Australia

One rarely gets the opportunity to discuss other countries' politics with someone with first-hand, granular knowledge. Thank you, Matilda.

Australia is one of the world's most important - and, I think, well run - countries, and frankly should be a model in many ways for our own public policy.

But such is the world we live in. This great country - the U.S. - has become a plutocracy where having a third of the world's billionaires is held up as some kind of national treasure (even known money launderers), while the median family has a net worth of only one third as much as Australia's (as well as a number of western European countries) and 300,000 people declare bankruptcy each year on account of our astronomical health care costs.

I'm sure Australia has its problems (like all nations); but we have so much to learn from a country like yours.

Thanks again!