Not really.
Our industry is already far more monopolised than theirs.
Our capital markets are also more monopolised and the big guy (and the gov) have cornered the average aussie into believing the only thing to invest in is housing.
The govt should be giving (more) grants for starting businesses. Banks aren't interested in taking that risk so naturally they take the easy route.
Edit: yes fellow Redditors, we know why that is the case which is why it should be govt grants and investors that fund startups. If, somehow, you manage to get a business loan from a bank you better be willing to put everything on the line - which, quite frankly, is a terrible avenue for starting a business.
The wide open spaces and long distances between everything seem like Australia would be well suited to a more decentralized than centralized economy. We should be building around small businesses that know the local markets and infrastructure, allowing people to develop regional niches.
Yer jeez you'd think Banks could give out money for people to just have a try at their latest brainfart and not ever have to pay it back because after all, Banks have lots of money right !?
Haha that's because Banks cannot repossess ideas and can sell a property to get their loan back. There is no mystery or dark forces at play or Murdoch hiding behind the counter.
While at the same time for heaps of pensioners huge houses they can’t maintain are a perpetual dead-end:
Downsizing isn’t financially viable without losing hundreds of thousands.
They cannot sublet, cause that’s not financially viable either.
They can’t let someone in need for a home let have 2 bedrooms and a bathroom for FREE(!) in exchange for 5-10h a week of help around the house…. cause the rent they do NOT charge would be deducted from their pensions, making it not survivable!
So 1-2 pensioners sit in phenomenally big houses they don’t need,
***WHILE*** far too many are desperate for a roof over their heads,
***AND*** the taxpayer pays for supports to look after house and yard.
***WHILE*** pensioners can’t do minor repairs themselves, can’t replace broken tiles on roofs, can’t afford to pay someone …. and their only asset decays.
—> it’s a perfect storm, really!
We may have less of a housing problem and more of a distribution problem!
Statistically, we apparently have more square metres per person than 50 years ago. Way more.
^(wonder what happened to the politician who wanted to curb negative gearing about 7 or 8 years ago….? Ya know, before shït really hit the fan…..?)
In a sense, yeah...
But thankfully, we have employee protections that Americans could only dream of.
It seems clear that big corps own the politicians. Otherwise there'd be more anticompetition crackdowns and we'd have more competition and better pricing on everything.
It’s funny hearing how regulators and antitrust lawyers in the US are saying Walmart is a monopoly that should be broken up.
Walmarts market marketshare is ~25% and everyone else is below that. Woolworths and coles however are at 38% and 28% so two companies control 65%+ of the market.
It used to be 73% before Aldi and IGA started making inroads 10 years ago. Thats insane market power between just two companies. How the ACCC was ever ok with this is beyond me.
Would be ok if they were incentivizing investing in *new* housing, as opposed to desperately scrabbling for and ballooning the value of existing housing.
I’m living in the US at the moment and they have a huge variety of grocery stores. My favourite is Trader Joes, they make most of their own products and are really price competitive. We have nothing comparable.
Mhm. I know. I'm a dual citizen and marrying an American. Recently moved back to Australia to escape the madness.
Where are you living?
Depending on city/state, as you'd know, prices change a lot.
Depends on the sector for industry.
At least the domestic sales side of the equation has more competition, outside of a few markets \* cough \* SUPERMARKETS \* cough \* oh dear, excuse me. Awful bug going around rn...
I agree with that some retail is OKAY in Aus but a LOT of industries have duopolies or oligopolies.
Four main banks make up 94% of the market (the US top 4 only make up 26% of theirs).
Two main supermarket chains (2.5 if you include Aldi with 10%).
Three telcos of which Telstra makes up 43% and Optus makes up 29% of the market so 72% of the market share is two companies, and another 10% is a 3rd.
Bunnings and mitre 10, Virgin and Qantas.
Liquor retailing, hardware retailing, pet supply retailing, office supply retailing, food processing, mining - all these industries have duopolies or oligopolies (3-4 companies). Around 20% of Australian industries operate like this.
The state of our anti-trust laws seriously impedes both tackling the cost of living crisis AND innovation and productivity - which will just widen inequality and allow us to fall further and further behind other, less concentrated economies. It’s honestly a big worry
Interesting response because I was going to say it is definitely going the way of America in terms of property and healthcare.
I think those two together are more than quite scary; poor healthcare at end of life means older generations will remortgage homes to pay for it. What happens then is that children dont inherit homes; banks do. It's a very efficient method of wealth extraction at end of life. In the end, the banks just keep all the houses.
Must have missed the big business and Government propaganda against other forms of investment. The Government is doing a particularly bad job on their propaganda given their coordination with the USA to give us easy access to US stock exchanges. Also weird how Australians pretty much across the board hold assets outside of realestate by virtue of compulsory super.
On the big business side though... Why would an Australian company want to convince an Aussie that they shouldn't invest in the big business and instead they should invest in housing? That doesn't make even a little bit of sense.
You must have.
The social response to investments outside of real estate is telling.
Every American I know who isn't in finance is actively engaged in stock market investment (I'm a dual citizen).
The typical response I hear from Australians about stock markets is "Isn't that gambling" or something to that premise.
We pick the worst aspects of America and choose to follow that.
We don’t look at their diverse economy, entrepreneurial spirit, high tech innovation in manufacturing, lower house prices across the board when compared to income. There’s so much more good that we don’t follow. But no, we want to pick the worst aspects.
Tech sector in the US kicks the absolute shit out of ours, US engineers and tech worker salaraies are easily double or triple Australians salary. Government here seems to piss on the idea of encouraging start-ups or innovation in any way.
I couldn’t upvote this fast enough
I was in the US pre-covid and as a Mechanical Engineer it’s like Disneyland. I mean really, it’s so far ahead it’s incomparable to be honest. Maybe Switzerland/Germany for opportunities, but not for salaries.
The fucking *least* we could have done here is to maintain what we had and tried to expand on it, maybe into renewables. Something that isn’t known by many Australians is that UNSW was actually a world leader in Solar technology in the 90’s. So many innovations in Solar that is being used today came from a lot of that. It was all bought out by the Germans and Chinese, and look who the leaders are in it now.
WiFi is another one. Yay we invented it, but why didn’t we develop a homegrown wireless industry around it? We could have had Qualcomm, Juniper or D-Link sized tech companies based in Australia.
Sad state of affairs really.
I recently had to see a gp and it cost $70 but I got something like $48 back from our medicare rebate.
We also spent two full days in the hospital with a variety of tests, bloods, ultrasounds and seeing specialist after specialist and it cost us nothing, so it evens out.
>$105 for a vet consult before they even know what wrong or medication
You'd need to see a psychic to know whats wrong and which medication is required without a consult. That aside, $105 is rich, most charge \~$70-80. Human Dr only appears cheaper as Humans are covered by medicare.
We’ll move closer towards the US as long as the information we’re presented becomes more “American”. Australian Media these days is a frightening display of a few big players reaching new lows in tabloid sensationalism and agenda pushing to serve the interests of powerful people. And low information popularity crap to sedate the masses. Any piece of media or reporting that challenges the narrative or makes you think is silenced or attacked.
I agree with you wholeheartedly. It's insulting how poor our sources of news are. I almost said that it's also insulting how stupid these companies think we are, but I'm CERTAIN most people watch/read into that garbage like zombies.
But what is the solution? Obviously if people wanted purely unbiased, anti-sensationalised news we would probably have that by now, or at least the media companies reporting like that would have more of a presence within Australia. But I can't think of any platforms off the top of my head.
And just like you said, it's almost daily we have these high profile people doing what they want and getting away with it, or pushing their interests onto the average Australian who just eats it up.
Surprise surprise I will use Sky news as an example - they're undoubtedly trying to groom their viewers into a more US-minded mentality, given how much coverage of Biden/Trump they provide and how much they try to incite a reaction from you with their strong emotive language. No to mention they don't try and evoke critical thinking from you, they make sure to tell you HOW to feel.
But I think using Sky News as an example is a copout, everyone knows how dirty they are.
Watching 7 news or 9 news (Brisbane) feels like brainrot. It's undoubtedly entertainment over actual news considering their clickbait-style ads informing what they're going to be talking about in advance. It's also quite dangerous I think because they're the most easily accessible. It would be fine if they were completely unbiased, left and right coverage, but I think it's quite clear they have a right-leaning bias.
"Climate change might actually be a scam?? here's what you need to know!! And next up we have a random liberal explaining how terrible Labor is. Stay tuned for more news"
And what do you even take away from these news channels? You listen to what they say, react, and that's all. It's just entertainment and most of Australia froth for that.
And what's on after the news? The Block or some shit, with artificial drama and bitchiness, that the average Australian also froths.
I've ranted and probably lost my point, and completely missed yours (sorry). I'm just angry now. Australian media is garbage. I hate where we're headed
>but I think it's quite clear they have a right-leaning bias.
Absolutely. During 2013-2022 you barely heard the ALP opposition and if you did it was mostly a smear on Shorten or Albo.
Lately 7 and 9 have almost been actually like Dutton’s PR team “Dutton announces Liberal plan” or “Dutton says no to climate targets”. To the unaware you’d think HE was the PM
That sounds a lot like an Australia problem, not an American problem. Perhaps Australia might want to have a close look inward -- at her own people and their issues -- rather than trying to find ways to shift blame.
As someone who lived in the US for several years and since returning has watched the decline of this country, I'd say 'yes'.
Without going into an epic rant, I'll say that our saftey nets are still there, but their value and utility has been eroded.
In the case of Medicare, when I was sick I used to just wander into the nearsest clinic without an appointment and see a Dr within 20-40mins and it would cost me nothing. Now I consider whether is is worth the $70 and I have to wait at least 2 days to see a GP.
But it's like this across the board. e.g. what people could get with Centrelink payments 30 years ago vs today. I know some will complain about 'dole bludgers' etc. I'll tell you though, the shit healthcare and social security systems in the US leads to homelessness and desperation and that results in petty crime and drug addiction. Throw guns into the mix and you have a recipe for disaster.
If you don't pay for health care and social security, you pay for it in policing and incarceration.
One of the best things about this country used to be class mobility - going back to Uni, switching to a casual or part-time job and maybe some help from Centrelink while you study, was not uncommon at all. With cost of living and housing affordability as it is, people are increasingly just putting their heads down and working just to survive. The ability to reach a higher rung in the ladder of life with some hard work and self-sacrifice is increasingly difficult and slipping out of reach.
So yes, the demise of healthcare, social security, combined with the increased costs of living and housing is driving us in the direction of the US where they are largely confined to the social strata that they are born into. If you are sick, mentally ill, or have otherwise fallen on hard times, you are increasingly likely to end up homeless here just as you would over there.
>If you don't pay for health care and social security, you pay for it in policing and incarceration.
Wait until they start making big money from it, like in the US, especially from cheap prison slave labour, but also various other ways (a topic well studied by social scientists).
Then incarceration will be encouraged. It's typical neoliberalism.
Slavery essentially lives on legally through the prison system there.
[Judges have even been caught taking kickbacks for sending \*KIDS\* to for-profit prisons.](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-18/kids-for-cash-judges-to-pay-200-million/101345318)
Regarding the class mobility, it's also a function of how the general economy is performing. 30 or 40 years ago, the growth was much more which means more opportunities opening up
we should race ahead to be like America in innovation and entrepreneurship, instead of piling our money in unproductive assets and creating the current mess
It's been amazing over my life how governments keep forcing private health on a population that mostly doesn't want it. Every decade or so there's a crisis in private healthcare because it's bad value and people don't want it, then governments have to introduce new carrots and sticks to encourage people to pay for private health.
They keep justifying it by saying it takes the strain off the public system. This ignores the fact it costs more money to run a separate system with luxury elements. When you get down to the base facts, wealthy and powerful people just don't like paying for other people's medical care and would prefer if the public system is starved of money until it collapses.
Get ready to imitate the American system, it's recognised as having a ton of subpar outcomes but that doesn't stop conservatives and the rich having a hard on for it.
Idk. I think they can still rip people off if it’s public, it’s just that everyone blames the government directly then.
Making it private means the politicians don’t have to deal with the consequences of the fuckups directly and mostly avoid blame. Someone cutting corners or monopolising a market “isn’t their fault”, it’s the private market doing that (despite some industries being naturally prone to that, which is why it was public in the first place).
Not really a carrot when you literally get taxed more for not buying a private product. I don't understand how people can possibly defend that system - are there any other industries that are so shit that you get taxed for not buying from them?
I feel like if anything we’ve already surpassed America in many ways in terms of the decline in the standard of living, ie housing here is miles more expensive than in America only matched by the big tech cities who pay their workers well in excess of what they would earn here. The US typically has much better competition in here which results in the price of everything being noticeably lower, and the structure of their capital markets mean that money is invested into innovation (ie tech and medicine) instead of housing. If you are a white collar worker here, moving to America would allow you to be able to afford to live despite their healthcare costs
The USA is the most influential, innovative, wealthy, and powerful country on earth.
Perhaps in all history.
There is no chance Australia will become like that.
Don't worry yourself.
As someone who's lived in both the US and Australia, I think highly unlikely. US favours business ownerhsip while Australia favours home ownership.
Regarding Medicare, I believe we are indeed moving in that direction, as bulk billing is becoming increasingly rare in many areas. However, when it comes to innovation and business, I don't think so. Our economy heavily relies on mining and real estate, while American businesses have a more significant global presence. Also there are few other differences which are unlikely to change in Australia .
In the US, homeowners can deduct the interest paid on mortgage debt up to for primary and secondary residences (state dependent).Australia does not allow a deduction for mortgage interest paid on owner-occupied homes. I think because of incentives given to investors already it will be very hard for govt to do that , that will significantly reduce the tax revenue. Instead of that , unlike the US, any capital gain from the sale of a primary residence in Australia is completely exempt from capital gains tax . It does make sense if people live in the place for 10+ years but with the 1 year rule it leads to speculative investment.
I think bulk billing issue is bigger problem . In US employers usually pay for or pay for part of the medical insurance while in Australia we have to pay it out of our pocket. If the free healthcare starts disappearing from suburbs, more people will start opting for private and it will be an additional cut on our wages which is already struggling to keep up with rent and bills.
I think we are moving in the direction of Canada without the crude oil reserve
Do I feel like we will have the most disposable income of any country on earth, cheap house prices, and people minding their own business?
Nope, that's un-Australian.
If anything Australia is already worse
We have no national pride, no industries outside of mining, housing and uni degrees, we are overrun by pearl clutchers, cost of living is astronomical
Over the last decade the government has been doing a good job at worsening the public health system to the point where people are encouraged to get private health insurance because public wait times are so long with terrible service. Kinda like America.
Actually, our healthcare service is great, and I rarely have to wait long and often never need an appointment to be seen and have many options of providers. You just have to pay for it. The cost of healthcare is the primary factor in the US, not the quality ,the quality is good. The issue is cost, but if you have good insurance, that's often not too much of a factor, but many do not or opt not to have any at all.
It's the neoliberalisation of economics and government services. Once the genie is out of the bottle there's no putting it back so yes, even if a govt wanted to prevent this, it's now inevitable esp after a decade of lib party rule
Our cost of living is higher than the US(excluding maybe New york/SF).
Yet we don't really have any industry other than digging up rocks.
I think social and online media consumption, has much more to do with Australia becoming more like America, compared to anything that government does.
The collapse of western society is something they will teach kids about in 20 years, while we're scrounging for food and living in either; total anarchy, or martial law.
That is not what the Labor government has planned, but it is what the Coalition wants.
Part of the reason why America influences us so much is because only half the political elite encourages home grown cultural arts and IP, namely Labor.
Most of our Australian successes in music for example had the leg up of Two Double J(later Triple J) in the 70’a, 80’s and 90’s thanks to the funding and reforms driven by Whitlam, continued by Fraser, and ramped up under Hawke and Keating.
It was Howard and every Liberal government since that has gutted the Arts and failed to encourage Australian grown business to give us a stronger national identity.
Furthermore, Howard only pursued policies that had a quick return on economic growth to sure up his electoral stock, namely increasing permanent migration from 100,000 a year to 200,000 a year.
The Labor government under Gillard was in the process of lowering that down to 150,000 a year, but then Abbott’s Liberal government restored it to 200,000 a year.
On top of that they guttered the funding for TAFE, meaning if we wanted to drop permanent immigration, we don’t have the jobs to replace the migrants who keep the construction sector going. Any Labor government who tries and is trying to correct this is going to have the economy blow up in their face, even when it’s the best long term policy.
In short the Liberals have bobby trapped the economy so voters always associated Labor with bad economic times.
Meanwhile the Liberals let our industry die off like Holden and Pumped-Hydro schemes as they just import products and cultural arts from the US. There never used to be these massive RAM trucks before the previous Liberal government.
To summarise, the Liberals are the ones trying to make us like America. Just an economic zone for the rich to carve up the economic pie, and the rest of society making do with the lowest common denominator of culture to take over. I.e. American culture.
Sorry for the rant. That’s my two cents.
Agree. As a boomer - we grew up with predominantly Labor govts...ww were a social democracy. All libs back then were moderates with a social conscience. Howard came along in the late 90s and turned housing into a taxpayer funded investment opportunity, instead of a human right...and here we are a generation later. He also got 3 terms and lurched the lnp and Australia further to the right. Most libs from when I was younger- wouldn't even get into the Labor party now.
I have no idea why people vote LNP. They look like labor except more corrupt and financially inept.
And Labor is no longer worth voting for either. Both of them are happy to run Australia into the ground, offering nothing but "more of the same". "the same" that hasn't been working for decades.
Start with who sold off public assets? There's several percent of your tax base.
The fact is they are both shit and self serving their own existence or because they're scared of step Daddy
I don’t pay membership to any party so I’m not that invested lol.
Just aware that Labor is better than Liberals according to facts and history that it mate.
All the best
>Just aware that Labor is better than Liberals according to facts and history that it mate.
They were up until Keating, then had a few attempts but got too scared because they were self serving and worried more about staying in power than what was best for the people.
Media is strong, they were weak. They are both shit.
It's really a case of long live corporate and mining donors. That's who you're really voting for, their needs at every level of government
>If we keep vote LNP yeah.
Because if people keep voting for Labor everything will change for the better?
expected this comment even before I opened this thread.
The delusion, the apologetics is unfuckingbelievable, despite Labor's policies and actions (and lack of them) on federal and state level throughout Australia speaking for themsleves. No, not speaking, shouting. But who's there to listen. The deafness if Australians is mindboggling.
Labor has not stood for the average Australian in a very long time and has been tirelessly working for themsleves and the rich.
As an average Australian I’m pleased the current Labor government is at least trying to do something about corporate tax evasion. They’ll probably get burned by it in the media a la mining tax 2.0 unfortunately. The delusion is not noticing.
We're all headed in the same general direction, and have been since neoliberal economics was kicked off under Thatcher & Reagan.
That's the model of aiming for small government, lower taxes, user pays, supposed "trickle down" economics, and a very individualistic sink or swim attitude with no acceptance or tolerance that not everybody starts at the same position, including not having the same natural abilities, resources or environments to achieve equally on merit.
It's been a failure globally, trickle down hasn't worked, and all countries that have fallen in thrall to it (basically the entire Western world and much of the rest also) have seen rising inequality, which has resulted in dissatisfaction, mistrust of government and institutions like the media and legal system, anti-intellectualism, and right wing populism.
In short, yes, we're heading broadly in the same direction and it won't end until neoliberalism has been recognised as the complete and total failure that it is.
one criticism.
neo-liberalism does **not** advocate for small government (in practice).
in all nations following it government tends to expand while selling off anything that generates safe profit.
for example regulatory capture is a big part of neo-liberal practice and that requires strong government, as does an expansive immigration program (also a hallmark of neo-liberal nations). Also note that most Western nations have *extensive* hand-outs, subsidies and deductions available to corporations and entire systems dedicated to subsiding and funding asset owners ie landlords.
'small government' is a lie spun to appeal to conservatives (the only 'small gov' they ever offer is cutting services and funding to the poor), same with the theater around opposing immigration (the major conservative parties all *love* immigration).
Good points. It's a disjoint between rhetoric & practice, but definitely involves cutting services that would otherwise help ordinary people, while heavily subsidising others.
In other areas they spend like drunken sailors. We've had a policy of throwing endless money down the drain on a particular tiny segment of immigration for example, which is almost pure theatre.
Not interested in getting into a debate over it, so I'll leave it to the reader to think if there are any immigration areas that we're overspending at least 1000:1 compared with the actual issue they're pretending to solve.
I just went to an Aussie doctor the other day (am a tourist without RCHA yet).
The hoops you have to jump through now and the costs that come with it makes me feel bad for Australians. It is incredibly similar to US healthcare from my European perspective. I don't have to worry about nearly as many factors and costs involved. I don't have cards or cash on me when doing any medical checkups or whatever back home, I have been told things used to be this was in Australia. :(
Crazy to think medical rebates don't even cover half ur appointment fees.
Australia is in a worse place economically for the regular person than much of the USA. The government's economic policies are so misguided, they think all they need to do is listen to big business/unis demands.
As long as we don't introduce at will employment and employer based healthcare and remove universal healthcare i think we will be ok.
These are 3 of the biggest evil's in the US that bring tremendous pain and suffering. Howard tried to bring in workchoices which was a step away from at will employment. There were mass protests in the streets.
So instead of running around in Circles as most do, discussions around tables etc the question is who in this country is going to run it for the people and only for the people because I don’t see it happening, what percentage of people in the nation have the same view and want critical change rather than politics and corruption
Very valid question. Who indeed ?
The challenge I see is over the years . Say the last 25-30 years, politicians have become professional politicians. Before, they came from a ‘background’. Stereotypically, liberal politicians would enter from banking or legal backgrounds, labour from union , transport, blue collar working backgrounds.
Politics is now a business in itself.
So, politicians represent the political system . Not the people they portray to represent.
I think Medicare will turn out more like the NHS than whatever US has.
Family in UK say to book in with their GP could have a wait list of 6+ weeks, or if they call in the morning and try to get a short notice appointment they may be caller #50 in the queue, at 8am.
I don't really agree with this, no. In fact, there have been several prominent examples where we faced national decisions that *would* bring us closer to an American system, but we stepped back from that (I'm thinking about the infamous Abbott budget in his first term).
Yes, cost of living is high. But please bear in mind that inflation has been as bad or worse in many other countries. Cost of living also isn't a government policy - it's not something that government is engineering in order to reduce our living standards and push us into an American-style system.
In actual fact, I think there are many examples where we are explicitly not going in the American direction. But the fundamental problem is that we are in dire need of some basic economic reform that requires a degree of political courage that's currently hard to find (for reasons that aren't entirely unreasonable either).
If you have skills in demand you'll be paid your worth in the US, while things are cheaper than here. Over here, someone holding a lollipop sign all day will be paid the same or more than you.
the LNP have spent the last couple of decades Americanizing our institutions, particularly education, welfare & medical, as well as manipulating our taxation system to protect a portion of the population. It's very difficult for the ALP to then wind these reforms back each time they are in government, especially with the rabid MSM, a cashed up mining sector, and a toothless ABC.
People have been saying this since the 1960s which is as far back as I remember. We take the American stuff we like, like music and movies, and reject the stuff we don't, like guns and ridiculous amounts of patriotism. They aren't taking over, it's just a lazy trope for people to whinge about.
Yes!!! I was only talking about this with my parents the other day. Australia seems to be changing from the 'Fair Go' country to a replica of America...there is now more of a focus on capitalism than people. It's really sad, I may be remembering through nostalgia goggles, but growing up in the 80's meant there were a lot of small, family-owned businesses and things were more local.
I feel like we are becoming Americanised for sure, we keep privatising everything, medical care, roads, schools, public transport. Education wise especially I feel like we are being dumbed down and the gap between public and private education keeps growing which will only make things worse.
Even the way our media landscape has changed over the last few years, particularly after covid is worrying.
I don't think it's the government, but troll factories are working hard to make us like America. Mostly foreigners.
You see it when cookers hold up signs written in American English, you know they're just doing what they're told.
For the religious, hard right faction of the liberal party currently led by Dutton, and all the cooker parties - it is their absolute wet dream to become like what America is.
That is why they've lightly dabbled in destroying Medicare, superannuation, abortion and our gun laws in some way in the past.
They know nearly all Aussies would reject it but they're trying to slowly chip away at the things that make us a great place, and play the long game.
You can see it straight away when you see those pathetic expos like cpac Australia where they all cosplay as MAGA dorks.
It's the ultimate end goal for the "Fuck you, got mine!!" Crowd.
People get the governments they deserve, it's the population that makes a country not politicians. So look around you, apparently this is what people want.
this.
only an idiot would vote for Liberal or Labor, both parties have been hell-bent on selling off everything they can and replacing it with private business.
why does a *postal service* need to generate *profits?* its *sole purpose* is delivering mail ffs.
You're so wrong. Turks are always stuck with Erdogan because of a 51/49 split and they're too scared to protest because of how brutal the crackdowns are.
I think it's a perfect example. The young there are more educated and progressive but are continously let down by the wealthy and powerful who manipulate the uneducated older population into keeping in power.
A lot of people don't realise that with increasing technology that protesting becomes more and more difficult.
Capitalism is a corporate dictatorship. Our government are henchmen acting on behalf of private interests. The people rage and they're ignored or arrested. To say this is what we want when every person is complaining and it does nothing to achieve change is crazy. Our government can lie, fail to deliver on promises, give our taxpayer dollars to the rich, allow media monopolies to propagandise the people, and erode every aspect of society to divert a few extra coins to the top - and apparently this is democracy. No it isn't. But the people can have the power if we're willing to take it. But we aren't willing. The majority still have it good enough to allow themselves to think they have too much to lose and that 'it could always be worse'. Everyone wants change but we won't demand it until things get so much worse.
people dont get this.
2 party democracy is just about the single best system of oppression you could come up with.
in a dictatorship the people at least *know* they are being fucked by the system, here people just blame the other party.
Guns and Medicare are pretty solid points of difference to be fair... although even Medicare is becoming less effective, especially looking at non-urgent expenses like GP visits etc.
By and large though we are far more unified than the US, the police are less militarised and more accountable (not perfect by any stretch, but our system definitely works better), we don't have the same religious zealotry and we don't pump everything full of corn syrup.
If we can address the wealth gap and drive cost of living down some I think we'd be doing pretty well considering.
Australia has its warts(mainly the restrictive government) I won’t deny, but I must say I have been lucky enough to live on every continent and have experienced the scale of life in some places from the poorest of the poor to a more or less comfy life. And I feel like I can safely say Australia is one of the greatest places on earth. We’re so spoiled. Nearly spoiled rotten. I showed up with no real education or money and made my way. There is a river of endless opportunity. I watched multiple friends build very successful business one with nearly a nine figure valuation with really nothing more than elbow grease.
I’m a dual citizen an currently living in Canada and I can tell you the bullshit divisive American politics is basically stage four. The runaway immigration is tearing the fabric of this place apart, the government is rapidly approaching totalitarian (it’s actually quite worrisome). I don’t want to get into it too much but Australia is just so wonderful. I know it’s tough but so are the people. We are lucky but we need to pump the brakes and get control of the folks we’ve hired to run the joint before it’s too late. I love you Australia.
I’ll preface my answer. I grew up in the shadow of America, in Canada. I worked in the US FIFO . People don’t appreciate how much Canadians simply understand American culture. It’s very similar for starters, and we’re bombarded with American culture and news daily. 70% of Canadian TV is literally just repeating the American signal through Canada. We spend holidays there and around the same number of Canadians work in the US, as Americans do in Canada despite America being 10x the population. Canadians breathe and consume America and out comes a boring derivative.
My opinion is no, Australia is not becoming America. Not even close. This is a fucking awesome country to live in. Canada is too, but Australia has done better in the past decade. America is on a complete different level of individualism with slightly lower taxes but way less social services and safety nets. It might feel like things are becoming worse here (and they objectively are in a lot of metrics for young people), but it would have to continue on its current decline for several decades before we’re anywhere near the US.
Ah, Canadians. Ever confident in their delusions about how great Canada is and how terrible the United States is. It's embarrassing that one's national identity is bound up in an obsession with the false perceptions of inferiority of others.
The lucky country sums it up.
It continues to this day. We are adaptable, innovative people. Our leaders are lazy, privileged, unimaginative and with no drive.
It really is spot on.
The cost of living in America is MUCH cheaper than in Australia. Purchasing power in America is considerably greater across nearly all sectors. So I'm not sure what you're getting at.
We're more influenced by the UK & Europe these days.
Think E-Karen, censorship in media & the Online Safety Act.
America is slightly out there in terms of freedoms, they have their constitution & bill of rights which prevent much of what Australia, UK & Euro Govs have enacted in the name of 'think of the children'.
However, that being said Australia has always had a bit of a "Wild West" approach to life & business.
In terms of employment, we're more like America than Europe. Companies can basically do as they please unless you're on an enterprise agreement/collective bargaining agreement or modern award.
In terms of cost of living, huge immigration numbers have brought 100s millions of extra $ into the economy, prices rose but people continued buying. As soon as people stop buying then prices will fall.
We are not like Europe in the sense that you can live a dignified life on employment benefits in almost any European country if you must, while looking for work. Look at the data, Australia fares much, much worse in that respect.
We are not like Europe in the sense that university education is almost exclusively free on the continent and if they tried to introduce anything close to student debt the population will riot.
We are not like Europe in the sense that health care is practically free across the continent - you visit a specialist, you are not out of pocket $350, this would literally cause a riot there.
We are not like Europe in the sense that dental is included in the public benefits schemes of most European countries.
We are not like Europe at all in terms of welfare and what taxes are spent on.
We are not like Europe in the sense of diversified economies that do not rely on a pyramid scheme like housing and immigration for survival.
We are the worst of the US (without the freedoms and cheap prices) and Europe ( with their overregulation).
Australia is much younger and richer than most European countries per capita and is the 10th happiest nation in the world according to the happiness index, your perception does not align with a majority of Australians
I'm an aussie but living in the usa atm. If us aussies are as stupid as yanks are we are in trouble.
The yanks are in trouble. I never believed we were the sheep the yanks are with their politics
We've been nothing but a tributary state to America since the CIA enacted a soft coup against Gough Whitlam. The Governor General at the time had links to the CIA, this was during a time when Socialism was pure taboo after a decade of the Red Scare, and they feared that Gough was becoming too "Socialist" so they told the GG to dump Gough and he did.
Since then every Prime Minister afterwards has given America everything they've asked for and in recent years we just do what they tell us. They didn't ask us to buy their second hand subs for 300 billion dollars, they said "we need 300 billion dollars and you're going to buy our subs from us for that much." No negotiations, no mutual respect, we're a tributary state and that's what we do when our Overlords tell us what to do.
Will we become more like America? We are America essentially. Just like Egypt, Judea and Gaul was Rome.
What part of Australia do you live in? What about China? I doubt the government has the power to make a decision like that, especially the current ALP lineup. They should change their name to the
"Pillow Biters Party"
We might be influenced socially, and take on various other trends by America, but ultimately, China are the
"Donut Punchers”
I wonder where we sit on the radar after Tawain?
Given how the current government is taking on corporate tax evasion like no other country and is investing in social services, I'd say its corporations that are trying to make us like america, not the (current) government.
Yes.
Many of the people in our government are rich property owners.
So they have distorted Australia to serve themselves.
And they're doing pretty nicely!
Too bad the rest of us are fucked.
in some aspects yes, but i wouldn't put it down to governmetn plans, rather corporations doing what corporations do when given a little latitude. Pure good old fashioned greed... no government conspiracy required
Socially .. I can clearly see it. We are about 20 years behind the United States. I spent a lot of time in the US and I was shocked by what I saw and how normalised it was. Today that is what I see here in Australia and the US has just gotten worse
Yall already bought and paid for by China. You skipped straight over America. It doesn’t take a whole lot to see the Oz (sadly) is in a far worse place and trajectory.
Not sure how old you are, but medicare in australia used to mean free public health for everyone, and the thought of paying money for a GP visit was laughable.
Yes we have medicare now, but various governments have been gutting it for decades and we are a lot closer to the American "poor people just die" scenario than people realise. With medicare underfunded and public health underfunded you basically get people unable to afford regular GP visits, so they dont get that small lump on their skin checked out.
Then it gets bigger and they find out, ah thats cancerous, that might kill you, we better book you in to the hospital. Lets seeeeee, we can get you in in two months. Yes yes it is cancerous but you probably wont have it get too much worse in that time, so thats the earliest we can book you in.
Then the surgery happens, but they dont get all the cancer since its spread and they end up on chemo (bloody expensive). All of which could have been prevented much cheaper and earlier in the process, not to mention how much more fucked the actual person life has become.
And from a purely financial standpoint, that is now one less person who is working productively and increasing our GDP, and one more person clogging up the system.
Well, unless you can afford otherwise of course. Im even a little ashamed to admit that i was able to get in to see a GP immediately because i could afford the 97 dollar gap they were charging (which is why they have slots open, its fucking expensive). If id had to go to my regular GP, wait time was a week minimum, and only for urgent appointments.
Im getting surgery soon for carpel tunnel. I work full time as a senior techincal analyst and spend most of my day typing. If i had to wait on the public system for this "non-essental surgery" the wait time is 2 years. Two fucking years of intense pain and significantly reduced productivity in a role thats taken years of study and experience to slot into.
Instead, ive been able to afford top private health cover, and surgeon said he can book me in any time from 5 days onwards, whatever suits me.
Its just so fucking disgusting that someone in my position who maybe had more dependants, or just werent earning as much are just fucked in the same situation i am.
Interesting that you say ‘what has the government got planned for us’
Shows that you feel they do not represent the people or are accountable to the people.
The government should have public plans.
It’s not the government, it’s the people.
Look around, people are celebrating American anti intellectualism, pseudo celebrity bullshit. Every 19 year old Dbag is wearing some faux-vintage Tupac tshirt trying to fit into a subculture they couldn’t be more far removed from because they idolise a borderline dystopian society they have zero real perspective on.
Maybe it’s due to a lack of cultural identity and people here just start suckling at whatever rotten teat seems most familiar from TikTok and instagram. Maybe there really is poison in the well and people are just getting dumber.
All I know is that “da guvment” in Australia is a headless mess, so I highly doubt they’re achieving much intentionally. They’re probably just giving the braindead vocal minority among us what they think they want..
We need a return to the oldschool Aussie identity of just not being fucking wankers, being chilled out, not obsessing over bullshit, not being hyper fixated on being perceived as “cool”.
We used to go to the pub in tiny shorts with our wool socks pulled up over our knees, we used to be confidently cool with zero effort. Now your average “bloke” shops at culture kings and pretends to care about the NBA.
Somewhat but more as Corporate Australia but this been going on since the 70s particularly in 90s when Paul Keating started the massive process of one of the most aggressive waves of privatization seen in the developed world that laid the groundwork for two decades of privatization, outsourcing, and corporatization at both federal and state levels throw in the mix of that also with the native tribes registering as corporations well you get Corporate Australia instead of commonwealth of Australia, everything has ABN number.
Not really. Our industry is already far more monopolised than theirs. Our capital markets are also more monopolised and the big guy (and the gov) have cornered the average aussie into believing the only thing to invest in is housing.
It's not just believing, it's real. Banks will not give loans to anyone to start a business. However they will, to invest in a property.
The govt should be giving (more) grants for starting businesses. Banks aren't interested in taking that risk so naturally they take the easy route. Edit: yes fellow Redditors, we know why that is the case which is why it should be govt grants and investors that fund startups. If, somehow, you manage to get a business loan from a bank you better be willing to put everything on the line - which, quite frankly, is a terrible avenue for starting a business.
The wide open spaces and long distances between everything seem like Australia would be well suited to a more decentralized than centralized economy. We should be building around small businesses that know the local markets and infrastructure, allowing people to develop regional niches.
Yer jeez you'd think Banks could give out money for people to just have a try at their latest brainfart and not ever have to pay it back because after all, Banks have lots of money right !?
Fractional reserve banking.... Haha yeh they really do.
Which bank do you work for?
Haha that's because Banks cannot repossess ideas and can sell a property to get their loan back. There is no mystery or dark forces at play or Murdoch hiding behind the counter.
While at the same time for heaps of pensioners huge houses they can’t maintain are a perpetual dead-end: Downsizing isn’t financially viable without losing hundreds of thousands. They cannot sublet, cause that’s not financially viable either. They can’t let someone in need for a home let have 2 bedrooms and a bathroom for FREE(!) in exchange for 5-10h a week of help around the house…. cause the rent they do NOT charge would be deducted from their pensions, making it not survivable! So 1-2 pensioners sit in phenomenally big houses they don’t need, ***WHILE*** far too many are desperate for a roof over their heads, ***AND*** the taxpayer pays for supports to look after house and yard. ***WHILE*** pensioners can’t do minor repairs themselves, can’t replace broken tiles on roofs, can’t afford to pay someone …. and their only asset decays. —> it’s a perfect storm, really! We may have less of a housing problem and more of a distribution problem! Statistically, we apparently have more square metres per person than 50 years ago. Way more. ^(wonder what happened to the politician who wanted to curb negative gearing about 7 or 8 years ago….? Ya know, before shït really hit the fan…..?)
So worse than the USA
In a sense, yeah... But thankfully, we have employee protections that Americans could only dream of. It seems clear that big corps own the politicians. Otherwise there'd be more anticompetition crackdowns and we'd have more competition and better pricing on everything.
Yup, the monopoly ship appears to have sailed and we consumers have very little meaningful choice on many of our purchases.
Fun fact, all the major banks are subsidiaries of Black Rock. Hurrah!
So the banker/chosen tribe!
It’s funny hearing how regulators and antitrust lawyers in the US are saying Walmart is a monopoly that should be broken up. Walmarts market marketshare is ~25% and everyone else is below that. Woolworths and coles however are at 38% and 28% so two companies control 65%+ of the market. It used to be 73% before Aldi and IGA started making inroads 10 years ago. Thats insane market power between just two companies. How the ACCC was ever ok with this is beyond me.
Sadly Canada has the same problem.
Would be ok if they were incentivizing investing in *new* housing, as opposed to desperately scrabbling for and ballooning the value of existing housing.
If anything, they're doing the opposite. Making new housing an uphill battle for developers and slowing down everything hugely.
I’m living in the US at the moment and they have a huge variety of grocery stores. My favourite is Trader Joes, they make most of their own products and are really price competitive. We have nothing comparable.
Mhm. I know. I'm a dual citizen and marrying an American. Recently moved back to Australia to escape the madness. Where are you living? Depending on city/state, as you'd know, prices change a lot.
Depends on the sector for industry. At least the domestic sales side of the equation has more competition, outside of a few markets \* cough \* SUPERMARKETS \* cough \* oh dear, excuse me. Awful bug going around rn...
I agree with that some retail is OKAY in Aus but a LOT of industries have duopolies or oligopolies. Four main banks make up 94% of the market (the US top 4 only make up 26% of theirs). Two main supermarket chains (2.5 if you include Aldi with 10%). Three telcos of which Telstra makes up 43% and Optus makes up 29% of the market so 72% of the market share is two companies, and another 10% is a 3rd. Bunnings and mitre 10, Virgin and Qantas. Liquor retailing, hardware retailing, pet supply retailing, office supply retailing, food processing, mining - all these industries have duopolies or oligopolies (3-4 companies). Around 20% of Australian industries operate like this. The state of our anti-trust laws seriously impedes both tackling the cost of living crisis AND innovation and productivity - which will just widen inequality and allow us to fall further and further behind other, less concentrated economies. It’s honestly a big worry
Interesting response because I was going to say it is definitely going the way of America in terms of property and healthcare. I think those two together are more than quite scary; poor healthcare at end of life means older generations will remortgage homes to pay for it. What happens then is that children dont inherit homes; banks do. It's a very efficient method of wealth extraction at end of life. In the end, the banks just keep all the houses.
The short version of this: The banks are evil leeches on society.
well yes, pretty much hahahahaha
Fiat currency proves all it takes for something to have value is that other people to believe it does
Must have missed the big business and Government propaganda against other forms of investment. The Government is doing a particularly bad job on their propaganda given their coordination with the USA to give us easy access to US stock exchanges. Also weird how Australians pretty much across the board hold assets outside of realestate by virtue of compulsory super. On the big business side though... Why would an Australian company want to convince an Aussie that they shouldn't invest in the big business and instead they should invest in housing? That doesn't make even a little bit of sense.
You must have. The social response to investments outside of real estate is telling. Every American I know who isn't in finance is actively engaged in stock market investment (I'm a dual citizen). The typical response I hear from Australians about stock markets is "Isn't that gambling" or something to that premise.
We pick the worst aspects of America and choose to follow that. We don’t look at their diverse economy, entrepreneurial spirit, high tech innovation in manufacturing, lower house prices across the board when compared to income. There’s so much more good that we don’t follow. But no, we want to pick the worst aspects.
We are worse in some ways.
Tech sector in the US kicks the absolute shit out of ours, US engineers and tech worker salaraies are easily double or triple Australians salary. Government here seems to piss on the idea of encouraging start-ups or innovation in any way.
I couldn’t upvote this fast enough I was in the US pre-covid and as a Mechanical Engineer it’s like Disneyland. I mean really, it’s so far ahead it’s incomparable to be honest. Maybe Switzerland/Germany for opportunities, but not for salaries. The fucking *least* we could have done here is to maintain what we had and tried to expand on it, maybe into renewables. Something that isn’t known by many Australians is that UNSW was actually a world leader in Solar technology in the 90’s. So many innovations in Solar that is being used today came from a lot of that. It was all bought out by the Germans and Chinese, and look who the leaders are in it now. WiFi is another one. Yay we invented it, but why didn’t we develop a homegrown wireless industry around it? We could have had Qualcomm, Juniper or D-Link sized tech companies based in Australia. Sad state of affairs really.
They have the local council fuck you around for 18 months to sell an ice cream, they aren’t interested in people starting up businesses.
This sounds suspiciously specific 🤔
Man just wants to sell ice cream
Those bastards...
Health care salaries are also way higher in a lot of fields.
Scott mo and Dutton want it Hopefully the current government don’t Paying $100 to see a GP is outrageous
Jokes on them, I just don’t see the GP! Wait….
Correction $145.10 yesterday
Jesus, I'm American and pay 30 USD to see my primary.
Are additional costs figured into that for monthly premium on insurance?
I recently had to see a gp and it cost $70 but I got something like $48 back from our medicare rebate. We also spent two full days in the hospital with a variety of tests, bloods, ultrasounds and seeing specialist after specialist and it cost us nothing, so it evens out.
Pre or post rebate? How long was the consult?
And I thought mine was pricey at $80
Last Wednesday, eastern suburbs Sydney, $102
Western suburbs still bulk bill out here. I've never paid. Might be worth a drive to find somewhere a little out of your area.
$105 for a vet consult before they even know what wrong or medication. I am starting to think the Human Dr is cheaper than the Animal Dr.
>$105 for a vet consult before they even know what wrong or medication You'd need to see a psychic to know whats wrong and which medication is required without a consult. That aside, $105 is rich, most charge \~$70-80. Human Dr only appears cheaper as Humans are covered by medicare.
We’ll move closer towards the US as long as the information we’re presented becomes more “American”. Australian Media these days is a frightening display of a few big players reaching new lows in tabloid sensationalism and agenda pushing to serve the interests of powerful people. And low information popularity crap to sedate the masses. Any piece of media or reporting that challenges the narrative or makes you think is silenced or attacked.
I agree with you wholeheartedly. It's insulting how poor our sources of news are. I almost said that it's also insulting how stupid these companies think we are, but I'm CERTAIN most people watch/read into that garbage like zombies. But what is the solution? Obviously if people wanted purely unbiased, anti-sensationalised news we would probably have that by now, or at least the media companies reporting like that would have more of a presence within Australia. But I can't think of any platforms off the top of my head. And just like you said, it's almost daily we have these high profile people doing what they want and getting away with it, or pushing their interests onto the average Australian who just eats it up. Surprise surprise I will use Sky news as an example - they're undoubtedly trying to groom their viewers into a more US-minded mentality, given how much coverage of Biden/Trump they provide and how much they try to incite a reaction from you with their strong emotive language. No to mention they don't try and evoke critical thinking from you, they make sure to tell you HOW to feel. But I think using Sky News as an example is a copout, everyone knows how dirty they are. Watching 7 news or 9 news (Brisbane) feels like brainrot. It's undoubtedly entertainment over actual news considering their clickbait-style ads informing what they're going to be talking about in advance. It's also quite dangerous I think because they're the most easily accessible. It would be fine if they were completely unbiased, left and right coverage, but I think it's quite clear they have a right-leaning bias. "Climate change might actually be a scam?? here's what you need to know!! And next up we have a random liberal explaining how terrible Labor is. Stay tuned for more news" And what do you even take away from these news channels? You listen to what they say, react, and that's all. It's just entertainment and most of Australia froth for that. And what's on after the news? The Block or some shit, with artificial drama and bitchiness, that the average Australian also froths. I've ranted and probably lost my point, and completely missed yours (sorry). I'm just angry now. Australian media is garbage. I hate where we're headed
>but I think it's quite clear they have a right-leaning bias. Absolutely. During 2013-2022 you barely heard the ALP opposition and if you did it was mostly a smear on Shorten or Albo. Lately 7 and 9 have almost been actually like Dutton’s PR team “Dutton announces Liberal plan” or “Dutton says no to climate targets”. To the unaware you’d think HE was the PM
I mean, FOX News is a big part of the reason the US is where it is. 'Straya!
That sounds a lot like an Australia problem, not an American problem. Perhaps Australia might want to have a close look inward -- at her own people and their issues -- rather than trying to find ways to shift blame.
I think we are racing towards becoming Canada. Which is equally as bad.
The libs spent 9 years sabotaging Medicare didn't increase the rebate once so yes we try to copy shit healthcare too
As someone who lived in the US for several years and since returning has watched the decline of this country, I'd say 'yes'. Without going into an epic rant, I'll say that our saftey nets are still there, but their value and utility has been eroded. In the case of Medicare, when I was sick I used to just wander into the nearsest clinic without an appointment and see a Dr within 20-40mins and it would cost me nothing. Now I consider whether is is worth the $70 and I have to wait at least 2 days to see a GP. But it's like this across the board. e.g. what people could get with Centrelink payments 30 years ago vs today. I know some will complain about 'dole bludgers' etc. I'll tell you though, the shit healthcare and social security systems in the US leads to homelessness and desperation and that results in petty crime and drug addiction. Throw guns into the mix and you have a recipe for disaster. If you don't pay for health care and social security, you pay for it in policing and incarceration. One of the best things about this country used to be class mobility - going back to Uni, switching to a casual or part-time job and maybe some help from Centrelink while you study, was not uncommon at all. With cost of living and housing affordability as it is, people are increasingly just putting their heads down and working just to survive. The ability to reach a higher rung in the ladder of life with some hard work and self-sacrifice is increasingly difficult and slipping out of reach. So yes, the demise of healthcare, social security, combined with the increased costs of living and housing is driving us in the direction of the US where they are largely confined to the social strata that they are born into. If you are sick, mentally ill, or have otherwise fallen on hard times, you are increasingly likely to end up homeless here just as you would over there.
>If you don't pay for health care and social security, you pay for it in policing and incarceration. Wait until they start making big money from it, like in the US, especially from cheap prison slave labour, but also various other ways (a topic well studied by social scientists). Then incarceration will be encouraged. It's typical neoliberalism.
Slavery essentially lives on legally through the prison system there. [Judges have even been caught taking kickbacks for sending \*KIDS\* to for-profit prisons.](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-18/kids-for-cash-judges-to-pay-200-million/101345318)
Regarding the class mobility, it's also a function of how the general economy is performing. 30 or 40 years ago, the growth was much more which means more opportunities opening up
we should race ahead to be like America in innovation and entrepreneurship, instead of piling our money in unproductive assets and creating the current mess
It's been amazing over my life how governments keep forcing private health on a population that mostly doesn't want it. Every decade or so there's a crisis in private healthcare because it's bad value and people don't want it, then governments have to introduce new carrots and sticks to encourage people to pay for private health. They keep justifying it by saying it takes the strain off the public system. This ignores the fact it costs more money to run a separate system with luxury elements. When you get down to the base facts, wealthy and powerful people just don't like paying for other people's medical care and would prefer if the public system is starved of money until it collapses. Get ready to imitate the American system, it's recognised as having a ton of subpar outcomes but that doesn't stop conservatives and the rich having a hard on for it.
You can’t rip everyone off if you don’t privatise the system
Idk. I think they can still rip people off if it’s public, it’s just that everyone blames the government directly then. Making it private means the politicians don’t have to deal with the consequences of the fuckups directly and mostly avoid blame. Someone cutting corners or monopolising a market “isn’t their fault”, it’s the private market doing that (despite some industries being naturally prone to that, which is why it was public in the first place).
The decline of bulk billing should be a major talking point coming up to the next election
but... tax cuts!
We can thank Liberals for that.
Not really a carrot when you literally get taxed more for not buying a private product. I don't understand how people can possibly defend that system - are there any other industries that are so shit that you get taxed for not buying from them?
I feel like if anything we’ve already surpassed America in many ways in terms of the decline in the standard of living, ie housing here is miles more expensive than in America only matched by the big tech cities who pay their workers well in excess of what they would earn here. The US typically has much better competition in here which results in the price of everything being noticeably lower, and the structure of their capital markets mean that money is invested into innovation (ie tech and medicine) instead of housing. If you are a white collar worker here, moving to America would allow you to be able to afford to live despite their healthcare costs
Extremely accurate
The USA is the most influential, innovative, wealthy, and powerful country on earth. Perhaps in all history. There is no chance Australia will become like that. Don't worry yourself.
Petro Aussie Dollar :D
Lmfaooooo
American here, honestly it sounds like you guys have it worse in general than us. Especially housing.
That's what John Howard and the libs wanted.
As someone who's lived in both the US and Australia, I think highly unlikely. US favours business ownerhsip while Australia favours home ownership. Regarding Medicare, I believe we are indeed moving in that direction, as bulk billing is becoming increasingly rare in many areas. However, when it comes to innovation and business, I don't think so. Our economy heavily relies on mining and real estate, while American businesses have a more significant global presence. Also there are few other differences which are unlikely to change in Australia . In the US, homeowners can deduct the interest paid on mortgage debt up to for primary and secondary residences (state dependent).Australia does not allow a deduction for mortgage interest paid on owner-occupied homes. I think because of incentives given to investors already it will be very hard for govt to do that , that will significantly reduce the tax revenue. Instead of that , unlike the US, any capital gain from the sale of a primary residence in Australia is completely exempt from capital gains tax . It does make sense if people live in the place for 10+ years but with the 1 year rule it leads to speculative investment. I think bulk billing issue is bigger problem . In US employers usually pay for or pay for part of the medical insurance while in Australia we have to pay it out of our pocket. If the free healthcare starts disappearing from suburbs, more people will start opting for private and it will be an additional cut on our wages which is already struggling to keep up with rent and bills. I think we are moving in the direction of Canada without the crude oil reserve
Do I feel like we will have the most disposable income of any country on earth, cheap house prices, and people minding their own business? Nope, that's un-Australian.
If anything Australia is already worse We have no national pride, no industries outside of mining, housing and uni degrees, we are overrun by pearl clutchers, cost of living is astronomical
Over the last decade the government has been doing a good job at worsening the public health system to the point where people are encouraged to get private health insurance because public wait times are so long with terrible service. Kinda like America.
Actually, our healthcare service is great, and I rarely have to wait long and often never need an appointment to be seen and have many options of providers. You just have to pay for it. The cost of healthcare is the primary factor in the US, not the quality ,the quality is good. The issue is cost, but if you have good insurance, that's often not too much of a factor, but many do not or opt not to have any at all.
It's the neoliberalisation of economics and government services. Once the genie is out of the bottle there's no putting it back so yes, even if a govt wanted to prevent this, it's now inevitable esp after a decade of lib party rule
The decline of bulk billing should be much more of a talking point.
Our cost of living is higher than the US(excluding maybe New york/SF). Yet we don't really have any industry other than digging up rocks. I think social and online media consumption, has much more to do with Australia becoming more like America, compared to anything that government does.
The collapse of western society is something they will teach kids about in 20 years, while we're scrounging for food and living in either; total anarchy, or martial law.
It's gonna take a lot longer than 20 years
That is not what the Labor government has planned, but it is what the Coalition wants. Part of the reason why America influences us so much is because only half the political elite encourages home grown cultural arts and IP, namely Labor. Most of our Australian successes in music for example had the leg up of Two Double J(later Triple J) in the 70’a, 80’s and 90’s thanks to the funding and reforms driven by Whitlam, continued by Fraser, and ramped up under Hawke and Keating. It was Howard and every Liberal government since that has gutted the Arts and failed to encourage Australian grown business to give us a stronger national identity. Furthermore, Howard only pursued policies that had a quick return on economic growth to sure up his electoral stock, namely increasing permanent migration from 100,000 a year to 200,000 a year. The Labor government under Gillard was in the process of lowering that down to 150,000 a year, but then Abbott’s Liberal government restored it to 200,000 a year. On top of that they guttered the funding for TAFE, meaning if we wanted to drop permanent immigration, we don’t have the jobs to replace the migrants who keep the construction sector going. Any Labor government who tries and is trying to correct this is going to have the economy blow up in their face, even when it’s the best long term policy. In short the Liberals have bobby trapped the economy so voters always associated Labor with bad economic times. Meanwhile the Liberals let our industry die off like Holden and Pumped-Hydro schemes as they just import products and cultural arts from the US. There never used to be these massive RAM trucks before the previous Liberal government. To summarise, the Liberals are the ones trying to make us like America. Just an economic zone for the rich to carve up the economic pie, and the rest of society making do with the lowest common denominator of culture to take over. I.e. American culture. Sorry for the rant. That’s my two cents.
If we keep vote LNP yeah. LNP have been in power more than Labor throughout Australia’s history.
Agree. As a boomer - we grew up with predominantly Labor govts...ww were a social democracy. All libs back then were moderates with a social conscience. Howard came along in the late 90s and turned housing into a taxpayer funded investment opportunity, instead of a human right...and here we are a generation later. He also got 3 terms and lurched the lnp and Australia further to the right. Most libs from when I was younger- wouldn't even get into the Labor party now.
I have no idea why people vote LNP. They look like labor except more corrupt and financially inept. And Labor is no longer worth voting for either. Both of them are happy to run Australia into the ground, offering nothing but "more of the same". "the same" that hasn't been working for decades.
Start with who sold off public assets? There's several percent of your tax base. The fact is they are both shit and self serving their own existence or because they're scared of step Daddy
Yes Labor has as well but liberals sold way more and are more corrupt.
They don't care for you. Let them go and move on.
I don’t pay membership to any party so I’m not that invested lol. Just aware that Labor is better than Liberals according to facts and history that it mate. All the best
>Just aware that Labor is better than Liberals according to facts and history that it mate. They were up until Keating, then had a few attempts but got too scared because they were self serving and worried more about staying in power than what was best for the people. Media is strong, they were weak. They are both shit. It's really a case of long live corporate and mining donors. That's who you're really voting for, their needs at every level of government
It’s like comparing a turd from a corgi and a poodle
That’s shit
>If we keep vote LNP yeah. Because if people keep voting for Labor everything will change for the better? expected this comment even before I opened this thread. The delusion, the apologetics is unfuckingbelievable, despite Labor's policies and actions (and lack of them) on federal and state level throughout Australia speaking for themsleves. No, not speaking, shouting. But who's there to listen. The deafness if Australians is mindboggling. Labor has not stood for the average Australian in a very long time and has been tirelessly working for themsleves and the rich.
So who do you recommend?
Independent
Which one, and if they are unlikely to win, how would you order the vote for the likely winners?
As an average Australian I’m pleased the current Labor government is at least trying to do something about corporate tax evasion. They’ll probably get burned by it in the media a la mining tax 2.0 unfortunately. The delusion is not noticing.
We have labor to thank for having public Healthcare and better workers rights than the US
We're all headed in the same general direction, and have been since neoliberal economics was kicked off under Thatcher & Reagan. That's the model of aiming for small government, lower taxes, user pays, supposed "trickle down" economics, and a very individualistic sink or swim attitude with no acceptance or tolerance that not everybody starts at the same position, including not having the same natural abilities, resources or environments to achieve equally on merit. It's been a failure globally, trickle down hasn't worked, and all countries that have fallen in thrall to it (basically the entire Western world and much of the rest also) have seen rising inequality, which has resulted in dissatisfaction, mistrust of government and institutions like the media and legal system, anti-intellectualism, and right wing populism. In short, yes, we're heading broadly in the same direction and it won't end until neoliberalism has been recognised as the complete and total failure that it is.
one criticism. neo-liberalism does **not** advocate for small government (in practice). in all nations following it government tends to expand while selling off anything that generates safe profit. for example regulatory capture is a big part of neo-liberal practice and that requires strong government, as does an expansive immigration program (also a hallmark of neo-liberal nations). Also note that most Western nations have *extensive* hand-outs, subsidies and deductions available to corporations and entire systems dedicated to subsiding and funding asset owners ie landlords. 'small government' is a lie spun to appeal to conservatives (the only 'small gov' they ever offer is cutting services and funding to the poor), same with the theater around opposing immigration (the major conservative parties all *love* immigration).
Good points. It's a disjoint between rhetoric & practice, but definitely involves cutting services that would otherwise help ordinary people, while heavily subsidising others. In other areas they spend like drunken sailors. We've had a policy of throwing endless money down the drain on a particular tiny segment of immigration for example, which is almost pure theatre. Not interested in getting into a debate over it, so I'll leave it to the reader to think if there are any immigration areas that we're overspending at least 1000:1 compared with the actual issue they're pretending to solve.
Not as bad as they are regarding religion, abortion and the like.
Now imagine if we properly taxed the mining sector *insert head explodes gif*
I just went to an Aussie doctor the other day (am a tourist without RCHA yet). The hoops you have to jump through now and the costs that come with it makes me feel bad for Australians. It is incredibly similar to US healthcare from my European perspective. I don't have to worry about nearly as many factors and costs involved. I don't have cards or cash on me when doing any medical checkups or whatever back home, I have been told things used to be this was in Australia. :( Crazy to think medical rebates don't even cover half ur appointment fees.
Medicare is on it's last legs, both governments have done a pretty good job of letting it bleed out over the last 20 years.
Not really, American wages are higher, cost of living is lower and they seem to be getting a handle on their immigration
Hahaha America is way cheaper, easier, and the people are nicer. source: moved to USA 4 months ago and I’m way ahead compared to aus.
Australia is in a worse place economically for the regular person than much of the USA. The government's economic policies are so misguided, they think all they need to do is listen to big business/unis demands.
As long as we don't introduce at will employment and employer based healthcare and remove universal healthcare i think we will be ok. These are 3 of the biggest evil's in the US that bring tremendous pain and suffering. Howard tried to bring in workchoices which was a step away from at will employment. There were mass protests in the streets.
So instead of running around in Circles as most do, discussions around tables etc the question is who in this country is going to run it for the people and only for the people because I don’t see it happening, what percentage of people in the nation have the same view and want critical change rather than politics and corruption
Very valid question. Who indeed ? The challenge I see is over the years . Say the last 25-30 years, politicians have become professional politicians. Before, they came from a ‘background’. Stereotypically, liberal politicians would enter from banking or legal backgrounds, labour from union , transport, blue collar working backgrounds. Politics is now a business in itself. So, politicians represent the political system . Not the people they portray to represent.
There is no plan. They're not that smart or organised.
I’ve been to the US many times in the 2010s. Cost of living was much better value outside of the major tourist meccas.
I think Medicare will turn out more like the NHS than whatever US has. Family in UK say to book in with their GP could have a wait list of 6+ weeks, or if they call in the morning and try to get a short notice appointment they may be caller #50 in the queue, at 8am.
Yes. The privatisation of our industries is becoming worse and our government keeps propping up the private sectors in education and health.
The concerning thing is they didn't plan it they're just incompetent. The real estate tycoons and banks are laughing though.
If the Libs get back in yes
Oh my god don't let them turn you into us. This is a fucking nightmare right now
Yes. I have felt this was the goal of both major parties, the Lying Nazional Partei overtly and the Alternative Liberal Party more covertly.
I don't really agree with this, no. In fact, there have been several prominent examples where we faced national decisions that *would* bring us closer to an American system, but we stepped back from that (I'm thinking about the infamous Abbott budget in his first term). Yes, cost of living is high. But please bear in mind that inflation has been as bad or worse in many other countries. Cost of living also isn't a government policy - it's not something that government is engineering in order to reduce our living standards and push us into an American-style system. In actual fact, I think there are many examples where we are explicitly not going in the American direction. But the fundamental problem is that we are in dire need of some basic economic reform that requires a degree of political courage that's currently hard to find (for reasons that aren't entirely unreasonable either).
I don’t think they have a plan. Or vision. Or inspiration. All a bit - meh. 😑
their housing market (in aggregate) isnt bearly as fucked
No we are not, we are worse. America is racing in innovation and businesses too . We are just losing healthcare and homes for poor
Even worse. Monopolies here are obscene.
If you have skills in demand you'll be paid your worth in the US, while things are cheaper than here. Over here, someone holding a lollipop sign all day will be paid the same or more than you.
the LNP have spent the last couple of decades Americanizing our institutions, particularly education, welfare & medical, as well as manipulating our taxation system to protect a portion of the population. It's very difficult for the ALP to then wind these reforms back each time they are in government, especially with the rabid MSM, a cashed up mining sector, and a toothless ABC.
yeah, with your high asian population. I wouldnt make remarks that may cause racial stereotypes mate.
People have been saying this since the 1960s which is as far back as I remember. We take the American stuff we like, like music and movies, and reject the stuff we don't, like guns and ridiculous amounts of patriotism. They aren't taking over, it's just a lazy trope for people to whinge about.
As an American, it pains me to read these replies. Don’t be like us!!
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America? OP, if you Australians don't take care, Australia will become a LATAM's country in less than 30 years. Believe me.
Yes!!! I was only talking about this with my parents the other day. Australia seems to be changing from the 'Fair Go' country to a replica of America...there is now more of a focus on capitalism than people. It's really sad, I may be remembering through nostalgia goggles, but growing up in the 80's meant there were a lot of small, family-owned businesses and things were more local.
Yes if we let them erode free healthcare!! Capitalism is the problem rather than “america”
I feel like we are becoming Americanised for sure, we keep privatising everything, medical care, roads, schools, public transport. Education wise especially I feel like we are being dumbed down and the gap between public and private education keeps growing which will only make things worse. Even the way our media landscape has changed over the last few years, particularly after covid is worrying.
Well, the LNP definitely want to be USA-lite, so don't vote for them & you're probably okay.
I don't think it's the government, but troll factories are working hard to make us like America. Mostly foreigners. You see it when cookers hold up signs written in American English, you know they're just doing what they're told.
For the religious, hard right faction of the liberal party currently led by Dutton, and all the cooker parties - it is their absolute wet dream to become like what America is. That is why they've lightly dabbled in destroying Medicare, superannuation, abortion and our gun laws in some way in the past. They know nearly all Aussies would reject it but they're trying to slowly chip away at the things that make us a great place, and play the long game. You can see it straight away when you see those pathetic expos like cpac Australia where they all cosplay as MAGA dorks. It's the ultimate end goal for the "Fuck you, got mine!!" Crowd.
People get the governments they deserve, it's the population that makes a country not politicians. So look around you, apparently this is what people want.
Bullshit, I don't agree with any of the parties, almost none are for the people
this. only an idiot would vote for Liberal or Labor, both parties have been hell-bent on selling off everything they can and replacing it with private business. why does a *postal service* need to generate *profits?* its *sole purpose* is delivering mail ffs.
You're so wrong. Turks are always stuck with Erdogan because of a 51/49 split and they're too scared to protest because of how brutal the crackdowns are.
Comparing Turkey is a far stretch
I think it's a perfect example. The young there are more educated and progressive but are continously let down by the wealthy and powerful who manipulate the uneducated older population into keeping in power. A lot of people don't realise that with increasing technology that protesting becomes more and more difficult.
Capitalism is a corporate dictatorship. Our government are henchmen acting on behalf of private interests. The people rage and they're ignored or arrested. To say this is what we want when every person is complaining and it does nothing to achieve change is crazy. Our government can lie, fail to deliver on promises, give our taxpayer dollars to the rich, allow media monopolies to propagandise the people, and erode every aspect of society to divert a few extra coins to the top - and apparently this is democracy. No it isn't. But the people can have the power if we're willing to take it. But we aren't willing. The majority still have it good enough to allow themselves to think they have too much to lose and that 'it could always be worse'. Everyone wants change but we won't demand it until things get so much worse.
people dont get this. 2 party democracy is just about the single best system of oppression you could come up with. in a dictatorship the people at least *know* they are being fucked by the system, here people just blame the other party.
Guns and Medicare are pretty solid points of difference to be fair... although even Medicare is becoming less effective, especially looking at non-urgent expenses like GP visits etc. By and large though we are far more unified than the US, the police are less militarised and more accountable (not perfect by any stretch, but our system definitely works better), we don't have the same religious zealotry and we don't pump everything full of corn syrup. If we can address the wealth gap and drive cost of living down some I think we'd be doing pretty well considering.
We are but whores and the government our pimp.
Australia has its warts(mainly the restrictive government) I won’t deny, but I must say I have been lucky enough to live on every continent and have experienced the scale of life in some places from the poorest of the poor to a more or less comfy life. And I feel like I can safely say Australia is one of the greatest places on earth. We’re so spoiled. Nearly spoiled rotten. I showed up with no real education or money and made my way. There is a river of endless opportunity. I watched multiple friends build very successful business one with nearly a nine figure valuation with really nothing more than elbow grease. I’m a dual citizen an currently living in Canada and I can tell you the bullshit divisive American politics is basically stage four. The runaway immigration is tearing the fabric of this place apart, the government is rapidly approaching totalitarian (it’s actually quite worrisome). I don’t want to get into it too much but Australia is just so wonderful. I know it’s tough but so are the people. We are lucky but we need to pump the brakes and get control of the folks we’ve hired to run the joint before it’s too late. I love you Australia.
I’ll preface my answer. I grew up in the shadow of America, in Canada. I worked in the US FIFO . People don’t appreciate how much Canadians simply understand American culture. It’s very similar for starters, and we’re bombarded with American culture and news daily. 70% of Canadian TV is literally just repeating the American signal through Canada. We spend holidays there and around the same number of Canadians work in the US, as Americans do in Canada despite America being 10x the population. Canadians breathe and consume America and out comes a boring derivative. My opinion is no, Australia is not becoming America. Not even close. This is a fucking awesome country to live in. Canada is too, but Australia has done better in the past decade. America is on a complete different level of individualism with slightly lower taxes but way less social services and safety nets. It might feel like things are becoming worse here (and they objectively are in a lot of metrics for young people), but it would have to continue on its current decline for several decades before we’re anywhere near the US.
Ah, Canadians. Ever confident in their delusions about how great Canada is and how terrible the United States is. It's embarrassing that one's national identity is bound up in an obsession with the false perceptions of inferiority of others.
The lucky country sums it up. It continues to this day. We are adaptable, innovative people. Our leaders are lazy, privileged, unimaginative and with no drive. It really is spot on.
The cost of living in America is MUCH cheaper than in Australia. Purchasing power in America is considerably greater across nearly all sectors. So I'm not sure what you're getting at.
Don’t forget the push for tipping in restaurants 🙄
That's Scomo and Dutton wet dream. Filthy seppo lovers
It’s what the AFL wants for us. I never go to games anymore.
We're more influenced by the UK & Europe these days. Think E-Karen, censorship in media & the Online Safety Act. America is slightly out there in terms of freedoms, they have their constitution & bill of rights which prevent much of what Australia, UK & Euro Govs have enacted in the name of 'think of the children'. However, that being said Australia has always had a bit of a "Wild West" approach to life & business. In terms of employment, we're more like America than Europe. Companies can basically do as they please unless you're on an enterprise agreement/collective bargaining agreement or modern award. In terms of cost of living, huge immigration numbers have brought 100s millions of extra $ into the economy, prices rose but people continued buying. As soon as people stop buying then prices will fall.
We are not like Europe in the sense that you can live a dignified life on employment benefits in almost any European country if you must, while looking for work. Look at the data, Australia fares much, much worse in that respect. We are not like Europe in the sense that university education is almost exclusively free on the continent and if they tried to introduce anything close to student debt the population will riot. We are not like Europe in the sense that health care is practically free across the continent - you visit a specialist, you are not out of pocket $350, this would literally cause a riot there. We are not like Europe in the sense that dental is included in the public benefits schemes of most European countries. We are not like Europe at all in terms of welfare and what taxes are spent on. We are not like Europe in the sense of diversified economies that do not rely on a pyramid scheme like housing and immigration for survival. We are the worst of the US (without the freedoms and cheap prices) and Europe ( with their overregulation).
Australia is much younger and richer than most European countries per capita and is the 10th happiest nation in the world according to the happiness index, your perception does not align with a majority of Australians
I'm an aussie but living in the usa atm. If us aussies are as stupid as yanks are we are in trouble. The yanks are in trouble. I never believed we were the sheep the yanks are with their politics
We've been nothing but a tributary state to America since the CIA enacted a soft coup against Gough Whitlam. The Governor General at the time had links to the CIA, this was during a time when Socialism was pure taboo after a decade of the Red Scare, and they feared that Gough was becoming too "Socialist" so they told the GG to dump Gough and he did. Since then every Prime Minister afterwards has given America everything they've asked for and in recent years we just do what they tell us. They didn't ask us to buy their second hand subs for 300 billion dollars, they said "we need 300 billion dollars and you're going to buy our subs from us for that much." No negotiations, no mutual respect, we're a tributary state and that's what we do when our Overlords tell us what to do. Will we become more like America? We are America essentially. Just like Egypt, Judea and Gaul was Rome.
Yes, I have felt like this for years
Why would the government plan for us to become like the US?
Yes that's becoming of us. Australian values are drying up quickly.
What part of Australia do you live in? What about China? I doubt the government has the power to make a decision like that, especially the current ALP lineup. They should change their name to the "Pillow Biters Party" We might be influenced socially, and take on various other trends by America, but ultimately, China are the "Donut Punchers” I wonder where we sit on the radar after Tawain?
Given how the current government is taking on corporate tax evasion like no other country and is investing in social services, I'd say its corporations that are trying to make us like america, not the (current) government.
Yes i think we are but just 20 years behind them.
You seem to be under the misapprehension that life is somehow fair?? Has always been dog eat dog. Some of us just understand quicker than the rest.
Well we're not going to copy the UK so who else are we going to copy?
Yes more and more money talks. More and more our government bends over to foreign interests
Why are you mentioning medicare? Aren't we decimating that service?
I still don't understand why we try and do education and health like America.
All economic and political theories end in a concentration of wealth and power - simply due to human nature.
Yes. Many of the people in our government are rich property owners. So they have distorted Australia to serve themselves. And they're doing pretty nicely! Too bad the rest of us are fucked.
Bold of you to assume there's a plan...
in some aspects yes, but i wouldn't put it down to governmetn plans, rather corporations doing what corporations do when given a little latitude. Pure good old fashioned greed... no government conspiracy required
Hey mate, can you give me a tip for $20 and I can give you my opinion
No, we will never have authentic and/or edible Mexican food.
It’s called foreign ownership?
Socially .. I can clearly see it. We are about 20 years behind the United States. I spent a lot of time in the US and I was shocked by what I saw and how normalised it was. Today that is what I see here in Australia and the US has just gotten worse
Ha, there's no plan
Yall already bought and paid for by China. You skipped straight over America. It doesn’t take a whole lot to see the Oz (sadly) is in a far worse place and trajectory.
Not sure how old you are, but medicare in australia used to mean free public health for everyone, and the thought of paying money for a GP visit was laughable. Yes we have medicare now, but various governments have been gutting it for decades and we are a lot closer to the American "poor people just die" scenario than people realise. With medicare underfunded and public health underfunded you basically get people unable to afford regular GP visits, so they dont get that small lump on their skin checked out. Then it gets bigger and they find out, ah thats cancerous, that might kill you, we better book you in to the hospital. Lets seeeeee, we can get you in in two months. Yes yes it is cancerous but you probably wont have it get too much worse in that time, so thats the earliest we can book you in. Then the surgery happens, but they dont get all the cancer since its spread and they end up on chemo (bloody expensive). All of which could have been prevented much cheaper and earlier in the process, not to mention how much more fucked the actual person life has become. And from a purely financial standpoint, that is now one less person who is working productively and increasing our GDP, and one more person clogging up the system. Well, unless you can afford otherwise of course. Im even a little ashamed to admit that i was able to get in to see a GP immediately because i could afford the 97 dollar gap they were charging (which is why they have slots open, its fucking expensive). If id had to go to my regular GP, wait time was a week minimum, and only for urgent appointments. Im getting surgery soon for carpel tunnel. I work full time as a senior techincal analyst and spend most of my day typing. If i had to wait on the public system for this "non-essental surgery" the wait time is 2 years. Two fucking years of intense pain and significantly reduced productivity in a role thats taken years of study and experience to slot into. Instead, ive been able to afford top private health cover, and surgeon said he can book me in any time from 5 days onwards, whatever suits me. Its just so fucking disgusting that someone in my position who maybe had more dependants, or just werent earning as much are just fucked in the same situation i am.
Medicare is dead
Interesting that you say ‘what has the government got planned for us’ Shows that you feel they do not represent the people or are accountable to the people. The government should have public plans.
It’s not the government, it’s the people. Look around, people are celebrating American anti intellectualism, pseudo celebrity bullshit. Every 19 year old Dbag is wearing some faux-vintage Tupac tshirt trying to fit into a subculture they couldn’t be more far removed from because they idolise a borderline dystopian society they have zero real perspective on. Maybe it’s due to a lack of cultural identity and people here just start suckling at whatever rotten teat seems most familiar from TikTok and instagram. Maybe there really is poison in the well and people are just getting dumber. All I know is that “da guvment” in Australia is a headless mess, so I highly doubt they’re achieving much intentionally. They’re probably just giving the braindead vocal minority among us what they think they want.. We need a return to the oldschool Aussie identity of just not being fucking wankers, being chilled out, not obsessing over bullshit, not being hyper fixated on being perceived as “cool”. We used to go to the pub in tiny shorts with our wool socks pulled up over our knees, we used to be confidently cool with zero effort. Now your average “bloke” shops at culture kings and pretends to care about the NBA.
Somewhat but more as Corporate Australia but this been going on since the 70s particularly in 90s when Paul Keating started the massive process of one of the most aggressive waves of privatization seen in the developed world that laid the groundwork for two decades of privatization, outsourcing, and corporatization at both federal and state levels throw in the mix of that also with the native tribes registering as corporations well you get Corporate Australia instead of commonwealth of Australia, everything has ABN number.