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Thanks for curating that wonderful list. I'd contradict you by saying that the poor have it much better in Germany than in the USA (same great health insurance

by geff82 11y ago

Thanks for curating that wonderful list. I'd contradict you by saying that the poor have it much better in Germany than in the USA (same great health insurance as everyone else, no masses of homeless people like in US cities) and I'd also say the educational system here is better for the average person (free universities with high standards - not in the Top50 of the world maybe, but still great). But in general I think you have many valid points on your list.

adventured 11y ago
Saying the poor have it better in Germany, would not be contradicting me. I openly acknowledge that there are numerous nations in which the poor are clearly better off than in America (eg: Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Germany etc). There are exceptionally few large nations in which the poor are well off however. Nobody would want to discuss the poverty in Indonesia, Pakistan, China, Brazil, India, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Russia, Mexico, Philippines, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Iran etc. In the top 20 large nations, there are only four countries that aren't mired in extreme levels of poverty: France, US, Germany, Japan. When I say extreme, I mean levels so horrible, that if you attempt to compare the standards to the US, people stop wanting to talk about it and consider the comparison to be inherently unfair. The parent comment for example was being almost comical in their standard, given China has half a billion people living on $3 / day (people with few rights, that by law can't even own the farming land under their feet). Those half a billion people have seen very little improvement in 50 years if you inflation adjust that $3 backwards, and they've seen very little improvement in rights. Germany is an exceptional nation, without a doubt. Just to be in the same neighborhood as Germany, while having 330 million people and to be as diverse as the US is, is a compliment. Germany however is also in trouble, with poverty becoming a serious problem. Their lack of economic growth since 2007 is probably playing a big factor. "Poverty in Germany 'at Record High'" http://europe.newsweek.com/poverty-germany-record-high-says-study-308294 http://europe.newsweek.com/poverty-germany-record-high-says-... "Poverty in Germany at its highest since reunification" http://www.dw.com/en/poverty-in-germany-at-its-highest-since-reunification/a-18268757 http://www.dw.com/en/poverty-in-germany-at-its-highest-since...

by geff82 11y ago

adventured 11y ago

Saying the poor have it better in Germany, would not be contradicting me. I openly acknowledge that there are numerous nations in which the poor are clearly better off than in America (eg: Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Germany etc). There are exceptionally few large nations in which the poor are well off however. Nobody would want to discuss the poverty in Indonesia, Pakistan, China, Brazil, India, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Russia, Mexico, Philippines, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Iran etc. In the top 20 large nations, there are only four countries that aren't mired in extreme levels of poverty: France, US, Germany, Japan. When I say extreme, I mean levels so horrible, that if you attempt to compare the standards to the US, people stop wanting to talk about it and consider the comparison to be inherently unfair. The parent comment for example was being almost comical in their standard, given China has half a billion people living on $3 / day (people with few rights, that by law can't even own the farming land under their feet). Those half a billion people have seen very little improvement in 50 years if you inflation adjust that $3 backwards, and they've seen very little improvement in rights. Germany is an exceptional nation, without a doubt. Just to be in the same neighborhood as Germany, while having 330 million people and to be as diverse as the US is, is a compliment. Germany however is also in trouble, with poverty becoming a serious problem. Their lack of economic growth since 2007 is probably playing a big factor. "Poverty in Germany 'at Record High'" http://europe.newsweek.com/poverty-germany-record-high-says-study-308294 http://europe.newsweek.com/poverty-germany-record-high-says-... "Poverty in Germany at its highest since reunification" http://www.dw.com/en/poverty-in-germany-at-its-highest-since-reunification/a-18268757 http://www.dw.com/en/poverty-in-germany-at-its-highest-since...