Nice people thread part 7 - a thread in its prime

zagubov

Generali wrote: »

Unemployment levels are rarely high in Australia, in fact there are terrible problems getting enough people to do the work that is available right now. Partly that's due to mandated working arrangements, for example it's normal to see one man digging a road and 2 people managing the traffic! Also there is a strange insistence on skilling-up jobs, Australia must be the only country in the world where you need to pass an exam to be a security guard or a barman!

If there is a downturn, which looks highly likely, then people will be priced out of work and we are certainly starting to see that in the retail industry where shops are closing and high salaries are being explicitly named by the liquidator, who has no axe to grind, as the reason for the company folding. Don't forget though that because Aussie taxes are pretty low, it costs less to employ someone at any given salary than in many European countries.

silvercar wrote: »

Most families have both parents working, childcare is widely available and the norm, school times are geared up to working parents. Benefits are available but there is a requirement to work, so your stereotypical single mum with young kids would need to work to get the benefits, without working she would have no benefits so no income, by working she pays out in childcare but can access benefits. Wide choices of childcare are readily available. Unemployment seems low.

Some aspects of that sound better than here. Any system that squeezes out unemployment is a good thing as far as I'm concerned, otherwise what's the point?

I suppose "new" countries need more work done. My relative was a piano tuner and was in big demand in Oz back in the 60s. Not sure whether he'd have been in such demand in Israel.

Have a good journey home SC. Hope the pilot's got more detailed directions than PN's!:D

lostinrates

Oh, and I think our dodgy fridge has finally stopped refrigerating as well as being all broken inside.

Good timing really, though a few more weeks would have been nice I can cope without a working fridge in autumn (cannot fit a bigger one in temporary kitchen).


So, I have never bought a new fridge before. What should I be looking for. We have the same issue as with the dishwasher, we will want integrated eventually But not ready to buy the housing for now.

michaels

lostinrates wrote: »

Oh, and I think our dodgy fridge has finally stopped refrigerating as well as being all broken inside.

Good timing really, though a few more weeks would have been nice I can cope without a working fridge in autumn (cannot fit a bigger one in temporary kitchen).


So, I have never bought a new fridge before. What should I be looking for. We have the same issue as with the dishwasher, we will want integrated eventually But not ready to buy the housing for now.

Freecycle?

michaels wrote: »

Today looks like being an Asda day so I am off to the glitching thread....wish me luck!!!

Safe flight SC.

Quoting myself but apparently the glitch is no more (since a week ago - hasn't stopped them filling up several hundred pages since then mind!). This means I will have to go to asda and to spend my existing vouchers without any super cheap shopping in return which will be tough as I hate Asda and will struggle to spend £26

Generali wrote: »

About 0.17g of gold.

In fiat currency it's about 63p on the exchanges. Using PPP it's more like 40-50p IMO, depending on how you look at it (I always reckon Gillette razor blades are a good starting point for PPP calculations). I think the official data show the Pound is 10% over valued vs the USD and the AUD 60% using PPP.

.......

Thanks for the brilliant answer - I wonder how much this would increase the govts share of GDP by without the netting?!

On the other hand perhaps they could start netting all govt spending (you got 65 quid jsa this week but spent £20 of duty on fags and booze and £5 on VAT) - would rapidly bring down the states share of GDP

lostinrates

Asda own washing powder used to be excellent. Haven't used it for a while though, so dunno whether it still is.

GDB2222

Well over 100 posts on the new thread already!

PasturesNew

lostinrates wrote: »

Brrrr. Cody cold cold cold. And misty out side. Haven't done what we wanted to do this morning in the fields because it's so damn misty. We were duped by yesterday's lovely sun and thje dry forecast for today that today would be the same.

It's warmer here now than it was 4 hours ago - and it was sunny and dry; now it's dry and overcast.

Generali

zagubov wrote: »

But Gen, Australia I can't fathom- I've seen all these shows about people relocating south and it looks an incredibly close call sometimes.

Australia is a very different way of life from Europe. From afar it looks like the Isle of Wight with better weather but the reality is that there's 200 years of cultural separation from the UK and later European settlement.

The quality of life is excellent: the climate is like Nice or Cannes but it's available to all, not just the elite few that can afford a great postcode in Southern France or Northern Italy.

Also the food is great, absolutely wonderful. Again, it's not the top 2 or 5% of it that is awesome like in the UK but rather that the meat and veg from the supermarket or local butcher/grocer is of a far higher standard than what probably 99% of Britons eat for 99% of their meals.

Australia isn't Eden and lots of Poms come here and return to the UK because the life isn't better enough to compensate for leaving family and friends behind. I think it helped me that I came here at such a very low point in my life that I'm really starting to appreciate the good things that Australia has to offer me.

PasturesNew

lostinrates wrote: »

So, I have never bought a new fridge before. What should I be looking for. We have the same issue as with the dishwasher, we will want integrated eventually But not ready to buy the housing for now.

Random/off the top of my head ideas are:
- Work out which way round you want the door to open - some models can be changed, or you have a choice.
- Are the spaces for bottles large enough to take the largest bottles you have at, say, Xmas time. e.g. 2 litre bottles of fizzy pop often 'stretch' the plastic trays.
- Are there any other large/unusual boxes/packets you store in your fridge - and will they fit in the new one.
- Do you need a salad crisper drawer, or is it a waste of space
- Does it auto-defrost, or is it a manual one

PasturesNew

michaels wrote: »

This means I will have to go to asda and to spend my existing vouchers without any super cheap shopping in return which will be tough as I hate Asda and will struggle to spend £26

Three choices:
- grin and bear it
- use it for frivolous Xmas stuff/booze/presents
- send them to me.

I prefer Asda to Tesco; might be a size thing as the Asda's bigger here, but I prefer Asda's bread ranges and deli stuff more.

Generali

michaels wrote: »

Thanks for the brilliant answer -

Any time. Thank you for your appreciation.

michaels wrote: »

I wonder how much this would increase the govts share of GDP by without the netting?!

We don't know because the data aren't collected. As a Pom you could probably ask a Freedom of Information question. I'd be very interested in the answer.

michaels wrote: »

On the other hand perhaps they could start netting all govt spending (you got 65 quid jsa this week but spent £20 of duty on fags and booze and £5 on VAT) - would rapidly bring down the states share of GDP

Perfectly true. That's the thing, the accounting rules are set up in a particular way and applied. Economists then use those data to apply to their theories but the data that are being used aren't necessarily the same as the data that economists have assumed would be used when the theories were formulated.

So how to square the circle? Shrinking the state would make me happier but it might also make economics work better with accountancy.