Why the Rest of the World Hates U.S.

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FeceMan
(It's a play on words--"us" and the abbreviation for United States. Get it? Great.)

Tell me what you believe to be true. I'll put my few cents in later. If you're wrong...well, don't be a moron, that is all I can say.

Ou Be Low hoo
George Dubya Bush and all his multi-faceted perversions of the truth.

FeceMan
You already made a n00b response. This is NOT going to turn into a flamefest.

Silver Stardust
I think part of it is the attitude that many Americans have, the "We're so much better than the rest of the world" thing.

And before anyone jumps on my back for saying that, two things: 1) I am American (and certainly don't think that way), and 2) I did NOT say all Americans think this way.

MC Mike
Hypocrisy.

FeceMan
Thank you, MC Mike and SS, for valid comments.

Ou Be Low hoo
It's what I believe to be the principal reason why the majority of the World hates the US. It's backed up by facts - when the AP conducted a world-wide poll in regards to why people currently have feelings of animosity towards the US, this was the number 1 reason given.

If your 'few cents' can't comprehend that, then I suggest you don't make the kind of thread that has been repeated and repeated and repeated, ad infinitum...

FeceMan
Considering that the rest of the world has hated us for longer than GWB has been in office and that you are trusting in the source of a single poll, I would not be so hasty to lash out at others for alleged stupidity.

Ou Be Low hoo
Actually, you're wrong again. Immediately after 9/11 the majority of the world felt a great sense of empathy with the US. The front pages of most newspapers around the world showed this...Even Le Monde - a French newspaper - carries the headline "WE ARE ALL AMERICANS".

Try again...

FeceMan
I am well aware of how the other countries felt about 9/11.

Silver Stardust
9/11...which occured while Dubya was in office.

You just blew your own argument out of the water.

FeceMan
I believe that he is taking "the rest of the world" to be a more limited scope than what the rest of us are thinking.

bilb
Yup Yup

Ou Be Low hoo
Oh dear...BUSH didn't do ANYTHING prior to 9/11!!!!!!!!!!!! He was a lame duck president elected by a minority! Please try to use your brain...

I'm referring to 'rest of the world' as countries including:

Turkey
Argentina
Brazil
Germany
France
Indonesia
Canada
Lebanon
Great Britan
Chile
Australia
Mexico
South Africa
China
Italy
South Korea
Japan
Russia
Spain

Is that comprehensive enough for you?

BackFire
I think there's a number of reasons why people hate us.

1. Cocky - We tend to think that our way is the only way things should be done, and if it isn't our way, it's automatically wrong, even if it works for another country.

2. Our president - George Bush is very hated amongst the world, this is no shocker really. Everyone knows this, so I'll move on.

3. Policing the world - I think this is what bothers most other countries, america putting it's nose everywhere, as if it's some authority in every matter.

Eh, those are the main things I believe.

BlackC@t
American's are hot droolio

A4E
actually no, Ive been in those countries and they all LOVE america, so before jumping to conclusions research a bit more...

and many ppl hate america, but I think most ppl hate the american goverment not the ppl, cuz it's like saying I hate blonde ppl, it makes no sence whatsoever, there are some shitty ppl america but there are great ppl there too

Imaginary
Americans confuse the rest of the world by still using Fahrenheit and the imperial system of weight and measures, and also spelling.

A4E
I have to agre with confusing us with weight and measure system lol (I still don't know how inches work)... but spelling...not really

Imaginary
apologize, color, airplane, blah blah.

The spellcheckers on microsoft word are always set to US english so its a pain if we have to type up something in British english.

shaber
There was a zeitgeist book on this subject, but I haven't read it. I'm sure it's much better than any response you'll get on this thread!

A4E
and how do u say airplane in british??

Imaginary
"Tell me what you believe to be true."

He's asking us what we think, not what a book says.

A4E

Imaginary
aeroplane

A4E
really??? no way!! well in dallas's airport and L.A's it clearly said "Airplanes"

A4E
and here in KMC if u type "aerplane" its gonna say that it's mistaken, and even though raz's english the grammer is american even in the BB Codes

eggmayo
We invented the language

Reckoning
There are many contributing factors but the main reason why many across the world have a severe dislike for Americans is because of past tendencies of abusement and the destruction of nations: aka overthrowing a democratically elected President and then installing a regime that oppresses the poor in which US corporations benefit while exploiting the regions resources. It has been well known that the best interests of a minnow nation is for the US to control their resources, and not be in the hands of nationalists; which is a great explanation to the removal of many leaders in Latin America(Chile, Honduras, Haiti, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Grenada, etc.); and also Indonesia with Suharto, Iraq with Hussein and the Palenstinian/Israel confrontation. Basically, the US foreign policy is what angers; not necessarily Americans themselves. But the victims of such vindictive crimes by American hostility makes the distinction of person from government difficult, especially when you have American military operatives slaughtering millions of innocent civilians in their quest for Imperialism.

Thus also, American governments in past and present have vetoed every authority that has a conflicting view or political stance, whether it be the International Criminal Court or the Security Council or even the UN. While the rest of the world attempts to be diplomatic and use the authorities which were put in place for matters of high importance between nations(war crimes, crimes against humanity), the US simply does not involve themselves within this procedure. Example, when the 9/11 attacks happened, the US immediately ordered the Taliban to surrender bin Laden to them, and it was 'not negotiable'. The Taliban simply asked for evidence, which the US could not provide, so thus did not obey. But the US simply did not want to show evidence, as it was 'not negotiable'. All the while the US harbours Emmanuel Constant, the leader of the Haitian paramilitary forces that were responsible for thousands of brutal killings in the early 1990s under the military junta, which Washington officially opposed but tacitly supported. Constant was sentenced in absentia by the Haitian court. The US refuses to extradite Constant, possibly for fear that he has information that the US does not wish to see the light of day.

Such truisms apply to everyone, but the US it would appear. The world pays a price for 9/11, while many other nations suffer their own 9/11's and yet they remain in turmoil, and still under the gun by the US.

BlackC@t
American spelling is screwed up.

Another one is programme and program, something like that.

Neo_Version 7
is it like how "chips" and "crisps" are different?

Clovie
*points bush*
*points iraq*
*points bush*

Neo_Version 7
*points Clovie*

Clovie
i'm not american huh

A4E
That happened centuries ago... so now if in the UK anybody invents a new word it will be a correct word just because the person who inented it was british??? no...
and u mean that in the UK u say "aerplanes" or that in america they say "aerplane" ??

Clovie
*airplane? huh

cornponious
Well, this thread is fu><0r3d

A4E
fu what?

eggmayo
I mean you change the words... spell them differently... if a new word is invented, sure, its a correct word no matter where its invented.... I just think the words should be the same in all countries that speak the same language.

Bardock42
I don't hate America.
I don't think that hating a country is in anyway reasonable
But I can understand why people don't like there policys right now.

BUt I mean you can make fun of them rather good. But thats just on a friendly level, yes

Jackie Malfoy
I doubt it very much if the rest of the world hates america.I mean that would be impossible if every country in the whole world hated us.There is no reason for it.JM

dean7879
we are all the same
we are all humans on earth
america is just a piece of land...if you hate them then you hate yourself

Silver Stardust
Mmmm, no, not really...different areas have different words for things. Even through different areas of the US people use different words for the same thing. One thing my friends and I always bring up is "is it soda or pop?" laughing out loud But anyway, they're just regional dialects. If two populations that speak the same language are seperated, the language will chance in different ways over time. For the same reason people speak with accents.

And I tend to use British and American spelling interchangably big grin drove my teachers insane because they'd tell me that I misspelled something (like if I wrote 'colour' instead of 'color') and I'd say "no, that's spelled right..." heh!

Silver Stardust
A lot of other countries DO very much dislike America, though.

Bardock42
No countries don'T hate other countries, some people in the countries, might hate the US, no generalizing here, m'kay

Silver Stardust
Okay, I'll reword it. A lot of people from other countries dislike the US.

Bardock42
Good, good!

terra grl 123
? huh?

Bardock42
What?

botankus
Actually, if you substitute "We've got too much going on in our daily lives to care about the rest of the world" - which is true for about 95% of the people I know - it would be more accurate. Accusations for Americans being apathetic to the majority of the world are accusations I can live with.

BTW, being apathetic is NOT the same thing as being cocky.

Ushgarak
The generic reason why, since about ten eyars after the Second World War, people have ever really hated America (whilst not showing anywhere near as much hate to other much worse regimes) remains a combination of jealously and ignorance.

American does a fair few crappy things but so do all countries. But American gets the most flak because it is the most powerful, and this spills over into an endless regurgitation of ignorant claptrap that only demonstrates how contemptible humanity can be.

The Inkeeper
The rest of the world hate the US because they are basically a new country and are already running things, and are also WAY too patriotic.

The patriot---could the english be portraed ANY worse?

Ushgarak
America's overblown jingoism does irritate. But then so does British hooliganism and German neo-facism; you will find most Western countries have areas in that regard for which they are disliked; again, American's power and the jealously of that inflates the criticism that goes towards them.

pr1983
i think backfire got it spot on...

and for the record its 'aeroplane'

WindDancer
I think Ush got it more spot on...



Let me add that the Cold War escalated the disliking of America. And is understandble that the world disprove of the whole Cold War. Plus America supporting Israel is an even higher reason as to why there is such hatred towards Americans in the middle east.

See most people think that the hatred towards Americans began with this whole Saddam and Osama business. And that is not the case. Decades earlier the Middle East were upset that the American Government help the Isralies in the war. The American government in order to win some sympathy help the Afghan rebels fight the Soviets during the invasion of the late 70's early 80's. But that as many of you know didn't work.

pr1983
imo...

obviously there have been much worse regimes...

but none have been as big a player in world politics as the u.s.a...

i still agree with backfire, though i see what ush means...

eggmayo
What about Americans renaming the age-old sport of 'football' to 'soccer'?

pr1983
that pisses me off big time... ridiculous...

misha
i sure dont hate the US?
if anything i hate them from jelousy....whenever i come up with a great idea (like getting some foods delivered to your door) my sister will say 'theyve already got that in america' or 'america's probably already invented that'

oh my god ive just thought of the best idea...can you americans get alcohol delivered to your door? eek!

WindDancer
I know soccer is a big thing for you guys. But what's the big deal with calling it soccer? The proper name should be "kickball". And no one rename soccer to football. Football is totaly different sport than soccer.

pr1983
football (as in the english variety) was the original... it had the name first... so its football... the only country that calls it soccer is the U.S.A. why not have a different name for american football?

kickball? so what would yours be called?

misha
i think the main problemb with the US would be bush.....him going to war and all erm
that would be my reason for hating the US, but im not gonna hate them just for one person messed

misha
no us aussies call it soccer too bag

eggmayo
Football been around since the middle ages... i think it deserves the name.

dean7879
i think the name soccer was invented by the english ...i think..not sure

pr1983
thats cos aussies have their own version of football too misha...

misha
i dont know i get really confused...i agree, the same sport should have the same name!

i think i remember though.....im going from the aussies point of view ok!?
we have football, the thing with the funny shaped ball that bounces everywhere
then we have soccer, the thing with the round ball and you guys call football!?
and then theres rugby which i THINK is what the americans call footy!? confused

pr1983
rugby is rugby... stick out tongue

we call yours 'aussie rules' misha big grin

as far as i know there are 4 types of football...

Silver Stardust
Uhh...I've only heard rugby called rugby...confused

misha
FOUR different types? *faints* oh my this is all to much information for a little girl at quarter to 5 in the morning....i need sleep cry



and yes aussies do rule wink

night,
xxoo misha.

debbiejo
The rest of the world doesn't hate us. That's just what the liberal media has told us. yes

Besides everyone wants to live here...because we have the best of all ethnic foods. GREAT MELTING POT. And we can buy as many aspirin's as we want compared to many countries.

pr1983
laughing... yes they do rule misha stick out tongue

association football,
australian rules football
american football
gaelic football

those are the only ones i know...

WindDancer
To me is no difference the name change. As long as the rules and basics remain I love the sport. As far as I know it was originally called American Football. But there was no point calling American. So it was shorten to Fooball.

pr1983
i have no problem with americans calling theirs football...

but then to turn around and call ours soccer, like theirs is is the only true football... thats what annoys me...

Imaginary
In Australia we have soccer, as in the round ball and then we have Aussie Rules which is the best (imo) and then we have rugby which some people call footy smartass




Yes.
Yes it is.

FeceMan
Wow, this grew surprisingly quickly.

First things first, you used the term 'lame duck' incorrectly. Perhaps you ought to try to use YOUR brain before insulting others.

You must understand that the rest of the world hates AMERICA, not AMERICANS. They hate our government and our foreign policy, not the people. However, many of them are uninformed and make assumptions about us based on what they see in movies--as in, a lot of people think we're all loudmouthed, 300-lb. assholes. (Huh. They must have seen plenty of films about New Yorkers and then watched Supersize Me. smile)

Oh noes! But that's not all. In my Global Issues class, we were talking about why everyone hates us--which is why I made this thread because it is so important to learn about stuff like this--and we used an analogy that is quite fitting.

We're the arrogant, cocky, disrespectful jock of the world. You know, every school has one or two (or maybe more). We're that guy who mocks the little guy, mocks others, and doesn't care what everyone else thinks. And you know how other people feel? They feel like we do about people like this: it feels good when he fails. And that is why some cheered about 9/11.

Hypocrisy, ignorance, the 'I-don't-give-a-damn' syndrome, and jealousy.

WHAT? Jealousy?! Yes, jealousy. How could they not be envious about us? We are the richest, most powerful country in the world. We have the best standard of living, the best technology, the best everything.

The Inkeeper
Japan has better technology, and America unwittingly helped them achieve that, what a nice country

FeceMan
^ OK, we have a better mix of everything. smile

pr1983
bullshit... ireland has a better standard of living, japan, singapore, denmark... the list goes on...

japan rules all in technology...

FeceMan
^ How so?

The Inkeeper
Because when america basically destroyed them in ww2 and flattened a shitload of everything, Japan built back up, thats why they have newer train-lines, better technology etc etc


Japan will not be beaten

pr1983
which part feceman?

how much sony do you have in your house? or mitsubishi? all japanese... japan is so far ahead technologically of everyone else...

moises
Why the Rest of the World Hates U.S?

BECAUSE WE KNOW HOW TO PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Inkeeper
friends password to get in?
Does that count as socking?

baracustastic
"so, where are you from?"

"Scotland"

"Isn't that part of England?"

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr."

Policing the world is bad enough, but knowing next to nothing of the world you intend to police is shocking. Also, the only reason America wants to police the world is to protect itself. As long as we're alright screw the rest. Crap attitude for the only superpower to have.

The whole bastardisation of the name of the beautiful game has been mentioned. As well as the rest of the word stuff.

The way that America seems very down on immigration seems stupid to me. No American I've asked has been only an American, they are Irish/German/African/Cuban/Scottish American (delete as appropriate). So, they all want do appear diverse and different yet aren't keen on different people joining their country - the irony!

The whole bizarreness of complete hostility and shock at nudity/bad language, yet total acceptance of guns.

George "Whatonearthisheplayingat!" Bush.

Basically the incredibly insular attitude of the country. Everyone else realises that they have to be friends and respect the countries of the world, apart from America. What America wants, America gets....NOW dammit! Screw the future, screw the past, now, now, now, now, now!

moises
no it doesnt

more like

NO EMAIL ADDRESS

PVS
i dont think everyone 'hates' us...i think they hate bush.
as for the 51% of VOTING americans who voted for him...
i think many nations of the free world are...disappointed in them.

pr1983
spot on...

moviejunkie23
wow i like that quote

dean7879
thanx cool

debbiejo
Japan also has the highest suicide rate!!

FeceMan
The standard-of-living bit in Ireland.

Bar (I cannot spell your name at all smile) is absolutely correct in his post. And, PVS, you are incorrect. They may dislike Bush, but that is not the reason that they hate America. That whole Israeli-Palestine conflict bit really did it...

pr1983
ireland's economy not so long ago received a massive boom, and for a long while people were living the high life...

recently it has gone downhill though...

irelands unemployment is a lot better than it has been for years, our public health system is better (if only slightly), ireland is on par with most eu countries for standard of living, though recently has become extremely expensive to live in...

Afro Cheese
I don't think Bush is the reason the rest of the world hates America cause they hated us before Bush ever stepped foot in the oval office, but I think that he's at the very least increased the hatred towards America.

pr1983
i don't believe that its been as prominent since before bush... i mean in europe clinton was a lot more well liked than bush ever was...

Bardock42
What the matter with you guys, even if anyone dislikes you just get the **** over it. You don'T seem to be willing to do anything aboot it anyway (as a country not as individuals), so whatever.

Afro Cheese
Well saying "get over it" is rather ironic since one of the problems people seem to have with Americans is that a lot of us don't even care that the rest of the world hates us. I can say personally I don't really care all that much. Maybe I would if I had to travel out of the country alot and I kept getting shit for being an American but I've never been out of the country so it really hasn't effected me.

ragesRemorse
the rest of the world hates the US because they want to be us. Atleast that is what the rest of the world thinks that Americans think like and why they hate us, aside of the political engagments of our goverment.

Capt_Fantastic
The question of why the rest of the world hates/resents the US. isn'tone that can be answered in a single post. It isn't JUST the backing we give to Israel. It isn't just that many of us are too ignorant to ask a question like 'Is Scotland part of England'. And it isn't even because we have people like Bush running our country. The reason is all of these and more. If this country didn't spend most of it's time saying one thing and doing another, then we would have a much easier time in this world. On top of that, this isn't the fifties anymore...or the forties. The baby boomer generation and all that have followed are typically walking around on thier hands and knees while talking out of their ass. Take the French for example....I'm sure they would have more respect for an American from those generations that came to their country, fought and died for their freedom, than they would for someone of the '90's generation. The difference is integrity. And integrity shouldn't be confused with morals! Then again, morals shouldn't be confused with right and wrong either.

ragesRemorse
Does anyone other than french people really care what French people think?

Lord Shadow Z
I certainly don't. I don't want to live in a system where my vote probably doesn't count. I don't want to live in a society that breeds violence because people are allowed to own dangerous firearms. I don't want to walk around with a scarily camp accent and harp on about how great, and how right I am. I don't want to get fat on relentless fast-food resturants that seem to be everywhere in the goddamn country. I don't want to be in a society where theres direct racial discrimination groups wearing pointy white hats and infesting the young generation with their poisonous ideals. I don't want be sickenly patriotic and religious to the point of being ignorant of other countries and cultures. I don't want to walk into a country that has adopted English as its language and then gone and bastardized it by changing words, spellings, and meanings for no reason other to be different. I don't want to think I have the right to interfere with any countries right to run things in their own way, dictatorship or democracy- it shouldn't be any Americans call to make.

Clovie
why the US hate the rest of the world?

A4E
I hate that about aussies and americans!! I mean "soccer" is football, "football" is "American Football" and "Rugby" is rugby! stick out tongue

A4E
hysterical

that was a joke right??

manny321
that is not true, they hate the President not the US. It the same in Canada, were like you so we don;t hate you, but your president is so stupid!!! Ahhh it just burns my ears to hear his stupidity.!!

FeceMan
You're...not good.

Afro Cheese
Feceman I understand you're a republican but you can't deny that Bush has at least increased the hatred towards America.. not saying he caused it but he plays a big role in it these days.

manny321
I am not trying to win a contest, i am showing my view on him.

manny321
I find few who hate the american public but there are millions who dislike bush.

FeceMan
Afro, I know, but the point is this: many people blame Bush for the rest of the world hating us. They just don't get it. The rest of the world has hated us for a long time now.

THEY DO NOT HATE AMERICANS.

They hate the United States GOVERNMENT and the United States' FOREIGN POLICY. (Plus the other stuff mentioned.)

Imaginary
Americans have too much of an influence over the rest of the world. We hate it, but it can't be helped. It's a fact that what happens in the US, the decisions the US Government make affect the rest of the world. And yeah, PVS is right in saying that the world is disappointed in Americans for re-electing Bush. It's just the way it is.

yerssot
FeceMan is right... no one hates the americans, just bush and his policy of wars and policing the world to which they have absolutely no right too (nor have the knowledge to do so)

you can't go generalising americans, saying they are all cocky and arrogant cause some are, it is like saying that all brits are lapdogs of the americans

Linkalicious
I think BackFire and Ush both nailed it.

BackFire hit the most commonly mentioned reasons, but I also think there is some jealousy involved too.

But I don't think many people would admit something like that because that would be like an American admitting they are arrogant. Of course...I'm just generalizing. Every individual is different.

Ou Be Low hoo
Please explain to me HOW I used the term incorrectly. Here, for your benefit, I show I used it originally:



The implication of what I stated is that he was elected by a public minority which gave him little - if any - political capital prior to the 9/11 attacks. He did not do anything of note during his first 6 months in office.

I look forward to your response.

leonheartmm
reasons: bush, jealousy, bush, stupid people, bush, arrogance of american public, bush, brainwashed public due to media propaganda, bush regime, relerious extremists taught to hate america from the day they were born, bush, attacks on afghanistan and iraq{not justified}, the thickheaded american government thinks that it can do anything it wants without concequences, racism of many amerian people, america only helps sum1 if it furthers it own agenda or helps it, america completely ignorant of the situation of many hot spots in the world and turns its back on them, bush, america has a military and nuclear stockpile that is probably even greater than that of the USSR and is constantly developing new weapons but doesnt allow any other state to attain a nuclear programme; lets keep in mind that the only country that has actually used nukes against people before is also america which gives more reason for AMERICA not to have any nuclear arms along with other countries, bush, the ease with which american people live compared to the wrest of the world, and bush to name just a few reasons.

KharmaDog
People have stated that many countries hate the U.S. because those countries are jealous of the U.S.'s standard of living.

The top ten countries with the Highest Standard of Living are as follows:

1. Norway
2. Sweden
3. Canada
4. Belgium
5. Australia
6. United States
7. Iceland
8. Netherlands
9. Japan
10.Finland

(stats provided by Infobase Pvt. Ltd.)

So if jealousy is a core reason for the resentment of the U.S. (government and policies) then why don't these countries also experience the same resentment? Also, why do many people in these countries also harbour ill feelings to American government and policies if they have nothing to be jealous about (especially the top 4)?

Bardock42
Hahhaha Look at Iceland, they lost so much weren't they number one last year. hahahahahahhahaha (note I have an Ivcelandic friend, making fun of him for that is great (sad though that he can say "well, where is germany there"wink)

Sadako of Girth
Well we in the UK certainly aren't jealous of:

1) The murder rate in the US.
2) The errosion of civil liberties/free speech
there...
3) The embarrassing idiot the US has to have
leading them right now...
4) The health service...
5) Or the climate of fear that they insist on
spreading round the world...
6) Foreign policy..
7) The pollution problem..(Thanks Bush, Rove and Lay etc)
8) The rep that the US are getting with the rest of the world..
9) The fact that they have turned Blair into a brown-nosing lapdog.
10) The still existing problems with ignorance and racism still
reinforced my TV/Media

But despite all these problems we still love the US citizens and
can no longer hold them accountable as the are sadly at the
behest of a totalitarian state.......

botankus

Bardock42
I agree with all what sardako said except for the Blair, thing, that is funny.

Linkalicious
What's the combined population of the top four countries?

What's the population of the United States?

More people, with a lesser education, receive a much greater quality of living because they live in the United States.

It's like saying a state has the highest standard of living in a nation...and then pointing out that the nicest town in another state has a higher standard of living. It's an average. For the United States to be as large as it is...and maintain such a high standard of living is something to be jealous about.

leonheartmm
actually, the way in which america maintains that high standard of living for so many people who hardly work is very questionable, america takes advantage of many countrie's hard work to provide for its people while those countries struggle to just provide food for their citizens

Linkalicious
Where you from?

I only ask because if you're not a citizen of the United States, or if you haven't actually lived here to find out first hand....then who are you to say that American's hardly work?

What's a standard working day in your country?


Most people in the United States don't get by working a 9-5 job. Either you have the rare business person who's at the top of the ladder, a dual income household (both adults), or a person has to work 2 jobs.

and I'm sure you must be referring to "hard working" countries like North Korea who are more concerned about establishing a nuclear weapons program than providing their people with adequate power and food (which they relied on the horrible US to provide)

Sadako of Girth
Yeah.. I've heard this was the case...
The US is renowned as being as being where the UK is going....
Super rich and Super poor citizens with a million miles of distance in between.... Good luck getting healthcare if you're broke in the US...
In regards to this factor alone,
How can anyone in the US not look at Canada right now and go...
"Christ...? How come WE aren't like that....?"
What the hell is there to be jealous of the States with THAT as a standard of living?

KharmaDog
Are you inferring that the American gov't provides food and power for it's own people? I was of the understanding that american people had to pay for their own food and power.

In fact when it comes to providing for their citizens, I believe the U.S. has the highest percentage of starving children than any other developed nation.

Linkalicious
No, I'm not saying that the American government provides food and power for it's own people because that would utterly demolish personal industries and privately owned businesses/farms.

The American government monitors and puts it's hands all over different products in order to keep the prices competitive in the market. That's all it needs to do...American's are competitive enough to keep the industry a float.

And considering the growth rate of America in comparison to truly "developed" nations...I'd say it's doing pretty damn well. The United States is being compared to European nations with often times much much longer histories, lower populations, and less growth per year.

I'd like to think providing adequate food for 300,000,000 people is significantly more difficult than providing food for 60,000,000 people.

leonheartmm
9-5 job got u down, lol, im not from america but ive lived there, and my work i mean lifting and manually transporting bricks weighing over 100 kg on a sunny day in pakistan or afghanistan with no clothes to cover or protect ur back, u do this from 8 am till 5 pm, and u get around oh about 2 american dollars for it, u go home{which is actually a single mudded room} u try to make ends meet but dont even have enough to feed urself let alone feed ur family, u argue with ur wife over money and see ur children cry because of hunger and desease, u go to sleep for four hours and wake up the next morning doing the same thing, and in conditions which would make an american puke or suffocate, to make ends meet u borrow money from a money lender maybe 5 or 10 dollars if ur lucky but the interest on it is so high that u can never EVER repay it and u work in a brick kiln or as a beggar for that money lender till the end of ur days.

leonheartmm
thats the kinda work the people in the 3rd world do, and thats excluding many many other problems not to mention the mental degenration and extreme tension that occurs from havin a life like that.

botankus
A few months back someone in the Movie Discussion forum posted what I thought at the time was a world record for the longest run-on sentence. But holy sh*t! This one's tough to beat.

BTW, leonheartmm, I don't think you read Link's post clearly. And also, there are millions in the US who work heavy-industrial labor. Just because they aren't in the physical location of Pakistan or aren't as creative in creating run-on sentences doesn't take anything away from them.

Linkalicious
What's the average education level for a citizen in a 3rd world country?

When I was in High School I used to move peoples houses during the summer for minimum wage. Pianos, sofa beds, grandfather clocks....up 2...sometimes 3 stories.

I got out of high school, started getting a college education and right now at the age of 22 I make GREAT money and I do nothing but sit on my ass and pound a key board writing code all day.

Managers (the highly educated people) don't work as hard as their subordinates (those with a lesser education) It's how the world works.

Bardock42
No dude I don't think you understand capitalism. You get paid for wqhat your work is worth to someone else. If some common worker could write code as good as you well he would get the same amount of money as you and if you decide to carry sofas around again you will only get minimum wage (well probably more since its easy to use High School Students)

Clovie
but as you yourself mentioned once, you were very lucky to get that job, and it is NOT something which is available for average college student

Sadako of Girth
Indeed thats the idealism behind it, but conservatism is perhaps the ism in charge with the unfair pay thing.... Which indeed is why the Labour government is still in power in the UK, because they're scared of voting in the conservatives for there tax/pay policies, when Ironically Blair's
"New Labour"(In other words secretly Neo-conserative) is screwing the public the very same way..........

Bardock42
WHat unfair pay thing are you talking aboot?

Sadako of Girth
The "Unfair pay thing" means a guy in a cushy office pushing a few buttons for the same (Even less) hours gets wayyyyyyy more than someone doing harder work with perhaps less perks, rights and benefits...
.....Oh And lets not forget the US current tax hike thing.
Another conservative mechanism for sapping the money from the little guy and sharing it among the Rich elite. So with this whole way of life,
The rich get richer cause, in essance the government pay you for being rich, while the little guy can go hang.......

Linkalicious
Oh I understand exactly what Capitalism is...but I'm glad you think otherwise.

Indeed, I do get paid based on what someone thinks the "product" , not the work, that I do is worth. The reason why I get paid this much is because "some common worker" from off the street can't do the job...so it's more valuable than someone who picks strawberries for a living....because everyone with two hands can do the job.

Now I think I understand the point that you're trying to make by pointing out that, regardless of education, doing a low paying job is going to earn you less money.

But the point I'm trying to make is that if you have the proper education, and use it to it's potential, then there is no need to do a low paying job.

KharmaDog
But your government doesn't supply the food. Corporations and business people do. It's about money, not saving a population from starving.
Actually it should be easier to support a larger population than another country because your resources are more diverse.

That being said, there are many citizens in the united states starving and can't get food because they have no money.

Bardock42
Of course being more skilled makes you more valueable anfd tgherefore you deserve money. It s a great system, you should have a minimum of social security though. Why don't you like capitalism.

Linkalicious
I'm trying to follow you...but i don't see the point you're trying to make.

Clovie
i mean that not everyone with your level of education/age/etc has the opportunity of getting nice good payed job. nothing more.

Bardock42
Neither do I

Linkalicious
I don't recall bringing up the government regarding this comment, but it doesn't change the fact that providing for 300 million is significantly more difficult than providing for 60 million. And that doesn't just mean food...it means everything...education, transportation, health coverage, clean water, power etc.

That being said, I would think that the unemployment rate in the United States would directly coincide with that starving citizens...neh...people (immigrants aren't citizens)

Providing adequate jobs is also difficult when one takes into account the growth rate of the population, and the rate of illegal immigration. There aren't countless jobs for underskilled workers or lazy people. America is the "land of opportunity" because of it's competitive environment....it's not the "Land of Free Handouts"

Linkalicious
I'd say about 75% of the time it isn't so much WHAT you know......it's more a matter of WHO you know.

Linkalicious
Social Security was doomed to fail after time anyways.

It's basically the idea that a lot of people paying a small amount of money each month will be able to provide one person with adequate money to survive for the remaining years of their life without having to work.

It's a great idea...in theory.

But what happens when the "baby boom" generation all becomes SS collecting senior citizens?

Now you have a similar number of people paying a similar amount of money each month in the hopes that it will be able to continue to provide for an ever increasing number of people who no longer work due to their age.

There's not enough money going in to provide for all the elderly who are coming out. (of the work force)

Bardock42
Thats why I thin k there should be some other system replacing it.

I actually got an idea but who am I to say that it could work

Linkalicious
I think Bush proposed the notion of personal security funds.

It had something to do with being able to put away like 4% of your personal income every year in order to give that to your children. Alan Greenspan thinks that's the best move at this point in time and he's the US's big wig economist.

Of course, that would lead to some people getting more than others...but atleast it's a personal account that the government doesn't get to use for distribution of funds.

Sadako of Girth
....Or so they say.... shifty laughing

Linkalicious
laughing

too true.

Sadako of Girth
Originally posted by Sadako of Girth
....Or so they say.... shifty

Seriously... With an enormous resource like that, it'll always be borrowed from somewhere along the papertrail to drop on the heads of some other nation as armaments in the name of "National Security..."

Maybe... wink

manjaro
america has the biggest c-ock and we're not afriad to rape your economy with it(pointing to other coutries from left to right)......and ours for that matter

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