Australia Coming out From Covid 19

Welcome to our article (102) Australia coming out from COVID 19

June 2020. Dear readers, 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 coronavirus 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 lockdown 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 lockdown. 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 coronavirus 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 aeroplane 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.

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

During the coronavirus 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 coronavirus, 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 that before, because during the epidemy we have noted many changes, that can bring positive things in the future.

You see, during the time of the coronavirus 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.

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

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 coronavirus 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 coronavirus 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.

This is all for this time, see you soon.

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

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 common wealth of the country.

Having said that, now I wonder what other people think about what is happening, and if what I wish is the right thing to wish for?

This is all for now. See you soon.

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