The State of our Nation

Being negative about anything these days can often draw criticism, and with that in mind, what I’m about to do will leave me open to just that.

I’m reminded of the saying that goes “Evil prospers when good men do nothing”, and although that’s not totally appropriate here, the sentiments are. For my purposes, let’s modify it to say, “Unhelpful policies prosper when good and wise men do nothing.”

I can’t change the world, none of us can, but I do feel however that it’s time for fair, reasonable and sensible thinking people to consider whether our Governments are making wise decisions on our behalf, and in our best interests? If they’re not, is there something we can or should do about it collectively?

Some (but certainly not all) of the things we all have to contend with in 2018 include –

Politicians who seem more interested in vote catching and tearing each apart, than governing for the good of the people.

Elected governments are not being allowed to govern. Opposing parties invariably block legislation that’s put forward, even legislation that has played a part in an election result.

A banking system that clearly has numerous serious black marks against it and yet still appears to operate in the same manner.

An energy sector that confuses, abuses and misuses their power at the expense of consumers.

A telephone system that is anything but efficient and user friendly.

An NBN service that has caused more problems than it’s addressed.

An airline system where one passenger can pay as much as 5 times more for a similar seat on the same plane for the same flight.

Doing business with government departments, such as Centrelink, can now mean waiting weeks or months for an answer or response.

Lodging a legitimate complaint with authorities such as the Telecommunications or Energy Ombudsmen, the ACCC, the Department Fair Training has become too complicated, too time consuming and too frustrating for ordinary people.

Many of us are being bombarded by telemarketing and scam calls, as many as 4 -5 a day and there’s virtually no way to stop them completely.

Anyone with a computer is constantly at risk of being caught by scammers, despite anti-virus protection.

The news media is constantly being found guilty of reporting stories that are fake, damaging, untrue, damaging, misleading and more, yet no government or authority seems to have the necessary power to hold them to account, fine or penalise them or anything else.

Small businesses are said to be the biggest employer in the Country, and the backbone of the Country, yet Governments by their actions, appear to have little or no idea on what small businesses really need from them.

Our nations tax system continues to penalise those who want to work, while still having no answers for ensuring multi-nationals and overseas companies pay an appropriate tax for their activities in Australia.

Our Governments seem to think it makes good sense to let the gambling frenzy that we now live with go unchecked, provided they include a disclaimer along the lines of “Gamble responsibly”.

Governments seem unable to be consistent when dealing with issues that involve various interest groups. For example, Christian values, traditions and practices are being removed from Schools, Parliament etc. while Aboriginal values, traditions and practices are now being introduced more widely.

Progress at all levels of Government is getting held up or bogged down more and more by small lobby groups.

Court rulings now appear to never be final. How often do we hear, “they’ll appeal”, again and again?

 “Service” today often means waiting on a phone for extended periods of time, talking to a machine, pushing buttons and even if you do talk to a person, they could be anywhere in the world and will not give you their name.

“Failing” students in some training institutions is no longer allowed as an option.

Mental health issues are now being described the new cancer.

And on a lighter note….

Most exercise many people get today is pushing buttons on a phone or tablet.

Coffee is now possibly the biggest addiction and greatest unnecessary expense for most average people in 2018.

We now can’t even trust the honey we buy to be genuine.

Climate change still sees people greatly divided on the subject.

After reading this, does it not beg the question –

Is it not time for our Governments to re-think a few things?