Lyndon Larouche wrote:
Ichwill wrote:Try being from an impoverished latin american or african country. Or, better yet, try traveling to America from one of those countries. The passports are worthless -- you essentially have to prove you pose no risk of overstaying. Thus, you have to be of means.
The advantage is not an "American" passport, it is a "Modern Developed Country" passport.
This ^.
How is this not obvious to everyone?
Lyndon Larouche wrote:
Are you serious? Like what?
It is now a serious DISADVANTAGE to be a US passport holder when living abroad.
This is the problem: you, like most Americans, are so used to being from a rich country that you have no concept of what it's like to be - what it's like to travel - from a poor country, i.e. for most people around the world.
simply orange wrote:
This is the problem: you, like most Americans, are so used to being from a rich country that you have no concept of what it's like to be - what it's like to travel - from a poor country, i.e. for most people around the world.
American passport vs other developed passports - a US passport is LESS desirable than a Canadian/Danish/Netherlands/Swiss passport, for reasons of overseas taxation and banking hassles.
People from the developed world want a developed world lifestyle and passport. They do not really care if it is US or someplace else.
The problem with Americans is that they think they have the market cornered on "high quality of life". They do not. You can live a very comfortable life in Toronto, Geneva, Munich, Tokyo, Melbourne etc. This is why Americans are loathed in other developed countries - because they think that they (the US) are the only ones w/ a modern desirable lifestyle.
Why do more immigrants apply to the US than all other countries? Because they can. the US is in the business of taking lots of poor people, more so than any other country. Its not a demand issue - where does your average poor person want to emigrate to. It is a supply issue - which country makes it the easiest to emigrate to.
Lyndon Larouche wrote:
Why do more immigrants apply to the US than all other countries? Because they can. the US is in the business of taking lots of poor people, more so than any other country. Its not a demand issue - where does your average poor person want to emigrate to. It is a supply issue - which country makes it the easiest to emigrate to.
That is categorically false. Canada, Australia and NZ are three rich countries which grant virtually guaranteed admission to qualified immigrants - the way the US used to 30-40 years ago, only more so.
But we're straying from my main point, which is that if (native-born) Americans don't realize how lucky Americans are, and how we need to work hard to preserve our standard of living, we have a long way to fall.
As a native-born American who is currently living, working, and trying to run in El Salvador, I can assure you that for all the pretty beaches and palm trees that a place like this has, it is an absolute failure of a society. To be born here, and I am well-acquainted with many locals, is to live in a place which has barely accepted modernity.
It will take months to get the arsenic and lead out of my lungs after I come back.
simply orange wrote:
But we're straying from my main point, which is that if (native-born) Americans don't realize how lucky Americans are, and how we need to work hard to preserve our standard of living, we have a long way to fall.
In this we are agreement. Most Americans are clueless about the rest of the world.
Canada/Aus/NZ etc grant resident status to *qualified* immigrants. You need education, work experience and money. The list is long and the review process detailed. In contrast, for the US, there is a history of taking the most disenfranchised, who then end up doing well. I also agree that this has come under attack.
much of the world probably feels lucky not to be born in america.
not to be anti-patriotic.
i'm probably going to move to europe, so i can live in the country and not be surrounded by rednecks and ignorance (and extreme debt). america has a lot wrong with it, its violence and desire to control the world at the top of the list.
Theres an extreme amount of pride in a lot of countries.
homer j wrote:
much of the world probably feels lucky not to be born in america.
Then why do so many want in and so few want out?
Yeah, we're lucky. We also would have been lucky to have born in Denmark. And we would GET lucky a lot.
Unmm... yeah, I'm just lucky to be alive?
ARE YOU KIDDING ME HOW THE ___* DID YOU WORK HARD TO BE ~BORN~ BITCHAS_ TRICKAS_ NO NOPE STOP RIGHT THERE YOU DUMB AS _____ YOU HAVE HAD THE _______ING PRIVILEGE TO BE FREE TO BE ABLE TO VOTE FOR YOUR PRESIDENTS, HAVE RIGHTS, SPEAK YOUR ____ MIND I'M ON HERE BECAUSE I'VE REALISED HOW INCREDIIBLY LUCKY I AM TO BE BORN IN MOST LIKELY THE TOP 2% OF THE WORLD SO PLEASSSEEEE KILL YOURSELF
homer j wrote:
much of the world probably feels lucky not to be born in america.
not to be anti-patriotic.
i'm probably going to move to europe, so i can live in the country and not be surrounded by rednecks and ignorance (and extreme debt). america has a lot wrong with it, its violence and desire to control the world at the top of the list.
Theres an extreme amount of pride in a lot of countries.
Racism strikes again.
feeling patriotic today wrote:
The odds are stacked against you -- about 96 percent of living people in the world are not so privileged. It's very easy to take for granted.
Even more, direct abortion culls a significant percentage of those conceived here and elsewhere so that they are never born.
Somas wrote:
Your words indicate that you think Americans are the most privileged, I don't believe that is the case.
One measure, not saying its beyond argument:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality-of-life_IndexYou think the average person from America is better off than the average person from Switzerland? America doesn't have universal health care!
I'm trolling with that last sentence, kinda.
Besides Canada is much better.
This is true, but America no question has the most OPPORTUNITY to make it big. Of course, not everyone will make it big. The very concept of capitalism is that some will win and some will lose.
The losers will look up to Canada and other socialist countries. The winners will look down on socialism. Trump appeals to the emotions of the losers, who are vulnerable to cries that the system is rigged, because it is easier to place blame on one's failures externally than accept personal responsibility.
This country is an absolute S H I T H O L E. Greed and corruption did leading us down a path of destruction.
Not happy to be here.....more like ashamed. A revolution would be a welcome change.
There should be a caveat here, such as if you're a minority. On average, while not perfect, being a minority (black, Hispanic-American, Asian-American, etc.) in the US is usually better than being one in Switzerland and some of the other European countries.
Every day when I wake up, greatest country in the world.