[ian (Ian)]

i can't help thinking we are seeing the beginning of the end of the USA being the economic superpower. at the end of the day this may not mean a whole lot. its not as if the UK slipped into the third-world when the British Empire collapsed. if history teaches us anything it is that super-powers come and go.

in the 5 years i've lived here (i'm an Aussie married to a yank) i've seen a lot of the double-standard of the USA. what they preach in terms of freedom, freedom of speech, anyone being able to make good is simply untrue, the pressure to 'keep up with the jones', the untalked about censorship, and government spying on its people under the guise of the patriot act, the unimaginable level of white collar corruption. the gap between fantasy and reality is really astounding.

in Australia we are given the tools to succeed and if you work hard and do right you will succeed. in the USA you are given the tools of failure and you are working hard not to fail - there is a big difference. in Australia if you do slip through the net, there is a hand to keep you falling to far in terms of public health, you can live on the dole, if you're on the dole you can go to TAFE, etc, etc. none of this exists in the USA. if you slip through the net, you keep falling til you hit the gutter.

recession aside, as soon as we had our first kid last year we decided to return to Australia permanently. of course there are problems, we are a small country with limited economic power and reliance on other larger economies, but when your basic needs are so accessible, the way of life and average standard of living are much better, a government who feels obliged to support its populous (i say this in comparison to the USA governments complete lack of support) the country still so natural and beautiful and the peoples attitudes so realistic - its a formula, if not for success, then at least for getting by in a dignified manner.