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I don't even know how to respond to this. People die trying to make it into the U.S. I'm not a flag-waving jingoist, but the the United States is a f'ing great

by nhebb 10y ago

I don't even know how to respond to this. People die trying to make it into the U.S. I'm not a flag-waving jingoist, but the the United States is a f'ing great place to live.

jrockway 10y ago
Yeah, it's pretty good. Will Trump keep it that way?
empath75 10y ago
It is. It won't be next year. My original plan was to move and telecommute, but that's kind of fucked because the dollar is crashing.
- anigbrowl 10y ago
  email me
- ryanhuff 10y ago
  Why will it be much different next year? I don't see much changing in the short term besides a new set of characters in the news. Longer term, we'll see.
raquo 10y ago
That depends on what you compare it to. Plenty of first world countries are ahead of the US in many important aspects. But if you're setting the bar on the level of Russia or some third world countries, then yeah, it's pretty great.
- adventured 10y ago
  The US is ahead of plenty of first world countries in many important aspects. - Unemployment rate and job openings - Economic growth - Disposable income - Household income - Low middle class tax rates - GDP per capita - Economic productivity - Wealth creation opportunities - Access to capital and investment - Diversity (most competing first world nations are very homogeneous) - Scale and variety of industry, the US is the #2 manufacturing nation for example - Freedom of speech and ease of movement - Tech infrastructure - Best universities on earth - By far the highest research & scientific output of any nation - Leadership positions in: pharma, biotech, genetech, aerospace, software, Internet tech broadly, cloud, ecommerce, mobile, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, space / space tech, defense / military, agriculture, electric vehicles, nuclear and other energy fields, one of the leaders in solar, and numerous other fields - America's median standard of living is still among the top dozen nations on earth
  - raquo 10y ago
    Sure, it is a rich and developed country after all. It's not horrible. It's just not really special if you're looking out for your own quality of life as opposed to how prominent the country is. This is doubly so if you don't associate with the stereotypical American lifestyle of working 50 hours a week, 10 days vacation per year, and sending out work emails while holding your newborn baby. Listing specific things is pointless – all these ratings are online anyway, but just to name a few: - fucked up health care system - gun violence rate higher than in most third world countries - homicide rate worse than any other developed country, and worse than countries like Niger, Laos, India, or Iran - those best universities will put you in a $200K+ debt hole that you'll spend a lifetime getting out of, and the mediocre universities are not cheap either (compared to almost free education in many developed countries)
dejawu 10y ago
Those same people that would die trying to make it into the US are now going to be turned away if they do make it. The America that prides itself being a destination of salvation for immigrants is not the America that Trump wants to create.

by nhebb 10y ago

I don't even know how to respond to this. People die trying to make it into the U.S. I'm not a flag-waving jingoist, but the the United States is a f'ing great place to live.

jrockway 10y ago

Yeah, it's pretty good. Will Trump keep it that way?

empath75 10y ago

It is. It won't be next year. My original plan was to move and telecommute, but that's kind of fucked because the dollar is crashing.

anigbrowl 10y ago
email me
ryanhuff 10y ago
Why will it be much different next year? I don't see much changing in the short term besides a new set of characters in the news. Longer term, we'll see.

raquo 10y ago

That depends on what you compare it to. Plenty of first world countries are ahead of the US in many important aspects. But if you're setting the bar on the level of Russia or some third world countries, then yeah, it's pretty great.

adventured 10y ago
The US is ahead of plenty of first world countries in many important aspects. - Unemployment rate and job openings - Economic growth - Disposable income - Household income - Low middle class tax rates - GDP per capita - Economic productivity - Wealth creation opportunities - Access to capital and investment - Diversity (most competing first world nations are very homogeneous) - Scale and variety of industry, the US is the #2 manufacturing nation for example - Freedom of speech and ease of movement - Tech infrastructure - Best universities on earth - By far the highest research & scientific output of any nation - Leadership positions in: pharma, biotech, genetech, aerospace, software, Internet tech broadly, cloud, ecommerce, mobile, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, space / space tech, defense / military, agriculture, electric vehicles, nuclear and other energy fields, one of the leaders in solar, and numerous other fields - America's median standard of living is still among the top dozen nations on earth
- raquo 10y ago
  Sure, it is a rich and developed country after all. It's not horrible. It's just not really special if you're looking out for your own quality of life as opposed to how prominent the country is. This is doubly so if you don't associate with the stereotypical American lifestyle of working 50 hours a week, 10 days vacation per year, and sending out work emails while holding your newborn baby. Listing specific things is pointless – all these ratings are online anyway, but just to name a few: - fucked up health care system - gun violence rate higher than in most third world countries - homicide rate worse than any other developed country, and worse than countries like Niger, Laos, India, or Iran - those best universities will put you in a $200K+ debt hole that you'll spend a lifetime getting out of, and the mediocre universities are not cheap either (compared to almost free education in many developed countries)

dejawu 10y ago

Those same people that would die trying to make it into the US are now going to be turned away if they do make it. The America that prides itself being a destination of salvation for immigrants is not the America that Trump wants to create.