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I was stationed in Okinawa from 1983 - 1985. I remember one night, around 7:30pm, I was waiting for a bus when a group of teens walked up, still wearing their school uniforms. I liked speaking with the Okinawans and found that the youth were usually more receptive so I asked why they were still in uniform. They told me that they'd just left a study group. Apparently, so much pressure is put on them to do well that after school lets out (~3pm), they head over to a friend's house or a hall and study for an additional ~4 hrs. This was 6 days a week. I'm almost positive that school was in session on Saturday's but don't quote me
Again its not the same, you don't have a universal right to a certain standard of living written into your constitution - Finland does.
And you know as well as I do that there are people in the US that are in the income zone that doesn't benefit from Medicaid yet cannot afford decent insurance, or least there used to be before your healthcare reforms, has that improved? I expect there are similar stories for other benefits - the lower middle class being in the squeeze zone.
No, we don't have that. And I said above that I think that contributes to Finland's low poverty rate. But what I think NBP and I are trying to say (speaking only for myself now of course) is that while we don't have the social safety net that you have, it isn't like Dickensian England at the time of "A Christmas Carol" here. Actually, there are more programs for kids than for other people, for example, this one: ObamaCare and CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) This program has been around for a long time, and is for kids whose families make too much for Medicaid. There's also this: VFC | Home | Vaccines for Children Program | CDC which provides vaccines for kids on Medicaid, and kids who are uninsured, underinsured (a holdover from pre-ACA as ACA compliant policies must pay for immunizations with no charge at point of service), Alaskan Native or Native American.
Just wanted to point out that Finnish kids get a lot of recess in the fresh air, too. In the US school system, recess is often pared down to two 10-15 min breaks and not always outdoors.
Also -- the Finnish population is homogenous (even in Helsinki) and they have socialized medicine. Thus, Finnish schools are not plagued with the same dysfuntional social and home issues as most of our schools in the US. We have schools with gangs, drugs, guns, absentee parents, poverty, etc... CHIP and similar programs are awesome, but they do not adequately compensate for the tsunami of barriers kids and schools face in producing college-capable graduates.
No, we don't have that. And I said above that I think that contributes to Finland's low poverty rate. But what I think NBP and I are trying to say (speaking only for myself now of course) is that while we don't have the social safety net that you have, it isn't like Dickensian England at the time of "A Christmas Carol" here. Actually, there are more programs for kids than for other people, for example, this one: ObamaCare and CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) This program has been around for a long time, and is for kids whose families make too much for Medicaid. There's also this: VFC | Home | Vaccines for Children Program | CDC which provides vaccines for kids on Medicaid, and kids who are uninsured, underinsured (a holdover from pre-ACA as ACA compliant policies must pay for immunizations with no charge at point of service), Alaskan Native or Native American.
Oh I definitely don't think the US is like Dickensian England! Its more that there's more chance of children slipping through the cracks (as evidenced by the child poverty rate and the numbers of 'food insecure' children) and the complexities of the system (so many different programs with different qualifying requirements) probably make it more stressful than a system where you just get the money sent directly to your bank account after filling out the (usually) single form (income support is different in that you need to apply each month but that's the last-ditch benefit)
Just wanted to point out that Finnish kids get a lot of recess in the fresh air, too. In the US school system, recess is often pared down to two 10-15 min breaks and not always outdoors.
Also -- the Finnish population is homogenous (even in Helsinki) and they have socialized medicine. Thus, Finnish schools are not plagued with the same dysfuntional social and home issues as most of our schools in the US. We have schools with gangs, drugs, guns, absentee parents, poverty, etc... CHIP and similar programs are awesome, but they do not adequately compensate for the tsunami of barriers kids and schools face in producing college-capable graduates.
Even though Finland is definitely more homogeneous than the US, it certainly doesn't feel all that homogeneous these days, just walk around town and I see plenty of non-Finns, and in Helsinki even more so. Helsinki has 13% non-Finns so there is some level of diversity in the schools (with some schools having higher concentrations of immigrant children)
I know one Finnish invention that affects all of our lives. Though he didn't invent the idea per se, Finnish inventor Eric Tigerstedt successfully created the sound film in 1914. The idea was so revolutionary - a synchronised sountrack in movies - that Hollywood didn't really think it was necessary, silent films were good as they were.
For diversity, the immigration population is mainly located in major cities in the south. Here in Turku SW coast of Finland many schools have 50% of pupils with immigrant background.
I feel our system in America produces more innovative and creative individuals. Rank and file cradle-to-grave educational and welfare systems just churn out mediocrity. The best and the brightest end up leaving such countries to places where there is less government intervention and more free enterprise.
Suppose you wanted to invent something that would add trillions of dollars to the economy, but it would take 5 years of day and night work to invent it and make it successful. But you couldn't do it, because you had to work in your employment all that time, to support your family. In a heavily-socialist welfare state, you could depend on the government more and spend less time employed and more time working on your invention.
So that's one counterexample showing that less government intervention doesn't always improve the economy.
But an even bigger issue is that American capitalism, as it exists now, is not really free enterprise. When you invent something, there will be a lot of companies with vague generic patents that could, with the right lawyers, be construed to cover what you invented. Those companies can bully you into bankruptcy, and seize your invention for their own use. Because, we actually have more government intervention, not less. Our government teams up with our biggest bullies, to oppress the general public, and prevent most of them from succeeding in capitalism.
American capitalism, as it exists now, is a game to acquire enough capital to buy the government, and use it to oppress those who would compete with you, and those you have no use for.
Whether capitalism is better than socialism depends on what kind of capitalism and what kind of socialism. Finnish socialism, as it exists now, is better than the fake capitalism America has now.
Oh I definitely don't think the US is like Dickensian England! Its more that there's more chance of children slipping through the cracks (as evidenced by the child poverty rate and the numbers of 'food insecure' children) and the complexities of the system (so many different programs with different qualifying requirements) probably make it more stressful than a system where you just get the money sent directly to your bank account after filling out the (usually) single form (income support is different in that you need to apply each month but that's the last-ditch benefit)
I would suggest you not believe everything you hear about the US, although I agree your system is simpler.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Natsku
Even though Finland is definitely more homogeneous than the US, it certainly doesn't feel all that homogeneous these days, just walk around town and I see plenty of non-Finns, and in Helsinki even more so. Helsinki has 13% non-Finns so there is some level of diversity in the schools (with some schools having higher concentrations of immigrant children)
Its not huge but its a big difference to how it used to be, and like Ariete said, in some schools its 50%
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