Coronavirus/Covid-19 Discussion Thread (5 Viewers)

[#RoadTo31Atar]

Unpopular opinion - I think there's going to be a resurgence / 'second wave' after things (including school) start to resume...

How is this an unpopular opinion?

 

[seremify007]

I found this article on someone complaining that Job Keeper payments are taxed at their marginal rate... not sure how I'm meant to feel when a guy who earns $180k+ complains that since he got stood down and went onto Job Keeper, he's only getting $450 per week and it isn't enough to cover his mortgage payments or car loans. Hmm.

Expecting a $1500 JobKeeper payment? Not after tax

Far less than $750 a week has hit some workers' bank accounts after their employers withheld tax on JobKeeper payments at their regular rate of income.

www.smh.com.au

 

[Trebla]

Unpopular opinion - I think there's going to be a resurgence / 'second wave' after things (including school) start to resume...

That opinion is pretty common tbh.

It also depends on what people mean by a "second wave". I would call a sustained exponential growth from community transmission with multiple untraceable sources a "second wave", but localised spikes here and there do not count.

I also seem to be one of the few people who reckons there is only a small chance of a second wave for Australia (at least one that’s as bad or worse than the first wave). Guess time will tell.

 

[Potato Sticks]

I think it’s obvious that the second wave won’t be as bad, unless they choose to forgo health impact for economic benefit, which I find unlikely. What it would cause though, regardless of whether we term it a second wave or not, is then widespread shutdowns.

I agree with your definition of a second wave. Actually, not many places in the world have experienced a genuine second wave, but this might be attributable to the relatively low number of countries which have actually eased restrictions.

 

[BLIT2014]

I found this article on someone complaining that Job Keeper payments are taxed at their marginal rate... not sure how I'm meant to feel when a guy who earns $180k+ complains that since he got stood down and went onto Job Keeper, he's only getting $450 per week and it isn't enough to cover his mortgage payments or car loans. Hmm.

Expecting a $1500 JobKeeper payment? Not after tax

Far less than $750 a week has hit some workers' bank accounts after their employers withheld tax on JobKeeper payments at their regular rate of income.

www.smh.com.au

I’m curious how much his car loans are.

 

[brent012]

I’m curious how much his car loans are.

My favourite part is this:

One stood-down worker, who declined to be named for fear of jeopardising his employment

Good news for him is that we're nearing the end of the FY, and even forgetting potentially being overtaxed on JobKeeper, he should be getting a good tax return for having too much withheld earlier in the year. Doubt we'll see an article about that.

 

[seremify007]

I’m curious how much his car loans are.

I feel a bit mean to say this but I thought when **** happens, you usually then need to make choices which often means giving up something... it's like he's gone down the route of "COVID-19 isn't my fault so I don't want to give anything up".

 

[yooook]

we r now going to school full time i guess.

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[SylviaB]

Trump is an interesting character who was elected during a time when the American people basically had 'enough'. Recalling an American who commented during Trump's election bid, 'the rest of the world couldn't comprehend how angry we Americans are'. One of the reasons why Hillary couldn't cut through. Trump's base will continue to forgive him for his comments, reminding themselves that hey, its stress, he's taken out of context or maybe didn't articulate himself well enough, feeling overwhelmed. The others like Nancy P aren't going to let this pass. America is really complicated. Their culture is rooted on the idea of Meritocracy which doesn't always work. Some people work very hard but they don't necessarily get rewarded. Are they lesser of a person? Absolutely not. This sentiment is not always shared over there. Its basically survival of the fittest.

wow ur dumb

 

[studiesofboard]

Odd and possibly irrelevant question but is it safe to eat from fast food establishments or eat food from outside? I am asking since employees have direct contact to the food or packagings, and money, then it's handed to us, which raises the question if it's safe. Any thoughts?

I wouldn't considering many fast food places are not hygienic and do not clean things. For example, Mcdonalds. I heard some Mcdonalds workers are shit heads and spit in food so yeah not safe haha but that's my opinion.

 

[Trebla]

Odd and possibly irrelevant question but is it safe to eat from fast food establishments or eat food from outside? I am asking since employees have direct contact to the food or packagings, and money, then it's handed to us, which raises the question if it's safe. Any thoughts?

Most decent places have already beefed up their hygiene rules (or are expected to when restrictions relax) around that to minimise the risk.

Considering how many people still eat from outside restaurants everyday (via takeaway), the risk is quite low - especially if it’s hot food because any virus or bacteria is unlikely to survive in that environment.

 

[BLIT2014]

Passenger limit on public transport as COVID restrictions lift

The number of people allowed on buses and trains will be dramatically cut in a plan by the NSW government.

7news.com.au

Might throw a spanner in the works of any businesses that want their employees to go back.

 

[Trebla]

NSW just returned schools back to normal...now they’re allowing regional travel and restaurants to hold up to 50 people from 1st of June. That’s like 2-3 weeks earlier than what I was expecting.

I think the state government is getting a bit too ambitious. Guess we’ll see what the case numbers will look like in mid-June...

 

[Drdusk]

I want it to become safe enough so that gyms can open

 

[Velocifire]

Outdoor gyms are open, there's one next to my home and it has like pull-ups and like a stationary bike.

But not the same as an actual gym.

I NEED TO BURN OFF THOSE UBER EATS MEALS!

 

[Trebla]

I want it to become safe enough so that gyms can open

Outdoor gyms are open, there's one next to my home and it has like pull-ups and like a stationary bike.

But not the same as an actual gym.

I NEED TO BURN OFF THOSE UBER EATS MEALS!

lol same I’m keen for gyms to reopen. Just hope it doesn’t get too crowded...

 

[Potato Sticks]

Haha yeah they’re going really ambitious everywhere. I suspected the national government pushed more than the states wanted.

Maybe they want to end up with a budget surplus? They’re reducing jobkeeper and all already and lifting restrictions so they can dump the whole thing.

 

[brent012]

Maybe they want to end up with a budget surplus? They’re reducing jobkeeper and all already and lifting restrictions so they can dump the whole thing.

Latest news was that there was a significant error in the calculations and the cost of JobKeeper is about half of what was expected.

They blamed employers for filling in the form incorrectly, but I believe the initial budget was released long before any employers got involved.

 

[Trebla]

Latest news was that there was a significant error in the calculations and the cost of JobKeeper is about half of what was expected.

They blamed employers for filling in the form incorrectly, but I believe the initial budget was released long before any employers got involved.

I think the reporting error is about the actual number who are currently on JobKeeper. The Treasurer claimed last week that around 6 million employees have actually signed up for it (which is in line with their budget projection).

However, turns out the actual number actually wasn’t anywhere near that apparently due to about 1000 employers who incorrectly populated the number of employees with the number of dollars they’re expected to get.

With the error corrected they now realise that the actual number on the scheme is well short of what they budgeted for (probably because they were expecting a more dire pandemic experience) so Treasury have now revised their budget projection.

I don’t think the government will wind back JobKeeper earlier than scheduled as the economic pain will linger for a while. At best they’ll probably make some adjustments e.g. for casual workers who earn like $100 a week suddenly getting $750 seems strange.

 

[brent012]

I think the reporting error is about the actual number who are currently on JobKeeper. The Treasurer claimed last week that around 6 million employees have actually signed up for it (which is in line with their budget projection).

However, turns out the actual number actually wasn’t anywhere near that apparently due to about 1000 employers who incorrectly populated the number of employees with the number of dollars they’re expected to get.

Yeah, this is what I'd read too. It just seemed odd that the error happened to match the early projections - but I guess that's probably why it went unnoticed originally. It's definitely great news for the budget though.