Why we need unions, lesson #539 from the USA

If this was a real farewell for Johnny he'd be digging his fingernails into the podium while they dragged him out by his ankles...

From the New York Times.

Regarding the owner of the Utah coal mine in which a bunch of miners (and rescuers) died recently:

That same year, the National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint accusing Mr. Murray of violating federal labor laws at one of his companies, Maple Creek Mining, in Bentleyville, Pa., about 20 miles south of Pittsburgh. The United Mine Workers said Mr. Murray had threatened to replace union workers at the mine after they talked publicly about a labor dispute.

Mr. Murray has said that none of his miners have ever died in an accident, but federal mine records show otherwise. In April 2001, Thomas M. Ciszewski, a 45-year-old foreman, bled to death in the Powhatan No. 6 mine in Alledonia, Ohio, owned and operated by Mr. Murray’s Ohio Valley Coal Company.

Federal investigators determined that Mr. Ciszewski, a 22-year mining veteran, was on a routine job when a conveyer belt cut off his arm, and was “bleeding profusely from the loss of the limb.” He died, in part, because there was not adequate first aid.

The company was fined a total of $15,000.

See here for more 'why we need unions', and why we need to get rid of Howard.

Swan Costello Slapfight

Almost forgot this was on... the joys of being a student

Missed the first half hour- didn't miss much.

Long rambling question from some Government Gazette git. Karen Middleton is half asleep, don't blame her. Basically it's: what are you gonna do re: work choices?

Swan: Our system doesn't rape you up the ass... as hard.

Wormy: (doesn't really care).

Swan: blah blah productivity etc.

Costello: we've struck the right balance with WorkChoices!

(audible clunk as wormy hits the floor).

Costello: Booga booga unions, booga booga inflation. (Wormy's interest is at record lows). Back to banging on about unions, booga booga etc.

Middleton: Eden Monaro voters want spending on health etc, not tax cuts. Will you reconsider your tax cuts because a bunch of lying greedy hypocrites claim they don't want tax cuts?

Swan: No. We can have our cake and eat it too. We're endin the blame game, education revolution etc.

Wormy: Oh Wayne!

Costello: Economic future, build capacity, we will deliver it (Captain Smirk isn't doing it for wormy). Bangs on about the 1993 election and how Labor took back tax cuts 13 years ago.

Wormy: 13 years ago? I was barely legal then!

Qn (?): blah blah, debt truck, what happened with that whole debt thing? It's a bit big no?

Costello: (insert lame joke- wormy doesn't get it). We have no responsibility for the national debt (!) it's the states' fault, except for when it's good.

Wormy: jesus, I don't care.

Costello: Ok, well things are going so well we need to be in massive debt!

Wormy: Ecomanomics I know it!

Swan: Our debt is terrible, the mining boom is saving our asses.

Wormy: Oooh you make current account deficits sound sexy, Wayne!

Swan: We should be doing better and making our exports better! Blah blah, long term, the future etc. (wormy likes).

Levy, Telecrap: Leadership speculation. Tell voters what the 3 main differences will be between your govt. and a Howard govt.

Costello: Lame joke, massive smirk.

Wormy: (looks around for a paper bag).

Costello: We are a team, we make Australia strong like bull!

Wormy: (puts bag on costello's head, draws bushy eyebrows on it).

Costello: We've had our differences and we want to continue to do it. I will be exactly like john howard. Kevin Rudd me too etc. You won't have us to kick around!

Swan: Costello will rape you with uber WorkChoices, it'll be only minimum wage left!

Wormy: you sound like Kevin... I like him! They live in the past!

Coorey, smh: Why won't you fund the states? They have to resort to gambling and hookers!

Swan: We're not changing anything but the government has starved the states and played a blame game and haven't spent on infrastructure! End the blame game!

Worm: yeah, don't play games with my heart, Johnny!

Costello: We work very hard, the states have it so good!

Wormy: meh.

Costello: Labor will change the allocations! Blah blah econo-speak

Wormy: That sounded clever!

Costello: (passes the buck to the states).

Wormy: meh.

Costello: Booga booga wall to wall Labor!

Wright, The West Australian: your tax cuts are increasing inflationay pressure!! Look at NZ example. What are you doing about it?

Costello: NZ is a different country, except for being just like us.

Wormy: ???

Costello: (starts spruiking tax plan, complete with rudd-esque rhetorical questions).

Wormy: I like money!

Costello: (blathers on about how awesome he is).

Swan: Our tax cuts are staged. we need to account for the aging of the population and give people more money to vote for us! wormy: I like money!

Chick from Dow Jones: How will you make the Reserve Bank board independent?

Swan: We won't have any fundraisers on the board

Costello: (smirks) The ACTU give you money.

Qn: Do you believe the polls where lying liars say they want spending on hospitals?

Swan: No.

Costello: No. (smirks)

Wormy: They really understand my depth and value as a human being!

Clinton Porteus, Courier Mail: No one thinks you'll make a good treasurer, Swannie. Costello, you lied about interest rates. Why should we trust you?

Swan: Silly question. I have experience- I'll have more than Costello did when he started. I've talked to real people instead of smirking at pythons.

Wormy: I like him, he gets me!

Costello: Booga booga- I'm safe, he isn't. There could be danger, danger!!! Around the corner!! Bbooga booga!

Wormy: you're scary....

Andrew Green, ch 7: Has the treasury advised you if Aussie families have never been better off? And what will be different about your government, Swan?

Costello: (Dodges the question- basically admits that 'you've never been better off' came out of his ass).

Wormy: you bastard!

Swan: Rate rises, we'll start a war- no, a jihad on inflation! Costello doesn't even think there's a housing crisis!

Wormy: I'm doing it tough yo!

Swan: We look out for you, the little guy and we'll make sure that kitten prices are kept within the reach of the average allowance for a 9 year old girl!

Wormy: oooh!

Michelle Grattan: (rambling question about promises).

Costello: we always keep our promises...

Wormy: hmmm....

Costello: I'm passionate! Like rudd, see? Passion! Passionate passionate passionate!

Wormy: Ew, put your passion away.

Swan: Haha they r liars!

Wormy: lolz.

(closing statements)

Costello: I've learned life lessons handing out tax cuts. Booga booga, we're a safe pair of hands! (waves hands) Technical colleges, blah blah etc. The economy is the only important thing in the world! I can cure cancer with my economy [I shit you not he actually said words to that effect].

Wormy: wha? Still, I like you better than Howard.

Costello: (steals rudd's 'passion', coins hokey “large ambitions for a large country”).

Swan: The economy is the most important thing in the universe! It will edumacate the kids and fix the hospitals. Howard government is asleep at the wheel. (Mentions helping poor people!) The government doesn't understand you. They want to buy your vote. They suddenly care about education. Education is a core Labor value.

Wormy: mmm education...

Swan: The future, I'll invite myself to your dinners to listen to your problems and I'll end the blame game. I will build the eonomy!!!

Cut to Ray Martin ("I'm Ray Martin!). Audience wakes up and sleepily rubs eyes. Ray Martin plugs phone poll (for stupid people with lots of money, always goes Liberal).

Debate: Live Blog

Mmmmmoooooore

Howard killed the feed because 9 had the worm. He'll be monstered in the press tomorrow. I can't clean this mess up. My hands are about to drop off. Sarah will fix it. This is a draft. God...

Rudd speaks first, worm in paroxsyms of orgiastic pleasure, reaching for the skies. Only drops when he starts in with the Peter Costello crap.

Howard's turn. Worm hits rock bottom and starts to dig. He also takes too long talking.

Question time.

Howard says he's awesome and keeps banging on about it's not all about the economic boom

Rudd responds. Why haven't we invested our wealth wisely? Wormy like. Oh wormy like. Who's your daddy Mr worm?

Qn: Rudd, you copy Howard, why should we throw him out?

Rudd: I'm an economic conservative.

Worm: I don't give a fuck, get back down there and keep hitting that spot. Oh yeah, that's it. More future. Wormy like. Oh, say climate change again.

Howard replies: You're not an economic conservative, you need to believe it!

Wormy: Meh.

Howard. Let me hit you with some Hansard... blah blah tax, blah blah voting.

Worm: meh.

Howard: Tarrifs?

Worm: nah.

Howard: OK. how about tax policy! Peter Costello.

Wormy: Do Not Want!


Qn: Howard leadership succession:

Howard: Peter will succeed me well into my next term. Here's some group love- Wormy, Me and Peter together. Alexander Downer!

(Worm throws up a little in its mouth. Still not breaking half way. Worm drops with every mention of Costello).

Rudd: Don't worry about the economy, I'm just like Howard. It's OK. Now, check this shit. Muthafuckin Howard as treasurer.

Wormy: Oh god! (Wormy goes weak at the knees).

Qn: Unions, Rudd, booga booga!

Rudd: Deflection. Howard has lawyers. Wormy hates lawyers. Also your team hates you. My team is diverse. James Hardie. Justice. Booya!

Howard: Lawyers are diverse. Union officials = teh bad. Wormy still hates lawyers. Especially short balding ones. Rudd smiles and takes some notes, winking at Wormy. Booga booga, wall to wall Labor governments.

Wormy: meh.

Qn, Alison: Economy's hot but how will you ease the squeeze? (Deja vu, anyone?)

Howard: I feel your pain.

Wormy: the fuck you do.

Howard: OK, tax reform, Rudd copied.

Wormy:... tell me more...

Howard: Tax relief, here's some cash.

Wormy: I ain't no ho! Well maybe... keep talking. I feel flirty. Child care, education. etc.

Rudd: Tax, baby. I'm gonna take from the rich and be your sugar daddy.

Wormy: oh yeah!

Rudd: Tax rebates, school etc, tax rebates, costs of childcare etc.

Worm: Don't stop big Kev, don't stop!

Qn, Alison: Interest rates are coming, won't you make more interest rates hikes more likely?

Rudd: Don't you worry about that, baby. Education. Wormy: what did i ask you? Doesn't matter.

Qn: Will you say there will be no interest rate rises under a Rudd government?

Rudd: Howard was irresponsible to promise to keep interest rates at record lows. Wormy: hello sailor!

Howard: Monetary policy, debated surplus, help the reserve bank. Paul Keating.

Wormy: Who?

Howard: Reserve bank, independence. My interest rates are much better than Keating's.

Wormy: what does my ex have to do with it?

Qn: Apologise to home owners for interest rates.

Howard: Blah blah, no. Would I lie to you? Wormy: yes. Keating blah blah.

Qn, Paul Kelly: Interest rates, your $34 billion in tax cuts will increase them, Howard. Are you responsible for hiking rates? (this man works for gov. gazette?)

Howard: Interest rates, higher inflation. Surplus keeps interest rates low. Strong economy blah blah. I want to keep wages low.

Wormy: Wha? too much talking granddad.

Howard: (sweats).

Paul Kelly: scent of a wounded stag in his nostrils.

Howard's voice cracks. Wormy, why do you no wanna pay for me no mo?

Rudd: Hey baby, Let my hit you with more Howard as treasurer- You fucked up mate. I'm honest. Labor made mistakes in the past, I cop to them. You don't. I'm so honest, I'll only love you baby.

Wormy: Ruddy, don't stop talking lover. Rudd: Plan, education revolution.

Qn: Govt. gazette: You copy govt. you copy, tax revolution not education.

Rudd: We have a plan, for trades in secondary schools, kids education, numeracy. Kid's education, revolution.

Wormy: I still happy.

Rudd: Howard is going in the wrong direction, I take from the rich and give to the hospitals. Wormy like.

Howard: (losing it) HECS! OECD! Yells at Rudd and waves a finger. Wormy: settle down!

Qn, Laurie Oakes: The unions support you, won't you owe them and feed voters' kids to the ACTU?

Rudd: Don't worry about that baby, I'm flexible. I can do you any way you like. Don't worry, I'll bash the unions too. And baby, don't be sacred of the unions, they were there when good things happened with Hawke Keating. They cleaned up after granddad. (Libs in the audience are getting antsy and have to be told to shut up by the mediator). Howard's being slaugtered.

Howard: Booga booga, unions, no one is in a union so 70% is ridiculous. Internal labor politics. Former trade union officials.

Wormy: Meh.

Qn, Oakes: You have more IR plans in store don't you Howard? How do I know you won't rape me?

Howard: Don't worry, would I fuck you in the ass?

Wormy: (backs up against the wall and refuses to move).

Howard: come on baby, it's for the economy, I'll use lube.

Wormy: No!

Howard: It'll stop strikes!

Wormy: I don't know...

Howard: Workchoices is good for you! (Howard blathers on and on as he has for every question. Wormy falls asleep).

Qn, Oakes: You're lying aren't you? You hid IR legislation going into the last election and lied to voters, saying you had no plans for a uniform national IR system! Why would we believe you going into this election?

Howard: It was for your own good!

Wormy: You bastard! (dives down).

Howard: You'll get paid well if you take it up the ass!

Wormy: Really? I mean, No!!!

Howard: blathers on (and on and on) again.

Rudd: Good to get a word in! Howard's a liar! Interest rates, broken promises. He lied about Workchoices till you grabbed the the senate and tried to fuck wormy. Peter Costello will screw you too! And I won't fuck you in the ass. Look how many other people he's screwed? You can't trust him.

Wormy: mmmm... I like you.

Qn: Peter Hartcher. You want to cut greenhouse gases. How will you have progress markers?

Rudd: I'm good on climate change baby, my pad has aircon, Howard's got a sweaty tin shack. Targets, blah bah benchmarks. MY aircon's been installed by real experts!

Wormy:... nice...

Rudd: Howard and co. didn't want aircon, come to my place.

Qn: what would you actually reduce?

Rudd: Kyoto, blah blah. Wormy:... talk to me about the future some more honey... Rudd: The future. Worm: Ahhhh.

Qn: Paul Kelly: Targets, you need them.

Rudd, we already got them. The future. Wormy: that's the spot.

Howard: I believe in global warming blah blah, no targets though. We have a plan to upgrade the tin shack baby! Come back!

Wormy: Meh.

Howard: Blather blather. Cleaner coal. (cleaner coal?!)

Qn, Hartcher: Your fake Kyoto is a fake, Bush won't be bound by any targets.

Howard: I can tell Bush to join! Bush always does what I tell him!

Worm: I don't want to party with him!

Howard: It's ok baby i can control him.

Wormy: OK.... tell me more...

Rudd: China is critical. They won't act internationally because we won't sign Kyoto, I have morals and I'm thinking about babies, with you honey.

Wormy: Oh Kruddy!

Rudd: clean coal (wtf)? hybrids, renewable energy etc. Howard isn't comitted to climate change. He just wants to get in your pants. To put in his nuke reactor.

Wormy: OMG!

QN: Hartcher, Howard can you control Bush?

Howard: I can control Bush.

Wormy: the fuck you can. *plummets*

Howard: Baby I was a statesman at APEC.

Wormy: I still don't want to play with him!!

QN, Chris Ulman: Has terrorism gone up since Iraq?

Howard: No.

Wormy: I don't believe you. Oh wait, I do, I remember why I let you fuck me now...

Qn: Iraq is a terrorist training camp.

Howard: Al Qaeda is in retreat, I won't answer your question.

Rudd: Howard won't answer the question. British intelligence told us we'd be more at risk. Howard didn't listen baby. Iraq is a fuck up, worse than 'nam. More terrorists baby, he a bad man! Mick Keelty got monstered for telling the truth. I'm a tough man, string up the Tangos. But I also have a soft side, pay people to stop blowing shit up.

Qn: Will you withdraw all troops?

Rudd. All combat troops out. Staged withdrawal, baby. Everyone else will probably stay.

Howard: (knocks over his mike) I won't withdraw. Rudd has to withdraw all or nothing. I might withdraw them, they'll be doing training, don't worry.

Wormy: You're not Rudd!

Howard: I'll ask the yanks to let us leave.

Qn: Rudd, you do lots of 'me too'. What do you stand on?

Rudd: I'm strong on Iraq. I make pragmatic choices. I only protect Aussies from the death penalty. I don't intervene on the terrorists' side. I believe in the future.

Wormy: Don't stop Kruddy! Don't stop!

Rudd: the future, passion, core elements.

Qn: Reconciliation. Why won't you say sorry?

Howard: I'm sorry people were badly treated in the past. I have nothing to apologise for.

Wormy: I don't really like abos...

Howard: I'm your man, me and Mal Brough. And Downer.

Wormy: don't like Downer.

Howard: I'm going to send in more troops. I won't make a symbolic apology. Blathers on too long.

Rudd: We want to protect the little kids, it was terrible so we backed Howard, for the kids. (Wormy like). (Rudd Faces howard. Talks about respect and building bridges) . I like babies.

Wormy: Ooh Kruddy, build my bridge!

Rudd asks: IR, redundancies. Is it possible that you can lose redundancy pay?

Howard: No, you need fair compensation.

Worm: I could lose what??

Howard asks: If you believe in climate change why didn't you spend longer talking to Bush.

Rudd: He said don't talk about it. Bush wouldn't change his mind so I ditched him. I'm the man for the future, you slept for 11 years. *Bashes bush) You didn't talk to him at all. (Wormy orgasms).

Rudd qn: Iraq: Why should we believe you when you say you wouldn't send in more troops? It's like interest rates and Workchoices. You said before the last election that you had no plans to send in troops, then immediately after the election you doubled the number of Australian troops in Iraq,

Howard: You believe me right?

Wormy: no.

Howard: (waves the flag accuses Rudd of politicising the armed forces- haha) We'll beg the allies to let us leave. I'm good at begging.

Wormy. You smell like old man.

Howard: (blathers some more) What about making Bush look good?

Wormy: Fuck him.

Howard: You've talked about pricing and interest rates. Can you guarantee things like I do?

Rudd: We said we can do things to help, not say you've never had it so good.

Wormy: likes.

Rudd: Taxes, rebates etc. (Worm likes even more).

Rudd: I'm gonna investigate the petrol prices with our commissioner!

Wormy: Mmmmm petrol.

Rudd closing: I'm a kid from QLD. A kid with a plan, baby, it's gotta mean something. Feelings, and the future, baby, and passion and revolutions and broadband. And I'm all about the bush!

Wormy (creams its pants).

Howard: (Sounds tired, almost asleep) Beware of the promises, I have money. Big piles of money. I've been around a long time. A patchy plan on education, other than restarting the culture wars. We are heroic and lets be proud of ourselves (steals education revolution idea).


P.S. Annabel Crabb is a bobblehead.

Unions: The Houston Janitors Story

If this story isn't a great example of why Australians need to support unionised labour and a sound public health system, I don't know what is.

A group of janitors in Houston, Texas, have been striking as they call for better wages and fairer health care. Their current wage is US$5.25 an hour. That's $6.83 per hour, or roughly what a 15 year old would earn in Australia. For some of the striking workers it is even less:

Flora Aguilar, 51, another striking janitor, was making $5.15 an hour after more than two years on the night crew for the cleaning contractor OneSource at the 55-floor Enterprise Plaza downtown. She was taking home $209 every two weeks, of which $20 went to bus fares. She said she had seen two managers fire women for refusing to stay past the end of their shift -- even though the women would have missed their last bus home.

That's the kind of shit that happens when the government makes it easier to fire people.

Democratic congressional leaders have said one of their first priorities as a majority will be raising the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour, which would go a long way toward meeting the union's goals.

The Houston janitors are demanding more -- $8.50 an hour plus health insurance. They also are demanding full-time work instead of four-hour shifts. Their proposed package, equivalent to a 60 percent pay increase, would still fall short of what SEIU janitors make in other cities, including the District. In many other cities, union janitors work full time and get health benefits.

Not only have the janitors been treated appallingly by their employers (who are crying poor), they were allegedly treated pretty shabbily by the Houston police too, if this account is anything to go by.

The health insurance side of the story is equally appalling. Here's a brief excerpt from one of the janitors' biographies posted on the campaign website:

Last summer, Ana Leticia's husband suffered a heart attack. "He went to the hospital but we do not have health insurance. Now we have a bill for more than $8,500," she says. "They keep on sending us bills in the mail but we can't pay it."

Yes, this is the USA: Land of the Free to die in a gutter because you have no health insurance. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?

See, clearly what these janitors on poverty-line wages require is a system that enables them to 'negotiate' one on one with their large, wealthy employer.

Workers in Australia are undoubtedly comparably well off. But those rights that unions have fought for, and earned, are under threat. There's no use waiting until they've been completely whittled away; Australians' penchant for complacency is doing them no favours. We need to act to protect workers' rights. There's a big rally on November 30, and I believe that it's not just in union members' interests to attend. Most Australians aren't CEO of a huge company, or Prime Minister of Australia. Most Australians aren't politicians sitting pretty on a salary of almost $200 000 per year, with a limitless taxpayer-funded pension waiting for them at the end of their career. Workers' rights are important to all but a small minority of Australians, and that small minority are in sore need of a boot up the arse. That's why Gam and I will be attending the rally in Brisbane on Thursday, 30th November in support of the Rights at Work campaign.


UPDATE: The Houston janitors have reached a deal with their employers

Under the three-year deal, the first for the janitors since they unionized last year, their pay, which now averages $5.25 an hour, will increase to $6.25 on Jan. 1, 2007; to $7.25 on Jan. 1, 2008; and to $7.75 on Jan. 1, 2009.

Further, the employers agreed to increase a janitor’s typical shift to six hours a day, from four. Many of the janitors had said they were being given too few hours of work to support their families.

“It’s a moment of great victory,” said Mercedes Herrera, a janitor for five years who earns $5.15 an hour. “We all came together, and the union gave us strength. Many of us have never received a raise. I’ve earned the same ever since I started, so the raise is great.”

This is a step forward. However, 2 years is a long time to wait for wages to reach the equivalent of AUD$10, and when the family health coverage kicks in in 2009, the janitors will be expected to pay almost 20% of their income just to provide health care for their families. Imagine the stink that would be raised if the wealthiest americans had to fork over 20% of their income to obtain private health insurance. Yet somehow, for people living on the poverty line, that's perfectly acceptable.

Why we need unions, lesson #538 from the USA

From the New York Times:

WASHINGTON, April 24 — Seven years ago, a Missouri doctor discovered a troubling pattern at a microwave popcorn plant in the town of Jasper. After an additive was modified to produce a more buttery taste, nine workers came down with a rare, life-threatening disease that was ravaging their lungs.

Puzzled Missouri health authorities turned to two federal agencies in Washington. Scientists at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which investigates the causes of workplace health problems, moved quickly to examine patients, inspect factories and run tests. Within months, they concluded that the workers became ill after exposure to diacetyl, a food-flavoring agent.

But the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, charged with overseeing workplace safety, reacted with far less urgency. It did not step up plant inspections or mandate safety standards for businesses, even as more workers became ill.

[...]

The agency has killed dozens of existing and proposed regulations and delayed adopting others. For example, OSHA has repeatedly identified silica dust, which can cause lung cancer, and construction site noise as health hazards that warrant new safeguards for nearly three million workers, but it has yet to require them.

[...]

Without an OSHA standard, which would establish the permissible level of exposure for workers, companies can set any limit of exposure they want.
Instead of regulations, Mr. Foulke and top officials at other agencies favor a “voluntary compliance strategy,” reaching agreements with industry associations and companies to police themselves.

[...]

Labor leaders and health experts say those numbers significantly undercount the problem, in part because the Bush administration has reduced the categories of recognized injuries and because many dangerous jobs are now performed by undocumented workers who do not report problems.

Permanent link to article here.

Screwed

Yup, pretty much.

Watching Insight on young voters from the Brisbane seat of Moreton. So far:

1 guy is voting Liberal because he's a concreter and got a pay rise, 'because of the IR laws'.

1 guy is voting Liberal because he lives at home with his parents and, 'the economy is real strong.'

The Greens speaker is clueless, basically promising a workers paradise with no mention of how to pay for it. Also it's a very uni-centric paradise, lots of talk about HECS etc. Life doesn't revolve around uni!

Most speakers don't even know what they want, let alone what any party wants to do.

A large number of speakers base their decisions on how their family/parents vote. What a tragedy. That is NEVER a good reason to decide who to vote for.

No one watches the news. Big surprise. Wouldn't do them much good anyway.

Insightful comment: Politicians need to be less formal and more relaxed talking to younger voters. Get to the point and give people a say. Howard's YouTube announcements are presented as a pathetic joke, a sad attempt to be relevant by a politician who doesn't get it. Agreed there. The Libs don't really get the 'net. Labor don't but they seem to be trying a bit harder and succeeding a bit more.

The BBQ factor again. Rudd's stripper incident (thanks Alexander Downer) played well, making Rudd look like a 'regular bloke'. Crusty old Labor polly doesn't get it. It's not about telling people what you stand for. It's about giving people the chance to find out what you REALLY stand for. Of course there's a bit of conflict there.

Also unions have failed to engage young people in the IR campaign. A lot of speakers don't seem to know anything about it at all. Lambs to the slaughter really.

Lots of talk about "strong economy" but only one person has talked about how Australian workers aren't getting their fair share. Also well said whoever mentioned the lack of the focus on the future with the govt.'s economic management. People want to know where are we going from here.

Global warming skeptic, votes Liberal of course. Reckons his vote can be won only by focusing on issues that directly affect him. Basically pay him and you win. Nice. Non Liberal aligned voters seem open to new information and appear willing to consider it. Liberal aligned voters on the panel seem to be pretty much in lockstep.

Show's over.

So, clearly we're doomed. The only young voters who care are in it for themselves. The rest just aren't sure. Damned by indifference. Are we going to look back on this election in 50 years and think back on how we could have made a difference but just couldn't be fucked?

Also, about this blog. We set it up for people to contribute, to talk about things they feel are important or just to express themselves. Why not make the leap from reader to contributor?