Keep up the good work
I'm not embarrassed. And I don't see why anyone should be. That the prime minister himself should implore company management to go easy on their income is, quite frankly, un-Australian.
And we know what being Australian means to "Chips" Howard. Surely that's the point! If we cannot reward entrepreneurial skill with a cash payout at the end of a hard working day, then what on earth have we been doing since Adam fell out of the apple tree?
That management stays ahead of labour — and sometimes well ahead (and deservedly so!) — is what the exercise is all about. Free enterprise is about making it, taking from someone else to feather your own nest. It's not something to be deplored. It's give and take.
I think the prime minister should apologise to the Australian business community. He's out of line with his comments. I say to every senior executive officer: don't be ashamed. Enjoy your money. You've earned it.
Jesus! Where does Howard think it came from? Money doesn't grow on trees, you know. If company profits in the past year have risen by 20%, then someone is going to be out of pocket. It's simple arithmetic isn't it? And if wages have risen by only 0.4%, well, that's to be expected. You take from Peter to pay Paul.
Come back down to earth, JH! Rejoin the real world! What is deregulation, privatisation, industrial reform, the GST — what is good government — all about if it isn't about this? It may seem that Australian workers get the rough end of the pineapple, but national jobless figures have fallen over the last year by a whopping 0.3%! See! There's something in it for everyone.
And you know what created all those jobs don't you? The search for a $56.25 billion profit at the end of the day.
Now all we have to do is generate more of the same. Let's see — to really go to town on unemployment, and solve it through the tried and true method of enterprise growth, profits need to rise by something like $119 billion for each 1% of unemployment. So that, to knock off another 7%, management need to get cracking and start working their way up to a steady state return of $833 billion to justify their time, talent, effort and achieve our collective goal of getting Australia working again. (It's still our collective goal isn't it? Last time I looked it was.)
We can do it — despite the misgivings of the PM. Corporate Australia! Ignore those sour grapes! Keep up the good work! We want more of the same! The workers of Australia will be rootin' for you!
By Dave Riley
<dhell@ozemail.com.au>