Battlers and Billionaires Quotes

“1907 also saw the formation of the NSW Rugby Football League, which broke away from Rugby Union over the issue of player payments. Traditionally, Union had enforced amateurism. That was fine for affluent players, but working-class men could not take time off to train and play without receiving compensation. Again, the working classes had a win, with professionalised Rugby League soon displacing Union in New South Wales and Queensland. Current and future Labor politicians were among League's early leaders. H.V Evatt, who would go on to lead the Labor Party nationally, served as one of the founders of Sydney University's Rugby League club. When he first ran for the electorate of Balmain, Evatt advertised in the official Rugby League journal that he was 'the Rugby League candidate'.”
― Andrew Leigh, Battlers and Billionaires: The Story of Inequality in Australia

“Wondering what to consume? According to the connoisseurs, one of the greatest vintages for Penfolds Grange Hermitage is the 1971, a bottle of which will cost you about $2000, or about $40 a sip. Incidentally, that bottle has increased in price at four times the rate of average earnings: a reflection of the increased demand for high-end commodities. Or if your tastes tend to the illicit, you might consider cocaine - what Robin Williams once described as 'God's way of telling you that you are making too much money. Cocaine is most prevalent in affluent neighbour-hoods, and the share of Australians who used cocaine in the past twelve months has risen eightfold, from 0.5 per cent in 1993 to 4.2 per cent in 2019.”
― Andrew Leigh, Battlers and Billionaires: The Story of Inequality in Australia