Over the last few weeks I've seen more and more loud complaints of "discrimination" and "segregation" (without an understanding that sometimes segregation and discrimination are good and justified -- We don't let kids drive, for example) against those who refuse to be vaccinated.
There seems to be this idea that it's a personal decision and impacts no one else:
"You're vaccinated, so why do you care?"
"If your vaccine works, why do you care?"
Living in Australia, as we do, I would expect most of us to be familiar with bushfires and how they start.
Most of our native forests are green and living wood. It isn't very flammable by itself. You might say that the inherent moisture inside a living tree is something of a metaphorical "vaccine" against burning easily. It can still happen, but it's less likely to catch and ignite.
But then we have the bundles and piles of dried sticks, dead grass, dead and dried leaves that sits out of sight in the understory of the forest. These make up just a tiny proportion of the total mass of the forest, but if they get ignited then they're going up like a tinderbox. The green trees, while more resistant to burning, are eventually going to be at risk of catching fire. Yes, lots of them won't die and they generally won't be reduced to dust like the tinder below, but they will have ongoing damage as a result and may take years to regenerate.
If we could somehow vacuum or teleport out all the dry/prone to catching fire stuff in our forests then the chance of fire breaking out and causing large-scale damage would be greatly, greatly reduced.
Am I particularly bothered about the risks to Mr Dried Sticks in our society who has decided that he doesn't need to get vaccinated? Beyond not wishing ill for anyone, no.
What I do want is for him to understand that it would be better for all concerned if we kept him out of the forest or - better yet -- if he made the sensible decision to stop being a pile of kindling for the next fire that sweeps through.
EDIT - Update -- For all the people "shooting down" this analogy by saying that the vaccinated also get sick: This is the very crux and point of this analogy -- you are quite literally proving my point. While much less likely to get sick, the vaccinated still get sick. This is why we don't need the "very likely to get sick/unvaccinated" around us every single day as a potential vector for a breakthrough case. That's the whole point of this analogy. If I thought the vaccinate
... keep reading on reddit ➡We've been through enough over the past 2 years. Imagine, the bushfires that we went through happened right before the pandemic? Be fire safe everyone. Merry Christmas
I’m a Chartered Accountant in Australia, and I wanted to take a bit of time to go through the tax implications of Sarah’s bushfire donations as I’ve seen quite a bit of incorrect info on here and want to clear it up for everyone!! Side note I’m an ex-Stan of Sarah’s and not a fan of really anything she does any more. And disclaimer this is obviously not offical tax advice, just a quick overview of the rules that apply in this situation!
Firstly, Sarah and Kurt would almost definitely have an accountant they use, who’s job it is the maximise their client’s profit and cash at the end of the day. In my opinion Sarah and Kurt have just followed their accountant’s advise and everything they have done is completely within the rules of the tax legislation in Australia.
Everything is more complicated than I’ll explain here but I’ve tried to keep things simple and just address the bare basics.
I’ll start with the ‘removal of tax’ from the amount they donated. Almost all businesses who sell anything in Australia will be required to pay 10% Goods and Services Tax (GST) on almost all goods and services sold. I say almost because there are exceptions but I won’t go into that hahaha. So if you sell a good or service for $110 you must pay $10 in GST to the government. So if Sarah raised $391,660 in revenue, she automatically has to pay $35,605 to the tax man. If she didn’t take the tax out, there is an argument to be made that Sarah would have to pay this $35.5k herself. My issue is that Sarah said she would be donating ALL REVENUE to the bushfires, not the PROFIT. So she should not have removed tax from the amount she donated.
Next we have the point made that Sarah could claim back the donated amount in her taxes and would ‘get the whole amount back’ but unfortunately that’s not how it works (I wish it was!!). The way tax is calculated for businesses, is to take their Revenue, less and deductible expenses, which gives your Taxable Income. For businesses with Revenue less than $50 million, 25% of your Taxable Income goes to the tax man. Charitable Donations are a a deductible expense. I’ve made up some numbers to show how this might work (these are definitely not the actual numbers of her business haha)
SD Revenue: $550,000 GST Payable: -$50,000 Taxable income: $500,000 Income tax payable (25%): -$125,000 Profit after tax: $375,000
If you consider the tax deduction for the donation: SD revenue: $550,000 GST Payable: -$50,000 Deduct Charitable Donation: -$30,000
... keep reading on reddit ➡
As we head into Summer, I can't help but worry that we're still underprepared because I haven't heard anybody talk about, I dunno, a new water bomber fleet or increase in firie wage funding or something. Any information or input is appreciated.
This is the best tracking and forecast tool available by far, it acted as a real aid in helping us make our Pre planning decisions last round of bushfires. All the best to anyone who is having to deal with the Wooroloo fires and those putting there lives at risk for others.
https://bushfire.io/?location=10.239911667316186/-31.843738188502968/116.24957972199309/satellite/0/0
Now that bushfire season is kicking off again, does anyone recall the details of that website that has all the emergency info along with wind conditions, tracking the helicopters, water bombers etc? I remember using it to watch the Gidgeganup fire but I can’t find where I saved the link.
Time of issue: 02:21 PM
Date of issue: 29 December 2021
Bushfire WATCH AND ACT for southern part of HIGH WYCOMBE in the CITY OF KALAMUNDA
A bushfire WATCH AND ACT is in place for people in the area bounded by Sultana Road, Milner Road, Maida Vale Road, Kalamunda Road, Hawtin Road and Bruce Road in the southern part of HIGH WYCOMBE in the CITY OF KALAMUNDA.
- The alert level for this fire has been downgraded as the fire is now contained and controlled.
- There is a possible threat to lives and homes as a fire is approaching in the area and conditions are changing.
- The fire started near the intersection of SULTANA RD W and SMOKEBUSH PL in HIGH WYCOMBE.
From Main Roads
BUSH FIRE - HIGH WYCOMBE ROE HIGHWAY NORTHBOUND CLOSED FROM ORRONG ROAD TO KALAMUNDA ROAD Roe Highway closed southbound from Kalamunda Road to Berkshire Road Emergency services on site Traffic heavy on approach
https://travelmap.mainroads.wa.gov.au/Home/Map
Roe Hwy is backed up northbound from Kenwick Link.
