Is America proof right wing countries are not something to aspire to?

steddyeddy · 02-05-2015 12:18AM #1

America is considered more right wing than Ireland say in regards to education, health care and race issues to say the least.

They have a worse education system than ours, they have a worse health system than ours and their justice system seems to be anything but just. Is this what people with right wing views aspire to because it's not working.

You might say America has some of the best schools and hospitals in the world. That would be true but to take those as the norm is missing the point of society. You can't build a society on rewarding people for being born into a certain wealth category. I.e the wealth category and race you're born into in America determines the education you will receive. I can sum up the health care system in America by saying that some parts of America suffer bubonic plague outbreaks (yersinia pestis or the black death to the layman).

porsche959 · 02-05-2015 12:23AM

The US is great country to be rich, an ok country to be middling, not such a great country to be poor/undereducated/underprivileged. That said, the health system is not as bad as is sometimes made out to be, and protections for the unemployed have improved during the recent Great Recession (they had to improve them, otherwise they could have had a revolution on their hands). Also, the cost of living is quite reasonable once you avoid the 'fashionable' cities.

Make no mistake, when Irish right wingers say "we haven't any real austerity", they want us to adopt the "devil take the hindmost" type of extreme capitalism. Not so much the US as of 2014, but the US as of 1934.

http://weblogs.cltv.com/news/local/chicago/the%20great%20depression%202.gif

fedor.2. · 02-05-2015 12:25AM

For a nation of over 300 million people, I think America handles it really well. Is it perfect? Course not, show me somewhere of equal size that does a better job of it.

Supergurrier · 02-05-2015 12:25AM

The fact they spent almost 150bn

Yes 150000000000

To develop two fighter jets says alot

Wacker The Attacker · 02-05-2015 12:31AM

murica

Junkyard Tom · 02-05-2015 12:33AM

steddyeddy wrote: »

You might say America has some of the best schools and hospitals in the world.

It would be more accurate to say that the rich in the US have access to some of the best schools and hospitals in the country.

"Unless you're a Warren Buffett or Bill Gates, you're one illness away from financial ruin in this country," says lead author Steffie Woolhandler, M.D., of the Harvard Medical School, in Cambridge, Mass. "If an illness is long enough and expensive enough, private insurance offers very little protection against medical bankruptcy, and that's the major finding in our study."

cnn.com

engineerbrah · 02-05-2015 12:34AM

America is a liberal country you numbnut. Just because a few black people were killed by white police officers doesn't make it 'right wing'.

Their education system is very critical on slavery & dead white males in general and the new common core system is as leftist as it gets. Common core is specifically designed to benefit the growing minority groups in the US.

Their healthcare system was socialised like 2 years ago (Obamacare).

America allows every race & religion in the world to immigrate there, allows homosexuality, abortion, freedom of speech, etc. Are you fukkin awake son?

buried · 02-05-2015 12:36AM

Best schools? Shtap yer nonsense

porsche959 · 02-05-2015 12:42AM

buried wrote: »

Best schools? Shtap yer nonsense

America does indeed have a high proportion of the top rated universities in the world. Don't know about high schools, but one would assume some of them are pretty good to enable access to the top universities, no?

buried · 02-05-2015 12:43AM

porsche959 wrote: »

America does indeed have a high proportion of the top rated universities in the world.

How much does it cost to get in them?

Mr. Incognito · 02-05-2015 12:43AM

American proof is an oxymoron.

Its like fuzzy logic or

Low fat butter.

steddyeddy · 02-05-2015 12:44AM

Junkyard Cat wrote: »

It would be more accurate to say that the rich in the US have access to some of the best schools and hospitals in the country.

Oh yes I agree. Which means nothing if only a small percentage of the population can fulfil their maximum potential.

porsche959 · 02-05-2015 12:44AM

engineerbrah wrote: »

America is a liberal country you numbnut. Just because a few black people were killed by white police officers doesn't make it 'right wing'.

Their education system is very critical on slavery & dead white males in general and the new common core system is as leftist as it gets. Common core is specifically designed to benefit the growing minority groups in the US.

Their healthcare system was socialised like 2 years ago (Obamacare).

America allows every race & religion in the world to immigrate there, allows homosexuality, abortion, freedom of speech, etc. Are you fukkin awake son?

Are you American yourself? The reason I ask is that the expression 'socialised healthcare' is generally not used outside the US, at least not in Europe,as publicly funded healthcare is considered not to be 'socialist' but rather the norm.

porsche959 · 02-05-2015 12:45AM

buried wrote: »

How much does it cost to get in them?

An enormous amount, though I think there are a limited number of scholarship programmes.

steddyeddy · 02-05-2015 12:47AM

porsche959 wrote: »

America does indeed have a high proportion of the top rated universities in the world. Don't know about high schools, but one would assume some of them are pretty good to enable access to the top universities, no?

Well American research thrives on something called the genius visa. In other words most American talent is imported.

buried · 02-05-2015 12:49AM

porsche959 wrote: »

An enormous amount, though I think there are a limited number of scholarship programmes.

Unless those schools are open to every citizen in the land without financial backup, then this claim to have the 'best schools in the world' is a total ridiculous fallacy

Junkyard Tom · 02-05-2015 12:55AM

steddyeddy wrote: »

Well American research thrives on something called the genius visa. In other words most American talent is imported.

It also thrives on public money.

Damn socialists.

errlloyd · 02-05-2015 12:58AM

The easiest country to compare America to is Canada. I think I'd rather live in Canada.

But OP is right, many of the best things in the world are American. Colleges is the obvious example, but the best surgeons and doctors work in us hospitals. Many of the best companies on the world are American.

The simple fact is America has been the richest Country in the world for a long time. They economic richness has benefited other aspects of their society. They have nice cities like nyc, great museums and monuments.

Most of the country is fairly ****, there are probably 44 States I'd refuse to live in. Even the ones I'd be willing to live in, I'd refuse to live a lot of areas. And I wouldn't wanna bring up my kids there.

Is USA an example we should follow? No, we can't. It wouldn't matter if our gdp per capita was massive, we'd still never be a big enough economy to be best in the world at much. We need to look at nations our size. Sweden, Denmark and new Zealand. What are they doing.

steddyeddy · 02-05-2015 01:03AM

buried wrote: »

Unless those schools are open to every citizen in the land without financial backup, then this claim to have the 'best schools in the world' is a total ridiculous fallacy

I agree. It's a point very few people seem to grasp. If you select a select few to enter a school based on a non intrinsic value like parental wealth instead of intelligence then the quality of graduate isn't going to be optimal. It's the equivalent of selecting athletes based on parental wealth.

KomradeBishop · 02-05-2015 01:44AM

America is gradually transforming into a plutocracy, and its right wing policies are pretty much what is directly paving the way towards that.

There's a reason why so many right-wing policies sound like they'd just hand over power to a wealthy elite, and why the utopian promises of lasting harmony from such policies are so unconvincing: It's because that's exactly the point.

enfant terrible · 02-05-2015 01:50AM

steddyeddy wrote: »

Oh yes I agree. Which means nothing if only a small percentage of the population can fulfil their maximum potential.

Why does the college turn into a bad college when it becomes expensive to enter?

Junkyard Tom · 02-05-2015 01:53AM

enfant terrible wrote: »

Why does the college turn into a bad college when it becomes expensive to enter?

Who is making that argument you've just imagined?

ush · 02-05-2015 01:54AM

Great country. The best yuan can buy.

hatrickpatrick · 02-05-2015 01:58AM

fedor.2. wrote: »

For a nation of over 300 million people, I think America handles it really well. Is it perfect? Course not, show me somewhere of equal size that does a better job of it.

And this is exactly why smaller governments looking after smaller numbers of people are ideal, and therefore why we should vehemently oppose any moves to "pool" any more sovereignty with the EU.

Captain Chaos · 02-05-2015 01:59AM

Supergurrier wrote: »

The fact they spent almost 150bn

Yes 150000000000

To develop two fighter jets says alot

Two that can't be and won't be matched for many many decades and will automatically grant them total air superiority in any war they want to fight.

It's an ace in the hole investment to their foreign policy alright.

Sure they have 20 B2 stealth bombers than cost $2bn each back in the '90s, adjust that to todays inflation levels and the mind boggles.

Personally I'd rather see that money go to NASA or health science R&D.

Phil Mitchell · 02-05-2015 03:20AM

enfant terrible wrote: »

Why does the college turn into a bad college when it becomes expensive to enter?

When they don't let the best students in, just the ones that can pay.

Iwasfrozen · 02-05-2015 03:28AM

errlloyd wrote: »

The easiest country to compare America to is Canada. I think I'd rather live in Canada.

Let me stop you right there, Canada isn't a fair comparison. With Canada you have 35 million people and huge amounts of natural resources. The USA has an "official" population almost 10 times the population of Canada with an actual population likely to be much more.

Here's a good map to illustrate the actual size and diversity of the United States economy relative to other nations:

http://www.infohow.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/US-State-GDP-vs-Other-Nations.jpg

ceadaoin. · 02-05-2015 03:51AM

Phil Mitchell wrote: »

When they don't let the best students in, just the ones that can pay.

They do only let the best students in. You also have to meet the academic criteria to be accepted, not just have money.

Other than grades, Ivy League admissions departments look at many other things, such as: essays, teacher and counselor recommendations and activities outside of school. These activities can include sports, music, clubs, jobs, and community service.

Before we get into extracurriculars and other personal achievements, let's take a look at the basics an Ivy League applicant should possess.

Overall what you should expect to have is:

At least a 1950 or better SAT. Not necessary, but definitely helps. Remember, you can take the test more than once.

Minimum 3.75 GPA. A 4.0 isn't necessary, but you really do need at least something close to it.

Leadership experience. Whether it's team captain or a club officer, you need something that separates you from the crowd.

A solid well-written essay. The written essay in your application is extremely important. Revise as many times as needed and take your time. The essay is pretty much the only part of the application an admissions officer has to judge your personal character, outside of letters of recommendation.

RustyNut · 02-05-2015 04:09AM

Money for war but won't feed their poor.

ceadaoin. · 02-05-2015 04:49AM

RustyNut wrote: »

Money for war but won't feed their poor.

They spent $74 billion last year on the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). I think they could do more but people seem to think they don't offer any assistance to people living in poverty.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supplemental_Nutrition_Assistance_Program#Eligible_Food_Items_under_SNAP

InitiumNovum · 02-05-2015 06:47AM

I'm personally sick of the commie European inferiority complex in relation to 'Murica.

Is America proof right wing countries are not something to aspire to?

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