Australia Is Such an Overpriced Sh**hole - AAARGH

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by southace

But you did engage remember it was not that long ago!

Do as I say, not as I do or I will turn the internet off and give you a time out...

[southace]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

Sorry for the typo. Technically you are correcting my grammar or my spelling. Not my geography.

So you are saying Launceston, "on" the island of Tasmania is not part of Australia?

I'm wondering who needs a geography lesson.

And really, I do not want to engage in spelling and typos arguments cuz it's a waste of time and in the end no one looks the smarter.

See - I could take a shot at your spelling of "Launcestion" - but I won't...

It would be more fun if you took the path well travelled and disparaged my being bred from Tasmanian stock - LOL

Its like saying I was born on London!! but we all know london is a city dont we???

[Sabbatical II]

[QUOTE=cat man do;839005]As mentioned in another post, the pension barely covers the cost of accommodation in Australia, leaving hardly enough for catfood. If you call that dignity well, lets just say our opinions differ.]

Current Aussie Pension rates: Single = $17,914 p.a. Married couple = $ 27,008.80 p.a. My parents who own their own home and car live comfortably on this with a little bit left over. If you don't own your own home there is a rental allowance on top of these figures. Oh,and throw in a free medical scheme, discounted pharmacuticals, discounted utilities and car registration fees. I'm sure there are lots of places in the world where you don't have to do it this tough? For me, I think I'll stick with Australia. Just can't decide which state, North Island or South Island? Apparently on this forum it's possibly to live on $500 per month which is $6000 p.a., so I'd reckon then that $27K for a couple would be pretty dignified by comparison.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by southace

Its like saying I was born on London!! but we all know london is a city dont we???

Uhhhhh...

I gave you the points for "on Launceston" vs. "in Launceston" - it was a typo. "o" and "i" are next to each other on my keyboard...

And London is always capitalized. See how fun this is?

So is Launceston in Tasmania or on Tasmania?

Jeez what have I started? And more importantly what is the score?

[southace]

Originally Posted by cat man do

As mentioned in another post, the pension barely covers the cost of accommodation in Australia, leaving hardly enough for catfood.
If you call that dignity well, lets just say our opinions differ.

They are out there in ever increasing numbers, but I dont expect you to know them.



In Australia we help with accommodation, jobs, food and money.
What's not to like when you have come from an area where poor standards of living, murder, rape and various other atrocities are the daily norm.

ok they should raise the taxes so our cats dont miss there kitty kat meals ????? Maybe that will keep them cats from eating our native birds !

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by southace

ok they should raise the taxes so our cats dont miss there kitty kat meals ????? Maybe that will keep them cats from eating our native birds !

My comment was regarding pensioners eating catfood, not to mention the starving boy eating cockroaches, like in this article from NZ in April

Mangere Budgeting Services Trust chief executive Daryl Evans said the service was under greater pressure than ever. There had been recent cases of impoverished pensioners eating cat food.

"People are getting desperate for food."

Evans said two staff members had resigned because of the pressure they were under.

Staff had gone from dealing with about 40 families each to dealing with about 260 in just a few months, he said.

Evans said food and petrol costs had increased but wages had failed to match needs. Government changes had also forced those applying for emergency grants to attend budgeting courses before getting any money, he said. "Working families are doing it really hard."
Starving boy eats roach - National - NZ Herald News

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by Eleebana

Current Aussie Pension rates: Single = $17,914 p.a. Married couple = $ 27,008.80 p.a.

Like I said, enough to survive but not enough for that great lifestyle one deserves after a life of hard work.
And if its only one of you, its even tougher on that $17k as my mother can attest to.

In comparison, that same $17k or $27k/year if spent overseas can have you living very well, thank you very much.
If you sold here you could be living the lifestyle of a Colombian drug dealer in something like this for $120k and still have a few hundred K in the kitty for all the additional niceties that you could now afford, but couldn't dream of in Oz.



HHD-SND01 #582

[southace]

Originally Posted by cat man do

Like I said, enough to survive but not enough for that great lifestyle one deserves after a life of hard work.
And if its only one of you, its even tougher on that $17k as my mother can attest to.

In comparison, that same $17k or $27k/year if spent overseas can have you living very well, thank you very much.
If you sold here you could be living the lifestyle of a Colombian drug dealer in something like this for $120k and still have a few hundred K in the kitty for all the additional niceties that you could now afford, but couldn't dream of in Oz.



HHD-SND0 #582

I prefer my 37 ft yacht that can take me anywhere in the world for $600 per month and know I can still call Australia home... by the way most Colombian drug dealers live in the jungle and are as rare as Tassy tigers.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by cat man do

My comment was regarding pensioners eating catfood, not to mention the starving boy eating cockroaches, like in this article from NZ in April

Jeez. Aren't you glad you don't live in NZ!

The person quoted had a budget agenda.

- $30k to care for a child placed out? Jeez, give the kids $500 a month and 5 of them can go cruising full time ;-)

And of course if we don't get our budget increased the child ends up incarcerated for $95k a year. Pay me now or pay another department later!

Sorry CMD you hit a hot button of mine and that is the "government" overhead for providing services.

Oh, and they eat crickets in Thailand. Apparently it's a delicacy. I'll take their word for it.

[four winds]

For what it's worth.

Looks like my Social Security check will be approximately $800 a month when I reach 62 years of age hear in the US. Oops, I mean here, not hear.

And being on the tail end of the "baby boom" it may collapse before then.

So, in Australia everyone gets 17k a year for a single guy?

[Sabbatical II]

Originally Posted by four winds

For what it's worth.

Looks like my Social Security check will be approximately $800 a month when I reach 62 years of age hear (free hearing aids in Oz too) in the US. Oops, I mean here, not hear.

And being on the tail end of the "baby boom" it may collapse before then.

So, in Australia everyone gets 17k a year for a single guy?

That's right! Plus we throw in free hospital and medical, rent assistance (if required) and all the discounts I've mentioned previously. You'd think most residents would be gratefull to live in a country that looks after it's own that well. I certainly am. And BTW, if you think that's not enough to live on, the government will allow you to earn a bit with a part time job as well before you start to lose any of your pension. Unfortunately I have to wait another 14 years to be eligible.

[southace]

Originally Posted by Eleebana

That's right. Plus we'll throw in free hospital and medical, rent assistance (if required) and all the discounts I've mentioned previously. You'd think most residents would be gratefull to live in a country that looks after it's own that well. I certainly am. And BTW, if you think that's not enough the government will allow you to earn a bit with a part time job as well before you start to lose any of your pension. Unfortunately I have to wait another 14 years to be eligible.

But there is more.....The biggest barrier reef in the world, Islands to explore, Friendly seaside towns to visit, Fresh seafoods to be caught, And personally I find fresh fruit and veg fair priced.......yes we pay alittle more for marine items but from what I hear our wages are much better than other countrys so it kinda balances out....Perhaps we dont live in such a Sh**hole after all but its turning into a great post!

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by Eleebana

That's right! Plus we throw in free hospital and medical,

Have you actually tried getting something done?
Public hospital waiting lists are infamously long here.
A older friend is using public health system and has waited over a year for a hip replacement with increasing pain necessitating increased drug use.
My grandmother with expensive private health cover got in and out less than 3 weeks.
Yay to her for being well off.

rent assistance (if required)

and whats the cheapest habitable dog box cost to rent these days?
One you would be happy for your parents to live in?
$200 a week for a one bedroom or studio apartment?
$300+ for 2 bedroom,
Rent assistance pays $50 so catfood it is this week.

and all the discounts I've mentioned previously.

Yes yes, so they drop from being outrageously expensive to expensive, yippee.
Baked beans this week instead of catfood, this is the life.

You'd think most residents would be gratefull to live in a country that looks after it's own that well. I certainly am.

You arent old enough to benifit from it yet.
Lets see if it is still available for you in 14 years and while you are waiting, ask yourself why is the Govt. pushing retirement age out, begging the aged to work past retirement years and why are reverse mortgages becoming more popular?

And BTW, if you think that's not enough to live on, the government will allow you to earn a bit with a part time job as well before you start to lose any of your pension.

I can guarantee you will need to to survive in future years and pity those that are physically unable to.

Unfortunately I have to wait another 14 years to be eligible.

You never know, it might be 20 years if at all by the time you get there.

Other countries are running out of pension money and cutting back on medical care etc, what makes you think Australia is any different?

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by southace

But there is more.....The biggest barrier reef in the world, Islands to explore, Friendly seaside towns to visit, Fresh seafoods to be caught,

How will you get out there on $17k a year which mostly gets eaten up on rent, swim?

but from what I hear our wages are much better than other countrys so it kinda balances out.

Have fun when your paypacket goes from $100k plus down to $17k
Report back and tell me how your lifestyle is then.

All I can say is I hope you are cashed up enough not to be relying on a pension.

And look, I am not saying Australia having a pension is not a good thing and I agree, Australians should be reasonably grateful that one is available, but what I am saying is dont kid yourself that it will go any where near to providing the lifestyle that you may want to live in your later years..
If you truly believe this, I think a lot of you are in for a very rude shock.

[cat man do]

An interesting read showing that a comfortable lifestyle in 2006 requires more than double what the pension is.
In all examples it is assumed that the retiree OWNS their own home.

Defining ‘Quality of Life’ in Retirement

In 2003-04, Westpac commissioned the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) to determine how much money was needed in retirement to fund a modest lifestyle, and a comfortable lifestyle . While this research includes all retirees who might be much younger than the older Australian population under discussion here, it is nevertheless relevant to the debate around what quality of life in retirement actually entails, and what level of income is required to fund it.

The ASFA provide very clear and detailed budgets defining two states of retirement. One is a modest lifestyle that enables fairly basic living. It precludes such things as eating out, travel, private health insurance, running a motor vehicle or entertaining at home. The other state of retirement is a comfortable lifestyle that enables a healthy retiree to be involved in a broad range of social and leisure activities; to purchase some household goods such as electrical equipment; to own and run a good car; and to partake of some national and occasionally, international travel. In all these estimates, it is assumed that the retired individual or couple owns their own home.

Breaking down budgets into areas such as on-going household costs, utilities, clothing, personal care, transport, leisure, and others, the ASFA suggests that a single person living a modest lifestyle, needs approximately $18 400 per year ($353.05 per week), while a couple would need approximately $25 900 a year ($496.57). To live a comfortable lifestyle, the ASFA suggests that a single person requires $35 700 per year ($685.26 per week), while a couple requires $47 800 per year ($917.16 per week). These costs are based upon the national average costs as at December 2006 .

Clearly the modest budget allows for very little other than the basics. The question arises as to whether quality of life can be achieved when limited transport, healthcare, and social activities are available. The ASFA argue that the shift to funding a comfortable lifestyle adds significantly to the quality of life in retirement, and enables retirees to fully participate in their community, including social and sporting activities, learning and volunteering and a number of other personally fulfilling activities. However, this involves a significant increase in income.

http://www.cotaaustralia.org.au/e107...n_adequacy.doc