Sunday, January 20, 2008

It's easier to move up Down Under

THE great American dream of going from rags to riches is more of a reality
in Australia, although we are less inclined to believe it, a new study has
found. . . "It is easier to move from rags to riches in Australia than it is in
the United States," Dr Leigh said. "Particularly for those who begin in poverty,
Australia offers a greater chance of rising up the income ladder."

-Sydney Morning Herald, Jessica Irvine, Economics Correspondent, January 19, 2008

Hm i wonder why. Or at least i would've not 7 days ago, but since discovering how anti-socialist America is, I'm inclined to just laugh at this article for the suggestion that the above would not be true.
Resources, i.e. funding, are not distributed equally among districts in America. The tax money from one area is spent only on that area's health, education and other infrastructure, which means its not unsuprising that it's harder to go from being poor to rich. There's no public health fund, all services are owned by some private sector (which is the way we are sadly going here in Asuralia). As an Australian moving more and more towards beign Labour minded i just stared at my mother in unbelief when she told me this. I guess maybe it's something to do with the Australian "Fair Go" slogan and my own ideas that the government should have control over public services and distribute tax money equally (giving everyone a fair go, i'm not a communist), but this just made me more indisposed towards Amercia as a country. Not the people, i like them as a whole, but the governing body.

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