Gina Rinehart, the richest woman in the world, has over the past few years become concerned about the direction of Australia according to her latest article in the Australian Resources & Investment Magazine.
“It goes back to something Australian’s used to understand well: almost every home understood that you had to earn revenue before you could spend it.”
Rinehart said we need to start living within our means. “It may not be popular, but we need to get back to these basic understandings.”
“The path of increasing debt that we are on will lead to the same problems than Europe has. This is some legacy our overspending is leaving for the next generations.”
“I hope our young Australians look at what’s happening in Europe and quickly realise the folly of the popular concept that money just falls from the sky without being earned, and that the government knows better than we how to spend our money and run our lives.”
Earlier this week, Mission Australia released the results of its latest National Youth Survey. According to the survey of 15,000 young people in the 15 to 19 age group, the economy is now the biggest concern for this group, pushing the environment out of the number one spot.
Getting a job and being able to afford a house is now one of the biggest challenges facing the young. Others have parents who have lost jobs.
17 Year old Maddy Stedman told the Sydney Morning Herald, “When people are losing their jobs or finding it hard to get a job, the environment takes a back seat. The reality of needing to earn a living overrides the environment.”
49 per cent of voters on a Sydney Morning Herald poll of 5819 people said getting a job was the biggest worry as a Teenager.
» Don’t overspend, Rinehart recommends – The Sydney Morning Herald, 6th December 2012.
» What young people fear most – and it’s not the environment – The Sydney Morning Herald, 5th December 2012.
Why does the economic situation of the commoner bother Gina so much?
Like her or hate her she is exactly right. The problem is both sides of the govt or better yet all sides are useless and only care about themselves.
@ admin
33yr land banked by developers
http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2012/12/englobo-the-shady-world-of-land-banking/
I’m glad Gina Rinehart has said this. She is absolutely right, of course, and hopefully it will kickstart debate and action in Canberra. Now all she needs to do is put her money where her mouth is. As soon as the billionaires start acting like social philanthropists and actually help the situation with money and projects and jobs instead of words, the better. Then, the sheeple of Australia might just get off their lazy backsides (while getting their news from A Current Affair), pull up their socks and get this country back to honest work. And Australians – being a property investor and speculator is NOT honest work!
Totally agree with her!
On the contrary, the Govt wants us to keep spending and levering up on already overvalued asset prices so we and our Children are locked into Enormous DEPT for life – this is what the GOVT wants then they can control you…
You can imagine the impact on business and property markets if people starting living within their means.
Our economy would implode, as growth over the past 10 or so years have depended so much on DEPT rising indefinately (cheap money) so when people put the brakes on and reduce the amount of borrowed money from Banks, they will not spend as much to buy houses/cars/goods and hence Australia will start de-leveraging which is pain in the short term, but long term we would all be better off.
I do live within my means so I won’t be taking advice from a woman who inherited wealth, thanks anyway.
By “Europe” Rheinhard needs to be more precise, typical populist generalisations. Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Spain and the real basket case Greece are the problem. The leading economic nation in Europe , Germany cannot be placed in the same basket. My point is that the US, which Australia emulates ,has a far debt problem than so called “Europe”. Chinese credit not only provides the funds for the Australian real estate price bubble but also funds the massive US debt
@Fred,
Why is Germany not placed in the same basket? They were the ones whos banks were foolish enough to lend them the money in the first place. Remember for Germany to run its huge surpluses, someone has to be running a deficit. That someone was Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal etc.
@Fred Germany and France will fall hardest and worst if they continue to prop up Greece et al. I say let it all collapse and then rebuild on firmer foundations. The UK has the largest deficit of all and Sterling is being devalued to entice business, therefore keeping the property market from crashing, but at least the UK never entered the Euro! Now there’s a Canadian in charge of the Bank of England, however, just wait and see what happens to Europe – it ain’t gonna be pretty.
Australians won’t know what hit us and we should all be prepared for the global fallout. And, no, we are not immune. Work, rent and save – that should be the new motto for Australia.
She obviously doesn’t understand that our monetary system is completely different than Europe’s, so any comparison is rather meaningless.
The youth cannot take jobs which are not there. Mining directly employs less than 2% of the working population, and not everyone can inherit vast wealth. She should shut up.
One. Yes She’s right. That’s nothing profound, many people, even the debt slaves say that.
Two. Gina, I’ll take a pay cut when you do. Well not really, she wouldn’t be phased by a pay cut.