Posts Tagged ‘Government’
How often do you get to interview a former Prime Minister let alone Australia’s second longest serving one? I’m assuming not often.
I had started reading John Howard’s Book Lazarus Rising, and wondered what it would take to have a book signing event here at VIVO Cafe. So “my people asked his people” and my night with a PM began to take shape. Then came the offer: would I like to interview him? Well, yes. I think. I suppose I could. Probably. I said yes before I thought about it too much. How hard could it be to ask intelligent questions, keep an audience interested, keep him interested, look and sound as if it was actually an everyday occurrence and NOT make it political. Okay Angela, stay calm, you’ll be fine.
It has seemed in the past (and still perhaps) that we have been quiet as business owners with regards to how we are treated by our politicians and government.
We have tended to keep our head down and get on with the job. Our job, our risk, our problems. We are almost pre-disposed to accepting what is dealt to us with little if any opposition. Interest rates going up, up and more up, banks reducing funds access to small business (when we were not the ones over borrowing), our overheads skyrocketing - power, gas, fuel, stock, wages….. When will it end?
Well, the Government has seen fit to announce how wonderfully thoughtful they have been to actually take into consideration small businesses. Whoopee. If they keep doing us favours like these, we may actually topple over - from sheer frustration. When will any Government really look at easing the burden small business carries? They just keep dressing things up hoping we won’t notice that we are actually being undermined again, that we are being asked to pay yet again, that we are going to bear more pressure, again.
Sure, lower Company Tax sounds good. If we were ALL incorporated. Most of us are not, we are small business partnerships and sole traders. There is a clue in there somewhere - SMALL. Of course, even if you are a Pty Ltd, you can wait a couple of years can’t you? Surely your profits are so huge that the increase in Super payments to employees of 12% wont wipe out this gain will it? After all, we are known for posting those billion dollar profits each quarter, why not give some back. I’m all for giving - give more to electricity, give more to gas, give more to rent, give, give, give.