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Because the US has close to 20% of the world's prison population. Because we regularly experience power outages in major areas, killing hundreds or thousands of
by turtledove 4y ago
Because the US has close to 20% of the world's prison population. Because we regularly experience power outages in major areas, killing hundreds or thousands of people, due to political corruption. Because our health care system only works if you are employed and relatively wealthy. We're comfortable treating our prisoners worse than livestock (and, in fact, it's still legal to require forced labor from prisoners). Because we have religious fundamentalists taking away the rights of minorities and women. Because our infrastructure is collapsing and we refuse to invest in maintaining it. Because we've invested next to nothing in mass transit, trains, or electrification of transit. Because we have a widening class divide that is increasingly extracting wealth from the poor. Because we've got a food system built around sugar and corn packaged into premade snacks.
Do you need more? Because there's more. Political corruption. Prison recidivism. Military spending at the cost of supporting education, healthcare, housing. Increasing limits on speech. (A state just said that men have to dress like men if they are performing for kids.)
Edit: because we still haven't addressed the Flint water crisis. Because we still have starving children despite producing more food than we can eat. Because care for even routine medical procedures can bankrupt a family.
- Pigalowda 4y agoDid that feel good? Now make a list of things that make the US a developed nation rather than a “third world country”.
- turtledove 4y agoHmm... That's much harder. I can list plenty of things, only, they apply only to the wealthy. 60 years ago I'd have a huge list. But we sorta stopped caring and we've been costing on that historical success.
- 93po 4y agoYou can have first world features while still skirting the line of what it means to be a first world country. Honestly the healthcare system alone is plenty to bring into doubt whether the USA can really be compared to most of western europe.