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Retire and be Damned ...

Down in Australia we have a big problem with being an ageing population. Treasury figures just out suggest that in the next 40 years our over-65 years old population will more than double to 25% of the people here.

Worse is to follow with the current five working people to one retiree dropping to 2.5 people for each one by 2042.

Now that's bad ... who is going to pay for my 150th birthday party if no-one is working?

So a slightly panicking Government is going to set out what people need to do in a discussion paper and then tell us all about it.

Firstly, we have to work longer. No more retiring at 55.

Okay we'll live with that, but let's face it - Australian governments have allowed big businesses to retrench hundreds of thousands of workers to be more cost-effective and in doing so have created a pool of unemployed 40 to 60-year-olds who can't get work.

Seems that the idea of sacking as many people as possible may not have been such a good one after all - you dorks.

And the Government is thinking of a range of measures to get people to stay in the workforce longer and work harder. They include fewer laws on employment to "encourage older people to part-time work".

Now I hate to say this but, you morons, that's not going to solve anything and my reasoning is this.

People are now so jaded with being dicked around by employers, the taxman and politicians that they are increasingly only working to get the money they need to get by on. Therefore they earn less, spend less and pay much less tax. Full time workers pay more tax (usually) but fewer people want full-time work for lifestyle choices and employers can't attract good people to go full-time.

You see Australian bosses have shown no loyalty to workers for some decades and have deliberately gone for part-time workers to reduce costs. People don't want to work for bad bosses and if they can afford to not do so they won't.

And, how about our hideous tax regime that absolutely slogs high-income earners and is the biggest disincentive to working harder and longer ever thought up by a cretin.

Why work five days a week when the last day is pretty much all for the taxman? In fact, why kill yourself working four days a week if you can get by on three-days' pay? Or two ...?

And so as business and government fair poo themselves about the future, I'm just going to tootle on in my own little way.

Do I get anything from the Government for the exorbitant taxes I have paid over the years? Bugger all except a daily rise in stomach acids as I see them with their fat noses in the trough.

How many non-working folk do my tax dollars keep without them needing to go to work? Too bloody many - and I'm not talking about old-age pensioners either, they've worked and paid taxes they deserve their dosh!

And while I'm at it why should we put any more money into superannuation when the Government just sees it as a fund for them to dip their greedy hands into whenever they feel like it?

Or save more money and pay tax on the pitiful interest the generous banks try not to hand over?

Fair go, any fool could see this trouble coming years ago and unless hard work is rewarded properly - with respect and decent pay, then any sensible person would say stick it!

I'm off to the beach. Byeeeeeeee.

If there is something that has really got up your nose, let Grumpy Old Coot know at grumpy@webwombat.com