I saw a documentary last year about Detroit. It was very sad to think the place has ended up as mostly a waste land. The Henry Ford factory is a shell and the homeless have stripped it of copper pipes and anything else of any worth.

.....And a few more of Hiroshima...

Having spent a lot of time in both Japan and China (I still have Chinese residence), I ca see the difference between the Australian way and both these countries.

It is true that neither Japan or China have welfare programs, and their cultures do not readily accept people who are not pulling their weight.

But the big safety valve they do have that we miss in Australia is a very strong sense of family, and the responsibility of the family to look after each other. The adults look after the children, and when the children grow up they look after their grand parents and parents. In many cases this also spreads out across the community, especially in the villages.

Being wealthy in a small community in either Japan or China bring with it a social responsibility. This is starting to fall apart in the cities as the city communities become less personal.  

The same is true in every Asian country I have lived in.

In Australia we seem to have a society that has forgotten all about family, except in some tight nit ethnic groups.

D and D wrote:

---

 Perhaps not opening the thread with blatantly right wing, neo-con political statements may have been a good way of avoiding any political comment.....

................................................................................................................................................................................................

Don't know how you figured that out, but you don't have to be a genius to know our welfare bill is growing higher and higher with each passing year, it has nothing to do with politics or what party is in power or being right wing, just stating the facts. 

You don't know me by the way, so you have no idea what my political leanings are.

I was trying to avoid the thread being taken off topic by political comment (and I don't consider mine was) as otherwise it would have been removed by the webmaster.

By the way, personal attacks such as yours are not tolerated either.  Suggest you have a read of the forum rules, which says in part;

"Posters should refrain from personal attacks. We welcome and encourage healthy discussion and debate but do expect members to show courtesy and respect to one another at all times. If any member or visitor has any concerns about the nature of any of the threads on the forum, or about a specific poster, they should contact the Webmaster immediately and the appropriate action will be taken."

Duh wrote:

---

Here are a few more of Detroit Judy.......I hope we are not heading the same way with the huge increase in welfare recipients we are getting etc;

(PS: Other GN's please don't make any political type comments on this thread.....I don't want it deleted).

 

 

---

Perhaps not opening the thread with blatantly right wing, neo-con political statements may have been a good way of avoiding any political comment. But anyway ....

Detroit has been a basket case since the late 1970's following the oil shock and the almost collapse of the US car industry due to the onslaught of cheaper, better quality and more efficient imported (mainly Japanese) cars. The GFC was the final straw despite the huge amount of government money that was poured into the US auto industry (upon which Detroit was heavily dependent) it was unable to return to the halicon days of the 1950's. The demise of Detroit and other US cities is not a consequence of an excessive welfare system - that the US doesn't have anyway - but to political, economic and sociological forces that were beyond the control of civic and business leaders.

My parents made the best decision of their lives by dragging me, my brother and my sister from the UK to Australia in the 1960's because the heavy industrial areas of the UK were undergoing the same challenges.

If you want to make comparisons of countries with and without social welfare systems compare Japan or the US with Scandinavian countries or with Germany or even Australia all of which have reasonably expansive social welfare strategies in place and which have succeeded in maintaining a relatively high standards of living and strong and healthy economies while still supporting those unable to look after themselves for whatever reason. Those GN's doing their thing while in receipt of a pension, or those of us requiring very, very expensive medications at subsidised prices through the PBS or any of the other benefits of living in a country that is committed to trying to level out the playing field somewhat should come out fighting to retain our social welfare system not sit back criticising it or failing to defend it.