Best Countries in the World

[AiA in Atlanta]

Here are the rankings:

1. Germany

2. Canada

3. United Kingdom
4. United States

5. Sweden

6. Australia

7. Japan

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/bus ... /79044916/

8. France

9. Netherlands
10. Denmark

[mantra]

I'm surprised Australia is so high up on the list. We rank about 30th in education - so that's bound to have had some flow on effects - at least for the plebs.

Germany won't stay No. 1 for long. Regardless of the money to be made by entrepreneurs and corporations in a few of the developed countries - the quest by governments to make this a globalised world where all the workers are equal will drag the rest of us down. The wealthy are an exception of course. In some recent statistics (and I might be out a few percent) there's something like 80% of workers haven't got confidence in finding work if they lose their job. When foreign workers accept $10 an hour - the rest of us can't compete.

[Black Orchid]

Germany won't be at number 1 for long. Soon enough it won't even rate a mention except as a "once was".

[AiA in Atlanta]

Australia just went up in the ratings ... the ratings for corruption that is.

[Black Orchid]

Australia is second only to Hong Kong as the world's least affordable country.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-25/h ... ng/7111490

[Neferti]

Back in around 1978 you could buy a house in St Ives (Sydney Upper North Shore for those who are not familiar with Sydney suburbs) for around $60,000. My husband was earning around $35,000 pa (plus car/package and so forth) at that stage. So the "cost" of a house for professional people was about "half" their average annual income.

I was a stay at home Mother at that stage.

I doubt you will find anything under $1 million plus in that area these days and I also doubt that those with Mortgages there are ANY (single male person) earning $500,000 (plus car and so forth) pa.

What happened?

[Rorschach]

Australia just went up in the ratings ... the ratings for corruption that is.

What corruption... baseless unsubstantiated slurs just don't cut it.

[Super Nova]

Back in around 1978 you could buy a house in St Ives (Sydney Upper North Shore for those who are not familiar with Sydney suburbs) for around $60,000. My husband was earning around $35,000 pa (plus car/package and so forth) at that stage. So the "cost" of a house for professional people was about "half" their average annual income.

I was a stay at home Mother at that stage.

I doubt you will find anything under $1 million plus in that area these days and I also doubt that those with Mortgages there are ANY (single male person) earning $500,000 (plus car and so forth) pa.

What happened?

That is a really good question.

I don't understand what happen too. A real serious issue. We have a huge amount of land.

I expect we concentrate everything in a few costal regions. We limit housing development somehow. We do not promote properly regional development of businesses for people to spread across the country.

Something is going wrong at home. I am sure it is complex set of historical decisions (or lack of) with no real vision for our country.

[boxy]

Houses have become people's superannuation packages, for one.

[Chard]

Suck it, Australia! WE'RE NUMBER 4, WE'RE NUMBER 4! USA! USA! USA!