What's so great about America ?

Bean · 2012-09-29 08:32

Lately I've been thinking that this country is going to hell-in-a-handbasket. What with $16T in debt and high unemployment rate. The post office going under (as well as lots of businesses).

But today I went grocery shopping (which a very rarely do). And while walking through the store I realized that I bought anything that I wanted. I don't know why but it really struck me how "lucky" I was. I mean how many people in this world can say they have the ability to buy ANYTHING that they want.

I realize that not everyone in America can buy whatever they want, but I think we are much better off than most other countries.

Anyway, it really turned around my attitude. I actually got a little choked-up thinking about it.

It's funny how one little thing can really change one's thinking.

Comments welcome

Bean

davejames · 2012-09-29 08:45

...at the risk of going over the Forum Rules cliff...

I've had the ability to travel (for business) across the US, parts of Europe, and a swath of SE Asia.

Believe me Bean - we ARE better off...even with all the current mess. This "great experiment" is definitely worth our gratitude, and is definitely worth protecting.

DJ

ElectricAye · 2012-09-29 09:31

Western-style democracy is the greatest invention since the first method for making fire. But like most creative processes, it's noisy, messy, and inefficient. As I see it, its only problem these days is that it's being economically pitted against a bizarre hybrid of capitalism/totalitarian rule. In my humble opinion, the only way it can survive is by some form of radical automation which makes globalized wage-slave labor obsolete. Which is why I think the Parallax education initiatives are the greatest invention since the second method for making fire. And the Propeller wins the first wheel award.

NWCCTV · 2012-09-29 09:31

I would tend to agree with both to a point. There are still a LOT of people without work who do not have the pleasure of "getting what they want". 4 Years ago I had a list of about 40 clients. Today that has dwindled down to a handful. I have run my own business for 14 years and this is the worst I have ever seen it here. The $16 T in debt you mention is only the begining. Our country needs jobs and needs them quick or you will see an even higher suicide rate than there already is.

mindrobots · 2012-09-29 09:45

So much of what we were in the past and so much of what we can be in the future is what's great about America. So much of what we've become and what we are now is what's NOT so great about America.

skylight · 2012-09-29 09:58

@Bean I'll tell you what's great about America:

The fantastic diverse scenery from snow capped mountains to deserts with wild unusual rock formations to the massive national parks.
The friendly people
The fun amusement parks with their awesome rides and things for all the family to do
The scale of the buildings that give you a stiff neck trying to look at how tall they are
The HUGE portions in restaurants with free refilling of drinks
The weather in the most good... I know you get hurricanes and such but mostly you have sunshine in the warm states
The vast spaces that allow you to have fun such as flying remote control models, rockets etc.. and the fact you have access to such great gadgets that we can only drool over here.

Need I go on?...

Some of the best holidays I've had have been in the States

Humanoido · 2012-09-29 10:47

NWCCTV · 2012-09-29 11:10

This says it all: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_exPnlC3wpY

LoopyByteloose · 2012-09-29 11:15

Occasionally someone here asks me what Americia is like. I usually respond truthfully and say I don't have a clue. After all, I have been in Taiwan for 18 years.

According to the news, everyone has gotten very overweight and has tattoos. I really have to go and see for myself, but I have not been back since 2004.

One observation though is that when I first arrived in Taiwan, Taiwanese people would greet you with "Have you eaten?". And if you said "No.", they would actually buy you lunch. I left a US in 1994 where people would probably not ask such a question or feel obligated to make sure you did not go hungry.

This custom still is a reality in Taiwan. People really do make sure you have at least something to eat for today.

And having been away from the American "political dialog", I am in someways happier to not have to mentally process all the topics and sensitivities that are rather complex.

I guess I like it in Taiwan and may never return. Though I still belive in human rights and freedom of speech and a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. I just fear that these values need vigilance and renewal and that sometimes neither is happening.

It is certainly nice to have Habeas Corpus and not to have the police take you away with no explanation and not telling family or friends where you are.

Of course, if you live abroad as a non-citizen - you don't have any rights, just the temporary privileges granted to a guest.

Martin Hodge · 2012-09-29 14:59

Loopy, habeas corpus is no longer. We can thank the patriot act for that.

rwgast_logicdesign · 2012-09-29 15:07

We dont have to pay shipping and import tariffs on parallax products

lol.... maybe i should have left that alone

Publison · 2012-09-29 16:30

"What's so great about America?"

I think Lee Greenwood had a few words to say about that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf8hfZuzw_A

NWCCTV · 2012-09-29 18:44

"Most" everything. One of my biggest complaints about America???? And, I am pretty sure there are many that will agree. I work my butt off to stay above water. I pay taxes for what is suppose to be "Services" to me, my family and my fellow Americans. I am SICK of paying those taxes so that the people with the power can give my hard earned money away like it is theirs to give to Countries where their people burn OUR Countries flag. It is not right and this needs to stop.

frank freedman · 2012-09-29 19:28

The greatest thing about the United States is the ability to be a self correcting system. As long as citizens care about where we are headed, we still have a chance to alter the course of our future. Far to many in other countries have no hope of ever seeing this, moving from one greedy power hungry thug to the next.........

jazzed · 2012-09-29 19:37

I mean the following in the most politically neutral way. Please take it as such.

Do what you think has the best chance of making the difference that you need - the rest will work itself out.

In the USA, the more you spend on charity, the less you pay in taxes. Think about it as being in control of what the government would otherwise attempt to manage for you. There are other tax control mechanisms.

As to the points of original post, yes we are lucky. Hope our luck holds a while.

That's all I'll say.

msrobots · 2012-09-29 19:38

I grew up in Germany and moved to the US of A about 6 years ago. Germany is not a bad place to be like other countries in the world but still - I LOVE America. For me it is more about the people and the available space in rual areas. Living in Sacramento,CA is not much different from living in Berlin,Germany. But outside of those big citys you find that what still amazes me about America.

Yes - I have to say it - where I live a lot of the folks are poor compared to Germany but what they have they own. Buying a house in Germany is pretty expensive. So people rent/lease. When they retire they are doomed to pay higher and higher cost for rent. Here you can afford to own.

But the most importent thing is THE PEOPLE. Overall Americans are polite, helpful, funny and reliable. Some more and some less.

For example:
Your car breaks down. Not just that allmost the next passing car stops no. they also tow you to the next town, get you to a motel and invite you for dinner if you want or not. IF they do something they do it RIGHT. Better more then less.

I think that NWCCTV is right about wasting money and paying my taxes quarterly hurts every time I sign a check BUT it is not all wasted money. Alot of things need to get paid for from taxes. So I pay and I am glad to do so. It is that WE in the people. That is why America is still strong and thousands of people around the world would give a arm and a leg to move here.

If you think it is bad to live here, get a passport and visit Africa or India or Russia to name some. After coming home you will be glad you can.

As far as I know America is the best place to live. Drive thru Colorado in the spring and you will smile for weeks. America is beautiful.
Yes she is.

Enjoy!

Mike

Bean · 2012-09-29 19:56

Sorry I just realized that I put a question mark after my title. I didn't mean to do that. It was meant to be a statement.
I guess I'll leave it now, but I just wanted to get that off my chest.

The biggest thing I see that is wrong with America is so many people are on disablity/welfare when they could very well get a job. They just don't want to.

One time I was in walmart and this middle aged couple were in line ahead of me. They were obviously drunk and they were buying chips, candy and soda. I could not believe that these people pulled out an "access" card (welfare) to pay for their "food". This just makes me feel like a fool for having a job and paying high taxes just to support these people while they get paid to do nothing.

I also know a man (and I use the term loosely) who had 8 kids and was on welfare because he said he couldn't find a job paying more than welfare. There was nothing wrong with him and he could have gotten many low paying jobs, but he would have a lower standard of living.

Did anyone see the TV report of the grown man who liked to pretend he was a baby and was on disablity. There was a big outrage and he was investagated. In the end they said he could stay on disability. That is a bunch of B.S.

I know there ARE people who do need these services. But there are many who do not. And are just taking advantage of the system. And the government doesn't care either. The government WANTS people to be dependent on it.

Bean

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) · 2012-09-29 20:34

jazzed wrote:

In the USA, the more you spend on charity, the less you pay in taxes. Think about it as being in control of what the government would otherwise attempt to manage for you. ...

'Need to qualify that. The reduction in taxes results from a deduction to one's income, not from a tax credit equaling the amount contributed. And this only applies if you itemize deductions, which is usually a bad idea unless you're paying interest on a mortgage, have extraordinary medical expenses. or are taking the deduction as a Schedule C corporation.
_______

In any system of human governance there will be abuses. "Sticking it to the man" is just human nature, and from a statistical standpoint, there will always be some who can game the system and get by with it. Regardless of how uncommon those abuses are, there will always be those who seize upon individual examples to demonstrate how bad the system is. Frankly, those outliers do not bother me in the least if the cost of correcting the abuse is greater than the cost of the abuse itself. Philosophically, I consider myself a strict utilitarian, not given to flights of ideological fancy.

-Phil

Circuitsoft · 2012-09-29 20:50

I've always been in favor of graded benefits. For every two dollars you make, you should lose one dollar of welfare payment, or something like that. Same with disability, etc. That way, if on social programs you still get a reward for working.

I have spent time volunteering at the local food shelf. Some clients have been coming a long time and just kind of expect what they get, but every once in a while, you get someone new and desperate. I helped one woman through the shelves, going down the list of what she was allowed based on the size of her family, and every time she took an item off the shelf and put it in the cart, her shoulders relaxed a little bit more. Then, my mom came out with a "birthday bag" (cake mix, frosting, small gift) because her daughter's birthday was within the next month. She broke down crying and gave my mom a hug. That was a truly inspirational moment, that completely vindicated all the time I'd spent at the food shelf.

potatohead · 2012-09-29 21:05

Re: Post Office going under.

This isn't true at all. Currently, some seriously broken legislation by Congress requires the Post Office to pre-pay retiree dollars 75 years in advance, now over a period of 5 to 10 years or some such.

Read that again: Pre-Pay Seventy Five Years In Advance, NOW.

There are people not even born yet, who will work for the Post Office, and who may earn a benefit that they are forced to pay for right now.

No reasonable business plan for retiree benefits has this requirement. That fact is not getting attention as it should. Remove that requirement, and the Post Office is running just fine, always operating on revenue collected, while serving all Americans, whether or not doing so is profitable. The private competitors to the Post Office do not have the onerous benefit requirements, nor are they required to offer universal service.

Carry on, I just wanted this to be known. The Post Office is a stellar organization that has added a lot of value to our lives, is Constitutionally Mandated, and in general, extremely efficient and robust. It's sad to see the political theater surrounding it going on, most of that driven by the fact that how the Post operates happens to highlight uncomfortable realities for some ideological advocates out there...

ElectricAye · 2012-09-29 21:05

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) wrote: »

...Frankly, those outliers do not bother me in the least if the cost of correcting the abuse is greater than the cost of the abuse itself. ...

Very well put. I think the lazy moochers are few and far between. And at this point in our history there are truly too many people who've slipped out of the economic roller-coaster through no fault of their own or fell off the ferris wheel simply because they waved their hands up in the air when they thought it was safe and instead there was a Bernie Madoff running the ride.

jazzed · 2012-09-29 23:06

ElectricAye wrote: »

... waved their hands up in the air when they thought it was safe and instead there was a Bernie Madoff running the ride.

If something seems too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true. CNBC's "American Greed" is a great series. In all things one must learn to read the signs whether it's a con or an investment bubble.

Funny. I was going to mention investment income, but that's far harder to explain than the example I gave (which is still a correct statement regardless of the qualifications).

Humanoido · 2012-09-30 00:54

So how many people don't have a job? I thought that was the number one issue.. Any idea when that will be fixed?

Ahle2 · 2012-09-30 01:54

Sadly I have never been to US.

It definitely is "THE land of great diversity"!!
For me it's extremely hard to define the US, because it is "everything" at the same time. It's hard to think that New York is part of the same country as Detroit. And it seems like LA is "totally wicked" and "out of place" compared to anything else in the US. (well, Las Vegas is a close second) So Is America the worlds greatest place to live in? The answare may vary much depending on which state/city you compare. But as a whole?

I think Sweden is, on the surface, a great country to live in, and it ends up on many international top ten lists over "the best countries to live in when everything is considered". Still we are spiritual dead, and that has made us "cold" IMHO. The few that has got a faith in anything else than science are considered dumb and not to be taken seriously. Swedes think less of Americans just because of that. But to be honest I think that's one of the great things about America.

LoopyByteloose · 2012-09-30 04:12

The thing that is really great about America is that we can openly discuss our shortcomings and redouble our efforts. We don't have to pretend we are something we are not and deny our wrongs. That is what lesser nations do.

I've blown the guideline again - feel free to remove this.

idbruce · 2012-09-30 06:47

Bean

WOW! Now that is a good question!

I would have to say that America is great because we are theoretically governed by a constitution that grants us specific rights that citizens of other countries do not have. For the sake of brevity, I will not list them

, but it is are rights as citizens of the USA that makes America great.

On the other hand, I believe the fact that we allow lobbyists to influence key government policy making decisions will be the downfall of this country, as well as allowing the infiltration of the financial industry into key government positions. By continuing on this path, I believe the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer. For this reason, I am very thankful that I have the right to free enterprise, because my success will all depend on how hard I am willing to work for it.

Bruce

icepuck · 2012-09-30 08:15

Bean wrote: »

The biggest thing I see that is wrong with America is so many people are on disablity/welfare when they could very well get a job. They just don't want to.
.....................................
I know there ARE people who do need these services. But there are many who do not. And are just taking advantage of the system. And the government doesn't care either. The government WANTS people to be dependent on it.

Bean

I agree that the system is really messed up. About 5 1/2 years ago my oldest brother had an
operation to remove a golf-ball sized brain tumor. He fought for his disability for over two years,
the only reason why he finally got it was because he was one of the very few people who made it past the two year mark.

The numbers show that people who have had that type of brain cancer rarely live more than two
years after the operation. Now that he is in his 50's now one will hire him because of two reasons, he is 55 and he had one of the worst forms of cancer one can have.

Currently he and his girls are now watching our elderly mother who is having complications from a hip replacement operation from last Monday.
-dan

icepuck · 2012-09-30 08:44

Humanoido wrote: »

So how many people don't have a job?.........

Me....well it's a part time minimal wage job working for the collage where I'm taking class'
for another degree that may or may not help my chance's at getting a full time job.

The thing I've noticed is I seem to be getting pasted over for jobs I'm qualified for, while
the inexperienced twenty somethings are the ones being hired. I'm starting to think that some one
in the their mid forties like myself may already be too old for another real job.

While on the subject of jobs what's going to prevent any new jobs created here from being moved
to another low wage country? I lost my job when an IA vacuum cleaner manufacturer moved to mexico because some one ran the numbers and figured out five lower wage workers could be
hired for the same cost of just one american worker. That's the problem that needs to be fixed.

Despite my many problems I still have a choice of what I want or were to go. A lot people in
other countries don't that choice.
-dan

ctwardell · 2012-09-30 09:05

idbruce wrote: »

By continuing on this path, I believe the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer. For this reason, I am very thankful that I have the right to free enterprise, because my success will all depend on how hard I am willing to work for it.

Bruce

Are you sure about that Bruce? I heard our president say "You didn't build that."

Those words burn by butt every time I'm still at work late at night working out a problem and don't see anyone from the government offering to help.

We all know, at least we should, that a lot of our abilities and drive come from those that raised us and taught us, and that without the sacrifice of those before us we wouldn't have the freedoms that we currently have. However it is up to the individual to make use of their God given talents and to make the best of what they are given. It seems our president needs to deminish the efforts of the individual in order to make the case for redistribution of wealth, which is really the theft of the fruits of labor.

C.W.

idbruce · 2012-09-30 09:28

@C.W.

I heard our president say "You didn't build that."

Had to look that one up on YouTube, and yep, that is a pretty thoughtless comment. However, I still stand behind my comment pertaining to the right to free enterprise. At least I have a chance to get out from under the grip of greedy employers. Not all employers are bad, but I would imagine that 90% of them are greedy, money hungery, selfish, ***

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) · 2012-09-30 09:54

Guys,

I know it's an election year, and the temptation can be overwhelming, but let's steer clear of politics, okay? Browser's moderation paw is starting to get twitchy. (It may be the catnip, though. I'm just not sure at this point.)

-Phil