Housing (and home loan) affordability … again
By Wealth Foundations The “experts” claim housing is as affordable as it was in the 1980’s … We have discussed housing affordability, either directly or indirectly, in a number of previous articles e.g. “Are Australian house prices too high?” of August 2012. Our view of almost three years ago was that housing prices then were…
Life in a windowless box: the vertical slums of Melbourne
Ralph Horne, RMIT University and Megan Nethercote, RMIT University Australia’s apartment boom is in full swing. Nationally, 40% of new dwellings are now apartments or units, and building approvals outnumber those for houses. Melbourne and Brisbane are the most extreme cases, but these trends are national; and they are fundamentally reshaping the future of urban…
You are your life, and nothing else
Existentialist philosophers teach us that we alone are responsible for creating a meaningful life in an absurd and unfair world. Standing on a cliff, a sense of disorientation and confusion cloud you. Not only are you afraid of falling, you also fear succumbing to the impulse of throwing yourself off. Nothing is holding you back….
Fortescue’s roster changes signal waning of the cashed-up FIFO era
Margaret Giles, Edith Cowan University Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group will change their rostering system in an effort to drive down their wages bill. It’s a move likely to be seen as good news by shareholders, and made as iron ore prices fall, demand for commodities softens, growth in China slows and as ratings…
The problems with relying on the bank of mum and dad
Mamiza Haq, The University of Queensland Ask a parent how far they would go to support the financial aspirations of their children, and chances are they will say: “Yes, if I had the money I would be happy to act as a guarantor for my children to purchase a property.” Australian capital city house prices…
The 10 Biggest Energy Company Bankruptcies
Running a multi-billion dollar energy company isn’t easy. Just ask the executives in the corner suites of some of the energy companies that have gone bust over the years. Some, like Enron, were brought down because of insider malfeasance. A few, like ATP, blamed damaging government policies, while others went off the rails due to…
Losing ourselves to technology
Millie’s vision became blurred and then she lost consciousness. Stressed and overworked, she took two weeks off, booked herself into a retreat, and slowly regained a sense of what she thought she’d lost. She’d been nothing more than an information processor for ten years. Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan realised 30 years before the emergence of…
There’s more to personality than a test score
By Luke Smillie, University of Melbourne Have you ever completed a personality test and felt dissatisfied with your scores? Maybe you’ve quibbled with the low score you received on extroversion – a personality trait reflecting outgoing and gregarious behaviour. Well, fine, you’re not a party animal, but when you are out with your friends you…
What is and isn’t a ‘sovereign risk’
By Margaret McKenzie, Deakin University The use of the term “sovereign risk” by Trade Minister Andrew Robb to describe the federal budget stalling in the senate shows just how fast and loosely the term has come to be used. But to whom is the risk? Who would bear the cost of the downside? What caused…
Social media and the loss of ideals
Sum yourself up in a couple of words. Users of social media do it to introduce themselves online. “Surfer, father, writer, film director.” “Yogi, vego, humanitarian.” “Banker, golfer, traveller.” You’re unlikely to see someone list their personal ideals, the goals to which they strive, or the principles that govern their behaviour – “Integrity, Love of…
