More General Observations - USA vs OZ

1. 
   
   Dogs are allowed in National Parks on a leash, but not on back country trails. Since many trails are near roads you see quite a few people with their canine companions.
2. 
   
   Hotels that provide breakfast use disposable cutlery, bowls, cups, etc. Maybe not in a 5-star hotel, but certainly in the 2 or 3-star ones we are staying at. What a huge waste! They claim it is due to very strict health department laws. I did get an inkling of these when we booked dinner and a river sound and light show back in Moab. When I got to the people dishing out the meat I picked up the gravy ladle myself, as the person serving was using both hands to dish out different meats. The ¨contaminated¨ ladle had to be immediately replaced.
3. 
   
   The news is so depressing here. 14% of people now live below the poverty line, defined as $22,000 annual income for a family of 4, or under $11,000 for a single. So the real figure of people struggling is of course much higher as that definition uses a ridiculously low income level. 51 million people have no health cover at all, and they don´t have a free Medicare scheme like we do. The housing market is totally depressed with large numbers of people defaulting on their mortgages which are now way more than the value of the property. In some areas house foreclosures are 1 in 4. All this makes Australia look pretty good to me – we really do not know how lucky we are.