Uhhhhhhh........BECAUSE IT IS!!!!!!!
Uhhhhhhh........BECAUSE IT IS!!!!!!!
Only the KAGA crowd says America is the greatest country in the world
Yeah I'd love to live in a Communist country or a country with open borders or "free healthy care and college" that's accomplished through 70% tax rates....totally.
That's not even remotely true. Only 20 year olds studying lesbian dance actually believe they'd be better off in another country.
sbeefyk2 wrote:
geographer wrote:
Why?
Healthcare? Higher education? The debt incurred from either?
Opioid and drug epidemics?
Homelessness? Poverty?
Availability of guns? Violence? School shootings?
Racism? Bigotry?
Religious beliefs? Number of churches on every main street?
Defense spending? National debt?
Number of people in prison?
Current immigration policies?
The president?
The problem with this list, and one reason America is great, is none of this effects most people.
Healthcare: doesn't matter when you have a job (i.e. it's always paid for on the cheap when you have group insurance).
Higher education: Most of the country does not have a higher education, or they got it when it was cheap.
Opioid and drug epidemics: 90% of the country has no idea this is going on because it is not as bad as the media makes it seem.
Homelessness and poverty: Again, most people are not homeless or living in poverty.
Guns: Again, 98% of Americans never have any experience with a gun much less involved in a school shooting.
Racism/bigotry: Most Americans are accepting of some form of racism (they call it judging a book by it's cover) or they are not racist at all.
Religious beliefs: Countries outside of the US are more religious. All the tourist sites in Europe and Asia are essentially cathedrals or Buddhist/Hindu temples. So, if you claim religion is bad then that's a knock on the world.
Defense/national debt: Most Americans don't care about these. If you don't like defense spending, you would rather the government spend the money elsewhere.
Prisons: Almost all Americans have the view of don't do the crime if you don't want to do the time.
Immigration policies: The voters chose the immigration policies and the President. based on that the majority wants those policies.
I'm not defending all these. I'm just point out it's a nice list, but Americans don't care. They live in bubbles.
I'm curious the perspective from which you're speaking when you say the above things.
Healthcare costs are the number one cause of bankruptcy in America. Hands down.
Student loan dept is now in the TRILLIONS. It is a massive problem that affects millions of people.
Maybe not where you live, but the opioid issue in my state is constantly at the forefront of newstories.
30% of the students in my last school were homeless, 80% were economically disadvantaged. Homelessness is absolutely rampant in cities and other towns where people actually congregate.
Again, where do you live? I live in a metropolitan city. There is a shooting every single day/night.
America is extremely racist and bigotted.
All the tourist sites in Europe are churches? Tourist sites! As in, NOT used for the active worship of a 2000 year old mythological being? You made that point for me...
Immigration? Children in cages. ICE catching people in courts, schools (fake ones they make up to do so), hospitals, etc.
America incarcerates more people than anyone else in the world (see racism thing again).
Americans don't care, to be sure, because Americans are supremely ignorant and/or delusional.
America is not the greatest country, to be even more sure.
geographer wrote:
sbeefyk2 wrote:
The problem with this list, and one reason America is great, is none of this effects most people.
Healthcare: doesn't matter when you have a job (i.e. it's always paid for on the cheap when you have group insurance).
Higher education: Most of the country does not have a higher education, or they got it when it was cheap.
Opioid and drug epidemics: 90% of the country has no idea this is going on because it is not as bad as the media makes it seem.
Homelessness and poverty: Again, most people are not homeless or living in poverty.
Guns: Again, 98% of Americans never have any experience with a gun much less involved in a school shooting.
Racism/bigotry: Most Americans are accepting of some form of racism (they call it judging a book by it's cover) or they are not racist at all.
Religious beliefs: Countries outside of the US are more religious. All the tourist sites in Europe and Asia are essentially cathedrals or Buddhist/Hindu temples. So, if you claim religion is bad then that's a knock on the world.
Defense/national debt: Most Americans don't care about these. If you don't like defense spending, you would rather the government spend the money elsewhere.
Prisons: Almost all Americans have the view of don't do the crime if you don't want to do the time.
Immigration policies: The voters chose the immigration policies and the President. based on that the majority wants those policies.
I'm not defending all these. I'm just point out it's a nice list, but Americans don't care. They live in bubbles.
I'm curious the perspective from which you're speaking when you say the above things.
Healthcare costs are the number one cause of bankruptcy in America. Hands down.
Student loan dept is now in the TRILLIONS. It is a massive problem that affects millions of people.
Maybe not where you live, but the opioid issue in my state is constantly at the forefront of newstories.
30% of the students in my last school were homeless, 80% were economically disadvantaged. Homelessness is absolutely rampant in cities and other towns where people actually congregate.
Again, where do you live? I live in a metropolitan city. There is a shooting every single day/night.
America is extremely racist and bigotted.
All the tourist sites in Europe are churches? Tourist sites! As in, NOT used for the active worship of a 2000 year old mythological being? You made that point for me...
Immigration? Children in cages. ICE catching people in courts, schools (fake ones they make up to do so), hospitals, etc.
America incarcerates more people than anyone else in the world (see racism thing again).
Americans don't care, to be sure, because Americans are supremely ignorant and/or delusional.
America is not the greatest country, to be even more sure.
You're wrong on so many levels. Keep believing what cnn tells you to believe you sheep.
usa vs the world wrote:
geographer wrote:
I'm curious the perspective from which you're speaking when you say the above things.
Healthcare costs are the number one cause of bankruptcy in America. Hands down.
Student loan dept is now in the TRILLIONS. It is a massive problem that affects millions of people.
Maybe not where you live, but the opioid issue in my state is constantly at the forefront of newstories.
30% of the students in my last school were homeless, 80% were economically disadvantaged. Homelessness is absolutely rampant in cities and other towns where people actually congregate.
Again, where do you live? I live in a metropolitan city. There is a shooting every single day/night.
America is extremely racist and bigotted.
All the tourist sites in Europe are churches? Tourist sites! As in, NOT used for the active worship of a 2000 year old mythological being? You made that point for me...
Immigration? Children in cages. ICE catching people in courts, schools (fake ones they make up to do so), hospitals, etc.
America incarcerates more people than anyone else in the world (see racism thing again).
Americans don't care, to be sure, because Americans are supremely ignorant and/or delusional.
America is not the greatest country, to be even more sure.
You're wrong on so many levels. Keep believing what cnn tells you to believe you sheep.
Speaking there as one of the ovine flock.
I debunked everything that guy said earlier in the thread. Go read it
usa vs the world wrote:
I debunked everything that guy said earlier in the thread. Go read it
We can discuss all day if the US are the greatest country in the world or not. I think US is a great country, but there are a couple of issues that many here do not seem to grasp:
1) Healtcare costs in the US are roughly 1.5 to 2 times higher than in other developed countries for a worse global outcome and, as pointed out by others, is the leading cause of bankruptcy. Nobody goes bankrupt in Europe because they cannot foot the hospital bill.
https://www.businessinsider.com/cost-of-healthcare-countries-ranked-2019-3?IR=T2) Forget the myth of the "land of opportunities". The US have one of the lowest social mobility of developed countries. The best predictor if a person in the US will be rich is if his/her parents are rich (and white).
https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2018/02/14/americans-overestimate-social-mobility-in-their-country3) College education is incredibly expensive and, beside a few top-tier schools, not particularly good, and no, you do not need particularly good grades to get free (or almost free) college in Europe.
usa vs the world wrote:
You're wrong on so many levels. Keep believing what cnn tells you to believe you sheep.
I've lived abroad for five years and spent another 1.5 years traveling to 50+ countries on five continents.
There are a lot of places in the world that simply do things better.
Let go of the delusion.
It’s a historic bad trait that this country has passed on regarding arrogance, exceptionalism, “city on a hill” from the time the white man forced the indigenous and the other Europeans and the Mexicans from this resource rich land.
Greek Freak wrote:
When it is actually the third best country in north America
LOL
No it’s not! ?
Folks around the world own US dollars, the world’s reserve country!
Folks around the world invest in Wall Street and US markets!
All of those migrants from South America don’t want to live in Mexico and Canada, they want to live in THE United States of America!
Trump wrote:
Greek Freak wrote:
When it is actually the third best country in north America
All of those migrants from South America don’t want to live in Mexico and Canada, they want to live in THE United States of America!
All those migrants from South America?
Please consult a map before posting again.
Thanks.
7th, 8th & 9th or 19th wrote:
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics has not finished compiling data and has not released 2019 U.S. g.d.p. growth for 2019. You are merely looking at an overly optimistic forecast for 2019. The 4th quarter data for U.S. has not been released. No 3% plus U.S.g.d.p. growth.
Hence "estimated" (using a std technique for projection, I merely reiterated the prior quarter's number); however, quibbling over that one date point does not invalidate the results, nor the overall trend.
[quote]Precious Roy wrote:
A has vastly superior GDP growth; B , greater social services; C, a superior educational system; D, better health; E, more pokemon.
I think the real reason the US has an arguable claim to be the best country in the world is that we are better than any other country at integrating immigrants into our society. ... In the US, ... , anyone from around the world can come to this country and become an American./quote]
This.
You might live in France, but neither you nor your descendants will ever be French. I have a friend who escaped the Albanian collapse. He had been an engineer. He and his wife started their new lives in the US as TSA employees, then something else (I forget), then they bought a pizza shop. He is putting his son through college. He just bought his daughter a car. But the material things are merely a proxy for his embrace of the America as a "land of opportunity."
He *LOVES* America, while at the same time a staunch friend and supporter of the local Albanian community. More importantly: I know him because he applied to--and was accepted into--certain social and civic organizations of which I am a member. Of one of these organizations he is now an officer. Why? Because America. Because we don't give a flyin' flip where you come from: We care what the frig you can (and choose to) do.
As for the "low social mobility" of the US, I think those (few) countries ranked (by whom?) "above" the US have the benefit of starting from a low base (aka "crap"): Slovenia? Chile? Italy? The UK? (Also, I think the UK still has a more rigid "class" system than does the US--oh, and the UK is on its deathbed).
Here's a difference between the US and Europe: Separating the full cohort of immigrants into "takers" and "givers," in my observation a relatively greater number of takers are attracted to Europe for what they can GET (e.g., free money and services), whereas a relatively larger number of givers are attracted to the US for what they can DO.
Historically, many immigrants to the US have wanted to escape a situation (often but not always economic), i.e., to assimilate into US culture (such as it is); presently (IMO), many immigrants to Europe want to bring their home country/culture with them (with their tagalong traditions reinforced by Europeans exclusionary behaviors, again, all in my opinion--and observation).
The US may die, but it will do so long after Europe, the UK, and Japan.
Your example is heart warming but it does not represent the entirety of this country. You have a president demonizing immigrants for his political gain and a propaganda channel and rabid mobs eating it up. It does not fit with your story. Maybe this country makes these opportunities available but what about the genocide in its history? The enslavement of millions and the long standing effect of that? The growing inequality propagated by the corrupt undemocratic plutocracy? It is a good country, as many others. But this idea of claiming exceptionalism and being the chest thumping best is just ignorant and “American”.
Precious Roy wrote:
A has vastly superior GDP growth; B , greater social services; C, a superior educational system; D, better health; E, more pokemon..
Whoops: Forgot a point relative to this part of the quote.
When you come in second place in each event in an Olympic decathlon, what does that make you?
A world champion.
bloviating wrote:
Your example is heart warming but it does not represent the entirety of this country. You have a president demonizing ILLEGAL immigrants for his political gain and a propaganda channel and rabid mobs including LEGAL immigrants eating it up. It does not fit with your story. Maybe this country makes these opportunities available but what about the genocide in its history? (? Of indigenous ppls? I think "genocide" requires intent, and I do not think US actions rise to the systematic and intentional level required by that term ). The enslavement of millions and the long standing effect of that (Slavery was indeed an abomination; however, please tell me the originating country that offers better opportunity today--where, exactly, to minorities of any background have it better? China's Uighurs? Middle East and African Christians (or women)? Asians in the Ivy League? The Kurds? Armenians? Untouhables? The Rohingya? ) The growing inequality propagated by the corrupt undemocratic plutocracy? (Granted to some degree: But while inequality may be increasing, US capitalism continues to "lift all boats"--all segments are increasing in wealth, albeit at different speeds. Indeed, "abject poverty" in the US has more or less abolished.)
Sorry for lousy prior formatting. BTW: Tell me--without resorting to "colonialism"--about life (lifespan, income, opportunity, social mobility) in the following countries today:
Senegal and the Gambia
Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Sierra Leone
Ghana and the Ivory Coast
Togo, Benin and Nigeria west of the Niger Delta
Nigeria east of the Niger Delta, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon
Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola
Mozambique and Madagascar
geographer wrote:
Trump wrote:
All of those migrants from South America don’t want to live in Mexico and Canada, they want to live in THE United States of America!
All those migrants from South America?
Please consult a map before posting again.
Thanks.
Lol +1
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