If only the US had Australia's Leadership

[Robertt S]

My hat is off to the government of Australia, perhaps you guys could come over here and show our so-called leaders how it is supposed to be done!

[Willy The Londoner]

Australia has always had my vote in respect of the way it handle immigration.  There has always been restrictions on who could be admitted to the country and for the sake of residents I hope that it continues that way. Convictions, ten pound poms and sunshine and oranges are long gone but they made Aus what it is today.  (Maybe Mr Foster should not have been let in to make beer though!)

We now have a situation in the UK where people from 23 countries in the European Union, can freely move to and live and work there with no restrictions.   

Some 200,000 a year make that journey maybe more as there is no real way of telling in the numbers plus there are the legals and illegals from other parts of the World.

It puts pressure on everything, schools, hospitals, housing in fact any service that is provided by the government and local authorities.

Any one who protested was and is called a racist!  It is not racism its is common sense. If a bus come along and has 40 seats then how can it possibly cope if 60 can freely get on it? 

I think May 2015 will be a shake up for all in the UK.

Willy

[Robertt S]

Same situation here with the illegals. Many people including myself are hoping for some serious changes to be made next month. I plan to start looking for any and all petitions that aim to limit a politician's term in office and sign every damn one I can find. I honestly believe that politics should not be a career option. I think all public offices that require elections should be limited to 2 terms just like the presidency. I think their pay stops when they leave office and their pay while in office should be voted on by the people, not the politicians themselves.

[David E]

Our current Government was elected 12 months ago on the platform "Stop The Boats"

The previous Govt. had virtually given massive support to this illegal trade in illegal migrants by accepting anybody who got here by this method. Many illegals perished on the Ocean as a result of being lured (for large sums of money) by people smugglers in India, Middle East and Asia. We had thousands and thousands of "economic refugees" coming here with no recourse to stop them. Can you imagine what some of these people would eventually get up to !!!!

There was a huge outcry (from the lunatic MINORITY) over this policy, but the silent MAJORITY spoke with their votes.

At this time the boats have STOPPED COMPLETELY, if you want to come to live in Aus...fill in the paperwork, get in the queue, pay your fees and maybe you will be successful...if you qualify as a GENUINE refugee or GENUINE Migrant seeking a new life here. We are taking 50,000 genuine refugees each year, and that is fact, this figure may be increased in the future...but.....there are rules and now the rules have been dictated by the Govt...not the people smugglers.

It is not difficult...just needs Political will and a Mandate from the people.

How we clean up the mess created by the previous bunch of dickheads I dont know, but we sure let in some absolute bas##ds from the Middle East who are now making bad noises.

Luckily, our current Govt is sharpening up the anti terrorist Laws to deal with these scum who have come here to destroy our way of life. The silent MAJORITY is right behind Abbot (Prime Minister) on this issue, we will back him all the way.

Desperate times need desperate solutions.

[CypherDragon]

Same situation here with the illegals. Many people including myself are hoping for some serious changes to be made next month. I plan to start looking for any and all petitions that aim to limit a politician's term in office and sign every damn one I can find. I honestly believe that politics should not be a career option. I think all public offices that require elections should be limited to 2 terms just like the presidency. I think their pay stops when they leave office and their pay while in office should be voted on by the people, not the politicians themselves.

While the idea is solid, there are a lot of things that would also need to change in order for low term limits to work realistically. The biggest thing that needs to change is we need to take the money out! No more campaign contributions, no more lobbying...and set Congress critter pay to some measurable metric that ties their salary with how the country is doing overall. I'm a fan of making it some multiple (like between 150-200%) of the median US household income. It would still give them a bigger paycheck then most Americans, but at least it would provide some incentive to improve everyone's lives, not just the super-rich. Take away their ability to exempt them from the laws that they pass. And for gods' sake, corporations are NOT people!

[shaun]

There are so many ideas on how to solve our governments problems but the bottom line is that nothing will happen.  No one wants to be bothered with making changes in order to have a better government.  We keep electing the same and same kind of fools that lie and cheat. I don't mean to sound cynical but I simply do not see things changing in this country.  In the 45 years that I have been interested in politics I've seen the same old crap warmed over and over again and the only things that changes is the occasional face.

The power of the people simply does not exist because no one cares enough to try to bring change.  Most are only concerned with their personal wealth and how the government might affect it.  What? Me? Worry about you?  Your kidding.  I don't care what camp you're in conservative, liberal, moderate NO ONE wants their handouts to be messed with.

[Willy The Londoner]

There are so many ideas on how to solve our governments problems but the bottom line is that nothing will happen.  No one wants to be bothered with making changes in order to have a better government.  We keep electing the same and same kind of fools that lie and cheat. I don't mean to sound cynical but I simply do not see things changing in this country.  In the 45 years that I have been interested in politics I've seen the same old crap warmed over and over again and the only things that changes is the occasional face.

The power of the people simply does not exist because no one cares enough to try to bring change.  Most are only concerned with their personal wealth and how the government might affect it.  What? Me? Worry about you?  Your kidding.  I don't care what camp you're in conservative, liberal, moderate NO ONE wants their handouts to be messed with.

I like your entry Shaun.  It sounds like you would like a government as we have here!

Willy

[shaun]

Willy, the thought crosses my mind often. By often I mean several times a day.  It doesn't help when you have a wife that tells you every day that she needs her husband.

I'm so fed up with our government. It is funny (sad) that having been born and raised in a Republic where democracy is suppose to be our form of government, but it isn't, that one would consider moving to a communist country for retirement.

I am 8 months away from my earliest point to retire.  Still 3 years away for social security if it is still in existence when I get there.   More than likely they will change the age to 70 rather than 62.5 before I get there.  Crooks.

I sound so anti-American in this post and it makes me sick thinking about who we used to be as a country.

What pains me the most is all of the people who have given their lives for our country, for freedom, and now this is what they served and died for.  It is just sickening.

You want the crap scared out of you watch all of this  It is a little over 8 minutes long;

I took this link down because it has been changed to a bunch of crap.   The MSNBC and CNN reports at the end were pulled.

[Willy The Londoner]

I have never regretted for one instant about moving my life to here.  As you say freedom should be everything and I have more actual freedom here than I ever did in the UK.

Of course people have freedom there but it is freedom to rob you and steal your possessions, freedom to break into your home, freedom to terrorise any one living there.  Get caught and they keep their freedom until its there 5th or 6th time. 

In all the time I have been here I have not once felt anything but safe, day or night.  Except when being driven by my wife that is!

My living standard has increased so much. The value of the GB Pound as stayed around 10 rmb to a pound the whole time, sometimes just over sometimes just under.  In the five years or more that I have been here I have bought a new car and bought and paid for two homes. Thinking of what to do with the first when the seconds ready maybe I will rent it out but coming here with a basic UK pension was the best thing that I ever did as since being here other opportunities have opened up for me.

I look forward to the time when you can join your wife here Shaun.

Willy

[David E]

Shauan

I think that maybe one of the places to start a change program is to make voting compulsory as it is here in Aus.

If we moan about what democracy is NOT doing for us, then are too idle to cast a vote, then how can we complain

Here in Aus, on voting day we MUST turn up to a voting booth and get our names entered as "voted".... Once you are in a voting booth, it does not matter what you do, you can cast a legitimate vote, or write "crap" on your vote paper, because your actual vote paper is anonymous, it's up to you. But at least you made your choice. Then you have a Govt that is truly representative. Good, bad or indifferent !!!! If you dont turn up, then you get a whopping fine.

I concur 100% with Willy's words....the average Chinese has heaps more personal freedom than we do in our so called free society. Maybe we hate the theory of Central Communism, but it sure does not intrude on the daily life of it's citizens in the same invasive way that we in the West are totally blitzed by trillions of restrictions on our personal freedoms, legislated by a bunch of grabbing dogs...

[fivetrout]

Shaun,
Those sounds are weird! Some maybe a wail from Big-foot? Some sound like Godzilla. hehe. They seem distressed! And also I hear friction of some sort...like a ship being launched.

Maybe it's cries from our forefathers turning over in their graves at what this country, and others has become!

[shaun]

It isn't the sound that scares me it is the reports afterward.  They are trying to explain things.   Crap we're in trouble.

David E, we can't even get American's to agree to a national ID to help avoid voter fraud.  I can only imagine what the fringed elements in the forsaken country would say about mandatory voting with financial penalties if you don't.  It is a great idea but I think it will never happen here.

Obama care is fining people for not getting health insurance and some have discovered that the fines for them is cheaper than the insurance coverage they can qualify for.  How messed up is that?  It is just another form of taxation on the poor something our current President is not suppose to be about.  The poor have had so much imbedded tax thrown at them over the last 6 months it is absolutely astounding.  But I had better not get started on that one or we will be here all day.

On the bright side all of this is helping me to plan out my future. 

[Willy The Londoner]

   The poor have had so much imbedded tax thrown at them over the last 6 months it is absolutely astounding.

World wide it is the poor that pays the price for all.  Health workers (nurses and ancillary staff) in the England were awarded 1% rise by the government appointed panel.  The first rise they have been granted in three years. However the government has stopped the increase being paid and at the same time the elected MPs in the Parliament have been awarded 9% on top of their 70,000 GB Pound (112,00 US Dollar) salary.

Willy

[fivetrout]

It's easy to get caught up in the youtube conspiracies...but where there's smoke you have to ask yourself...WTF! All signs point to the New World Order influencing world events.

[CypherDragon]

Shaun - the easy way out on taxes is to simply eliminate the personal income tax. Seriously; take away the income tax and replace it with a national sales tax...something that the infrastructure is already in place for, is much easier to manage, and is automatically a progressive tax system with no real loopholes possible. Then you can get rid of the monstrosity that the IRS has become, since now you only have corporate taxes to worry about. Exempt items needed for basic survival like groceries, and you've just reversed the tax system from being effectively regressive to being very progressive. But that makes too much sense, eliminates a big branch of the US Gov, and puts more of the tax burden where it should be - on the rich and highly successful, so it'll never happen...at least probably not in our lifetimes.