Imagine a world…. (Australia- first thoughts)

Imagine a world where:

• Minimum wage is 15$ an hour.
• The government pays you to have children. (baby bonus)
• The government also pays you to go to school (college/uni). (ok… It’s not entirely free… But they front a lot of money. Imagine a world where there is no 70K in debt after you graduate!)
• Where full-time workers get 4 weeks (paid) time off and 2 weeks sick. (Also, after 10 years at that company, they get 6 months sabbatical)… The best part of this is that during your time off you are still accruing time off. *BONUS*
• Farmers get paid WELL for growing food. (and the pickers are foreign kids who want to live in the country so they can travel)
• Health care is almost 100% free for the “basics”. Private health insurance is also available. I once over-heard “I had to pay 700$ for my stomach operation.” (I remember paying 750$ for the doctor to write a script for my ear infection….)
• Imagine a world where if you choose to drink/smoke ciggs, those items are taxed and the money is spent on the country’s healthcare.
• A world where “the most traumatic situation that happened was a massacre of 35, 20 injured”. Whoop-ti-do.
• There is no preservatives hormones in the food. Everything is natural and tastes SO MUCH BETTER! (I never used to drink milk… Here I can’t get enough.)
• With that said- the coffee here/coffee house mentality is better than Seattle. Yep. I just said it. It’s true. The coffee here is MAYBE on par with Italian coffees.
• Imagine living in a city where the public transport is well kept, never smells like piss/vomit, runs 98% on time and is efficient.

Imagine a world where you don’t have problems with immigrants because they are all welcome with open arms! A world where you can simply fill out a form, pay a bit of money and POOF! You’re welcome to come into the country and work/live! No “show me your papers!” No “GET OUT OF HERE, YOU ILLEGAL!” (of course, everyone complains about immigrants no matter what country you’re in… But imagine a world where it’s fairly easy to get in… Especially if you lived 200 years ago and have a criminal record!)

Imagine a world where you want to learn something– (sewing classes, swing dancing, spanish lessons, musical theater, under-water-basket weaving…) there is a community waiting for you to welcome you into their pod with open arms.

Oh wait… I don’t have to imagine this world. It exists. It’s called Australia.