Conservative politicians used to bemoan the way Australia’s youth mindlessly imported American culture, but you don’t hear so much of that these days. Maybe it’s because many conservative politicians have become so comfortable importing their political talking points from their US counterparts. Like Republicans in the US, many in the Coalition seem alarmed about debt, even though government debt in Australia is among the lowest in the world. Similarly, Australian conservatives are alarmed about high taxes despite Australia having the sixth lowest tax to GDP ratio in the developed world. While Australia and the US have many similarities, our current economic circumstances are not among them. Similarly, our political institutions are nothing like theirs, with our prime Minister always having the confidence of the majority of the House of Representatives, while a newly elected President of the US might not.