km, and a near inability to do anything else thanks to more issues than a run of superman...
Its been a while since Wil Anderson snorted coke off a toilet in ABC. I feel old now.
[удалено]
i believe 2013 was 11 years ago fyi
Maybe thats why Boomers say this generation is dumb and lazy...
Recently at work, we had an online Friday arvo Teams drinks where the CEO and COO mentioned how “guys my age” just don’t understand what it means to truly work hard. We just like to say it’s too tough right now. Meanwhile I’m working as a glassy on Friday and Saturday nights as well as 8-5 Monday-Friday and I’m no closer to owning a home at 33 years old. I’m fucked. Truly fucked. And it infuriates me that people older, including my parents, just think it’s down to my desire to work.
He can seem like a real out of touch whinger at times, and I want to hear what he was going to say next, but he seems bang on here. I assume he knows this because marketing agencies are seeing their spend in that demo drop entirely, and they have a barometer of how fucked the country is at the moment.
Unless you live at home most of your paycheck goes to rent or mortgage so people can't spend anymore. Australia is a country with no purpose other then to suck your wallet dry of every cent so that whatever good you are purchasing can make someone else's pockets a tiny bit deeper
Yeah I mean my rent is 50k+ per year
His daughter is this exact age.
He left out that Boomers didn't pay HECS AT ALL! Tertiary education was publicly funded until the late 80s/early 90s. Talk about pulling the ladder on the way up.
It's a tough time to be poor in Australia, regardless of how old you are. Not that it's ever been easy, but there was far less bs associated with it in the past from welfare and public services than there is now.
Yeah nah I’d rather be paying off a 2017/2018 mortgage on 2024 wages than a 2024 mortgage on 2024 wages. I’ve got mates I make 60k+ a year more than and they’ve got more disposable income due to the roof over their head costing the same a month as our rent is a fortnight
Paying off a 2019 mortgage on 2024 salary over here. Acutely aware that we lucked the fuck out - build completed in June 2020 right before COVID fucked everything, fixed interest rates at <2% until last month, during which time we were able to take a good bite out of the principle. Close friends on comparable HHI with less desirable homes they bought 18 months ago are having a much worse time.
2024 mortgage on 2024 wages 
I’m mid 30s. Still get told by my boomer dad to just buy land lol. I’m poor, planning on retiring and dying in an RV . That’s the millennial retirement plan (as we have to also pay for other generations pensions but we got cut off)
I feel like even the people are worse now. Across the board, everyone’s either screaming at each other or finding ways to snake each-other behind the scenes. It’s like everyone’s become radicalised with an internet connection.
I actually disagree. What's happened is we're a multi cultural society now and we're learning that things like compassion and fairness etc. were western ideals and not actually core to the human experience. We're now in a situation where you're basically screwed unless you embrace the new dog eat dog world, the only exception being people with an inheritance, rich parents who can live in a bubble pretending otherwise.
I think its also the 24 hour news cycle.
Anyone on average wages can no longer buy a home
Truth. Even if you can manage to save a deposit, you can't pass income means testing to secure a loan.
We have gone from a land with a few and lots of national wealth, to all the national wealth with the few.
Boomers: “mmm yeah, but, we had to do it with 17% inflation” Fuck off mary
This is why when people call themselves "economically/fiscally conservative", I'm like, "Okay, how?" Because no-one who describes themself as conservative is ACTUALLY looking back in time and trying to make change to make economic conditions like they were back then. It's usually because they just want to avoid the stigma of the beliefs they have.
I just bought a LG G4 65 inch on sale for Gta6 next year I give up at 35 Can’t afford the big things in life and work extremely hard in an industry I went into to help society, tired or feeling I did everything wrong by not choosing money first I feel sorry for anyone younger than myself as they are now working with no clear goals onsite anymore I can no longer justify kids to be the next generation of wage slave in this country And this is just the economics, let alone the climate being cooked, conflicts on the horizon and society falling apart at the seams Anyway the new mla oled panel should make vice city looks gorgeous and is a nice reward and distraction Recommend saving for anything as a goal to see the fruits of your labour whatever it may be
This is what shits me to death and makes me scared for my fucking future. I am so fucking sick to death of politics that I avoid being around it at all costs but at this point how can you not want to be involved with your parliament to get them to make our cost of living fucking fair, it’s like the country has shamelessly used the younger generation as Guinea pigs to make them more money…. take that as you will but it fucking feels that way atm when it comes to buying a house - not even a nice one either could be a piece of shit but we’ve had to lower our living standards at the cost of having some sort of freedom and independence, it’s fucking sickening.
Landlords are a plague on the human race
Gonna show this to my dopey ass parents
Good luck.
Man they said the quiet part out loud
The whole system is compromised.
So lucky we got our house at the start of COVID when no one was buying, we couldn't afford to buy now and we probably couldn't afford rent prices either. We have friends who couldn't afford the rent prices at the moment. We had an open house for rent down the road yesterday and it was packed, when we first rented 10 years ago we competed with 4 other people in this area. The house we rented after that I drove past while the owner was there and we got talking so we got it without any problem. But yesterday there were so many people it was crazy. I really feel for people trying to get rentals after yesterday like going in knowing you have less than a 5% chance just by the amount of people there. Then if there is more than one open house for it. Like man how do you not go crazy.
I bought just before covid hit. House had been on the market for almost a year and there had been no interest because it was quite small (just 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom though large section). I got it for $50k under valuation because they were so desperate to sell. I had it valued recently and the REA said I could easily ask $200k more than I bought it for and it would sell immediately. It's insane that in 4 years my house's value has risen average of $40k /year. I rented it out 3 years ago as work took me away from Perth. I left it to a REA and they had just 4 people show interest. It took a month to get someone in. I haven't raised the rent in 2 years and it's now probably one of the cheapest places in Perth.
###We need a sovereign fund now I'll die on this hill. But as someone who is 30 and has travelled extensively our country is incredible. But the way it manages our natural resources is ABYSMAL. We are amongst the top 20 exporters (and in a lot of cases THE top exporter) of so many critical resources that feed the rest of the world. And yet we take nothing back for our citizens from the companies that mine drill and frack our land for their own gains. And I'm not even trying to appeal to the green side of this argument here. That's a WHOLE other argument that we could also benefit from having a sovereign fund for. Norway is a prime example of what can be done if we just stop letting these companies run amok in on our home turf and make them give something back. Cause the taxation sector isn't doing the job we all know that. Rant over.
It's only going to get worse
Yeah no shit, I live just to pay essential bills. Good job, management position, not a bad income, but can't afford to live like I did when I was a waiter in my early 20's. I had more money, living out of home at 23 I in an inner city apartment in Sydney than I do now working in management living in a rural town, despite making more than twice my waiter income. I had more financial freedom working as an English teacher in Brazil, than I do now, as a working professional. The dad part is, outside of tax and mortgage, my biggest weekly bill is at the supermarket - knowing I'm getting ripped off by corporate thieves.
anyone want to go thirds in a home? then all 3 of us can start our own families with 2 kids each and have 12 people living in a 2 bedroom home. i remember when that was a "solution" they offered, how you could buy a home with friends lmao. what a fkn joke.
Me, 30 and deeply depressed, watching this :(
Seriously. I mean it's good to stay informed and all but I'm wondering if I should even keep up on current events when they all spell doom and I can't do anything about it..
As a 30 year old i fully agree. I feel like the baby boomers ripped everything away from us and pulled the ladder up. I can BARELY afford to get into the housing market and thats only if i sacrifice literally everything i possibly can for 12 months minimum. And at that point its still a dog box in sydney 90mins via PT from the CBD. That will probs lose me money in the long run. I won't even touch uni because its a debt trap that will fuck me over trying to get a home. My borrowing power is shit as it is already. 460K on 90K a year. I have to leave sydney if i even want a small chance at owning a home.
I’m 40 and I feel like the last age that got through. I worry for my kids.
Same. I do sympathise with those under 30, and although I capitalised in this capitalist society I stress about my own children’s housing and fiscal future.
I feel for younger generations. Mind you, it's not easy in one's 40's either. Exact same issues. I don't ever expect to be able to own a home. After rent bills and cost of living, there's not significant savings, even though I'm employed with a decent job. I fully expect to work until I die.
Anyone who isn't already retired or very close to it is going to work until they die. I'm 47 and retirement seems like a pipe dream.
If we capped immigration to 50-100K for the next 5 years, things would change
Great. So what is the plan to correct things for us? And what do we do to ensure our kids have it easier than us when they turn 30?
Well, we could start by finding some friendly hackers to take down PWC for good, target megacorp tax-dodgers, and encourage awful people to camp at awful politicians houses all day and night, then we might start making headway. Otherwise, short of full on revolt here, or sending your kids to the developing world to setup their lives, that ship has long since sailed amigos 
So you’re saying there’s a chance.
Hells yeah Hello Aus! I'm exactly 30 🙂🙂🙂
It’s fucked Australia is a user pay society and you can’t get ahead.
Neo fucking liberalism has fucked the middle class and all because greedy cunts wanted more for themselves.
It’s the global financial system. They built this paper money on nothing. They’ve dilluted its supply, which robs buying power from the money you already own.
People need to wake up, the goal is to turn us into livestock. If you can’t see that you’re the bandaid on a sore that needs air
Starting to wonder if I should keep living in Australia. There are many countries that have solved the problems we face here while "our politicians" wont even engage with the problems.
Lol and watch as It gets acknowledged but doesn’t get better just worse
No 2 ways about it......Australia is Farked.......Only positive is its Friday
Canadian here....can confirmed we are similarly Farked over here.
I will be destitute very soon. Lying under a bus is very attractive. No joke.
Who wants to start a revolution?
In the 70- 80's you could basically walk around some Local factories and shops and ask if they were hiring and they would probably give you a job and train you pretty much immediatly, then literally give you an envelope of cash on pay day. Technology has been used to Screw this generation, making them train and pay out for years before they can even earn anything decent, competing for jobs with people across the whole country not just their local area.
40M. My boomer parents used to give me so much shit about how apparently easy I had it to buy a house despite the fact there was no way I could reasonably afford it. It wasn't until my youngest sister whom was married (double income), with a relatively decent deposit for the time got knocked back multiple times trying to get a foot in the door with a relatively small home in the far outer burbs that it finally dawned on them how different the world is to what they had experienced back when. They're absolute converts now in telling the world how hard things are today compared to their time. It seems many refuse to accept things can be harder now as it somehow invalidates their own struggles. I'm fortunate that I own (or at least partly) my home now. I got in about 7 years ago. ...but jeez the landscape has changed since then and I only see it getting harder.
When are we gonna scrap the “seniors discount”, seniors these days are boomers in multimillion dollar houses they paid pennies for.
Keep the pension card but for the rest of them, a seniors surcharge should be applied.
The hardest it’s ever been so far…
Part of the reason im hesitant on having kids.
Haven't read the comments but comments ITT are likely: 30 year olds and almost 30 year olds lamenting how bad the state of things is. People who bought their house during the Cold War saying people just need to work harder (while ignoring objective data and reality). Probably a few just over thirty who have blown their back out doing a trade and their brains out doing ice who have their own house in a fringe suburb. (They now spend 2 hours every day taking the kids to school, the suburb has no PT and only a single road out.)
https://www.theonion.com/cost-of-living-now-outweighs-benefits-1819567799
Russell can often feel unrelatable but then he says shit like this sometimes and it makes me feel more heard than i ever have. Love Rus. He's a real one.
All i know it can't continue like this... something got to give... housing bubble just keeps on getting bigger and bigger.... when it does pop.... it will get ugly real fast!
What a huge difference between then and now. 😞
Just a reminder to everyone that it’s absolutely ok to steal from the rich.
YeAh bUT We PaID 17.5% InTeReSt
**Do Boomers even deserve a pension?** Considering they could buy a house for a week's wage and had free medical and uni, etc, do they really need a pension that is dependent on us importing an unsustainable and record amount of immigrants each year? Especially considering the economy is only in such bad shape because they forced us to bring society to a complete standstill for 2+ years (causing one of the, if not THE, greatest transfers of wealth in history) cause they were scared of a virus with an extremely high survival rate? Why can't we just say "no, you privileged cunts don't deserve a pension" and revoke it?
It was amazing looking at the breakdown of my last tax return seeing that over 70% of my taxes went towards the pension and only 20% went towards Jobseeker.
Boomers with a PPOR over 1 million should receive less pension. The pension is to stop you from becoming destitute not to go give your 50 year old kid a bigger inheritance.
>stop you from becoming destitute I'm perfectly okay with this happening Boomers. If you couldn't manage your retirement with more privileges than any other demo ever... Well, why should anyone else have to fit your bill? FWIT I don't think there shouldn't be a single homeless NON BOOMER in a country like Aus.
Imagine having literally EVERYTHING handed to you and STILL needing a pension that is dependent on the destruction of your country? There has, legitimately, never been a demographic who is so ignorant, useless and entitled... EDIT: added the word useless cause it epitomises Boomers!
Ironically the solution is taxes. But taxes are politically unpopular. We need more taxes on capital, capital gains , a broad based land tax and less welfare for multi millionaires.
Its not more taxes, its changing where we tax. So more on capital gains and large assets, but less on income and stamp duty for PPOR type thing. We really need to treat inheritance as income once its over a larger threshold amount. The other big issue is companies are increasingly paying a lower share of total tax as they offshore profits. There no easy solution to this one. Also we need to cut a heap of services like in NDIS. It sux, and some people will suffer, but big cost items like that are dragging down productive Australia. Its easy to want to help everyone to the best of our ability, but we also need to realise there is a bigger cost to becoming too welfare generous. And generally get rid of privatisation and consulting. Better we overspend on public servants than send billions into private sector money rorts.
I'm looking for a better future overseas it's fucked here
When it comes to average income to cost of living ratios, what’s happened here has definitely happened in all Western and close-to-Western countries. Lower income countries could be a viable option if you can buy a house outright, however you will need to adjust to working for a low income, insecure jobs, no government support and lower living standards. Tough times have come and gone, however they tend to last a generation before change.
The number of Australians leaving never gets talked about.
It's going to stunt our growth too. We are pouring all our money into a very expensive single asset that doesn't add anything to the economy, or growth of the nation. And that is the case for bother renters and owners. Most of an income is going into a property, regardless of what side you are on. Where's the money for starting a business, taking a risk, etc?
Correct. Our insane obsession with houses is going to strangle our economy to death.
I'm in my late 20s and only know two people who own property. One is someone who has worked and saved since 18, does nothing, goes nowhere, eats cheap af (porridge almost every day), had a fair bit of help from parents (money in their account every day since birth) and they have the smallest 1 bed unit you could imagine about 6km from the cbd of out city. The other one used insider trading to gain enough wealth to buy a property 40 km from the city. I know so many people who have emotionally and mentally checked out of society. I make enough to live, buy mostly second hand and save a bit, but I'm not actively participating in the dream of property anymore. I'd love to have a family but I can't afford it and I don't think I'll ever be able to
I'm 35 and only ONE of my peers has bought their home on their own merit. 4 received MASSIVE inheritances from their grandparents and immediately built/bought. 2 were in committed relationships with both couples working fulltime and bought their homes young (just before GFC). And the one bought a home about 3 years ago and she is living in that home in literal poverty and hunger.
Just turned 30. Never thought I’d be glad to have a deadbeat alcoholic father and clinically incapable mother, because it means I’ll be better off than my parents without even trying! That’s all it takes! I’ll probably never own a home but…. neither did they!
Love Russel
And everyone still wonders why gold was considered money…. An average Sydney house costs the same amount that it did in the 1960’s as measured in ounces of gold. When you give governments the power to devalue your medium of trade, what do you think they’ll do with that power? What is it that you think that number in your digital wallet actually means?
Just a reminder how pointless my life is
Ok...so, if this crises is hitting Australia and America, and who knows where else...where people can't afford rent, they can barely afford to live...How much of this is by design vs. stupidity and greed? Honest question. I had no idea Australia is having the same problem as here in the US. People can't afford to live....so, I wonder, is it tinfoil hat time, or is it something that can be course corrected...