You will see a lot of polls on this site. To make it as open as possible, everyone can vote. Everyone can leave a comment (just give a name and email) and everyone can post their thoughts (by registering name, email and password).

Got something on your mind? Post it here.

Think the world isn’t quite perfect? You’re not Robinson Crusoe, Jack. Tell us about it.

The site’s going to look a little rough around the edges, -and probably worse in the middle- ’cause I ain’t no geek. By no strange coincidence, my attempts at carpentry also look like they were done by a boilermaker.

All I ask is for all posters/ contributors to show a little common courtesy. Disagreement is great, personal abuse will not be tolerated.

There’s only one rule we all should live by: Treat everyone the way you would like to be treated.

Let’s start the ball rolling.

I have 2 children. My parents worked hard to give me a better start in life than they had, and I’ve tried to do the same for my kids -as do we all. But now I’m worried.

Back in the 80′s, we went from a forty hour week for most trades, to a 38 hour week, and for office workers, a 35 hour week. Now we’re working longer hours, and it takes 2 breadwinners in every family, instead of one.

There has always been an enormous gap between rich and poor, but never as big as it is today. While the pollies love to tell us the ‘average’ wage is over $56 kpa, the median wage (that’s the wage exactly 50% of us make less than) is only around $35 kpa ($35,000. a year).

I’m guessing about 70% of us don’t make the average wage, and don’t we enjoy being told that?

Meanwhile, the people we pay to represent us get around $127k a year, plus perks and allowances. One of those allowances is being increased by $4700 a year, to about $32k. That’s right, we pay them an allowance that’s almost equal to what 50% of us get in total, on top of their $127k.

Guess which tax bracket gets the biggest tax cut in the next budget?

Or compare the median wage of $35 thousand, to the likes of Allan Moss; former CEO for Macquarie bank. Almost 34 million dollars back in 2007.

2007 was the most recent year I could Google for highest paid statistics. Cop this:

“The average earnings of Top 300 chief executives were up significantly, from $1.99 million to $2.56 million in 2006-07. This equates to $49,231 a week – close to average yearly earnings for the wider workforce at $56,732.”

$49,231 a week. About $14k more than the wages 50% of us pull in a whole year.

Is this progress? I do not consider myself a socialist, or a communist. I’m a firm believer in everyone owning their own home, and for those inclined, the chance to own their own business.

But how can anyone justify owning a thousand homes, when a thousand people own none?

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I don’t know about you, but I think this system sucks.

Of course, I don’t do anything important for my median wage. I work on a farm. I just feed people.

Allan Moss earned his 34 million. He worked out new and innovative ways to get people into debt.

We’re told Communism just doesn’t work. People employed by the Government just don’t work as hard as in private enterprise, we are told.

What’s the difference between working for a government, and working for a global corporation that’s financially bigger than most governments?

Down in the bottom two thirds, I’d put it in two words.

Job Security.

Apparently, the best way to get people to work hard, is to keep them in fear of losing their jobs.

That’s it in a nutshell. Our current system relies on keeping people in fear.

Has anyone else noticed a growing number of reports of whackos blowing away their families, before topping themselves?

I would suggest the defining characteristic of humans is their capacity for empathy.

It’s not about being clever (is a smart person more ‘human’ than a dumb one?) or able to make great tools and toys, it’s about being able to imagine what it’s like to be in someone else’s shoes.

I doubt if any animal can do that.

By this definition, there are a lot of critters walking around on two legs, that just ain’t human.

Avasay is about the forbidden subjects; Politics and Religion. About being Human.

And it’s about the future.

We need a better way.

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