> That requires living in the USA. Maybe in Europe. That's a very narrow minded view of the world. Yes there are progressive aspects of US culture but there a

> That requires living in the USA. Maybe in Europe. That's a very narrow minded view of the world. Yes there are progressive aspects of US culture but there are also deeply ingrained backwards aspects. Take banking for example. To pay bond for rent many landlords won't accept anything but checks or money orders. People still "authenticate" their credit card purchases with an easily copied scrawl that is literally on the card. If this somehow doesn't work out, the merchant is responsible. Meanwhile companies like Google and Apple attempt to introduce contactless payments which aren't accepted by merchants due to politics and aversion to change. Meanwhile in Australia, banks are cooperating with Visa and Mastercard, resulting in nearly every credit card having built in contactless payments of some kind and the majority of retailers (most major supermarkets, petrol stations, cinemas, restaurants) accepting them. For another take transit. It can take over 2 hours to move a paltry 20 miles in the bay area, where a car/bus is the main way to move. Meanwhile you can get from rural Victoria, Australia to the capital city (Melbourne) - a 50 mile journey - in a little over an hour and a half for ~$10 while sitting in comfort on a train. In China you can get from Shanghai to Nanjing (163 miles) in 2 hours, again on a train. In Malaysia you can take a train from the airport to the city by simply touching a modern Visa card to the gate. Yes the US is a world leader when it comes to developing software and much consumer technology but it's behind in many other areas and it's certainly not unique when it comes to advancement and change.