No to a US style working poor - Shorten

Well fuck me! Has Bill Shorten started developing a back bone instead of being Mr Nice Guy? With the disaster that's unfolded since the Abottalipse began, there hasn't been much coming from the new opposition leader Bill Shorten. People have been aghast at what such a moron as Abbott could do as our new Prime Minister, in fact seeing him do it, but there's been fuck all opposition from the opposition (now Labor for the overseas people). I at one point during some disastrous Abbott thing that I was reading about, was surprised to see the oppositions position came from the acting opposition leader, rather than Shorten himself. Online ravings have almost pleaded for Shorten to get with the bloody program and crucify Abbott in the media. But we got fuck all from him. 

In the end Abbott's current poll collapse I guess you could say was because of Abbott himself, and not some political opportunist from the other side of the chamber bleating on forever about how bad us poor Aussie's were evidently supposed to be doing under Labor Lieberal. In short, it enabled Abbott to hang himself with all the rope he would ever need. Hmmmmmmmmm......... Perhaps Bill Shorten is smarter than we think?

Whatever the political play, I'm guessing he's moving in for a bit of biffo now. In this case he attacks the Abbott gov's stance on Australia's minimum wage, calling it part of a US style system of working poor that we as Australians should not want. Well, paraphrasing there, but Shorten puts it much better than me:

The federal opposition leader, Bill Shorten, says he will not support the creation of a US-style working poor in Australia, after business groups called for any minimum wage increase to be deferred this year.

.................................. 

But Shorten said 1.5m Australians relied on the minimum wage, which was part of the strong safety net to prevent an underclass of working poor. 

There was a process to set the minimum wage and all parties were welcome to put their position. 

"Labor does not support a working poor as we see in the United States," he said on Thursday. more

Exactly. 

So I'm starting to build up a sort of personal tally of my life that Abbott is thinking about, or alreading is acting on, of how he's threatening to fuck up my life and others.

• Floating the idea that the sick/poor should pay for a shortfall (if one exists) on the money being paid into Medicare through a $5 GP tax.
• Floating the idea that the sick/poor are all a bunch of hypochondriacs who engage in using a doctor too much and costing the country too much.
• Floating the idea that perhaps we don't need a minimum wage negotiated through an independent umpire after all parties have made their submissions, as business is "doing it tough". Business can't afford another increase even if it's only a piss weak $15 a week.

I dunno there's probably more, but these are at the forefront at the moment. As far as the minimum wage thing, it's because my daughter makes a decent wage now in what she does. I do not want to see her qualifications cheapened, or her wage under pressure because the minimum wage part of the economy collapses. 

And why is this even a discussion in the media? How about putting the executive salaries down to a minimum wage then? Or maybe we could simply make the executives try and live off the minimum wage here (about $600 or so a week I think before tax) in the hope they'd gain some compassion. Yes, rewarding yourself for your success is fine, but why line your pockets at the expense of those who can least afford it? 

Take note any shareholders reading this who continually demand higher profits at whatever cost. I know what it's like to be tensely fighting for a small chunk of $ just to keep up with inflation. Just too survive. How could any gov in it's right mind attack even that for those who earn the least?