7 graphs that prove America is overrated

by Simon 152 Replies latest social current

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  new hope and happiness

  fair points bohm and kindly adressing your first observation about millitary and that Sweden has a sizable millitary. I dont think Swedish millitary would be very effective if the country was attacked by more powerful countries. So i think the country need not spend money on defence. I think that alone is a comfort for tax payers.

  I think the size of Sweden and the weather climate require great financial cost in Sweden for the tax payer...i also think that ( and i say this with limited knowledge but having lived in Linkoping for 5 years, that when and i had 2 close friends die of cancer in Sweden the medical care was great...the after care and funneral expences...the dead mans wife being left with 4 kids and a house that wasnt transferrd in to her name..

  Sorry i am not good at writing my point but in Sweden i noticed most people live in rental accommodation and die with little money in the bank, which is the same in all lands i guess? but Sweden ...oh what am i trying to say? Art and popular music and stuff that makes people happy is played on the radio in Sweden and its so much American and English...so i think ( i think) the entertainment industry is American and English and i think most of it is funny and stuip pathetic and intelligent but i think we all love our sport and T.V and i think American and English entertainment, entertains a far reaching market and i think America and England are over rated because of the pleasure the world gets from American and English music and films...may be its an escape from reality and only a big bad wolf..maybe its hollow inside but this entertainment industry i think in a real sence joy and comfort and i think it is very powerful and it ...sorry i am not good at explaining in the written word so let me finnish as i would speak. I think American films and music help give people hope and confidence to feel in control of there life..and i think its ( despite most of it in my opinion rubbish) it makes people feel more individual and i think its a good think.

  having read what i wrote i am sorry i used the phraze " i think" to often but if i correct what i wrote " i think" i wont even send this post because i will just give up trying to articulate what i think. Anyway my friends that died of cancer had real friends to support the family and may be thats all people need friends even if the country is over-rated?
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  LisaRose

  I found a great website, it allows you to compare any country to any other country on a whole variety of things.

  For example, the US scored better than Canada on the number of people who consider themselves very happy (39% compared to 33%)

  The US beat Canada in GDP (gross domestic product) per person 43k compared to 36K

  Canada beat the US on software piracy rates (33% compared to 20%)

  Canada had slightly more corruption (8.7 compared to 8.2)

  The website is

  http://www.nationmaster.com/index.php
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  new hope and happiness

  yea L Rose..but ( and i dont mean to be rude) does happiness mean i just rented my milionth porno C.D..is happiness being in love with a serial killer? silly question but Ted Bundy received 200 ,etters a month from women claiming to be in love with him.

  So back go the origional question " 7 reasons why America is over rated" and i think on a graph i could give 1000 reasons why America is over rated. I also as pointed out in my first post today gave a good reason why " its underated"....same with all lands i guess?
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  jgnat

  I attribute happiness to the weather. Here we have a long winter, are in a rugged and beautiful but harsh land. Even the store clerks look grumpy. We took a vacation to Nanaimo, BC. Also beautiful country, ringed by mountains, but on the coast with very mild weather (to a Canadian). I swear, even the homeless were smiling.
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  jgnat

  The United Nations uses the HDI (Human Development Index) to rate the overall well-being of a nation. Factors include infant mortality and the wage gap.

  On Nationmaster, infant mortality in Canada has 5 per 1,000 and the US 6 per 1,000 (20% more than Canada).

  Human Development Index, Canada has a score of 0.949, 5th and the US 0.944, 10th.

  Child Poverty, 15.5 Canada and the US 22.4, 45% more than Canada.

  Population below median income, 12.8 for Canada, 17 for the US, (33% more than Canada).

  ______

  Infant mortality, 3 per 1,000 births - US is 100% higher.

  Human Development Index, Sweden 0.949, 6th.

  Child Poverty, 2.6 Sweden - the US is 8 times more.

  Population below median income, 6.6 Sweden - the US is 158% more.
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  new hope and happiness

  and i think in Sweden people live longer. ( my dear aunt said to me once she was 90) " dont grow old its horrible" ...this was in England.

  sorry what i wrote sounds horrible, but i think in lands people live longer with out quality of life is not always a good statistic..it can be horrible.
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  jgnat

  It is possible to grow old with quality of life.
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  new hope and happiness

  but when you get in to your 80s the mind and legs deteriate for most very quickly...hey if you live in a socially privaliged status like kings and queens it is easier ..jgnat i hope you grow old with quality of life. ..it helps if you have good genes and dont smoke, drink in moderation and have luck....its a minority.
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  jgnat

  I feel that I am fairly well informed on senior's issues. I used to work for the department of Seniors, and what was drilled home to me is the three phases of senior-hood. The first stage, zoomers, are out and about travelling. Second stage stays closer to home and family. The third stage worries most of us, when we may require extended health care and are perhaps in a nursing home.

  I'll be fine, newhope. I've calculated my death date at 83. (The Death Clock). It is reassuring for me knowing there's an upper limit. I figure if a person has learned how to live before they are seniors (it's not just about the job!), they'll be fine afterwards.

  Is quality of life in the later years truly a minority? The Health and Well-Being of Canadian Seniors.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHyR7p6_hn0

  There's good evidence that seniors are happier than younger people. Responsibilites are fading, and we can live in the moment.
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  Simon

  What I don't understand is that America is normally a nation of 'doers' - they can achieve great things when they set their mind to it as a nation. Want to put a guy on the moon to make a political statement? Sure ... money is no object. Done.

  But then there are problems that nearly everyone can see but there seems to be no will to fix OR a sizeable chunk of the population wouuld rather see the country fall apart than support the fix if it means working with the othe rpolitical party. It's ideologies tearing the country to pieces.

  Take infant deaths: America has one of the highest rates of infant mortality in the industrialised world - 50% higher than all other industrial countries combined. Much of this is cause by poverty and inadequate access to healthcare.

  http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/05/07/1973341/us-infant-mortality-rate/

  Now, you'd imagine that fixing this would be rather easy for a country that claims to have the best healthcare and such wealth. A fraction of the price of the space programme or recent wars. Heck, just take a little more care with some drone strikes and you'll save a sizeable chunk of money 'cause those things aint cheap.

  But no. All half the country can focus on is "this will make the other side look good ... must ... mindlessly ... object" and the tiny minority holding all the wealth ... well, it seems they don't really care about society as a whole and a 'few' poor babies that never get to have a chance to better themselves.

  Deaths of children from abuse after birth is higher in America too (worse in the industrialised worls) and climbing:

  http://www.childhelp.org/pages/statistics

  It's like there is a cancer in society and whatever the 'plan' is right now, it's not making things better. How can talking about things be 'a bad thing'? How can all these social factors not be interrelated? The number of peoplel incarcerated surely has a link and to poverty and equality and to social support and healthcare. An intricate web of parts that is out of whack and needs some fine tuning at least if not major rethinking.

  It's such a shame that some Americans are so UNPATRIOTIC that they will try to shout down anyone who suggest that they make their country better and call them names instead of doing what the Americans who built the country did in the past - take action and make things better.