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The US just deserves better. To meet it feels all of this hinges on that zero-sum mentality of "if I help the other guy that means I have it worse", when in rea

by atoav 2y ago

The US just deserves better. To meet it feels all of this hinges on that zero-sum mentality of "if I help the other guy that means I have it worse", when in reality helping others will also improve the society as a whole. I mean maybe there are people who find appeal in a society of armed, rugged individualists under constant existential stress where even those that "have made it" are at constant risk of crossing paths with a desperate peer at the verge of making a bad decision — but to be honest to me that sounds rather dystopian. It is nice to be part of a society that is stable and where people care for each other and the value of that reaches far beyond what the bean counters would quantify in measurable terms — but that doesn't mean there are no measurable terms Q.e.d.

robertlagrant 2y ago
> but to be honest to me that sounds rather dystopian. It sounds that way because it's a dystopian description written in crayon. It's not real. The US has loads of charity happening; it gives the most in aid; it makes the most businesses (which increase the size of the pie, and are win-win, and not zero sum mentality - other than the people who complain about billionaires); it has by far the most resident migrants of any country[0]; it's just really silly to characterise the US like this. The biggest line item in the 2024 federal budget[1] is healthcare, at $1.53tn. Second is social security, at $1.45tn. Overseas it spends a fortune too. Just recently it's spending $61bn more[2], making its own citizens poorer, on Ukraine defence and humanitarian aid. [0] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/iom-global-migration-report-international-migrants-2020/ https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/iom-global-migration-... [1] https://www.cbo.gov/publication/58946 https://www.cbo.gov/publication/58946 [2] https://www.chathamhouse.org/2024/04/us-aid-package-ukraine-will-help-better-strategy-urgently-needed https://www.chathamhouse.org/2024/04/us-aid-package-ukraine-...
- Capricorn2481 2y ago
  Making the most businesses is not a net positive. Lots of businesses monetize horrible things. It's pretty off topic from maternal deaths, am I supposed to be comforted that there's another landlord or AI startup?
- atoav 2y ago
  > It's not real. So you don't have people dying instead of calling an ambulance for monetary reasons? Wow I am glad this insanity wasn't real and I just imagined it /s Btw. charity dropped significantly in the past 3 years, consider trying to just have your billionaires pay normal taxes that will give you more.

by atoav 2y ago

robertlagrant 2y ago

> but to be honest to me that sounds rather dystopian. It sounds that way because it's a dystopian description written in crayon. It's not real. The US has loads of charity happening; it gives the most in aid; it makes the most businesses (which increase the size of the pie, and are win-win, and not zero sum mentality - other than the people who complain about billionaires); it has by far the most resident migrants of any country[0]; it's just really silly to characterise the US like this. The biggest line item in the 2024 federal budget[1] is healthcare, at $1.53tn. Second is social security, at $1.45tn. Overseas it spends a fortune too. Just recently it's spending $61bn more[2], making its own citizens poorer, on Ukraine defence and humanitarian aid. [0] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/iom-global-migration-report-international-migrants-2020/ https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/iom-global-migration-... [1] https://www.cbo.gov/publication/58946 https://www.cbo.gov/publication/58946 [2] https://www.chathamhouse.org/2024/04/us-aid-package-ukraine-will-help-better-strategy-urgently-needed https://www.chathamhouse.org/2024/04/us-aid-package-ukraine-...

Capricorn2481 2y ago
Making the most businesses is not a net positive. Lots of businesses monetize horrible things. It's pretty off topic from maternal deaths, am I supposed to be comforted that there's another landlord or AI startup?
atoav 2y ago
> It's not real. So you don't have people dying instead of calling an ambulance for monetary reasons? Wow I am glad this insanity wasn't real and I just imagined it /s Btw. charity dropped significantly in the past 3 years, consider trying to just have your billionaires pay normal taxes that will give you more.