Believe it or not, there are some places in the world where your offerings at church are tax deductible. This has resulted in a steady stream of searches coming through to our website with people trying to find out if this is true in Australia. The simple answer is “no.” […]
Gordon Gekko’s famous slogan from the movie Wall Street came to encapsulate the euphoria of the economic growth of the 1980s. Fast forward to 2010 and his line in Wall Street 2 is “Greed is not only good, it is legal.” The corporation The growth of investment banks, private equity […]
As a child of the 1980s, I grew up in the shadow of the Cold War. The free world (led by America) were the good guys while the communistic world (led by Russia) were the bad guys. The battle between these two powers were in the realms of religion, politics, […]
A young couple in a church I attended in the USA claimed they did not need health insurance. God would provide for their needs they firmly believed. When they had a significant car accident and incurred hefty medical bills, the church asked its parishioners (who had been regularly paying […]
As the technology age dawned, our social future looked bright. We were promised prosperous times with satisfying jobs, lives of leisure, and flying cars. Yet, more than ever, polls show that society believes we are on the wrong track. Violence, selfishness, and uncertainty has increased depression, despair, and suicide. Something […]
For most of us, our biggest financial investment, will be the purchase of a house. The need for shelter is a necessity of life. However, in recent years, housing markets are more focused on investment, than shelter. Australian house prices have climbed steadily over the past twenty years. Most first […]
The Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies has highlighted some interesting statistics on Australians’ charitable giving. In 2007-08 (the most recent year for their research), the average tax-deductible donation made and claimed by Australian taxpayers was $523.10. This average amount has nearly trebled in the last decade. In 2007-08, […]
I recently read an article about designer furniture on a domestic flight in China. In summary: 1) The wealthy in China have property and technology, 2) Furniture will be the next status symbol, and 3) Buying furniture from China is unacceptable (this is ironic considering where the rest of the […]
A 2007 survey of 5500 Australians aged 14 to 30 reveals: “They have greater disdain for advertising, yet are brand conscious and many actually like living with their parents. This allows them to have the best of both worlds.” … “They clearly like to spend money on the latest gadgets, […]
