5 ms·

You're incredibly ignorant. You should leave the US; not because the rest of the world is necessarily better (yet some parts undoubtedly - in general - are), bu

by stormen 13y ago

You're incredibly ignorant. You should leave the US; not because the rest of the world is necessarily better (yet some parts undoubtedly - in general - are), but because it gives you a broader perspective on your own life and situation. Just a statement like "where the bottom 10% live as well as the top 10% do in developing countries" really shows you haven't been outside your home town.

rayiner 13y ago
I was born in Bangkok, Thailand, lived in Bangladesh for several years, and have traveled fairly extensively in Asia and Europe as a child/young teenager.
- stormen 13y ago
  Congratulations, then you know the value of getting an outside perspective on western culture.
  - tptacek 13y ago
    That's one way to say "Oh, I was wrong, I'm sorry", I guess.
    - seanmcdirmid 13y ago
      No I don't think he was. You missed the entire point of the article, I guess.
      - tptacek 13y ago
        You're incredibly ignorant. And then later, Just a statement like [his statement] really shows you haven't been outside your home town. Wrong is wrong. I shouldn't need to spell that out, but I obviously do. Whatever point you're hoping to make, you do it an incredible disservice by yoking it to comments like the one I responded to above.
- seanmcdirmid 13y ago
  Then you don't really have the problem most Americans do, and this article isn't for you. I find America boring when I visit: very nice and clean, very generic and sterile. I have no idea how I will adjust when/if I come back.
- graeme 13y ago
  What's the top 10% in Bangkok and Bangladesh? Having lived in one poor country (Cuba), I found your statement as incredible as the grandparent comment's author did. Bottom 10% in America is $10,500 according to Wikipedia. That doesn't get you much standard of living. Everything is cheaper in the developing world, so seemingly small amounts can go much further.
  - rayiner 13y ago
    Cuba is a middle-income country. It has a GDP per capita 3x as high as India, and 5x as high as Bangladesh.
    - graeme 13y ago
      Cuba is a weird case, due to the socialist economy. Monthly salaries are about $15-$30. No, I'm not forgetting a zero. They get free education and health care (though quality of the latter varies) and they get a few cheap food as rations. There are a few other benefits, but in large part they're quite poor.
      - rayiner 13y ago
        Top 10% of Bengalis have 35% of the income, in a country with a purchasing-power parity (PPP) income per capita of $1909. So my guess would be top decile makes about $6-7k/year. This is in a country with zero public services (while someone living on $10k/year in the U.S. has access to public education,* public housing, food stamps, Medicaid, etc). India is substantially better, but at around double the PPP income of Bangladesh, that puts top 10% of Indians probably right around the bottom 10% of Americans. *) American school spend on average $10k/year per student.
seanmcdirmid 13y ago
> Just a statement like "where the bottom 10% live as well as the top 10% do in developing countries" really shows you haven't been outside your home town. Actually, parent is probably right here quantitatively speaking. At least this is true where I live (China).
enraged_camel 13y ago
>>Just a statement like "where the bottom 10% live as well as the top 10% do in developing countries" really shows you haven't been outside your home town. The real problem with that statement is that it misrepresents the problem. The fact that our poor live as well as middle class (or even upper class) in developing countries does not mean anything, because our poor do not compete for the same resources and opportunities as those people. Our poor compete with our rich, and the wider that gap, the worse the situation. In other words, what really matters is the standard of living of our poor relative to that of our rich.
- newbie12 13y ago
  Why? Our "poor" have televisions, air conditioning, cars, and homes. There's so much food in America that obesity is a major health issue. This is a profound success and departure from the normal human condition of misery. Please put down the Marxist textbook.
  - jfoutz 13y ago
    I'm just gonna throw this out there... "In sum, we estimate that, as of the beginning of 2011, about 1.46 million U.S. households with about 2.8 million children were surviving on $2 or less in income per person per day in a given month." http://npc.umich.edu/publications/policy_briefs/brief28/policybrief28.pdf http://npc.umich.edu/publications/policy_briefs/brief28/poli...
    - refurb 13y ago
      That's an interesting stat, but it confusing. Is this a case where people are not taking advantage of the social services offered? $2/day works out to $300 for a family of five. This reminds me of Medicaid in the US. Something like 20% of the uninsured in America are actually qualified for free healthcare, but don't enroll.
  - seanmcdirmid 13y ago
    > There's so much food in America that obesity is a major health issue. Sort of stupid. It actually costs money to eat healthy, which many people can't afford in the states (fresh fruits and vegetables, grocery store far away, no car, just by crap at the convenience store then). The US doesn't compare well to Europe on quality of life for those not in the middle class. Ya, they can afford some crap, but not what they really need to improve their lot (decent food, decent education, healthcare...). The libertarians don't really get that, and think everything is peachy perfect in the states (except for too much socialism).
newbie12 13y ago
I've lived, studied, and worked abroad, and you definitely get the wanderlust out of your system. The U.S. is amazing and there's a reason everybody wants to come here. The U.S. is actually getting more interesting as regional spots like Austin and Asheville bloom and nationwide America continues to restore its urban city centers.

by stormen 13y ago

rayiner 13y ago

I was born in Bangkok, Thailand, lived in Bangladesh for several years, and have traveled fairly extensively in Asia and Europe as a child/young teenager.

stormen 13y ago
Congratulations, then you know the value of getting an outside perspective on western culture.
- tptacek 13y ago
  That's one way to say "Oh, I was wrong, I'm sorry", I guess.
  - seanmcdirmid 13y ago
    No I don't think he was. You missed the entire point of the article, I guess.
    - tptacek 13y ago
      You're incredibly ignorant. And then later, Just a statement like [his statement] really shows you haven't been outside your home town. Wrong is wrong. I shouldn't need to spell that out, but I obviously do. Whatever point you're hoping to make, you do it an incredible disservice by yoking it to comments like the one I responded to above.
seanmcdirmid 13y ago
Then you don't really have the problem most Americans do, and this article isn't for you. I find America boring when I visit: very nice and clean, very generic and sterile. I have no idea how I will adjust when/if I come back.
graeme 13y ago
What's the top 10% in Bangkok and Bangladesh? Having lived in one poor country (Cuba), I found your statement as incredible as the grandparent comment's author did. Bottom 10% in America is $10,500 according to Wikipedia. That doesn't get you much standard of living. Everything is cheaper in the developing world, so seemingly small amounts can go much further.
- rayiner 13y ago
  Cuba is a middle-income country. It has a GDP per capita 3x as high as India, and 5x as high as Bangladesh.
  - graeme 13y ago
    Cuba is a weird case, due to the socialist economy. Monthly salaries are about $15-$30. No, I'm not forgetting a zero. They get free education and health care (though quality of the latter varies) and they get a few cheap food as rations. There are a few other benefits, but in large part they're quite poor.
    - rayiner 13y ago
      Top 10% of Bengalis have 35% of the income, in a country with a purchasing-power parity (PPP) income per capita of $1909. So my guess would be top decile makes about $6-7k/year. This is in a country with zero public services (while someone living on $10k/year in the U.S. has access to public education,* public housing, food stamps, Medicaid, etc). India is substantially better, but at around double the PPP income of Bangladesh, that puts top 10% of Indians probably right around the bottom 10% of Americans. *) American school spend on average $10k/year per student.

seanmcdirmid 13y ago

> Just a statement like "where the bottom 10% live as well as the top 10% do in developing countries" really shows you haven't been outside your home town. Actually, parent is probably right here quantitatively speaking. At least this is true where I live (China).

enraged_camel 13y ago

>>Just a statement like "where the bottom 10% live as well as the top 10% do in developing countries" really shows you haven't been outside your home town. The real problem with that statement is that it misrepresents the problem. The fact that our poor live as well as middle class (or even upper class) in developing countries does not mean anything, because our poor do not compete for the same resources and opportunities as those people. Our poor compete with our rich, and the wider that gap, the worse the situation. In other words, what really matters is the standard of living of our poor relative to that of our rich.

newbie12 13y ago
Why? Our "poor" have televisions, air conditioning, cars, and homes. There's so much food in America that obesity is a major health issue. This is a profound success and departure from the normal human condition of misery. Please put down the Marxist textbook.
- jfoutz 13y ago
  I'm just gonna throw this out there... "In sum, we estimate that, as of the beginning of 2011, about 1.46 million U.S. households with about 2.8 million children were surviving on $2 or less in income per person per day in a given month." http://npc.umich.edu/publications/policy_briefs/brief28/policybrief28.pdf http://npc.umich.edu/publications/policy_briefs/brief28/poli...
  - refurb 13y ago
    That's an interesting stat, but it confusing. Is this a case where people are not taking advantage of the social services offered? $2/day works out to $300 for a family of five. This reminds me of Medicaid in the US. Something like 20% of the uninsured in America are actually qualified for free healthcare, but don't enroll.
- seanmcdirmid 13y ago
  > There's so much food in America that obesity is a major health issue. Sort of stupid. It actually costs money to eat healthy, which many people can't afford in the states (fresh fruits and vegetables, grocery store far away, no car, just by crap at the convenience store then). The US doesn't compare well to Europe on quality of life for those not in the middle class. Ya, they can afford some crap, but not what they really need to improve their lot (decent food, decent education, healthcare...). The libertarians don't really get that, and think everything is peachy perfect in the states (except for too much socialism).

newbie12 13y ago

I've lived, studied, and worked abroad, and you definitely get the wanderlust out of your system. The U.S. is amazing and there's a reason everybody wants to come here. The U.S. is actually getting more interesting as regional spots like Austin and Asheville bloom and nationwide America continues to restore its urban city centers.