World news and my views December 2020.

Dear readers, in this blog, we have written several posts about D.I.Y. articles that dealt with building works. Having done that, now we are writing posts about social issues. We have started with this post, Farming today is still a risky business, we want to talk about social issues that can affect all of us. We will continue with Australian social issues that we have already written in the past, when these things happened; then we will follow with what is happening these days. 

We believe that to continue and make sense, we should post what has happened since, and then link everything together. So, in this blog let us talk about, World news and my views, December 2020.  

Anyhow, you can also find this article at, http://oldman-lifeworks.blogspot.com, 

My other sites; http://frankmenchise.com,http://diybrickwork.com,http://manneedsgod.co.uk  

You can see more at this addresses, DIY brickwork  and,  http://diybrickwork.com,  

To see more visit links, World News and My Views Dec. 2020. 

The way I see it it that, the corona virus pandemic has spread everywhere, and has made the world unsafe, so wherever you go you can have problems, even to get in or out of your country. Sometimes you cannot leave your home. But you must do this just to keep safe. 

Welcome to our article, World News and My Views Dec. 2020.  

The hard times we are living.  

Dear readers, I have written this article in December 2020, because I want to keep a record of what is happening these days. I believe that the time we are living today are hard times, and there is no evidence that they will be better soon in the future. Of course, the greatest problem is the COVID 19 that is hard to control even today. Perhaps on the near future, we will be able to control it with this new vaccine they want to make, let us hope it works well.

Anyhow, let me make a list of the corona virus, to compare with the list that we have written last time, and with our future lists. Perhaps we need to remember these hard times, even if most of us one day will try to forget them, as being painful times. But nevertheless, what is happening needs to be remembered, just the way it is happening to tell the story. 

Anyhow, today is near the end of December 2020, the state of Victoria has gained control of the corona virus pandemic, so, it is like the other states. Anyhow, while it seems that we are gaining control, here and there other corona virus cluster start, and people are worried in case it goes out of control again. The prime minister and the premiers of each state do what they can, but whatever they do they cop some criticism, you see people are never happy, when they are asked to do unusual things. But I believe that Australia is doing better that the rest of the world. But let us make a list about what is happening.

Today the 28^th of December 2020, Australia has had, 28312 cases positive and 908 deaths; the state of Victoria has, 20362 positive and 820 deaths; NSW. has 4858 positive and 53 deaths; Queensland has 1241 positive and 6 deaths; WA 855 positive and 9 deaths; SA. 571 positive 4 deaths; Tasmania 234 positive and 13 deaths; Canberra 118 positive 3 deaths; NT 73 positive no deaths.

Now, this is happening in the entire world, with over 80,000,000 people positive, and with USA at the top;

USA; 19,300,000 positive cases, and 337,000 deaths.

India; 10,200,000 positive cases and 148,000 deaths.

Brazil; 7,500,00 positive cases and 191,000 deaths.

Mexico 1,377,000 positive cases and 122,000 deaths.

These are the 4 countries with most deaths.

Looking at this list, we can say that Australia is still doing well compared to these 4 countries above. Because Australia death toll has not gone up much, some other countries it has gone up 30% or more.

In Europe, the second wave has caused many more deaths, one of the worst affected has been Italy. Today Italy has over 2,000,000 case positive and 72,000 deaths. Anyhow, at last some vaccines have been made, and soon they will start vaccinating people. We all hope for a good outcome, and this corona virus pandemic may soon be over. So, let us look at other world news.

-------------------------------- 

The last elections in Queensland and America.   

Now, we want to talk about the elections as we did last time, since we wanted to see the outcome, I can tell you this. The Queensland elections were won by the Labor Party and the premier Anastacia Palaszczuk, so, she can continue to do her job and be the premier of Queensland.

Now, I was thinking that the elections in America could go the same way and favor the existing government. But it was not so. Because President Trump lost the elections. The greatest difference in the running of the elections was that; The Queensland premier Anastacia Palaszczuk was talking about how to avoid the COVID19 pandemic, but President Trump completely tried ignoring the corona virus pandemic. So, was this the main cause that Donald Trump lost the elections, or was something else, we do not know.

Anyhow, President Trump did not like losing the election and has not conceded defeat, but slowly is accepting he has lost, so, we all hope that the 20^th of January, the president elect Joe Biden will be sworn in as the new President, and Trump will go quietly back to his business life, So, we are waiting for the new direction America will go, under the new administration.

We hope that they can guide America the right way, because the entire world needs America to be financially strong. We also need America to be a peaceful country, and it is up to this new administration to make laws that can solve the problem of racial discrimination, and hatred between the people and the police forces, because it seems to me that they hate each other. 

Now, this is only my view and I might be wrong, but most time in the past, from this land hereunder Australia, we were hearing President Obama say to the African Americans, I am with you, and we will investigate what has happened. When he could have said something else. You see, when he said I am with you, or something like that, he was siding with the rebellious crowd, that usually would rob and bash other people, when the police came to arrest them, they would fight the police force, and the police were forced to use violent ways to arrest them.

What I am trying to say here is this; President Obama was siding too much with the people, instead of siding with the police force, he should have told the people to be good citizen and do not rob or fight with the police force, because the police had a job to do, and their job was that they must arrest those people that make trouble. So, it is the people that start this chain reaction and hatred.

During the Trump administration these things continued to happen, and Trump did nothing to fix them. So, we hope that the new administration under Joe Biden finds a way how to fix this problem, that most people thing it is racial, when it may not be completely racial, but nevertheless it needs to be fixed. Good luck Joe Biden, if you can fix this problem, you will be a good president.  

------------------------------------

The hard times we are living.  

I believe that most people will remember the year 2020 as one of the worst years of this generation, because of the corona virus pandemic. While I am writing this article, there is some hope that the worst is over, because they have started vaccinating people. So, if this vaccine works the way they believe it will work, then the worst is over, and next year will be a different year and everything can go back to normal. But we must wait and see what happens.

Anyhow, we must hope for the best outcome, we must also think and hope that something positive can come out of this negative experience. You see, we have seen that the governments of the world, can do a lot more to help the people than we thought possible. And the people can be led to do hard things, if they are explained properly what they must do for their benefit; like to stay isolated and at home for a long time, even if some of us did not follow it properly and got in trouble.

After having seen what has happened, I believe that in the future governments, should have policies that would help the people in need more that they do now. So, we may have to have governments that are more socialist and are able to use the people money to help the needy, as they have done during this pandemic. I hope this is not just my wishful thinking, and something can be done in the future.

So, let us leave behind this dreadful year 2020, because it is nearly ended, and hope that next year things will be better, the COVID19 will end, because of the vaccine, and we are better off because we have learned how to deal with these things.   

-------------------- 

I think I have said enough in this article, and because it is the end of this year, all is left to do is to wish my readers, a safe and prosperous new year.

See you soon. 

-----------------------------

World News and My Views October 2020.

Dear readers, in this blog, we have written several posts about D.I.Y. articles that dealt with building works. Having done that, now we are writing posts about social issues. We have started with this post, Farming today is still a risky business, we want to talk about social issues that can affect all of us. We will continue with Australian social issues that we have already written in the past, when these things happened; then we will follow with what is happening these days. 

We believe that to continue and make sense, we should post what has happened since, and then try to link everything together. So, in this blog let us talk about, World news and my views, October 2020.  

Anyhow, you can also find this article at, http://oldman-lifeworks.blogspot.com, 

My other sites; http://frankmenchise.com,http://diybrickwork.com,http://manneedsgod.co.uk  

You can see more at this addresses, DIY brickwork  and,  http://diybrickwork.com,  

To see more visit links, World News and my Views October 2020 

We thought that the worst of COVID 19 was past, but there is a second wave, and the most affected state is the state of Victoria. The premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews is a worried man and working hard to save his state. But there are people that say that he has gone too far. But perhaps that is the only way open to him. 

Welcome to our article, World News and my Views October 2020 

Dear readers, this is the month of October 2020, there are a lot of things happening aroud and about to happen; so, we want to write our diary to keep track of what happens. What the world is worried about is this second wave of the COVID19. Most country’ leaders realize that it is hard to choose what to do, whether they should lock-down, or should try to keep the economy going; it seems to me that they must find a way to balance everything for the best outcome. 

In Australia strange as it seems, not every state has been affected the same way, it is a bit different from the first outbreak, when the NSW was the state with most corona-virus positive people, and the total number of death people in Australia was near 100.

Anyhow, today it is the state of Victoria that has most sick people. To understand what we are saying, let us write the number of people affected in each state, today is the 26^th of October 2020, Australia has (had) 27500 cases positive and 905 deaths; the state of Victoria has, 20340 positive and 817 deaths; NSW. has 4380 positive and 53 deaths; Queensland has 1167 positive and 6 deaths; WA 760 positive and 9 deaths; SA. 490 positive 4 deaths; Tasmania 230 positive and 13 deaths; Canberra 114 positive 3 deaths; NT. 33 positive no deaths.

Now this is not happening only in Australia, it is happening in the entire world, with over 43,000,000 people positive, and with USA at the top;

USA; 8,700,000 positive cases, and 228,500 deaths.

India; 7,900,000 positive cases and 119,000 deaths.

Brazil; 5,400,00 positive cases and 157,000 deaths.

Mexico 891,000 positive cases and 89,000 deaths.

These are the 4 countries with most deaths.

Anyhow, the entire world is worried about what is happening, in Europe a second wave has started, so, they are worried and thinking to introduce a second lock-down, they do not know what to do, because if they introduce a full lock-down again, there will be a lot of people that can be financially ruined, and then again if they don’t there can be a lot more dead people. So, they hope that a vaccine can be made soon to solve this health problem. I believe that for Europe and America is going to be hard this winter, because this virus seems to be more active when it is cold.

Now let us look at what else is happening in the world, which is about the USA elections and the Queensland elections, and the Melbourne Cup because these are what we are going to hear on the news for a while.

 

The Queensland elections. 

Because I live in Queensland and I can be affected from this election, I will talk about the Queensland elections first, the elections will be held the 31 of October. The premier Anastacia Palaszczuk does not say much what she is going to do financially after the elections, she talks only about the need to keep the borders close because of the COVID19 dangers. But there are rumors that they are going to introduce the death tax to pay for the debits that these pandemic and other things are causing. The leader of the opposition is much the same, they criticize the other party and do not say much, however, they want to cut the working force to save money. So, it is hard to decide which party you want to win.

Anyhow, we must wait to see what happens after the 31^st of October. I do not care much which party wins, I want only that wins the party that is going to tax me less.

So, I believe that it will be a busy week for news, the first week of November 2020, after we know who won the Queensland elections, there is the Melbourne Cup to follow, which this year because of the COVID19 there will not be any spectators to see the race. It will still happen, but it will be vastly different from the previous years, when all the ladies dressed lavishly to attend the race, which was half the fun.

Anyhow, today the 1^st of November 2020, at the Queensland elections yesterday the Labour Party has won again, so, Anastacia Palaszczuk is still the premier of Queensland.

Editing again, the third of November 2020, today the Melbourne Cup, the race that stops the nation working for a few minutes has been run, the horse that won the race, Twilight Payment has been leading the race from start to finish, so, nobody is contesting how the race was run.

Now there are the American elections to be held, where the entire world wants to know, who is going to win; Donald Trump, or Joe Biden.  I wonder if the American election will be the same as the Melbourne Cup, a one-horse race, or the other way around.       

 

The American elections

We must say that the American elections are the most important in the world, because it not only affects the American people, it affects most of the western world if not all the world, because whatever America does affects everyone of us. So, people want to know, who is going to win and what are their policies.

We have President Donald Trump with his strange and colorful ways of saying things, he is a strong character and gets things done his own ways, which most times work alright.

Then we have Joe Biden, who is a calmer character, so, I wonder if he is strong enough to control the American people like Trump does. It is hard to say which one could be the better leader to lead America the next 4 years.

What seems obvious now, is that everybody is waiting for the outcome of these elections, it is like the calm before the storm. I am saying this because most of the violence that we have witnessed a few months ago has stopped, it is like that they are waiting for a favorable outcome of the election. But because there must be a losing side. The question here is, will the losing side accept the outcome of the elections or are they going to rebel? Only time can tell, so, we must wait after the election.

Today is the 8^th of November 2020, the American elections have been held, and they have been counting votes for a few days. Because the result is close. But today Joe Biden as President elect and Kamala Harris the chosen vice President have claimed victory. To me this seems a bit strange, because President Donald Trump has not conceded defeat yet, so, I wonder if this can be legally done. 

Anyhow, last time I heard President Trump speak he said that he is going to contest the outcome of this election, because they are counting illegal votes. Therefore, now America and the entire world are waiting what is happening next. The question here is; will President Trump accept and concede defeat soon? Or can he come up with enough evidence to contest the election result. We are all continuing to wait and see what he will do next. Anyhow, I start to believe that there is a sort of destiny, because of what can be happening next.

 

The force of destiny. 

Anyhow, I believe that the American elections have been won and lost because of the corona virus disease, if the COVID19 did not exist, or President Trump was better at talking to the people how to defend themselves from this disease, then he could have won the elections. But the only think he said was, that a vaccine would be made soon to control the disease, but most people did not believe him, they believed Joe Biden that was saying that the vaccine was far way.

Anyhow, today is the 10^th of November 2020, so, it is one week after the elections, and for the first time they claim that they have made a good corona-virus vaccine. The point that I want to make here is, if people had known that the corona-virus would be available soon. President Trump could have won the elections?

I believe that there is a sort of destiny, and the outcome of these elections will be felt for a long time to come.    

That is all, to see more, click on this link,  World News and my Views October 2020.  

See you next time.  

--------------------------------

Australia coming out from COVID 19.

Dear readers, in this blog, we have written several posts about D.I.Y. articles that dealt with building works. Having done that, now we are writing posts about social issues. We have started with this post, Farming today is still a risky business, we want to talk about social issues that can affect all of us. We will continue with Australian social issues that we have already written in the past, when these things happened; then we will follow with what is happening these days. 

We believe that to continue and make sense, we should post what has happened since, and then try to link everything together. So, in this blog let us talk about, Australia coming out from COVID 19. 

Anyhow, you can also find this article at, http://oldman-lifeworks.blogspot.com, 

My other sites; http://frankmenchise.com,http://diybrickwork.com,http://manneedsgod.co.uk  

You can see more at this addresses, DIY brickwork  and,  http://diybrickwork.com,  

To see more visit links, Australia Coming out From Covid 19. 

This is how the corona virus pandemic is shown to the world. Everyday on TV this roundish thing with many tentacles comes up, it is like seeing an enemy that is hard to beat, because it is round and has this rough surface, it make you worry. 

Australia coming out from COVID 19. 

Welcome to our article, Australia Coming out From Covid 19. 

Dear readers, we have written this article in June 2020. And here we are continuing to talk about what is happening in Australia, with a view of keeping a record to remind us of the time when these things have happened. So, I am starting to write this article at the beginning of June 2020. Anyhow, I will be writing about the corona-virus and the effect it has on the economy. I know that what I am writing here are only the views of a simple person, but anyhow it will be still my record of what is happening.

I believe that Australia is still the lucky country because we have had only 102 death people so far, which is about 4 deaths per million people. In comparison with Italy that has over 33000 deaths, which is about 550 deaths per million. So, Australia has been lucky so far, and if we are careful, we can escape the worst.

Anyhow, in times like this escaping the virus is only the start, because after that we need to fix the economy; the economy needs to be fixed, because the government has spent a lot more money than they would have spent in normal times. You see, they have spent all this money to keep the people in lock-down at home. Now the people will start working again, once they all work, they will produce things and earn money and pay taxes to the government, so, the government will slowly recuperate the money they have spent to keep the people in lock-down. I believe that all this has worked well. So, in my view, the government this time has changed a bit from their normal capitalist policies, where everybody works and earns money for himself, to partly like a communist government, where most of the money belongs to the people, and everybody should share their money equally. At least this is what some people want us to believe.

Anyhow, we can say that the corona-virus pandemic, has brought changes to the ways the world governments were running business. So, it is more likely that in the future, when things are not running well in some economy, the governments are more likely to step in and help.

Now let us talk about the present times, I believe that a lot of things can be reviewed and planned; if possible, for a better outcome. Perhaps it will be a long time before things go back to normal, and if they cannot go back to normal, we must accept to change about what needs to be changed.

Looking at the ways we are living today, it is vastly different from say 60 years ago. You see, 60 years ago people did not catch an aircraft and fly everywhere in the world, everything moved slower than today, holidays were spent locally or not far away, if you wanted to go overseas in a faraway country, you saved money and planned your holiday for years, then you sailed away to the country you wanted to visit; most of the time we spent more time on the ship that the country we visited, but we still enjoyed life then.

Anyhow, if after this COVID 19 scare, it is advisable to travel less, it is not going to make much difference to our standard of life, in fact, it might be better, because than we can live a normal life, instead or running all around the world, just to say I have been here there and many other places. Anyhow, this is not the only thing that may change, because there are many other things, starting from the economy, because during the epidemic it has slowed down a lot, we lost so much momentum that it is going to be hard to return to normal. So, let us talk about it.

------------------------------

Let us imagine the effect on the economy.  

During the corona-virus pandemic, the Australian Government like many other governments in the world, has spent a lot of money on welfare, so, people could stay home and avoid spreading the virus. It has worked well to contain the virus, but in most cases, it has had a negative effect on the economy.

Anyhow, now that we have gained some control on this contagious disease, it is necessary that people go back to work in stages to keep the economy going, and hope the virus can still be contained; if it can be contained, then we are well on the way of recovery, but we need to be extra careful, because a second wave can occur.

Now to recover financially is not going to be easy, because the government has spent a lot of money. Then in some industries people cannot go back to work the way they worked before the pandemic. There needs to be adjustment like social distancing, which most likely means, it is going to cost more to run this business and earn less; I believe that the government is still willing to help in some cases, and that is good.

Anyhow, what has happened may bring changes to the ways we were living before the corona-virus pandemic, because we might be forced to live in a different way. So, while there will be negative changes happening, there can be positive things also, it is up to us, if we plan everything properly, in a few years things may even be better than before, because during the epidemic we have noted many changes, that can bring positive things in the future.

You see, during the time of the corona-virus crisis, we have noted that the environment has returned to normal, the air we breathe was a lot cleaner, no more smog in the cities and other things that can help. It was like Mother Nature telling us that we need to change, whether we will change I do not know.  

---------------------------

What has happened can change many things. 

Anyhow, apart what we have said above about the environment, there are many other things that we have noted. You see, I believe that this is the first time that most governments have stepped in and helped everybody financially, and it is a good thing that this financial help has happened, because it shows that governments are flexible, and even if their policies are based on capitalism, where everybody is left to compete by themselves to get the best share they can, and in doing so they can keep the price down, which is good for the economy of the country. Anyhow, this time because of the corona-virus scare the governments have used a communist way, to solve their problems. You see, they have used the people money to help everybody.

Because of what has happened, there is hope, that in the future the central government may play a larger economic role in our lives. There is also hope that what they have done this time, can become an integral part of their policies. So, whenever people find themselves in financial difficulties, the central government can step in to help.

So, many things can change in the future, we may even have a better welfare system, where everybody is paid from the government, when they need help, but that is something that needs to be worked out if it can be done.

Having said that, my mind takes me back to think about the drought and the farmers, which two years ago were in a bad situation, most of their stock was starving, they were working and not making any money or progress, because of the drought, and they could not even ask help from the government, because of the assets test they are deemed to be rich, most of them had no money and could not even ask for a loan, because they were overdraft and owed the bank too much money. Anyhow, when there is a drought your farmland is worth next to nothing.

I have seen the assets test also ruin pensioners, because the government assumes that you can make lots of money from your properties when you cannot. In most cases you can earn only one quarter of what they assume you can earn, but what I am saying here is a different story, so let us go back to talk about the COVID 19 effect on the economy, and if the government is going to do something about it, and make a policy that allows people to ask help from the government, when something drastic happen. We hope that there is a way for what I have said.

I know that today the government has no money to spent, because it has spent a lot on the corona-virus problem. Anyhow they have still to work how to pay for what they have spent, so, while they are doing that, they can work out other financial problems as well, we just have to hope for the best outcome.    

--------------------------------

Additional comments on the Social Security System

Today the 22^nd of October, I am adding this short post in my page of the Social Security System on Face Book because I have been prompted to post something.  

Anyhow, today because of the corona-virus pandemic the Australian Social Security System is helping a lot more people than before; we hope that this handout from the government continues in the future, because I believe that it is not going to be easy for a lot of people to go back to normal for a long time to come.

Sometimes I am inclined to think that this can be the beginning of a better social security system in the future, where the government of the country, steps in to help everybody that needs help. I know that this will cost a lot of money to the government, so, they need to work out how this can be achieved, they need to aim for a fair distribution of the commonwealth of the country.

Having said that, now I wonder what other people think about what is happening. 

This is all for now. To see more click on this link, Australia Coming out From Covid 19. 

See you soon.      

Australian economy and rentals.

Dear readers, in this blog, we have written several posts about D.I.Y. articles that dealt with building works. Having done that, now we are writing posts about social issues. We have started with this post, Farming today is still a risky business, we want to talk about social issues that can affect all of us. We will continue with Australian social issues that we have already written in the past, when these things happened; then we will follow with what is happening these days. 

We believe that to continue and make sense, we should post what has happened since, and then try to link everything together. So, in this blog let us talk about, Australia economy and rentals. 

Anyhow, you can also find this article at, http://oldman-lifeworks.blogspot.com, 

My other sites; http://frankmenchise.com,http://diybrickwork.com,http://manneedsgod.co.uk  

You can see more at this addresses, DIY brickwork  and,  http://diybrickwork.com,  

To see more visit links, Australian Economy and Rentals.

Let us look at this old low-set house in Brisbane to compare the cost, this is a typical house that can cost the owner a lot of money to keep running, as we will explain in the text. At the present time when this article was written the first time, this house was rented at $400 per week, as an investment is dose not make much. 

Australian economy and rentals. 

Welcome to our article,  Australian Economy and Rentals. 

Today because of the corona-virus lock-down issue, a lot of people cannot work, this will impoverish the Australian economy, so, it will create several problems. However, the federal government is pumping money to avoid the worst and keep the workers ready to resume work when this disease stops. We all will be affected in different ways, so, every one of us has different views. Anyhow, I am writing this article to have my say, about how I understand the Australian economy and house rentals.

So, let us discuss the Australian economy and the residential rental market, because some people cannot understand what is involved. So, we must start from the beginning to explain everything the way we know it. Our explanation may not be perfect, but it will be very close to the truth.

As most of us know, the entire Australian economy is based on competition, even the workers must work hard, so that they can earn just a little bit more than what they cost the employer to employ them. Then if these people that have worked hard, can save some money, they can invest this money to make more money, they can invest their money in many ways, some of this can be in residential rental properties.

So, let us talk about real estate and rental properties, because what is happening involves properties, anyhow, real estate has many problems, because it costs a lot to buy and maintain a property, then there are these fixed expenses to pay, this is what we are going to explain here.

---------------------------------

The unavoidable cost of properties. 

First and foremost is the cost of the property to buy, then there is the running cost. So, let us see what the fixed expenses are. Let us start with insurance, plus the local authority charges, namely, rates and water and sewerage, and the worst of all land tax. Land tax gives you nothing back, but they charge you thousands of dollars because they need the money; so, you must pay them, because you own these rental properties.   

Having said that, now I must say that real estate is one of the major backbones of the Australian economy, but it change with no warning. Therefore, if something like this happen on a large scale, the entire Australian economy will suffer. So, the economy must be kept running. Now, the government is pumping as much money as they can to keep the workers in place and the economy going. 

Anyhow, today there are these nut people that think they can get away and pay no rent, because they have lost their job due to the corona-virus that has closed many businesses. But this cannot be sustained by the property owners, because most properties are owned from people that rely on the rent to live, and they have no other income. But even if these rental properties are owned from large investors, they still cannot afford to discount their rent, and if they must, it can only be very little. you see, the margins that they are working on are small, because they are competing. So, let me write an example, how much money is needed to run an average rental house. The figures are only average figures for working out this example.

Insurance $1200 per year, council rates $570 per quarter and urban utilities $350 per quarter this gives you a total of $4880 plus land tax. Now the land tax has a threshold, which most times covers the house you are living in, but once you are over that; the land tax can be $1.7 per thousand of the land-value per year and going up. So, say your taxable land value of this house is 500,000; your land tax can be $8,500.00 This will bring a total of $13,380.00. This fixed expenses alone, can be more than half the rent collected. Then there is also maintenance to add, and what about the investment? 

Anyhow, this is a very rough estimate that can apply to some properties, but I hope you see what I mean. So, rent must be paid, for the owners to make any money to repay their loans and other things to keep their investment running, or the rental market may not exist anymore. If that happens; where are people going to live? Will the government then build the rental properties required? I doubt it, Australia has always needed the private sector, that works in competition to keep the prices down.  

------------------------------

Rentals and the Australian economy. 

At this point of time, the federal government is trying to keep everything running as usual. But there are things that can become uncontrollable, because the lock-down to control the spread of the corona-virus, stops people working and earning money, a chain reaction can result, the economy will be adversely affected.

We believe that the rental market will be affected, especially the residential market. As you know, tenants and landlords are always arguing about rent payments. 

The prime minister said that the owners cannot evict their tenants, even if they don’t pay the rent. This will give the tenants what they want, so, most of them will not pay the rent, even when they can afford to pay it.

I hope that the prime Minister Dr. Scott Morrison, will look at this issue and make it clear to the tenants that the rent needs to be paid. My view on this subject is that those that cannot pay, must go to Centrelink and explain their position, and when Centrelink pays them, they can pay the rent. Anyhow, I believe that they can pay the rent, if they live in affordable accommodations. Those that live in expensive accommodations may have to work it out another way.

In Australia, the rental market is part of the economy, so, it would be helpful, if when the corona-virus disease ends, the Australian rental market is still working, and it is able to go back to normal quickly. Otherwise, it may create a chain reaction, that Australian cannot afford to have. 

 

Let us discuss what can be done.

We believe that the three tiers of governments: the federal government, the state government and the local government (the councils), must work something out what can be done to keep the rental market going, while the corona-virus lock-down is active, and then, how everything can go back to normal later. But let us see what is being done now.

Well not much has been done, because it is a difficult thing to work out, there is still a bit of confusion, while the landlords want their agreed rent paid, the tenants pay unwillingly, let us hope that this corona-virus disease disappears, and everything comes back to normal. Because we need at least some direction from the government that says how much rent is a fair amount of rent to be paid. But even this may not work out, because it involves calculating what people earn, and most people are unwilling to tell you that.

Anyhow, what I am writing next is something that is being discussed at the state level. They want to suggest that the tenants pay no more than 30% of their income as rent. There are a couple of questions here: (One) Are the tenants willing to show the landlords all their income? (Two) Will this amount of rent be enough to cover the landlord’s expenses? This nobody knows.  

I think that I have said enough in this article. So, we are going to wait and see what happens, and then will write another article to discuss the outcome.

See you soon.

-------------------------

Australia and the Corona virus.

Dear readers, in this blog, we have written several posts about D.I.Y. articles that dealt with building works. Having done that, now we are writing posts about social issues. We have started with this post, Farming today is still a risky business, we want to talk about social issues that can affect all of us. We will continue with Australian social issues that we have already written in the past, when these things happened; then we will follow with what is happening these days. 

We believe that to continue and make sense, we should post what has happened since, and then try to link everything together. So in this blog let us talk about, Australia and the corona virus. 

Anyhow, you can also find this article at, http://oldman-lifeworks.blogspot.com, 

My other sites; http://frankmenchise.com,http://diybrickwork.com,http://manneedsgod.co.uk  

You can see more at this addresses, DIY brickwork  and,  http://diybrickwork.com,  

To see more visit links, Australia and the Coronavirus

This photo shows us how the corona-virus has spread in Australia, this is the end of March 2020, we have to keep in mind that the virus is spreading quickly, so, everybody is worried, we are all waiting for instructions from the authorities in charge. 

Australia and the Corona virus. 

Welcome to our article, Australia and the Coronavirus. 

Dear readers, if you are reading this blog now, for it to make sense you need to think that this is a diary that I have been writing, so you should imagine how things were at the time that I have written this article. Anyhow, today the entire world is facing this health problem that can even kill you, we hope that this Corona-virus disease will not touch us, and if we happen to catch it, we hope to survive. I hope that I will not catch it, because I am an old man now and old men are those that die most. Anyhow, I hope to survive and one day tell you the story of my survival. So, I have decided to write this article and write those things that seem important; it will be like a diary that will help me remember those things that are happening now.

Anyhow, let me see how I can start my story.

Today is the 26^th day of March 2020, and in Australia there are 2728 people that are Corona-virus positive, there are 11 deaths and 118 recovered. The number of the Corona-virus positive seem to grow quickly, so, I am worried. In China were the virus started has 80,000 people with corona-virus, and more than 3000 people have died. To control the spread they have had this lock-down, and people had to stay inside their houses for a few months, this has reduced the number of the infected to a minimum, but still they are worried that the disease can come back.

Many other countries have been infected, so, they have followed their example and locked the inhabitant down, but this virus seems very virile and their infected people continue to increase, today the 27 of March 2020 Italy positive sick is surpassing China, but Italy has 8000 deaths, that is at least twice as many deaths, everybody is worried, as there is no end in sight.

In Australia the government is doing what they can to control this virus, that seems an enemy that we cannot see, but it can kill you. They have banned many activities and told people to stay inside. Many businesses where people can come in close contact have been ordered to close, because people can catch the corona-virus disease.

Here in Australia, the federal government and the state governments do their best, and Scott Morrison the prime minister pops up on TV every now and then, telling us what is being done and what wants us to do to control the spread of this virus. It is near impossible to live a normal life. Everybody is worried and a bit scared and nobody knows how this is going to end. I believe that in Australia, like China and Italy, the entire country or part of it, will be in lock-down soon and nobody can go around, except for those that must do urgent things for survival.

-----------------------------------

How some people see this situation. 

Because of the chaos that this epidemic brings with it, people tend to understand what is being said in strange ways, this can bring even more chaos and needs to be sorted out. They go shopping and they buy a lot more than what they need presently, so that they can keep at home for the future; strange as it may seem, the most item that they want is toilet paper, so, they empty the shop shelves of toilet paper, they also want many other items, so, they fill their trolleys with whatever they think they might need in the future; this is one of the main strange things that this corona-virus epidemic has brought.

I believe that people are worried and scared, so, they become selfish, they don’t see that if they empty the shelves of toilet paper, because they think that by being clean they can avoid this virus, they don’t see that the fellow next door, can catch the virus because he has no toilet paper, then the virus will jump the fence and catches up with them too; so, they will become infected too. Anyhow this is one of the strange things that people do, but there are many more.

Another thing that I have noted and is worth mentioning is what is happening to one of my family members that rents a house, and lives on a small budget. Anyhow, what I am going to say next, is more to do with what people think and do, is situations like this, than the corona-virus. So, while some of us feel sorry and pray for the sick and the dead and their families, some others want to use the corona-virus to their advantage, and they don’t care about the others. So, I am going to tell you what people do.   

------------------------------------

What people think and do. 

Anyhow, these tenants, because of the corona-virus lock-down, they have lost their job, so, they don’t want to pay the rent, or at most pay only half the agreed rent. I don’t understand from where they have picked up this idea, but this is what they want to do. They think that the owners can afford to lose their rent payments, but they cannot. My views on this is that the federal government is giving them enough money to eat and to pay the rent, so they must pay.

This idea of not paying the rent, may have come from some obscure politician that is telling the people that. But the reality is that it cannot be done, because the entire economy will suffer and may even collapse. I am going to talk about this in more details in another article, because now I want to show you what Scott Morrison is giving the people that have lost their jobs.

This example has been taken from the internet, and I quote:

 Craig lost his job. He has no other work so made his intent to claim via MyGov. He's not eligible for other welfare.

The Government processed his claim on April 13. His first three payments are (figures are approximate):

April 13: $1,610 made up of:

·        Jobseeker Payment and Energy Supplement (covering 21 days backdated to March 23) — $860

·        Stimulus payment — $750

April 27: $575 made up of:

·        Jobseeker Payment and Energy Supplement — $575

May 11, then every two weeks: $1,125 made up of:

·        Jobseeker Payment and Energy Supplement — $575

·        Coronavirus Supplement — $550

End of quote.

Here I want to point out that they will receive enough money to put food on their table and pay the rent easily. Meanwhile some of the landlord that live on the earnings of their rental properties, will not be able to pay for their food, if they don’t receive their rent payments.

Anyhow, I am sorry that I have taken you to read this rental problem, when I believe our thoughts should be with the corona-virus victims, especially about the European countries, like Italy and Spain that have so many deaths, as you can see, from this corona-virus progress list. Australia is still doing well compared to them, so, may God help Australia to keep the number of deaths to a minimum. I am saying to a minimum, because it is impossible to think any other way.

------------------------------

The corona-virus progresses.

Anyhow, I want to apologies, because we have gone out of our ways and talked about the way people behave, instead of the corona-virus disease.

Anyhow, now let us write a list how the corona-virus progresses in the world, and if we somehow can stop it spreading

Today the 29 of March 2020

China over 81,500 infected, over 3,300 deaths (the country it originated)

USA over 123,000 infected, over 2,700 deaths

Italy over 92,000 infected, over 10,900 deaths

Spain over 73,000 infected, over 6,800 deaths

Australia over 3,900 infected, 15 deaths so far (the country I am writing it from)

We will come back in a few days to see what has changed.

Anyhow, here China seems to have regained some control, but the others have not.

Anyhow, in a few days, we will write hereunder another list to compare what is happening. We hope to have better news then.

Now because of the corona-virus necessary shutdown, people cannot work, and the Australian economy will suffer; this can create a chain reaction that needs to be talked about. So, we are going to write another article, where we talk about the Australian economy and rentals, since rentals are going to be affected.

----------------------------------------

Let us update the corona-virus progress.

Today is the 26 of April 2020, so, it is after one month since we started this article the first time. Now let us write a short list to see how many more people are sick or have died.

                              CONFIRMED      DEATHS      RECOVERED

United States -----------924,520---------52,296----------100,795

Spain---------------------219,764---------22,524------------92,355

Italy----------------------192,994---------25,969------------60,498

Germany---------------154,999-----------5,760------------99,928

United Kingdom------143,464---------19,506------------1,918

France------------------122,577---------22,245------------43,493

Turkey-----------------104,912-----------2,600-------------21,737

China (mainland)---88,423------------4,632-------------81,785.

What I can say about this updated list is that today, the United States of America is the country with the most confirmed sick, and the most deaths. Italy is the worst off with about 26 thousand deaths, if we consider that Italy is around 60 million people only. Other things to note are: Germany is doing well it has 155,000 confirmed positive, but only 5,760 deaths; the United Kingdom number of recovered is very low, so, we may have to ask, are they not recovering or they are not counting them? The last one I am noting is that China is the country it originated, but China today has a lot of recovered and only 4,632 deaths.

So, I wonder why, and what could be the reason?

Maybe one day will know? To see more click on this link, Australia and the Coronavirus. 

This is all for today, see you next time with our article, Australia economy and rentals.     

---------------------------------