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I would like to quote a good friend of mine on this issue:
"Whenever I come to the USA back from vacation, I feel OLD." He is 31.
For the most part, I agree. Our history saw a massive increase in the QOL when it came to cars and expanded our reach so we can maintain large yards and keep our "frontier" mentality going forward. Well, we're just starting to realize we aren't a frontier country any more. The only cities I can think of with a progressive mass transit system in the USA that rivals anything Japan or Europe has are NYC, Portland, and mayyyybe San Fran, and that's it.
Crime is a huge problem. Schools are a huge problem. Lax oversight of the food industry is a huge problem (no wonder why we are so overweight, we haven't outlawed high fructose corn syrup or any other nasty industrial by-products they inject into the food system). Dependence on cars is a huge problem.
On top of that we work more hours per year than any other country. Yes, you heard me, we work more hours per person per year than even Japan. This just adds to the stress.
I bet if we spent only 1/3 of what we do on the military and put it to good use in the public sector and investment opportunities in the private sector, our QOL will dramatically increase, befitting us as the "greatest nation on earth."
And for heaven's sakes make it more welcoming coming to the USA. 99.9999% of people aren't out to kill a bunch of people. Typical American overreactionism. Every time I come back to the USA from someplace civilized like Japan, it feels like I'm entering an empire or some jail. It's pathetic.
The only cities I can think of with a progressive mass transit system in the USA that rivals anything Japan or Europe has are NYC, Portland, and mayyyybe San Fran, and that's it.
I disagree. The mass transit systems of Chicago, Washington DC, Boston and Philadelphia are at least as good as those of San Francisco and Portland.
I would like to quote a good friend of mine on this issue:
"Whenever I come to the USA back from vacation, I feel OLD." He is 31.
For the most part, I agree. Our history saw a massive increase in the QOL when it came to cars and expanded our reach so we can maintain large yards and keep our "frontier" mentality going forward. Well, we're just starting to realize we aren't a frontier country any more. The only cities I can think of with a progressive mass transit system in the USA that rivals anything Japan or Europe has are NYC, Portland, and mayyyybe San Fran, and that's it.
Crime is a huge problem. Schools are a huge problem. Lax oversight of the food industry is a huge problem (no wonder why we are so overweight, we haven't outlawed high fructose corn syrup or any other nasty industrial by-products they inject into the food system). Dependence on cars is a huge problem.
On top of that we work more hours per year than any other country. Yes, you heard me, we work more hours per person per year than even Japan. This just adds to the stress.
I bet if we spent only 1/3 of what we do on the military and put it to good use in the public sector and investment opportunities in the private sector, our QOL will dramatically increase, befitting us as the "greatest nation on earth."
And for heaven's sakes make it more welcoming coming to the USA. 99.9999% of people aren't out to kill a bunch of people. Typical American overreactionism. Every time I come back to the USA from someplace civilized like Japan, it feels like I'm entering an empire or some jail. It's pathetic.
THAT's why we suck.
While I share many of your opinions, I do not think we suck. Haiti sucks. Nigeria sucks. North Korea sucks. There are still many great things about this country, including that there is a very strong progressive movement that is making incremental progress in tackling some of the issues you raised. In many, many countries of the world, there is no such viable route to change thus the vast majority of their populace is powerless. Now THAT sucks.
While I share many of your opinions, I do not think we suck. Haiti sucks. Nigeria sucks. North Korea sucks. There are still many great things about this country, including that there is a very strong progressive movement that is making incremental progress in tackling some of the issues you raised. In many, many countries of the world, there is no such viable route to change thus the vast majority of their populace is powerless. Now THAT sucks.
progressives are making incremental progress in tackling these issues? how so? is it the pork spending? money for that friggin joke, npr? what?
Last edited by CelticGermanicPride; 05-31-2011 at 05:48 PM..
i will never leave the suburbs and there are plenty of americans who will say the same. cities suck to raise kids, safe or not. they suck. i like my yard (i'm a landscaper), my jet ski, my garage, my pool, and my buell. centralized cities are outdated, satellite cities like tyson's corner are in. don't like it, then go get your historic metrosexual little artsy fartsy pad in marseilles.
Pathetic.
Stay in your suburbs. This thread is about cities, not suburbs. If you don't care about cities, you've nothing to say here. You'll not live there, anyway. And, by the way, why should I subsidise the deduction of mortgage interest and real estate taxes on you 2-car-4-bedroom-house and other shi*?
I am having a hard time understanding some of these arguments when the reality of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and certain parts of East Asia (namely Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, and Singapore (and Malaysia to some extent)) are following a variety of policies that include strong governmental control in certain sectors but especially universal health care are all getting it wrong. Going to these countries who run a gamut of different policies, have many differing backgrounds and are many varieties of heterogenous and homogenous isn't all that hellish--and what looks like the biggest common denominator is to nip socioeconomic disparity/inequality as quickly and efficiently as possible regardless of whether or not other bits of the culture are heavily regulated. I've lived in two of the above mentioned countries as well as the US (where I am now) and have friends from several others. I'm wondering if people who cite the above countries as warnings to the silly liberals have actually spent any considerable amount of time in those countries or have friends living in those countries.
Short of having the wherewithal of either completing sterilizing or exterminating the poorer sectors of this country, I don't see how trying to ask people to fend themselves works all that well. Bad practices, bad nutrition, etc. all passes on. It doesn't make sense to not try to resolve this burden as soon as possible and then have ourselves paying a nice little premium to build nice little sequestered away suburbs from these problems instead of just trying to fix this stuff.
Anyhow, the post earlier about how American suburbs are super safe is pretty spot on--we are far more decentralized here in that regard and it is a pretty high quality of life and would do well in a lot of the indices these rankings if included. It'd probably not do so well in terms of other rubrics like cultural amenities, nightlife, intellectual activity, learning things through lots of happenstance, etc., but that isn't always so important to everyone.
Stay in your suburbs. This thread is about cities, not suburbs. If you don't care about cities, you've nothing to say here. You'll not live there, anyway. And, by the way, why should I subsidise the deduction of mortgage interest and real estate taxes on you 2-car-4-bedroom-house and other shi*?
i like cities, that doesn't mean the quality of life is better there than in the suburbs, whether the friggin place has a murder rate of 40/100,000 or 1/100,000.
and by the way, what are you trying to imply?
Last edited by CelticGermanicPride; 05-31-2011 at 11:18 PM..
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