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There's a difference between having the best X and living in the best country. A lot of nations have fantastic X but would widely not be considered anywhere clo

by B-Con 14y ago

There's a difference between having the best X and living in the best country. A lot of nations have fantastic X but would widely not be considered anywhere close to the best place to live. In theory you could rank at #10 in all things desirable and still be the all-round "best" place. The US is a good country and the citizens are indeed well off. We're not trending in a good direction on average and a lot of things need to be fixed, but it's still a very good place to live.

grecy 14y ago
> but it's still a very good place to live. Spend some time looking at the statistics [1] and you'll see that in almost all key areas, America ranks dead-last among developed countries, and is often more comparable to developing countries than developed ones. Compared to undeveloped countries, you are right, America is a very good place to live for the average Joe on the street. Compared to developed countries, it is not. [1] http://www.oecd.org/statistics/ http://www.oecd.org/statistics/
- lsc 14y ago
  America is a pretty good place to be above-average. Our good schools, for example, are pretty expensive, but they are really good. Same goes for high-end medical care, and, for that matter, taxes. It's a pretty nice place to be above-average, even though, yeah, for the average and below, you are probably right. The thing, I think, that most of us miss is that, well (and I am in this category too,) most of us think of ourselves as above average. As Steinbeck said, "Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires." From my experiences, even just looking at my own feelings, this is absolutely something built into the American culture. I go on like I'm wealthy, and I do own a company with a very high revenue, but profit? what I actually get paid? well, I'm barely above average. But I still see myself as 'above average' I think this explains most of the very American phenomina of poor folks voting for various policies that disproportionately favor rich folks.
- iends 14y ago
  I don't really see America ranking dead last among developed countries. I see it average in almost every statistic. Perhaps average in everything actually makes for a great country? Can you be more specific with your assertions? Linking to a huge dump of statistics and making claims about them is a bit disingenuous. What makes it not good for an 'average joe' compared to developed countries?
  - grecy 14y ago
    Have a look at murder rates, poverty rates, heart disease rates, obesity rates

by B-Con 14y ago

grecy 14y ago

> but it's still a very good place to live. Spend some time looking at the statistics [1] and you'll see that in almost all key areas, America ranks dead-last among developed countries, and is often more comparable to developing countries than developed ones. Compared to undeveloped countries, you are right, America is a very good place to live for the average Joe on the street. Compared to developed countries, it is not. [1] http://www.oecd.org/statistics/ http://www.oecd.org/statistics/

lsc 14y ago
America is a pretty good place to be above-average. Our good schools, for example, are pretty expensive, but they are really good. Same goes for high-end medical care, and, for that matter, taxes. It's a pretty nice place to be above-average, even though, yeah, for the average and below, you are probably right. The thing, I think, that most of us miss is that, well (and I am in this category too,) most of us think of ourselves as above average. As Steinbeck said, "Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires." From my experiences, even just looking at my own feelings, this is absolutely something built into the American culture. I go on like I'm wealthy, and I do own a company with a very high revenue, but profit? what I actually get paid? well, I'm barely above average. But I still see myself as 'above average' I think this explains most of the very American phenomina of poor folks voting for various policies that disproportionately favor rich folks.
iends 14y ago
I don't really see America ranking dead last among developed countries. I see it average in almost every statistic. Perhaps average in everything actually makes for a great country? Can you be more specific with your assertions? Linking to a huge dump of statistics and making claims about them is a bit disingenuous. What makes it not good for an 'average joe' compared to developed countries?
- grecy 14y ago
  Have a look at murder rates, poverty rates, heart disease rates, obesity rates