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Break Up These Big Companies & Bust Their Monopolies

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In: corruption, democracy, economics, featured, Government, latest post, politics, power

We need to break up these big companies and bust their monopolies and oligopolies. Capitalism only works effectively for all when there is real competition in the marketplaces. Right now, this doesn’t exist in Australia and in most countries around the globe. There are too many sectors where only 2 or 3 corporations control markets. This prevents consumers having buying power and employees having any wage bargaining power. The chips are all in the corner of the bosses and the shareholders. Think about Coles and Woolworths dominating the supermarket and the liquor sectors. Think about the 4 big banks and the 4 big accountancy consulting firms. The insurance business is, likewise, dominated by a small number of giant companies. The telco business is Telstra, Optus and not much else. Big Tech is even worse, with most of them holding monopolies. Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Apple, Meta and their ilk control their markets monopolistically. Consumers are screwed when multinationals have such domination over markets and sectors. Capitalism does not work when competition does not exist.Continue Reading

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Albanese Backs Gas Industry Over Ordinary Australians

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In: corruption, democracy, economics, featured, Government, latest post, politics, power

Labor is in the pocket of the Gas Giants, obviously, why else would they rather kick off 160, 000 disabled Australians from the NDIS than properly tax the gas industry to improve the budget bottom line. The facts are that the LNG export sector is worth tens of billions of dollars annually but the majority of the companies involved have not paid corporate tax for years and years. Most of the gas is sold royalty free and the PRRT fails to derive tax from LNG sales, according to the current rules in place. The whole thing is a scam. Why do our governments  support this ripping off of the Australian people in favour of foreign multinational companies? It is a combination of politics over good policy, revolving door corruption and stupidity. Albanese backs gas industry over ordinary Australians.Continue Reading

Why Has It Taken So Long For The RBA To Act On Digital Surcharges?

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In: economics, featured, Government, latest post, power

Many would welcome the announcement that the RBA is going to remove surcharges on debit and credit cards in Australia. I would ask why has it taken so long for the RBA to act on digital surcharges? The number $1.8 billion in imposts from these surcharges annually has been revealed by the research. These fees are the largely hidden hands reaching in to take unwarranted funds from every transaction utilising these digital tools. Is it any wonder that banks make billions and the rest of us are doing it tough in our economy? Those with the inside running reap rewards for doing bugger all, whilst most of us struggle to make ends meet these days.Continue Reading

One Nation Has Sung The Praises Of Donald Trump

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In: corruption, democracy, featured, Government, latest post, media, politics, power

I observed an older white woman proselytising about One Nation to another woman of her vintage at the local shopping centre the other day. I did not listen closely enough to pick up on the details of the diatribe. It got me thinking about this spread of disinformation being funded by billionaire sponsor Gina Rinehart and those of her ilk. Pauline Hanson, the leader of One Nation has sung the praises of Donald Trump and visited Mara Lago, quite recently. Pauline has, for all her time in parliament, rarely been in government. She has been a fringe player and outsider looking on. There are parallels here with the administration of President Donald Trump, in that nearly all of his cabinet are similarly inexperienced outsiders.Continue Reading

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A World Chock Full Of Corporate Concentration

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In: economics, featured, Government, latest post, politics, power, social media

For many decades, America has been the cultural Capitol of the world. The super power led the way via popular culture – movies, music and celebrities pumped out an influential message across the globe. Corporations quickly cashed in and expanded the merchandising opportunities. Now, we live in a world chock full of corporate concentration. Just 5 companies control more than 90% of the major media platforms in the United States. That means that a few individuals are holding the reins of power when it comes to what we watch on screens. Most folk spend more than 10 hours per day watching screens.Continue Reading

Albo The Zombie Neoliberal PM

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In: democracy, economics, featured, Government, latest post, politics, power

Anthony Albanese and his Labor government have not addressed the housing crisis. Too afraid to offend anyone; they are hoping to shift the neoliberal economic levers to relieve the situation. Hoping to increase housing stock and have supply reduce the high price of demand. This is not working, however, as there are too many roadblocks in the way in Australia. Not enough tradies to build the needed homes and recalcitrant councils holding up planning and building approvals are just some of the intransigent problems. How many years are poor renters going to have to suffer exorbitant rents on homes? Meanwhile, the price of residential property in Australian cities continues to surge. Albo the zombie neoliberal PM.Continue Reading

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Why Are We Getting Poorer?

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In: corruption, democracy, economics, featured, Government, latest post, politics, power

Why is everything so expensive now? What price life? Why are we getting poorer? First and foremost, the entire economy is set up to greatly favour owners over all other parts. Investors are owners, of course, and the company executives operate on their behalf. Shareholders are king and everyone else runs a poor second. Thus, profitability is always the prime consideration and profits have to constantly increase to satisfy the shareholders. Plus, executives manipulate the stock price through buybacks to enrich themselves wildly. This is where we get all the billionaires from. Elon Musk is a prominent illustration of this, the richest man in the world.Continue Reading

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Four Corners Exposes $50 Billion ATO Losses

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ABC investigative reporters at work, as Four Corners exposes $50 billion ATO losses. The old joke about feeling like a mushroom, kept in the dark and fed on shit, comes to mind when considering what really goes in the halls of power. Macro corruption is the term used to describe the situation in Australia, where the amounts are very large when dirty deeds are done downunder. Scamming millions of dollars from the tax office via bogus GST claims would be an unlikely occurrence one would think. I mean, the ATO is a pillar of our whole national edifice, so it must be bristling with top line security, right? Wrong, it is a $50 billion black hole bad joke on that score.Continue Reading

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AI Will Decimate Income Tax Revenue Downunder

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In: democracy, economics, featured, Government, latest post, media, politics

None other than James Packer, son of the great anti-tax champion billionaire Kerry Packer, is warning that AI will decimate tax revenue downunder. Why? It is because Australia depends upon the income tax from workers for the lion’s share of its tax revenue. AI has already started shedding jobs in middle management and the numbers are going to ramp up substantially very soon. The loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs to machines will impact the bottom line severely. Especially, as multinational corporations and rich people avoid paying tax in Australia.Continue Reading

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Australian Media Directed By News Corp

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In: democracy, economics, featured, Government, latest post, media, politics

The Australian media is directed by News Corp and its pro-American perspective. The assumption promulgated by the Murdoch press is that China is bad and the US is good. That the evil communists are threatening the world whilst America stands for all that is right. Of course, with Donald Trump in the White House this rationale is absurd. Unless you have been living in isolation for the last year you would know that Uncle Sam is on the nose in 2025. Trump has attacked, economically and verbally, America’s long standing allies. He has threatened Canada and Greenland with the spectre of some sort of invasion. Trump has seemingly backed Putin and the Russians in their illegal invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, China has been the bastion of peaceful stability in contrast with the turmoils of Trump’s United States.Continue Reading