wallydownundy

Changes rocked Australian politics last week. The Leader of the Opposition last Monday was Malcolm Turnbull until Liberal party colleagues voted for a change. Media pundits backed Joe Hockey and, much like the Melbourne Cup, the favourite was nowhere near the finish line.

The new leader of the Opposition is Tony Abbott – conservative, anti-Emissions Trading, anti-union and a practicing Catholic. While religion rarely matters in politics, for a Catholic head of party it may make a difference as Australia has socialised medicine with a broad offering in reproductive medicine.

In August I wrote a post, “Facing an Election? Take Your Shirt Off!” Abbott is a fitness enthusiast known to bicycle 60 kms on the weekend for fun. There is no shortage of photos in the newspapers featuring Tony dashing across the finish line after an ocean swim. Of course he’s wearing the Australian standard – budgie smugglers (aka Speedos). If you’re not up on Aussie slang, a budgie is a type of bird. Put the two words together and you’ll probably get a visual. No? Look at this made-up campaign poster from today’s The Australian.

Later in the week the State of New South Wales (home to Sydney) also forced a change. This time it was the leader of the sitting government. Premier Nathan Rees was dumped in favour of Christina Keneally. Amazingly Christine is originally from Ohio and is the first female Premier in NSW. She still has a Yankee twang.

And like me, she fell in love and married an Australian – and fell in love all over again with Australia. It’s rare you get to choose your nationality!

Keneally shares a famous last name with Australian author Tom Keneally – best known for “Schindler’s Ark” which later became Speilberg’s film “Schindler’s List”. Christine is married to Tom’s nephew and they have two bi-national sons (Aussie-Yanks like my son).

Sad for Keneally is the view she’s a puppet to factional elements within the Labor Party – which was summed up neatly in The Sun Herald this weekend in their cartoon by David Rowe. I like the Yankee dress, the demure pose – and the numerous wingtips under the bustle of her dress.

In the land of November beach days, it’s not Thanksgiving today.

It’s just a Thursday in November and I am already at work.

There’s no steam in the kitchen as multiple pots come to boil. No one’s setting up the children’s table or ironing out Mimere’s lace tablecloth. There aren’t chores like shucking corn or stirring pearl onions or laying the fire. No one’s uncorking the wine or seeing if we remembered cranberry juice.

It’s all rather quiet.

I try to explain Thanksgiving but no one quite understands. What are Pilgrims? Didn’t you wind up killing Indians? Is it religious?

You can’t explain the conflicted thinking as you help yourself to a third serve of turkey - even though you were full after the first plate. You can’t explain the contentedness of being so squeezed onto a table three people need to pull out their chairs if you want to go to the bathroom. You can’t explain the wonderful incongruity of three generations together for one day a year - even if there are arguments. And you can’t explain why one woman…or two…or three…or some men…would cook for two days only to face a cavalcade of dirty pots.

No one understands Thanksgiving outside of America. And nowhere have I travelled that there’s been an equivalent holiday. It’s not like Christmas because you don’t have to buy gifts. It’s not like Easter because you don’t have to go to Church. It’s not like the Fourth of July because the weather keeps you indoors - all of you - and you have to wear nicer clothes. Plus they don’t televise football in summer!

Thanksgiving is a holiday completely unique in the world. And wherever I am I wish I was home.

Happy Thanksgiving. I miss you all!

Wally Down Undy

ABC Radio National has an all news station - located at 630 AM here in Sydney. (For my Yank readers, ABC means Australian Broadcasting Corporation and is a national, taxpayer funded broadcaster.) At 10:30 am I was on the Harbour Bridge crossing to a meeting when the half-hour news flash played. Headline three for the bulletin was, “Australian sheepdog beats New Zealand rival on its home turf - for the second year in a row.”

Now I’m sure this was one hell of a dog. Clearly a prize winner. But Australian radio is not so desperate for news that they broadcast nationally the results of state fair competitions. (”And Bill Chadd’s prize Angus took the blue ribbon at the Wagga Wagga Beef Invitational today!”)

Instead Australians were indulging in a bitter national rivalry. Australia versus New Zealand. It’s the Hatfields versus the McCoys all over again. (These West Virginian families entered American folklore with a multi-generational feud.)

New Zealand is to Australia as Canada is to the United States - a nearby neighbour that we pretend to embrace while saying disparaging things when they’re not in the room.

The fact a sheepdog trial got national radio play shows the depths we’ll go to to show Australians are better than New Zealanders. It’s a bi-national sport!

Last week the USA and anyone in the television viewing time zone stopped to track a silver weather balloon. Purportedly strapped to the base was a box with a small child inside. His parents raised the alarm when the anchor line wasn’t secured. Kid and balloon went off pursued by ambulances and authorities - and television helicopters.

Thankfully the child was found later asleep in a cardboard box in the crawl space above the garage. Sadly, his parents appear to have concocted the stunt to garner publicity. As parents Richard and Mayumi Heene dragged their son Faclon from talk show to talk show the stress caused the boy to vomit. Twice.

From 1999 to 2004 I ran communications at Ford Credit. One of the biggest business risks was the rising number of personal bankruptcies. Ford Credit undertook to raise the level of financial literacy among high school students so they would become better money managers. One year we conducted a poll and asked teens how they would fund their retirement. More than 50% said, “with the winnings of a reality television show.”

It appears that’s exactly what the Heene family was thinking. (If they were thinking at all.) Now police have swooped and the parents face six years in prison. The stunt was to bolster their own television ratings, as they’d already appeared on “Wife Swap” and were hoping to launch a show about their family. (Did I say launch?)

Sadly the stunt has backfired and now Falcon - America’s Balloon Boy - may spend a chunk of childhood without parents. That’s the worst reality possible.

I never have buyer’s regret because when I think I want something I get it. Yes, that’s me - I am the consumer driving the economy back to life. I’m also a frustrated office worker who rips past shops on his way to meetings. So when I do have time retail therapy is great.

So imagine my upset having passed up an opportunity to buy a Dow Jones 10,000 baseball cap on eBay. (Not bought because my head looks deformed in a cap.) This was sold in the heady days of 1999 when the Dow Jones passed the 10,000 mark for the first time in March of that year.

(Do you remember those euphoric times? Our homes had equity…Circuit City was our weekend destination…our jobs were secure…we could eat and pay the bills simultaneously.)

Since then the Dow Jones has passed the 10,000 mark on decent, on ascent, on descent, on ascent. It’s been like a theme-park adventure ride. (The 10,000 barrier was broken upwards in March 1999, December 2003 and October 2009.)

The Dow Jones Index is a portfolio of shares in America’s leading companies. Their composite value is the Dow Jones Index. This was designed to showcase the relative health of a representative sample of America’s top companies. Over the years some major companies have been struck from the Index, while newcomers have taken their place. It’s a PR nightmare to deal with a CEO whose firm is being de-listed from the Dow Jones Index. They’re rarely as upbeat as the newcomers.

So break out the home equity line of credit applications - the Dow Jones is back up, glod is strong and economists predict The Great Recession is over.

Me? I’m going to keep scouring eBay and try to find my historical souvenir - that baseball cap from March 1999 is mine!

Trivia Challenge (scroll past cartoon for answers)

1. Name the company in today’s Dow Jones Industrial Average with the longest tenure?
2. Which company is the newest kid on the block?
3. When was it founded?
4. Name the founder.
5. When did the Dow Jones close above the 1,000 barrier for the first time?
6. How many years did it take to go from 1,000 to 10,000?
7. During the dot.com boom, a book predicted the Dow Jones would ascend higher - what was the forecast projected high?
8. What was the highest close for the Dow Jones Index?

  Courtesy of The Huffington Post

Trivia Answers - Thanks to Wikipedia

1. General Electric was one of the original 12 companies listed in the average
2. Travelers - the insurance giant - added on 8 June 2009
3. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was founded May 26, 1896
4. Founded by Charles Dow
5. On November 14, 1972 the average closed above the 1,000 mark (1,003.16) for the first time
6. On March 29, 1999, the average closed above the 10,000 mark - 26 years, 4 months and 2 weeks later.
7. Authors James K. Glassman and Kevin A. Hassett went so far as to publish a book entitled Dow 36,000.
8. On October 9, 2007, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at the record level of 14,164.53.

Your Score

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  • 4-6 - An average American with a Schwab account - go day trading!
  • 7-8 - Thanks for reading WallyDownUndy Mr. Buffet!
  • Still debating accuracy of answers - The 24 year prison sentence for Enron does give you time, right Mr. Skilling?

It pains me to have friends visit from America. They’re full of bad news and disparaging comments about the economy. Real bites have been taken out of the workforce, retail sector, manufacturing, home ownership – you name it. And friends from Australia visiting the USA report discouraging signs – “For Rent” – in lots of storefront windows. It seems America is still in the throes of a historic recession.

Down here in sunny Australia we have yet to enter recession. This week the June GDP figures were released. Australia grew at a paltry 0.6% - however it grew. Next week the G20 finance ministers meet in London. Of the 33 developed economies in the world, only one never entered recession. For the next year growth of 3.25 is forecast.

(Back in June 2009 I wrote about first signs of our economy’s incredible performance: Like Keanu, Australia Dodges Recession).

It’s hard to summarise the reasons for this world-beating performance – unless you’re Michael Stutchbury. He’s the Economics Editor of The Australian and today he provides a masterly overview of why we fared so well.

If you want to understand why the nickname “The Lucky Country” still applies today, read this great article: “How We Beat The Recession“.

  (Thanks Mom Blogger for photo)

Now that summer is over in the Northern Hemisphere, millions of school children are returning to school. Along with pencil cases, summer memories and new backpacks many will be coming back to school with Swine Flu - also known as H1N1 Virus. Public health authorities are bracing for a significant outbreak. The World Health Organisation has not lowered the pandemic level. Currently we are at the highest level possible.

Against these incredible odds, like Tina Turner sings, “We Need a Hero!” Enter ELMO!

Yes, the red ragamuffin Sesame Street character with the annoying voice is featured in a series of advertisements in the USA. Elmo is teaching basic hygiene to prevent the spread of swine flu - wash hands, cover your mouth when you sneeze, etc. Elmo will be instrumental to reach children - and via them, their parents.

As Elmo has already taken on Potty Training and the Chicken Dance, countering Swine Flu should be a walk in the park. However if Swine Flu does spread widely I’d hate to see Elmo doing hospital visits in a HazMat suit.

The first time I visited Dr David Baker I was taken aback by how modest his offices were.  The surgery was located on the second floor above a bakery in Darlinghurst (an area of Sydney). His reception area had the same old publications. His receptionists were professional and polite. In all it was a modest operation.

In New York I’d grown accustomed to well-appointed medical offices. Artwork and flat-screen televisions were in reception. And the consulting rooms seemed to have quite a lot of new equipment.

In Australia, we have socialized medicine (see my earlier posting). Medicare cards are all you need to see almost any doctor. (Some doctors do charge a “gap” payment, especially on weekends, after-business-hours or for a home visit [Yes, home visits by doctors still happen in Australia]).

So a doctor’s wage in Australia is fair – placing most medical practitioners in the middle class. According to MD Salaries, a general practitioner in Australia earns US$1500 per week – or $78,000 per year.  In the USA that same doctor earns on average $266,000.

Perhaps medical practitioners in the USA are against changes to medical insurance, as they seem to have a lot to lose.

Today the US news is dominated by debate on government-provided medical services. As an American in Australia I can provide insights and commentary on the system in the USA and here in Australia – where medical services were nationalized years ago.

In short – if America ever came close to Australia’s system, it would be a significant improvement. In Australia healthcare is accessible, affordable and really easy. There are no medical bureaucrats or “death panel”. (Thanks Sarah Palin for adding intelligently to the debate – NOT!)

As background, I moved to Australia in 1990, and while I’ve had other postings around the world, I’ve called Sydney my home for 11 years. In-between the first and most recent time in Australia I was back in the USA for five years.

Healthcare in Australia is easy. Citizens and permanent residents receive a Medicare card allowing free access to most healthcare practitioners. Have the flu? See your doctor, swipe your Medicare card, sign and leave. Same with services at public hospitals.

We also carry private medical insurance ($220 per month for a family of three). This would allow a private room in a private hospital – and our choice of surgeons. More often it gets us discounted chiropractic services or visits to a nutritionist.For 95% of our medical services we rely on the government via Medicare. That includes discounted prescriptions – such as Enbrel for chronic psoriasis. This costs $32 per month. Without government support it would cost $1,300.

In the USA I had private insurance through Ford Motor Company. This allowed access to all doctors and services. Yet when I left Ford and kept my insurance through COBRA it cost $1,600 per month for a family of three.  

Before relocating to Sydney in 2005 we visited with our then-two-year old son. He had a recurring fever so we visited the local doctor. As we didn’t have Medicare he charged the full rate - $45. When we got back to New York City my son’s pediatrician conducted follow-up tests. I signed her submission to my insurance company – for $1,900.

Living in Sydney my total taxes are equivalent to when I lived in New York. Here we pay only Federal taxes – not at the state and city level. Yet while the tax levy is equivalent I feel, through Medicare, that I gain a whole lot more.

I’d be happy to continue adding to the discussion on medical costs in Australia versus America.

In short, America – get with the program!

In the immediate aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, AMR Interactive publish a survey of 2,270 people about their views of various professions. With headlines screaming about bank failures and multi-trillion dollar rescue plans, it appears we don’t like bankers anymore.

Bankers rate down there with journalists, politicians and real estate agents. (I still have a soft spot for Annette Bening in “American Beauty” though.)

In this 21^stcentury world we’re in, we seem to hanker for the good old professions. Firemen, doctors, policemen and teachers aren’t what six year olds dream of being. It’s who we appreciate. Little kids don’t dream of being accountants. Well – very, very few have that passion!

So after being battered and bruised by the global economy we revert to our youth. Which is probably a good thing as we’ll need the energy of our youth to return to work as retirement savings are perilously diminished.

Damn – must be those bankers again!