Australia. The socialist hellhole.
What is a socialist hellhole like anyway?
“So many individual things,” Trump said, “whether it’s Second Amendment or energy or all of these things — they want to raise your taxes, I want to lower your taxes, regulations, all of that. But the bottom line: the American Dream. The great American Dream versus being a socialist hellhole.”
Donald Trump
In Australia we don’t mind a little socialism. We don’t have quite the same fear of government control of the means of production and we are quite happy about the socialist elements we do have. So what does this mean? How is Australia more socialist than America and does this make it a hellhole?
Public schools. (run by the government that means)
These are free. There is a voluntary donation of about $1000 AU dollars a year but they are free if you do not want to pay or cannot. Some have uniforms and many are competitive with the independent schools that our elite like to use. Of the top ten schools in our state, about three are public and the rest independent, but you can usually find a good public school near where you live. They will only let in local students. So if your local school is no good, then many people move house to get near a good one. The quality is generally very, very good. In the country this get a bit more problematic.
Schools usually have uniforms, they are usually well ordered and clean and you can also choose smaller independent or religious schools instead of the expensive schools. A good Catholic school or small Independent, sparkling clean, with many good teachers and ovals etc. will often cost about 10,000 dollars AU (US dollar currently 1.41 Au) per year. Not a whole lot for most families.
The Dole. (Social security)
The Dole is available to all unemployed. It is not great, although it has recently been boosted because of COVID. It gives you about 815.70 a fortnight if you are on Jobseeker. This has been boosted from about 465 dollars pre-covid. The government has spent billions on supporting most of the population under covid but are aiming to wind this back. You also get a healthcare card which means you pay nothing for medical ever. Because you are low income.
Medical costs
You do not need private health insurance in Australia as your ‘Medicare card’ will pay for anything. You can go to any public hospital and they will fix you. six months in hospital. Free. Five years in Hospital. Free. You do pay for ambulances though they can cost up to 2000 dollars so people buy an Ambulance membership, but if you ring an ambulance and have no cover they will still come, you will never be asked on the spot. In fact they will operate on you and recuperate you and not send you a bill. Every time. Even if you can afford it. If you can afford it though , and you do not take out private insurance then the tax office will penalise you at tax time, not much, about 2000 dollars or so, so many people take out private insurance. But no need if you are low income. It is just free if you cannot afford it.
Private cover insurance cover is about 130 dollars per month and you just sign up for it. You do not get it through a job. Your job has nothing to do with your health. Many people get private insurance to cover dental and glasses and other ‘optional’ things or just because they want to feel good about the doctors they will get and skip the waiting times for optional surgery. If you need an arthroscopy on your knee for example you might wait six months, because it is not an emergency. Smash your knee in an accident you will be operated on that day, no questions asked. There is also a public dental hospital and they will fix you if you need it. You might have to wait though and Dentists are not that expensive, my two kids fillings cost 150.00 last week and it would have been free or much cheaper if I was low income and had a healthcare card. I just have the universal medicare card. Not the end of the world.
The best doctors work at the Public hospitals as well as the private ones. and often shuttle between them. If you are severely injured you will go to the closet public hospital and will be operated on by the best doctors in their fields. Our major Cancer centres are open to the public. Our doctors everywhere usually do something which is called bulk billing which means you will not pay. If you do pay at the doctors it is no more than about 30 dollars usually. The rest will be refunded and subsidised by the government. Of course you can choose to go to a private doctor or a specialist that does not bulk bill and this will cost you money but it is still subsidised.
Medicine
Is very heavily subsidised by the government. Antibiotics cost about 8 dollars. Over the counter specialist medicines…I’ve never paid more than 20 dollars. There are some exceptions but not for the average semi-healthy citizen. Most commonly needed medicines are on the approved list. Think diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer. Most will be subsidised until they are affordable for everyone.
Public transport
Spotlessly clean. Cheap and safe. About 4 dollars per trip. Half price for pensioners and the young. free for over 65.
Universities
They used to be free until 1985 or so. Now a good university will cost you about 10,000 dollars per year for a general degree. Medicine or a pHD might cost you about 100,000 by the time you finish after about 6 years. The prices are going up yearly though. My two degrees cost me 32000 dollars and the Government pays for this until you earn over 55000 dollars or so. Then they take an extra chunk out of your pay check each month until it is repaid. If you never earn over 55000 dollars you never repay. There are no upfront costs to go to university. You pay later, at tax time, when you are working again.
We hate living in a socialist hellhole.
