garysher:

I find myself in the unusual position of agreeing with your post and even applauding it!

on issues unrelated to sex, we seem to agree often.

What's the deal with tertiary education in Australia, how much does it cost? Is it means-tested?

tertiary education entry is merit based (essentially decided by school leaving exams or university entry exams, depending on the university, state and course). university is part funded by a loan scheme called HECS. this leads to a graduate leaving uni with a debt of many thousands of dollars (varying from about $10 000 to $80 000 depending on the course) but this is only a fraction of the total cost, most of which is paid by the state. it is not means tested and there are no up front fees.

Why do you think Americans don't care about each other as much as Australians and Europeans?

it is not that they don't care, but they disagree on how to implement care. maybe it is just because they have never had a universal health care system. if they had, they would be fighting to defend it like everyone else.

i suspect there is also a mcarthyish fear that it will be a slippery slope into communism. like "if the government takes over my health care, will they take over my phone service next, and then the media, where will it end?".

also, my understanding is there is widespread (although not universal) criticism of the current health system among the population, but no political will to address the issue. the major parties are strongly funded by HMOs, so the HMOs can essentially buy political inaction.