Capitalism is the answer

Republicans opposed his call, and his health care plan, Obamacare - the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which has been in limbo since 2010. In 2010, the top 5 percent of U.S. households received more than 24 percent of total after-tax income, while the lowest 20 percent received slightly more than 6 percent. Income inequality in the United States has been rising since 1979.

The impact of income inequality has largely been driven by a multitude of political choices. The embrace of neoliberalism since the 1980s has provided the key catalyst for political and policy changes in the realms of union regulation, executive pay, the welfare state and tax progressivity, which have been the key drivers of inequality. These preventable causes have led to demonstrable harmful outcomes that are not explicable solely by material deprivation. Inequality has been linked on the economic front with reduced growth, investment and innovation, and on the social front with reduced health and social mobility, and greater violent crime.

Ranking of countries Top five countries with the Lowest Gini Coefficients (%) by World Bank:

1. Norway Gini 22.70
2. Slovakia Gini 23.20
3. Slovenia Gini 24.00
4. Belarus 24.40
5. Ukraine 25.60

Australia was about 34; United States 39; South Africa was the highest at 63. The similarities in the Gini coefficient between the US and Australia raises some concerns. Are we headed down the same divisive path as the United States? Is the recent YES?NO referendum a signal? Is the massive emergence of the Teals a signal? Or the near national dislike of Scott Morrison? Is the near confrontational approaches of our two contending political parties a problem? This opinion writer does not know but suggests a less confrontational approach to our politics is a desirable answer. That the role of the party in opposition is not to oppose, but to work with the government to strengthen and improve. To oppose only if they can convince us that the government is wrong.

The General Social Survey (GSS) in the US is a survey administered to a nationally representative sample of about 1,500 respondents each year since 1972 and is an important source of information on long-run trends of self-reported life satisfaction in the country. As such, it is a key indicator of happiness in the US. For the first time, Americans who say they are "not too happy" outnumber those who say they're "very happy," according to a survey from the nonprofit group NORC at the University of Chicago. NORC is one of the largest independent social research organizations in the United States, established in 1941 as the National Opinion Research Center. The latest World Happiness Report finds that a separate measure of overall life satisfaction fell by 6% in the United States between 2007 and 2018.It places Australia and the US each about the same level but well behind the Scandinavian countries.

Australia is frequently called The Lucky Country. Fifty years ago, author Donald Horne described Australia as 'a lucky country run by second-rate people', adding that our leaders are mostly unaware of events around them. Is this still true? We have changed, but do we still need more? This opinion writer believes yes, mostly in strengthening the cooperation between our political parties, but will leave the answers to those who comment.