It was on the news about Chapel Street tonight.
I think he said there were 80 empty shops (did he say just Prahran?)
Anyway, I since find out it’s between $100,000 to $120,000 per annum rent for a shop!
One retail corner shop sold for over $4million.
$100,000 return on that is 2.5% if it gets rented out.

I think many don’t want long leases anymore, things are too fickle.

So the stand out comment the reporter said with all the shops empty, it hadn’t been seen to be like that since the 1990s.

Remember “the recession we had to have?”

Ah, the joys of a 'global economy' where all workers are 'equal' and the 'playing field' is 'level' even for the most lowly paid on the planet... but only for those who work for a living.... and the few who own the global corporations prosper mightily, their shareholders get enough to make them think they are someone special, and all the while national economies grind to a halt unless governments take action.

You can impoverish some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time - but you can't impoverish all of the people all of the time...

"The economic policies of Donald Trump, which were outlined in his campaign pledges, include trade protectionism, immigration reduction, individual and corporate tax reform, the dismantling of banking regulation, and attempts to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"). A key part of President Trump's economic strategy during his first three years (2017–2019) was to boost economic growth by increasing the federal budget deficit significantly via tax cuts and additional spending. The positive economic situation he inherited from President Obama continued, with a labor market approaching full employment and measures of household income and wealth continuing to improve further into record territory. President Trump also implemented trade protectionism via tariffs, primarily on imports from China, as part of his "America First" strategy. However, the number of people without health insurance increased due to his policies, while his tax cuts were projected to worsen income inequality."

Can't say I agree with all of those moves - for my money the ones that actually work were accepting a higher federal budget deficit, trade protection in an environment where the de facto tariff of far lower wages such as in China (where the CHIMP earns around $57k a year and the average is around $7k a year and the 'Communist president earns billions through his 'shares'), restricting immigration and allowing the economy to re-stabilise without all the shenanigans, and to some extent tax reform though I doubt companies really need it.

Reducing bank regulation is a false path leading into a multitude of mine fields as we've seen here, and the 'net cost' of universal healthcare is zero, given that it is actually an economic stimulator including in providing a healthy and more motivated workforce, whereas imbalance in affordability of healthcare is not, but is instead a brake on real development and research through the personal  profit motive over-riding the push to develop and move forward.

We've all seen here that the 'private business model' does not provide the goods in many areas of life - specifically in the provision of services.

chimera wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 8:20pm:



It's in the small print.  And it's based on gross.  Or was last time I was involved in negotiations.  If you spot it and demand it be deleted, you can sometimes do a deal.  Depends on how desperate the other party is to put a tenant in.  But most leave the fine print to others and end up stuck.  The little guys end up paying for the majors