World News and my Views, January 2021.

 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, January 2021.  

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, January 2021. 

THE PRESIDENT ELECT JOE BIDEN

The world of politics goes up and down, today is Joe Biden turn to go up, and become the President of the USA for four years. We wish him good luck, he needs it because times are not stable, people most time take to the streets and demonstrate, let us hope that he can find a way how to keep them calm. Then there is also the corona virus to think about. 

THE OUTGOING PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP

The outgoing President Donald Trump is a strong man, he has got his own ways how he sees and says things, most times he is right; the only mistakes I have seen him make, was that he ignored the corona virus pandemic. I believe that people would have been happier, if he had given more attention to the medical side of this disease, and how to control it, instead of ignoring it. 

World News and my Views, January 2021

Welcome to our article, World News and my Views, January 2021. 

Dear readers, I am writing this article sooner than I thought, because many things have happened, so, I would like to write them in my diary to keep my own record. There are 2 important things that continue to be on the news all the time, one is the COVID19, the other one is the political scene in America and Italy. But fist let us compare the COVID19.:

Anyhow, today is the 31^st of January 2021. About the corona virus, I believe that Australia is doing better than the rest of the world. In fact, not much has happened since last time, but let us note the difference.

Today the 31^st of January 2021, Australia has had, 28,806 cases positive and 909 deaths so far. If we compare this with last time it is only 500 more cases positive and one death.

Anyhow, yesterday there was this Australia day celebration, and a lot of people came together, let us hope that this event does not spread the COVID9 pandemic. Now, at this Australia day celebration, not everybody was celebrating, because the native aborigines were protesting, letting us know that this for them is invasion day, and they are not happy about it. So, this is another problem that the Australian people and the politicians need to solve. But let us go back to talk about the COVID19 in the world.    

It seems to me that the rest of the world, is still having trouble containing the COVID19 virus, as you can see from the following list.

The entire world has over, 102,500,000 confirmed positive, that is more than 20,000,000 people in a month, the death toll stands at 2,214,000 and growing. Now let us break it down a bit.

USA; 26,300,00 case positive and 445,000 deaths, compared to last month list of, 19,300,000 positive cases, is has increased by 7,000,000 case positive and 108,000 deaths compared to last time 337,000 deaths.

India; 10,790,000 positive and 154,000 deaths. But I must assume that there is something wrong here, because for the last few days their toll does not change. So, they may have stopped counting. 

Brazil; 9,100,000 positive cases and 224,000 deaths, compared with 7,500,000 positive cases and 191,000 deaths.

Mexico 1,840,000 positive cases and 156,000 deaths, compared with 1,377,000 positive cases and 122,000 deaths, a month ago. 

These are the 4 countries with most deaths.

Followed by the United Kingdom With 3,800,000 positive cases and over 106,000 deaths and growing fast.

And then Italy with, 2,500,000 positive cases and 88,500 deaths, and growing about 500 deaths every day. 

Anyhow, the vaccines have been made, and they have started vaccinating people. We all hope for a good outcome, because there seems to be a few problems there, there are a few reactions from the vaccine, and it is going to take a long time to vaccinate the entire world population. So, we must wait and see what will happen. Meanwhile let us look at political world news. Like what has been happening in USA, and then, what is happening in Italy today. 

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TALKING ABOUT THE USA PRESIDENTS.  

The world of politics is strange to say the least. Last time, when I wrote my diary here, we were worried that the outgoing President Donald Trump, was going to make troubles, before he would leave the White House, anyhow, he made it hard to a certain point, but then he left peacefully, even if his actions were strange, because he just left the White House before the new president was sworn in, he went anyhow. Now, we are all waiting what will be his next move, or what the democrats will do to impeach him, most likely nothing will happen.

But what is the difference between Joe Biden and Donald Trump political beliefs, and if their policies are good or bad for America and the entire world, because whatever America does, affects the entire world, at least the western world. So, let us look at what I believe their policies are, or in the case of Donald Trump were.

Now what I am saying here is my personal view, so, I might be wrong, but anyhow let me tell you, How I see this situation.

Four year ago, when Donald Trump became the president, I believe that America needed a president like him. You see, he wanted to make America great again, he wanted to stop the refugees come to America by thousands, and that is what America needed then. So, Donald Trump was the right man for the Job. Anyhow he did most of what he wanted to do, but that was not enough to convince the people to let him have another go. In a way I like Donald Trump and his earlier policies, what I did not like is when he tried to ignore the corona virus pandemic, and I believe that this is the reason why he lost, and he deserved to lose for that reason.

Anyhow, today things are changing, and again it seems to me that America has chosen the right man for the present time but will President Joe Biden rum himself in trouble later we do not know, we must wait and see. This is how I see the American situation today. Anyhow, we may say that the right man comes on the scene at the right time, and when that time is gone, they disappear.

The world of politics is strange, it goes up and down, sometimes for the right reasons, at other times it just happens. Today I am wondering how far Joe Biden is going to move away from Trump politics. I believe that every president has his good and bad sides, so, if Joe Biden thinks that everything President Trump has done is wrong, he is making a great mistake, because the reason Trump won last time was that the previous government was making mistakes too.

It would be wise to be more moderate and try to balance everything the best way you can. The weakest point of the democratic party is that they want to set everybody free, and they hope that everybody does the right thing by themselves. But most people need leadership, because without leadership the poor and less educated people become selfish, when they do, they want to rob the richer people that through their hard work have got something. So, a set of rules need to exist, and a set of law keeper need to be well organized, something that the democrats hate to do. Anyhow, that is just a way that I see them failing.

Now, let me talk about the Italian politics. 

     

The unsolvable Italian political scene. 

In Italy suddenly, the prime minister Giuseppe Conte resigned, because he did not have enough support to pass laws that were needed, to keep the country going. So, today they are trying to form a new government, ether with Giuseppe Conte again as prime minister or somebody else. In Italy there are many political parties and so many leaders, and when there is a large enough party, a group in this party is not satisfied with the rest of the party and they split. When one of these groups splits, if they were forming part of the government, the government may become a minority government and is unstable to govern, just like what has happened now.

You see, a former prime minister, Matteo Renzi has split from the DP and formed his own party, then he has withdrawn his support to the present government, so, the government cannot continue, they need to pass new laws and it cannot be done.

Anyhow, today the 30^th of January 2021, the Italian President Mattarella has said to the leader of the parliament Roberto Fico to call the party leaders and see if they can come up with an agreement how to form a new majority government. Which will be most likely with Giuseppe Conte as prime minister. So, we are all waiting what will happen.

So, I have been waiting for a better result, and that everything would be resolved, with Giuseppe Conte as prime minister again. But looks like that Matteo Renzi, did not like it and has made it hard for everybody, so, after consultations President Mattarella has called on Mario Draghi to see if he can find enough support if a different government can be formed, which form of government they can form I do not know, but they are trying. If they cannot form government soon, they have to go back to vote an early election.

Anyhow, I believe that this is going to take a while, and this article is already long enough, so, I am going to publish it the way it is. we will write something else when they have sorted these political problems.

See you soon.  

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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.

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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.  

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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.   

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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. 

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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.  

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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.

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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.  

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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.    

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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.

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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.  

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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.

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