I live in Sydney Australia, and the effects of the economy are really showing. Power prices are 2x the ammout of anywhere else in the world and continue to increase, huge amout of layoffs in various industries. (Including mine, and I am happy I have a job at the moment!)

We see the government continue to 'waste' money on various projects with funds that dont belong to them further increasing our national debit.

Housing prices are though the roof. The average price in Sydney is sitting around that 1million AUD mark or 600k fora 2br appartment making it impossible for anyone under 35 to get into the market and buy. People in the market are happy that there house price is increasing, but not understanding that the value of the dollar is decreasing rapidly. I think its going to be a big wakeup call! Lets see, I could go on about the problems in Australia but its not that different from the USA.

alhoppo