Why Australia is a Good Place to be a Retiree

Towards the later end of this morning I went for a run by the Swan River in South Perth. It was absolutely stunning with my view of the Ferris Wheel and Western Australian sized skyscrapers of the Central Business District across the river. Sailboats drifted lazily through the currents, manned by schoolchildren in yellow and green matching uniforms. Wild pinkish white cockatoos screeched from the trees and I even saw a pair of beautiful black swans floating along the shoreline. Toddlers ran through the covered playgrounds and groups of people gathered for coffee mornings and picnic lunches. Yes, today is a weekday, and yes, the parks along the river were full of people. But what else do you expect in a country with a 37.5 hour work week (that is 7.5 hours per day) and commercials that promote leaving your job as an accountant/financial planner/engineer etc. to work less hours per week as a gardener or house cleaner and make more money. Socialism at it’s finest! Don’t work hard when you can earn the same amount of money and have the same benefits working less. Don’t strive for career satisfaction, stimulation, and innovation when your bank account will end up looking the same as the person serving you at McDonalds. How countries stay competitive in the global economy promoting such work ethics is beyond me but that is a discussion for another day. Because today I saw the payoff of a Socialist society, the ~60 year old retired couple meeting about eight other retired couples in the park for a picnic. Each couple brought with them two chairs and a huge totally full cooler that they struggled to carry between them. And what was in each of these nine coolers? Beer, ice, and nothing else. Oh, it is so good to be a Perth retiree!