There goes Trumpster with supposition; " By 1950 we'd slipped to number 5 (alongside Venezuela!!).. If we'd maintained our 1950 position, each person would have, on average, a standard of living 25% higher than now." Trumpster why 1950, we could be number one like according to you; "At the beginning of the 20th century Australia was ranked number 1 in the world in per capita income. (Alongside Argentina)" I don't think too many Australians want to have the same living standard as the average Venezuelan, or the average Argentinian for that matter. Where the Venezuelans and Argentinians went wrong was they failed to embrace multiculturalism, instead of only letting in Nazi refugees and the odd Spaniard, with multiculturalism they could be enjoying in 2025 the same standard of living as the average Australian.

Dear Paul,

The past year has been tumultuous. But hey, we survived.

I am getting old. I feel it in my bones. When our
Australian Lithuanian newspaper from Sydney, "Musu
Pastoge", arrives my first reaction is -
"Who died?" So many of our friends have left us.

Still, hard as it is, I am determined to not give up
just yet. There's still fun to be had.

With that thought in mind as I hurtle towards
incontinence and immobility - I shall continue to
appreciate what I have today. And I shall continue
to find things that will make me smile.

I am grateful for the past and what it gave me.

I firmly believe in telling the true story of a
nation's history.

Anyway, here's something to make you smile:

I made myself a snowball
As perfect as could be
I thought I'd keep it as a pet
And let it sleep with me

I made it some pyjamas
And a pillow for its head
Then late last night it ran away
But first- it wet the bed!

Paul remains determined to demonstrate his ignorance.

I wasn't suggesting that we try to keep up with Venezuela or Argentina. That was in the past. I only mentioned them because it shows how badly nations can fail. BTW they didn't fail because of multiculturalism. Argentina failed because, instead of investing their wealth in the early 20th century in nation building, they spent it on welfare and luxuries. Venezuela failed because they elected communists and that's ALWAYS a short-cut to destitution.

But what I was saying is that, had we maintained our relatively position as number 5 from 1950 to 2020, we'd be significantly better-off. BTW the state that is currently ranked 5 is Norway and they have a standard of living significantly higher than ours.

If this is all too complex for you, see if you can find a vaguely numerate 10 year to walk you through it.

The upshot of all that is that the claim that multiculturalism is integral to our prosperity doesn't stand scrutiny and is just another of those claims, like Diversity is Strength, that is asserted but never demonstrated.

Australia used to be a cultural backwater. When the
choices for goods and services was so limited. When
Christmas decorations were paper streamers and
balloons. When bread was on one kind. When dentists
puled out teeth instead of trying to fix them.

When ballet, opera, theatre, film, art, architecture,
fashion, medicine, science, and more,
was quite limited. When innovation did not exist.
All that changed with immigration = and mirgants demanding
products, goods and services. Many got rich as a result.
And the country benefited and was able to compete glabally.

Diversity fosters innovation and problem solving by
pushing people to look at things from different perspectives.
And that to most of us is a strength. One that has been
demostrated in this country many times over decades.

"And the country benefited and was able to compete glabally."

And yet we went backwards economically as compared to other nations. I suspect this is such an alien concept to those who've fallen for the tenets of multiculturalism as to be beyond understanding.

You see its all just assertions. Diversity causes innovation? Why? How? Where's the evidence? In fact looking through history, the most innovative nations are those that are most homogeneous.

"I nevertheless consider that multiculturism is preferable to monoculturalism and am pleased that the former prevailed."

Wait, What? they're the only options? No grey here? How about a system which allows people of similar, but differing, culture to immigrate but encourages them to assimilate with the dominant culture and adhere to the principles of the culture that created the country they wanted to come to. You know, a multicultural nation that doesn't buy into the tenets of multiculuralism.

Foxy said "Australia used to be a cultural backwater".

A- Foxy is offensive and Anglophobic to me.