> I went back to Australia for the first time in 10 years, and even the guy stacking shelves at a liquor store ... owned his own home
Australia is having the exact same situation with housing as most of the cities in the US right now and Australia lacks the rural population where things are affordable so this seems incredibly unbelievable to me.
Absolutely Australia has a huge housing crunch. No getting around that.
But everyone has healthcare. Everyone has university. Minimum wage is way, way higher than the US. Employee protections are huge (at will employment is criminal). Even the worst jobs have great paid time off and maternity leave.
Overtime is paid, by law. Working 60 hours a week is unheard of.
