Lack of Perspective

I don't understand people's lack of perspective. Tiny things get blown out of all proportion and significant things are ignored completely.

I was at the Coffee Van today and one of the girls at work was complaining that she wasn't going to be able to feed her children if the Carbon Tax comes in. That's right, she wasn't going to be able to feed her children... Just like Southern Sudan I suppose. We can only hope that the UN will arrive with some aid to help the poor woman. Everyone around her was agreeing what a terrible thing the Carbon Tax was going to be. I did point out that the average Carbon burn in Australia is 6 tonnes per person and her contribution would be 135 dollars a year if there were no compensation (which there is, about 50% on average). No, apparently 135 dollars a year really is all that stands between her children and starvation. Someone did point out that she could give up one of her 10 large double decaf moccochino's on soy per week and cover the whole thing, but that's also apparently out of the question, so the kids will have to starve then.

Two Soy Latte double decafs thanks

If it was just one person then I could get over it, but the whole nation is gripped with fear about a tax of 135 dollars a year. (that's going to be 50% offset). The government has fallen from winning an election a few months ago to the lowest approval ratings *ever* recorded. People are *seriously* talking about an armed revolt. http://carbontaxrevolt.org/

The average wage in Australia is 65000 dollars a year and this tax is effectively about 65 dollars a year. About 1/1000th of an average wage earner's income. So we're taking to the streets with guns over that are we? Yet we happily hand over Income Tax which for an average person is 13000 dollars, plus a medicare levy of 975 dollars, plus 75 dollars flood levy, plus council rates of about 1000 dollars, leaving you with about 50000 dollars in the hand, which when you spend it attracts GST (like VAT) of 10% for another 5000 dollars in hidden tax. So we hand over an average of about 19000 dollars without a murmur of complaint, but less than a hundred bucks is the end of the world? Yes, apparently it is.