Whoa, waay too many comments with all too valid points.
Investors (not just property investors) get benefits, why pick on property investors as being the boogey? Those who are creative enough can make 30+% pa year on year in the stockmarket even under the current conditions with minimal risk, do we whinge about them? It is much easier to make that sort of money with a little knowledge than to sit around an bust your b@lls trying to get a +ve cashflow property.
Every (new)generation whinges about the cost of housing, historically each generation has moved a few km's further away from the CBD to buy their first home but had the expectation that they should be able to afford something bigger & better than their parents' house at a much younger age.
Stamp duty, how unfair! Us poor property owners have to pay this impost on purchases whereas other investors don't. There are smaller transactional costs imposed on other investments and none on others. Do we whinge about this inequality?
Uni, the cheapest education around. Yes, I may sound blaise about it but tell me, which courses cost $50K+? Science based degrees, where there is a lot of lab work/materials required might cost a little more but most other degrees are relatively cheap, ie less than $20k (unless you are an overseas student and paying the full cost of around $100k). Pull your collective heads in. Even post grad costs around $1500/subject (and that is generally tax deductible). Oh poor me!!!! I had to pay for my degree and will have to pay it off over the next 20 years
An earlier poster made the observation that rather than p!$$!ing their weekly earnings up against the wall and buying the latest & greatest electronica/car/feel good item, they invested and got ahead. Their recommendations fell on deaf ears with their mates. That is the difference is getting ahead, the mindset. Don't whinge about it, get off your butt and do something about it.
Another comment about the cost of living being so much higher. Yes it is. But how many people out there are paying $1000's for their telecoms? Internet may be an essential, so may be the mobile but cutting out some of the excesses like subscriber tv, that second or third mobile with all the net access, downloading music and the rest? Why do we need 4 tvs in a house? Do we really need the second car? (Yes, this is another greenie bugbear of mine, there is no incentives to use public transport unlike tax deductibilty for cars).
I had an epiphany over the last few days seeing the highs and the lows of the economy within the family. Christmas, feasted with one side of the family (seafood, ham, pork, turkey, deserts) then boxing day with the other side (bbq snags, kebabs, desert). One lot, the older generation were proactive built up their wealth and now have a very comfortable lifestyle, some of their kids have their heads screwed on and have built up their own wealth, leading by example, their kids have holiday jobs as well, some of the others still struggling even though they have their own houses but have all the trinkets & electronica around the house. The other lot, mum works hard & tries her best but doesn't earn much, the kids have the expectations but don't lift a finger to help around the house, won't get a part-time job nor register for the dole just prefer to bludge off mum (even got sacked from a fully indentured apprenticeship because diddums didn't like being told what to do). Gave these kids (16yrs +) their presents, only to be asked "can I bring my mate?" What is the expectation? Must everything be given to them (& their bludging mates)? or am I just getting old and grumpy? My observation is that there is a big divide in our society but it is not caused by the attitude of the parents but through the association of the young with their lazy mates (whose parents have given them everything but the will work).
Back in your cage...Rant off.
