post pandemic malaise

At the moment the media is feeding off pre-election bullshit. Kissing babies, wearing hardhats & hi-vis vests & future spending promises. These are all sideshow alley routines to make the pol-lies appear normal & to distract from the realities; outrageous cost of living & a general economic lethargy. 

I had two incidents yesterday that epitomise the state of play. Both had to do with hiring a floor sander. At the nation's lead chain hardware store, two machines were tagged off awaiting repairs. The young guy at the checkout, obviously annoyed, broke ranks with the company brainwashed employee codes & disclosed that they had been "like that for "more than six months & nobody is doing anything about it." He then apologized. From the company's POV, that's an example of the lethargy, lack of care or drive to feed the pol-lies through taxation perhaps. The worker's behaviour was more about; I'm sick of this place & don't care for the company line. This maybe just a classic Australian take on work, but its also a broadcast about wanting to do well despite the company. I wonder if that young guy was paying $600 rent plus car expemses, or whether he was working from his parents' place & cycling to work?

 At my next stop it was an in your face "whatever attitude". A  guy in hi-viz, national chain employee, a tiny upward imflection in his introduction that soon gave way to a tired Aussie drawl. The enthusiasm was a show. Then a got nothing response, then "may be tomorrow we'll have one". Bit wasn't keen to take a booking because he didn't care. I suspect, its location on the edge of the coal fields, meant they were being kept afloat by foreign corporations & didn't really give a toss about one off users. 

So I returned home jaded & empty-handed, as happens a lot lately. I wonder what our economy would look like without minerals sales? If we then remove Asian owned family businesses & Asian workers, we'd be looking pretty sick & pale. 

I can't imagine that witnessing the pol-lies daily sideshow & their lack of motivation to improve: access to tertiary education, cost of living relief, foreign national rape & vitality in the economy, is doing any good.