3 ms·

True, but look at the rental markets for the majority of Americans that don't live in the rich coastal areas. And talk about unprofessional business - you have

by ljf 4y ago

True, but look at the rental markets for the majority of Americans that don't live in the rich coastal areas. And talk about unprofessional business - you have unprofessional legal professionals in parts of the US. Where America is great, it is great. But for the rest of it, it can be a very differently life for most of the inhabitants.

FredPret 4y ago
Compare "poor" America with poor (insert geographic area here). There's no comparison. It's hugely, vastly better in the States. The only other places that have large backwater areas that can compete are maybe Canada and Australia. This is due to investment by rich people in rental real estate and businesses such as Walmart, Costco, Amazon, etc. When a family like the Waltons have a net worth in the 100's of $Bn's, this money isn't kept in gold bars in a safe. It's actively deployed in a variety of businesses. So the poor don't get a cut of the 100's of $Bn's, but they do benefit from the investment. And in very equal countries, the opposite is true. Everybody's OK, but there aren't really any systems that stand out as being amazing.
- TheOtherHobbes 4y ago
  It's an empire. Empires are good at concentrating wealth by extracting it from their surroundings. Personally I would absolutely not want to be a poor person in the US. High crime, police violence, abusive work conditions, random shooters, health care bankruptcy, Fentanyl being pushed by medical professionals, zero Covid protections - it's a dystopian horror show. This may surprise you, but there are locations around the world with much lower GDP and much happier people.
- dtech 4y ago
  I find this a weird take. In my country we're always amazed that there are places in most largish US cities where it simply isn't safe to be if you aren't a native, and lethal violence is a daily occurence.
- Jochim 4y ago
  I'm not sure the Waltons are a great example to be honest. They pay many of their employees so poorly that they're in receipt of state benefits. Society is effectively paying a portion of Walmart's labour cost. Until that's no longer the case I don't think the Waltons deserve a penny. To address some of your other points: A poor person in my country is allowed to take time off for illness without fear of being fired. That time isn't subtracted from their legally mandated minimum number of holiday days. A poor person in the US will show up to work sick because they know their boss can let them go. Their colleagues might then get sick. While I'm not sure how common it is, I've seen US news articles lauding co-workers for donating sick days to a colleague with a life threatening illness. While they're obviously doing a good thing, the necessity of the act honestly comes across as barbaric.
- tfourb 4y ago
  A poor person in the U.S. more likely as not does not have proper health insurance, no unemployment benefits to speak of, is highly unlikely to receive disability benefits even when diagnosed with a disability, is subject to a highly prejudiced and often violent police force, must rely on a famously expensive legal system to press civil claims, must content with a social environment that in many places is shaped by easy access to drugs, has no access to government housing, can be fired at will, etc. etc. Yes, there are many countries where being poor is even worse. But among developed economies (so about a quarter of all countries), it is hard to come up with a worse place for being poor than the U.S.

by ljf 4y ago

FredPret 4y ago

Compare "poor" America with poor (insert geographic area here). There's no comparison. It's hugely, vastly better in the States. The only other places that have large backwater areas that can compete are maybe Canada and Australia. This is due to investment by rich people in rental real estate and businesses such as Walmart, Costco, Amazon, etc. When a family like the Waltons have a net worth in the 100's of $Bn's, this money isn't kept in gold bars in a safe. It's actively deployed in a variety of businesses. So the poor don't get a cut of the 100's of $Bn's, but they do benefit from the investment. And in very equal countries, the opposite is true. Everybody's OK, but there aren't really any systems that stand out as being amazing.

TheOtherHobbes 4y ago
It's an empire. Empires are good at concentrating wealth by extracting it from their surroundings. Personally I would absolutely not want to be a poor person in the US. High crime, police violence, abusive work conditions, random shooters, health care bankruptcy, Fentanyl being pushed by medical professionals, zero Covid protections - it's a dystopian horror show. This may surprise you, but there are locations around the world with much lower GDP and much happier people.
dtech 4y ago
I find this a weird take. In my country we're always amazed that there are places in most largish US cities where it simply isn't safe to be if you aren't a native, and lethal violence is a daily occurence.
Jochim 4y ago
I'm not sure the Waltons are a great example to be honest. They pay many of their employees so poorly that they're in receipt of state benefits. Society is effectively paying a portion of Walmart's labour cost. Until that's no longer the case I don't think the Waltons deserve a penny. To address some of your other points: A poor person in my country is allowed to take time off for illness without fear of being fired. That time isn't subtracted from their legally mandated minimum number of holiday days. A poor person in the US will show up to work sick because they know their boss can let them go. Their colleagues might then get sick. While I'm not sure how common it is, I've seen US news articles lauding co-workers for donating sick days to a colleague with a life threatening illness. While they're obviously doing a good thing, the necessity of the act honestly comes across as barbaric.
tfourb 4y ago
A poor person in the U.S. more likely as not does not have proper health insurance, no unemployment benefits to speak of, is highly unlikely to receive disability benefits even when diagnosed with a disability, is subject to a highly prejudiced and often violent police force, must rely on a famously expensive legal system to press civil claims, must content with a social environment that in many places is shaped by easy access to drugs, has no access to government housing, can be fired at will, etc. etc. Yes, there are many countries where being poor is even worse. But among developed economies (so about a quarter of all countries), it is hard to come up with a worse place for being poor than the U.S.