Labour shortage... I don't think so!

It was Paul Keating who solidified the position that there should be an unemployment well of around 4% of the working population. He was talking in terms which would later become known as 'capacity'. John Howard later went on to say that unemployment ceased to exist when everyone who wanted a job had one. Between both political parties there has been, in more modern times, a bait-and-switch solution to how unemployment is defined. Anyone who is unemployed but doing a recognised training course is taken out of the unemployment figures, essentially because by doing taxpayer-funded courses those people are deemed to be in employment. This has the double-sided effect of lowering the true state of unemployment figures while increasing the 'clever country' figures in education.

TAFE is working so well that only last week a major university reported their figures for national and international enrollments have plummeted. The previous government, by changing the weighting of courses for overseas students seeking permanent residency, has made TAFE an incredibly attractive proposition. This, in turn, is causing bottlenecks and constraints in TAFE.

Essentially, the government dumbed down the educational requirements and significantly lowered the cost of an Australian education leading to residency. The reason for doing this, obliquely noted, is to encourage more international students to come here and stay even though language barriers mean that very few of them will ultimately work in their chosen field. The Chinese do the worst, with recent figures indicating that only 16% gain work in the field of their studies. One can only wonder what the other 84%, who still have language difficulty, do once their studies and residency are finished and confirmed. It seems to be the policy of governments to encourage numbers to migrate so as to fill low-quality, low-paid jobs, creating a deliberate under-class.

Additionally, the MWEP (Migrant Work Experience Program) offers free short courses to selected migrants who work, unpaid, in low-skills jobs for government departments. With the number of home-grown bogans we already have one would think we'd at least try training them for something useful before creating yet another sub-class. I'm not convinced we need Visa 457 workers but I can see the subtle 'necessity' when our own dole system supports the genuinely idle at the expense of the taxpayer.

Both Parties support these propositions so we're never going to see anything more than minor tampering and cosmetic change. In my opinion the current generation of age pensioners need to be taken good care of; superannuation as we know it was almost unheard of in their day and it was only 20 years ago that the common consensus was that you'd work hard all your life to pay off a modest home, maybe have a little money tucked away for a holiday around Oz, before retiring to a pension that would help see you through. They built the place, something we'll never have to do again, so I think we should be supporting the current pensioners who are not sly millionaires.

Unemployment benefits were something that were at times a necessary evil and something to be a bit ashamed of needing; now they're an entitlement and a lifestyle choice. In my work I can be randomly drug and alcohol tested but if I go on the dole those tests would infringe on my rights.

Fucked if I know. I worked overseas for years and when homesickness got too much I came back only to find my people had changed. A decade of top experience was a blank space on my resume because it wasn't local experience. Fair go was replaced with fuck you. I built a business with all my own capital (no loans or government handouts) and employed 4 people in good jobs ($18.34 under the state system but I paid $24 as an incentive for good work, paid all overtime in full, and offered an immediate 50% subsidy for any work-related courses undertaken and the balance of 50% as a refund if the person passed the course). Think I could get good staff? I never used an AWA because I think they're too loaded and unfair. In the end I just sold the business, which is now 40% smaller after 6 months under the management of the 26-year old who bought it with daddy's money. Now I work for myself again and will never employ nor be an employee. Australia can have my taxes, paid very willingly and in full, but it will not get my capital and business-building expertise. As soon as my business gets too big for me to handle I'll sell it and start another one.

My point, because there really is one ;) is that it's not just the government, the immigrant, and the bogan who have done this; we've all done it. To undo it we need to get back to responsibility and accountability but I can't see that happening any time before hell freezes over. Apparently, we're all 'entitled' to whatever whim of the moment might appease us until the next whim arises.

"This whole gimme, gimme, gimme mentality really gives me the runs."

Couldn't agree with you more. Race you for the dunny. One of the odd things I've noticed and I think Blind Freddy should have, too, is that this air of instant entitlement isn't merely the province of GenX & Y. It's pervasive. It seems that just about everyone is trying to cash in on everyone else. I just don't know where we're heading.

Gave a bloke a job about 20 months ago; 51, he'd been unemployed for the best part of a year. He seemed bright enough although he didn't have any direct experience in what I needed done so I paid (up front) $2717 to TAFE for him to do an Advanced Diploma (highest you can go without doing a degree). He was diligent with it for about a month then he went quiet so I asked him about it. He'd lost interest. We discussed the deal (he'd pay me in full if he didn't successfully complete the course), and he'd changed his mind because paying me back would be 'unfair'. Dunno how he worked that out, but there we are.

I had to fire him 4 months later when he developed a liking for the casino and using my money (he swiped $4,500) to feed the tables. He also pissed off the other staff by claiming some sort of superiority via age and started issuing orders. I'd made it clear to everyone there was no superiority. Why have managers when there are only 4 staff and the owner? He's older than me so I suppose in his mind I was his to command, too. So you'd think that after a year on the dole he'd be thanking me for the job, the course, and not reporting him to the cops for theft (I did a week later when he told me he 'might have to quit' because he couldn't afford to pay me my own money back, even though his wage was over 4 times higher than the dole).

I think part of the problem stems from people exaggerating their displeasure to make the other guy more wrong than he may be. That gets coupled with 'payback' and a big 'fuck you' because everyone else is doing it. Then another section starts bleating some pseudo-psychology bullshit about how nothing is anyone's fault and 'someone' should do 'something' about it (usually the government, and with our money). Mateship's gone down the gurgler. A fair go is for idiots. Loyalty and respect are dead. I don't even recognise my own people anymore. We seem to be a nanny state with everyone hanging off the one final gnarled old tit that still works.

Too much globalisation, not enough Australianisation.