Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
No, those were just two examples given when they said "countries like" would you rather they went on to list every developing country in the world to make their point? You then moved Afghanistan to Africa, a fail of 1,500 miles.
Quality of life indexes are subjective and mainly measure which qualities the authors of the index find important, but what significance is "by far NOT #1" in supporting some rant about USA? The OECD index is here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OECD_Better_Life_Index and puts the United States at #9, right behind Finland and ahead of other populous countries like Germany, France, UK, and Japan. So you take that and decide that since it's not #1 USA must be some wretched wasteland of an existence like every other country with over 50 million people? Ironically you seem to be focused on the economic aspect, which is where USA actually scores better since it gets dinged hardest on social aspects yet still came out top 10.
My personal issue with the USA is it is VERY easy to slide into a VERY low quality of life pretty quick due to those social issues.
Lack of social safety net and at-will employment are pretty aweful especially in a country as rich as ours. We have probably the worst wealth disparity in the world. The only reason we are still pretty high up there is because people still have residual wealth but the trend is going towards more and more money going to the filthy rich's bank accounts.
What happens as less and less money is in circulation because the rich act as a cash flow check valve? I dont see a very good future for the average american as pensions are non existance and the few public sector union pensions are in trouble and looked at with scorn.
Also I think comparing to other countries is a little disengenuous, why not compare to the USA of the past and see if we are getting better or worse relative to each other. This nonsense about air conditioning and heating is a red herring, air conditioning did not exist in the civil war so its a nonsense argument.
How did the rich and poor relate to each other through the ages in the USA, I would argue things are getting way worse.
Here is the basic rub. Private capital has been handed complete control of the means of producing wealth and marketable goods and services. But, in exchange for this privilege, private capital bears absolutely no responsibility for hiring labor. Private capital is free to exploit labor as needed, and to ignore surplus labor that is not needed. They are under no legal mandate to do so, and don't even acknowledge a moral one. They are free to just take the profits and run, and laugh all the way to the bank.
It is the equivalent of a farmer who stops feeding his horse after plowing season. With the same predictable outcome.
Lack of social safety net and at-will employment are pretty aweful especially in a country as rich as ours. We have probably the worst wealth disparity in the world. The only reason we are still pretty high up there is because people still have residual wealth but the trend is going towards more and more money going to the filthy rich's bank accounts
The United States doesn't lack a social safety net, it does have a problem with wealth disparity but nowhere near worst in the world, and your theory on residual wealth doesn't stand to scrutiny statistics on median household wealth which is for the majority is driven by real estate and stock market values since home equity is the main source of household wealth. USA is at full employment and real wages are at record highs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pittsflyer
What happens as less and less money is in circulation because the rich act as a cash flow check valve? I dont see a very good future for the average american as pensions are non existance and the few public sector union pensions are in trouble and looked at with scorn.
I'm not sure what you mean here, less paper coins and money? That isn't as important as consumption, which drives the US economy. Real consumption dipped during the recession and has been rising since 2010.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pittsflyer
Also I think comparing to other countries is a little disengenuous, why not compare to the USA of the past and see if we are getting better or worse relative to each other. This nonsense about air conditioning and heating is a red herring, air conditioning did not exist in the civil war so its a nonsense argument.
Woah there, you were the one who brought up quality of life index which compares US to other countries, not me. If it is a little disingenuous why did you do it?
I said nothing about air conditioning and heating, so it is great irony that the red herring you're talking about wasn't even brought up by me thus is itself a red herring of your own creation.
If the U.S. had a decent health care system it would skyrocket to the top 3. That is far and away our biggest problem -
If you lose your job, you lose your health insurance. But a large part of the reason you might lose your job is because of a health problem or disability. Without health insurance, a health problem practically guarantees bankruptcy. Then you easily slide down the ladder.
If by some stroke of bad luck you become too sick to work, you might as well just forfeit your life, because it is OVER for you. The system will suck up every dime of wealth you have, and even if you do get better, you are at a permanent disadvantage.
It's shameful. There are no excuses nor rationalizations for our awful health care system. Most other problems in the U.S. at least have some counter-arguments in its favor. Health care does not. No country in the entire world wants to duplicate our health care system. There are many things about the U.S. that many around the world envy and respect, but NOT that, and it's a pretty damn big issue.
Last edited by redguard57; 03-16-2018 at 10:31 AM..
You didn't do it by yourself, BY YOUR OWN ADMISSION. You got some government subsidy.
If you maxed out your Pell grants you got an up front investment from the taxpayers to the tune of about $23,000.
Then as an RN you are the indirect beneficiary of various government health care spending.
Yep, if it weren't for pell grants she wouldn't be a nurse today. Yet, people want those benefits cut. A lot of people like her could never do it without the financial assistance.
Miliary is a ***** show. I dont know how anyone endures 4 years of that full time (and I am not even talking about afghanastan but the other empty headed soldiers), I did a little bit of the gaurd and that was enough.
Free Education
House with $0 down payment
Free healthcare
Free dental
Free travel
Free meals
Employment preference upon speration
20 year retirment
Yeah, a real ****show.
Or the poor can just wait and hope some politician gives them enough welfare to make it out the ghetto. Good luck.
That you are willing to use military service as the litmus test if who is deserving and who is not says a lot.
Yes, it says that I was poor enough to join yet good enough to meet the requirements. No one can say I (or anyone else who served) was too "lazy" to change their dire circumstances or too "stupid" to pass a military test.
You're not poor unless you've exhausted all options to get out of poverty, including enlisting your freedoms away just to earn a paycheck.
Now I live in hawaii instead of flipping burgers in Texas and living in my mother's house. What a horrible choice.
If the U.S. had a decent health care system it would skyrocket to the top 3. That is far and away our biggest problem -
If you lose your job, you lose your health insurance. But a large part of the reason you might lose your job is because of a health problem or disability. Without health insurance, a health problem practically guarantees bankruptcy. Then you easily slide down the ladder.
If by some stroke of bad luck you become too sick to work, you might as well just forfeit your life, because it is OVER for you. The system will suck up every dime of wealth you have, and even if you do get better, you are at a permanent disadvantage.
It's shameful. There are no excuses nor rationalizations for our awful health care system. Most other problems in the U.S. at least have some counter-arguments in its favor. Health care does not. No country in the entire world wants to duplicate our health care system. There are many things about the U.S. that many around the world envy and respect, but NOT that, and it's a pretty damn big issue.
Not just the healthcare, but employers being allowed to terminate you because you're ill.
When I used to be employed, I used to be even cussed out by my bosses at times because of my health problems. It got to the point where I was literally breaking down crying because I was powerless to stop the health problems, and the stress from how I was being treated at work because of things I couldn't help was actually making my health problems worse. But I was told when I complained about it that employers had the right to treat an employee that way. It was not considered discrimination against disabilities.
Free Education
House with $0 down payment
Free healthcare
Free dental
Free travel
Free meals
Employment preference upon speration
20 year retirment
Yeah, a real ****show.
Or the poor can just wait and hope some politician gives them enough welfare to make it out the ghetto. Good luck.
I don't know any veterans who brag about receiving any of those benefits they were promised.
Free health care is not free if you have to drive a couple hundred miles to a VA clinic. And did somebody promise free travel?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
