General Discussion Thread

[Murraymob1]

As a club that has had the eyes picked out of our up and coming talent, (Katoa, Ison, Riley Smith, Jett Cleary, Iongi just to name a few), over the last couple of years, when will the NRL compensate the one and only development club in the country.

Answer me this, how can Melbourne keep a "big 4" for 20 years while still having 4 or 5 origin and kiwi representative players, yet Penrith struggle to keep a 22 year old winger in Turuva, or a solid bench player in Salmon.

Yeah, I get it that some clubs just pay stupid money, but stupid money is now being paid to our 19 year old development players so our cupboard is bare.

You would have to be totally ignorant to not believe that another rort has been discovered in how to "cheat the cap" by some of these clubs, because we can't have two million dollar players yet some have 4. Melbourne, Brisbane, Manly are not that attractive for them to have 15 of their top 30 roster on "unders" what other clubs would pay, or are they?

I'm just baffled that those clubs I mentioned, plus the Roosters (except this year) never seem to lose any players of significance. Maybe Penrith is doing it wrong !!!

Easy Melbourne put there money in key position and mould the rest.we have no idea or luia would never have been let go

 

[Goonji]

Easy Melbourne put there money in key position and mould the rest.we have no idea or luia would never have been let go

Put your money in your spine and worry about the rest later. A lesson learned to late for us.

 

[Fangs]

So how bad was the footy this week?

So many crap matches.

 

[Kilkenny]

So how bad was the footy this week?

So many crap matches.

It didn’t start well on Thursday night That’s for sure.

 

[Kilkenny]

Easy Melbourne put there money in key position and mould the rest.we have no idea or luia would never have been let go

We couldn’t get near what West Tigers offered him. Just the reality.

 

[Pomoz]

Massive funds? I wish.
I send my kid to an expensive private school. The burden my boy is on the taxpayer is quite small compared to kids sent to my local public high school (Ashfield Boys).
My son gets subsidised to the tune of $5245 per year ($4077 Commonwealth and $1168 State government funding). If I sent him to Ashfield Boys instead, I would be saving myself a fortune but would be costing my fellow taxpayer $16459 ($3551 Commonwealth and $12908 State).
Personally I'd be much better off financially by putting my kid through public school and putting the burden on the taxpayer instead. The fees are too high as it is. Take away the $5245 in government funding and I'm putting him straight in to Ashfield Boys with his mates from Primary school and the taxpayer will be a lot worse off.

https://myschool.edu.au/school/41189/finances

I realise that a) this is a footy forum and b) it is a complex subject. I am talking in general principles here and it is only my personal opinion, but there should be no grants for private education at all. Zero. Nil. I acknowledge Australian school funding is now a complex mess and removing grants from schools would need careful planning, but nevertheless it bestows privileges on the wealthy that are subsidized by the working classes.

You say you save the taxpayer money and that maybe true, but if all the funding for private schools was pumped into public schools, maybe they would be of a higher standard and you would be happy to send your kids there. As you say, you save money if you do that, but presumably you don’t currently have confidence in public education.

It’s better for the whole society if public education is the highest standard it can be.

That’s me done on political discussion, Trump on the news every 10 seconds is enough politics for anybody.

 

[age.s]

That’s me done on political discussion, Trump on the news every 10 seconds is enough politics for anybody.

Hear hear. And I'm not some frothing lefty wrt him either.

 

[Rodent]

I realise that a) this is a footy forum and b) it is a complex subject. I am talking in general principles here and it is only my personal opinion, but there should be no grants for private education at all. Zero. Nil.

You haven't thought this through at all. Public schools would be no better off as the funding currently going to private schools if redirected to public schools would be more than used up with the huge influx of students going from private to public.
Why not means test Public Schools instead? Kick out all the freeloaders. There's plenty of people with more money than me sending their kids to public school and getting triple the amount of government subsidy.
Why am I undeserving of government support for education just because I am prepared to forgo an NRL trip to Vegas and put my money into education instead?

 

[John Hamblin]

Mary Fowler has possible ACL injury if so maybe she can do some rehab in Australia! Good news for Nathan!!

 

[Pomoz]

You haven't thought this through at all. Public schools would be no better off as the funding currently going to private schools if redirected to public schools would be more than used up with the huge influx of students going from private to public.
Why not means test Public Schools instead? Kick out all the freeloaders. There's plenty of people with more money than me sending their kids to public school and getting triple the amount of government subsidy.
Why am I undeserving of government support for education just because I am prepared to forgo an NRL trip to Vegas and put my money into education instead?

If public funding was removed, it is not as simple as saying they all go back to the public system. There will be plenty of people who will still send their kids to private schools in spite of the cost increase and the funds subsidising them then go back into public education.

The most expensive school in Australia is Geelong Grammar at $56k per person. They receive $7k per student from the government. How did this happen? 1,600 students getting a subsidy to attend the most elite and expensive school in Australia. It is obscene.

My brother was educated in St Marys and half the classrooms didn’t have air conditioning. They get $27,000 funding per student with a student population where 71% are from the bottom quartile socio economic group.

It is nothing to do with deserving, who am I to judge who deserves anything? But, why should a kid born to poor parents not get the same education as your children? It is not about pulling down, it is about lifting up and it benefits everybody in Australia, not just the elite.

You want to means test public schools and what you are saying is user pays and each pay according to their means. Except the really wealthy have the ability to show low incomes by using trust structures and other company structures to make it difficult to show “means”.

There are a number of reasons the gap between the really wealthy and the poor is widening and has done so for several years. Subsidising wealthy private schools is just one of them. HECS is another travesty designed to tax the poor and keep education for the elite and discouraging poor kids from education.

Look, there is no right and wrong in these debates. They are just discussions about the philosophy of how to run our society. I favor helping the disadvantaged, taxing wealth, taxing inherited wealth in particular and giving everybody the chance to receive as good an education as possible. Education is the key to giving a kid born into a poor family the chance to improve himself and his families lot in life. We obviously agree on this point because you are sending your kids to the best school you can afford, as most good parents would try to do.

 

[Rodent]

If public funding was removed, it is not as simple as saying they all go back to the public system.

Of course not. In my case, if 1 in 3 private school kids went back to public, there'd be no benefit to public schools, just an increase in fees for private. If more than 1 in 3 went back, public schools would be worse off! If less than 1 in 3 went back, public schools would be a little better off.
Do you think working class people shouldn't have access to private schools? They should only be for the super wealthy?
Public school kid gets 15k from govt and parents chip in nothing. I want to give my kid the best education I can afford so the government penalises me 10k for that decision and only contributes 5k. I then have to stump up a fortune despite being poorer than the parents of the public school kid. Is that fair? You think I should get nothing as a penalty for such terrible parenting?
The country will be better off for my investment in education. Maybe I should have spent the money on overseas holidays instead.

 

[BxTom]

I've read some books he has written. They aren't bad.

But probably plenty of fiction. I have no idea what qualifications raghead has to talk about Australian history. Might be Charles Bean level.

I read the fitzsimmons version of the Nancy Wake story. Virtually a dead copy of the original version written by Russell Braddon. Braddon was also the author of Naked Island - dealing with his experiences as a Japanese POW. Fitzsimmons is also known for having his books researched by students and written by ghost writers (sometimes the researcher).

 

[Fangs]

I read the fitzsimmons version of the Nancy Wake story. Virtually a dead copy of the original version written by Russell Braddon. Braddon was also the author of Naked Island - dealing with his experiences as a Japanese POW. Fitzsimmons is also known for having his books researched by students and written by ghost writers (sometimes the researcher).

Haha very interesting.

His writing can be compelling (If its his). But always feel like there are too many loose truths.

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

Ive been enjoying tonights discussion.

Here is a link to a college in the UK that has some good lectures over the internet.

Sometimes its better to source material from people who arent remotely interested in taking something from you.

https://www.gresham.ac.uk/

 

[Goonji]

Mary Fowler has possible ACL injury if so maybe she can do some rehab in Australia! Good news for Nathan!!

I don't take any delight in Mary Fowlers injury.

 

[Chins]

I don't take any delight in Mary Fowlers injury.

I dunno Man City are pretty unlikeable.......

 

[Fangs]

I don't take any delight in Mary Fowlers injury.

If that's what John meant.

I think he is just looking at the bright side. Two young lovers get to spend a lot more time together. It's wonderful.

 

[age.s]

Will Mary being here help him read plays coming at his edge?

If not, I don't care.

 

[Fangs]

Will Mary being here help him read plays coming at his edge?

If not, I don't care.

You dont care about love?

 

[age.s]

Love is overrated. Nath should be looking to get the boys to put a (5th) ring on it.