4 ms·

It's a problem that is solved much better in many other similarly-wealthy countries (see Norway, Switzerland) or pretty much all the other first world countries

It's a problem that is solved much better in many other similarly-wealthy countries (see Norway, Switzerland) or pretty much all the other first world countries. It does not have to be perfect, it only has to be better.

Buttons840 6y ago
It's a good answer to the question though. The comment isn't necessarily in support of low taxes, but you have to admit "did I pay less tax?" is much easier to answer than "is the government functioning well?"
ericmay 6y ago
Most of those countries have very homogenous populations. You also don’t hear about the bad stuff because unliked the United States they don’t have their dirty laundry being broadcast across every available medium 24/7/365.
- sangli 6y ago
  What are you getting at? How is having homogeneous population causes less corruption in government? There are many asian and african countries with homogeneous population that are extremely corrupt. Other countries do have 24/7 TV channels and other media.
  - eggy 6y ago
    I think the assessment should be paired variables of homogeneous populations AND small populations, since countries in Asia and Africa are counter examples, however, Denmark and other countries touted as good examples are both homogeneous and small in population compared to the US.
  - ericmay 6y ago
    > Other countries do have 24/7 TV channels and other media. Yea and they spend most of that time complaining about Trump. And if they aren't, then people will go to Reddit, or some social media site to do it. > What are you getting at? Countries with small, homogeneous populations are going to tend to be less corrupt and better governed. It's more difficult to be a jackass in Iceland than it is in Brasil.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- 0max 6y ago
  How about Singapore?
  - ericmay 6y ago
    It's a small city state that's 74% Chinese [1]. Not very multi-cultural in the western sense. Take a look at France for example. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Singapore https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Singapore -edit- You can also be multi-cultural in the "look at my skin color sense" but not multi-cultural in your beliefs. And of course for the purposes of this discussion it's a matter of degrees. Locally there may be extremes, but when you compare different geographies that might highlight actual extremes. I'm willing to bet, for example, that the United States is far more diverse both in opinion and nationality than Singapore. Iceland? Less so.
refurb 6y ago
Aren’t taxes quite low in Switzerland? Or at least in some Cantons?
zepto 6y ago
The problem is not solved by answering the question ‘does any country appear to have a better government?’. The problem is solved by answering the question: ‘what mechanism will transform our current government to a better one?’ That is unsolved.

Buttons840 6y ago

It's a good answer to the question though. The comment isn't necessarily in support of low taxes, but you have to admit "did I pay less tax?" is much easier to answer than "is the government functioning well?"

ericmay 6y ago

Most of those countries have very homogenous populations. You also don’t hear about the bad stuff because unliked the United States they don’t have their dirty laundry being broadcast across every available medium 24/7/365.

sangli 6y ago
What are you getting at? How is having homogeneous population causes less corruption in government? There are many asian and african countries with homogeneous population that are extremely corrupt. Other countries do have 24/7 TV channels and other media.
- eggy 6y ago
  I think the assessment should be paired variables of homogeneous populations AND small populations, since countries in Asia and Africa are counter examples, however, Denmark and other countries touted as good examples are both homogeneous and small in population compared to the US.
- ericmay 6y ago
  > Other countries do have 24/7 TV channels and other media. Yea and they spend most of that time complaining about Trump. And if they aren't, then people will go to Reddit, or some social media site to do it. > What are you getting at? Countries with small, homogeneous populations are going to tend to be less corrupt and better governed. It's more difficult to be a jackass in Iceland than it is in Brasil.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
0max 6y ago
How about Singapore?
- ericmay 6y ago
  It's a small city state that's 74% Chinese [1]. Not very multi-cultural in the western sense. Take a look at France for example. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Singapore https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Singapore -edit- You can also be multi-cultural in the "look at my skin color sense" but not multi-cultural in your beliefs. And of course for the purposes of this discussion it's a matter of degrees. Locally there may be extremes, but when you compare different geographies that might highlight actual extremes. I'm willing to bet, for example, that the United States is far more diverse both in opinion and nationality than Singapore. Iceland? Less so.

refurb 6y ago

Aren’t taxes quite low in Switzerland? Or at least in some Cantons?

zepto 6y ago

The problem is not solved by answering the question ‘does any country appear to have a better government?’. The problem is solved by answering the question: ‘what mechanism will transform our current government to a better one?’ That is unsolved.