Sunday Rant - Occupying Melbourne

Following on from the recent protests in Wall Street, the Occupy Melbourne movement, sprang up.  Many Australians may wonder at the the purpose or sense of such action.  After all, Australia has low  unemployment levels and has weathered the storm of the GFC very well.  However, it is too easy to become complacent ... Australia is suffering too and we must always look to the future.

The gap between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' is widening.  Many of  those at the top of the corporate pile receive overly generous salary packages and bonuses, while the workers are criticized for asking for a fair share of the profits they are working to produce.

Now when the workers take action (have you been following the Qantas disputes), the outcome is less likely to be improvements to pay and conditions, and more likely the removal of the jobs to overseas locations.

Ron Tanberg - The Age, Melbourne

The power of corporations to affect the mood of the nation and to effect the decisions of governments is mind boggling.  The huge mining companies who are gouging minerals from our land spent $22 million in 6 weeks fighting a modest tax on their monstrous profits ... and bought down a Prime Minister with their efforts.
The Gaming Industry has amassed a reported $40 million fund to fight the introduction of betting limits on poker machines.

Individuals and corporations

 don't make their wealth alone. 

It is made in a social context 

and we all contribute.  

If you are thinking I am a closet communist you are not correct. I would rather live in a 'just' society that rewards people appropriately for the work they do and provides support for people when they need it.  It is about building a healthy social environment where people, individuals and groups, thrive.   I do not begrudge the corporations and corporate leaders fair and reasonable recompense for their work, leadership, risk taking, investment etc.  However, to not share the profits more equitably is a recipe for disaster in the long run.

Extreme inequality breaks down social cohesion and causes societal fragmentation.  People cease to feel like part of the larger whole and become disaffected. Disaffection leads to anti-social behaviour.  We have witnessed this in happening in the United States for a long time. Poverty breeds massive health problems: obesity, drug and alcohol abuse, diabetes, and a whole raft of mental health issues.  Violence and abuse are often associated with poverty and social and health problems caused by poverty.  It begins with individuals suffering but the whole of society is affected in the end.

In Australia, 
we need look no further 
than our indigenous population 
to see the intractable problems 
that poverty and 
a process of disinfranchisment 
can cause, and to understand 
how difficult it is 
to address these 
once they become intrenched.

When I talk about equitable sharing of wealth I am not just meaning pay rises for all. I talking about job creation,  a fair liveable wage and the provision of services such as a functioning health system, an equitable and accessible, world class education system (pre-school to tertiary), funding for science and health research .... on and on.

AND - a sensible, non-poll driven, non knee-jerk approach to the environmental issues of peak oil, renewable energy, pollution, food security, water security ... on and on.