America No. 1?

[VeriSexy]

No concept lies more firmly embedded in our national character than the notion that the USA is "No. 1," "the greatest." Our broadcast media are, in essence, continuous advertisements for the brand name "America Is No. 1." Any office seeker saying otherwise would be committing political suicide. In fact, anyone saying otherwise will be labeled "un-American." We're an "empire," ain't we? Sure we are. An empire without a manufacturing base. An empire that must borrow $2 billion a day from its competitors in order to function. Yet the delusion is ineradicable. We're No. 1. Well...this is the country you really live in:

The United States is 49th in the world in literacy (the New York Times, Dec. 12, 2004).
The United States ranked 28th out of 40 countries in mathematical literacy (NYT, Dec. 12, 2004).
Twenty percent of Americans think the sun orbits the earth. Seventeen percent believe the earth revolves around the sun once a day (The Week, Jan. 7, 2005).
"The International Adult Literacy Survey...found that Americans with less than nine years of education 'score worse than virtually all of the other countries'" (Jeremy Rifkin's superbly documented book The European Dream: How Europe's Vision of the Future Is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream, p.78).
Our workers are so ignorant and lack so many basic skills that American businesses spend $30 billion a year on remedial training (NYT, Dec. 12, 2004). No wonder they relocate elsewhere!
"The European Union leads the U.S. in...the number of science and engineering graduates; public research and development (R&D) expenditures; and new capital raised" (The European Dream, p.70).
"Europe surpassed the United States in the mid-1990s as the largest producer of scientific literature" (The European Dream, p.70).
Nevertheless, Congress cut funds to the National Science Foundation. The agency will issue 1,000 fewer research grants this year (NYT, Dec. 21, 2004).
Foreign applications to U.S. grad schools declined 28 percent last year. Foreign student enrollment on all levels fell for the first time in three decades, but increased greatly in Europe and China. Last year Chinese grad-school graduates in the U.S. dropped 56 percent, Indians 51 percent, South Koreans 28 percent (NYT, Dec. 21, 2004). We're not the place to be anymore.
The World Health Organization "ranked the countries of the world in terms of overall health performance, and the U.S. [was]...37th." In the fairness of health care, we're 54th. "The irony is that the United States spends more per capita for health care than any other nation in the world" (The European Dream, pp.79-80). Pay more, get lots, lots less.
"The U.S. and South Africa are the only two developed countries in the world that do not provide health care for all their citizens" (The European Dream, p.80). Excuse me, but since when is South Africa a "developed" country? Anyway, that's the company we're keeping.
Lack of health insurance coverage causes 18,000 unnecessary American deaths a year. (That's six times the number of people killed on 9/11.) (NYT, Jan. 12, 2005.)
"U.S. childhood poverty now ranks 22nd, or second to last, among the developed nations. Only Mexico scores lower" (The European Dream, p.81). Been to Mexico lately? Does it look "developed" to you? Yet it's the only "developed" country to score lower in childhood poverty.
Twelve million American families--more than 10 percent of all U.S. households--"continue to struggle, and not always successfully, to feed themselves." Families that "had members who actually went hungry at some point last year" numbered 3.9 million (NYT, Nov. 22, 2004).
The United States is 41st in the world in infant mortality. Cuba scores higher (NYT, Jan. 12, 2005).
Women are 70 percent more likely to die in childbirth in America than in Europe (NYT, Jan. 12, 2005).
The leading cause of death of pregnant women in this country is murder (CNN, Dec. 14, 2004).
"Of the 20 most developed countries in the world, the U.S. was dead last in the growth rate of total compensation to its workforce in the 1980s.... In the 1990s, the U.S. average compensation growth rate grew only slightly, at an annual rate of about 0.1 percent" (The European Dream, p.39). Yet Americans work longer hours per year than any other industrialized country, and get less vacation time.
"Sixty-one of the 140 biggest companies on the Global Fortune 500 rankings are European, while only 50 are U.S. companies" (The European Dream, p.66). "In a recent survey of the world's 50 best companies, conducted by Global Finance, all but one were European" (The European Dream, p.69).
"Fourteen of the 20 largest commercial banks in the world today are European.... In the chemical industry, the European company BASF is the world's leader, and three of the top six players are European. In engineering and construction, three of the top five companies are European.... The two others are Japanese. Not a single American engineering and construction company is included among the world's top nine competitors. In food and consumer products, Nestlé and Unilever, two European giants, rank first and second, respectively, in the world. In the food and drugstore retail trade, two European companies...are first and second, and European companies make up five of the top ten. Only four U.S. companies are on the list" (The European Dream, p.68).
The United States has lost 1.3 million jobs to China in the last decade (CNN, Jan. 12, 2005).
U.S. employers eliminated 1 million jobs in 2004 (The Week, Jan. 14, 2005).
Three million six hundred thousand Americans ran out of unemployment insurance last year; 1.8 million--one in five--unemployed workers are jobless for more than six months (NYT, Jan. 9, 2005).
Japan, China, Taiwan, and South Korea hold 40 percent of our government debt. (That's why we talk nice to them.) "By helping keep mortgage rates from rising, China has come to play an enormous and little-noticed role in sustaining the American housing boom" (NYT, Dec. 4, 2004). Read that twice. We owe our housing boom to China, because they want us to keep buying all that stuff they manufacture.
Sometime in the next 10 years Brazil will probably pass the U.S. as the world's largest agricultural producer. Brazil is now the world's largest exporter of chickens, orange juice, sugar, coffee, and tobacco. Last year, Brazil passed the U.S. as the world's largest beef producer. (Hear that, you poor deluded cowboys?) As a result, while we bear record trade deficits, Brazil boasts a $30 billion trade surplus (NYT, Dec. 12, 2004).
As of last June, the U.S. imported more food than it exported (NYT, Dec. 12, 2004).
Bush: 62,027,582 votes. Kerry: 59,026,003 votes. Number of eligible voters who didn't show up: 79,279,000 (NYT, Dec. 26, 2004). That's more than a third. Way more. If more than a third of Iraqis don't show for their election, no country in the world will think that election legitimate.
One-third of all U.S. children are born out of wedlock. One-half of all U.S. children will live in a one-parent house (CNN, Dec. 10, 2004).
"Americans are now spending more money on gambling than on movies, videos, DVDs, music, and books combined" (The European Dream, p.28).
"Nearly one out of four Americans [believe] that using violence to get what they want is acceptable" (The European Dream, p.32).
Forty-three percent of Americans think torture is sometimes justified, according to a PEW Poll (Associated Press, Aug. 19, 2004).
"Nearly 900,000 children were abused or neglected in 2002, the last year for which such data are available" (USA Today, Dec. 21, 2004).
"The International Association of Chiefs of Police said that cuts by the [Bush] administration in federal aid to local police agencies have left the nation more vulnerable than ever" (USA Today, Nov. 17, 2004).
No. 1? In most important categories we're not even in the Top 10 anymore. Not even close.

The USA is "No. 1" in nothing but weaponry, consumer spending, debt, and delusion.



http://www.citypages.com/databank/26...ticle12985.asp

[Spunky]

Too fuckin long zzzzz

[~Ray]

there are many places I'd love to visit.. but, I like living in America.

~Ray

[Jaymus.]

"Nearly one out of four Americans [believe] that using violence to get what they want is acceptable" (The European Dream, p.32).

That number is obviously taken from looking at the main page of GFY, every fourth thread someone is threatening someone. :D

[woj]

interesting article, but nothing really that surprising, only regular FOX news watchers think america is number 1...

[Vitasoy]

Originally Posted by spunky

Too fuckin long zzzzz

The last sentence sums it up

[Workshop_Willy]

I agree that the public school system in the United States is in shambles. IMHO, the causes are TORT laws that are out of control (support TORT reform!) and a large left-wing labor union in America called the NEA -- National Education Association.

Two of the things that I remember vividly from my school days were that you got hammered for not turning in homework, and if you acted up enough, you got smacked in the ass with a board. Nowadays, many many parents would sue the school system for this. In addition, the NEA is more interested in teaching kids about gay rights than they are about teaching them to read. Or at least that's how it seems to me.

[Spunky]

Dude ...your sig needs a update..It's March

[Dildozer]

Can't wait to see all the brainwashed retards come here and talk about their military and freedom

[Dildozer]

[Love Brokers]

Originally Posted by spunky

Too fuckin long zzzzz

What he says! But I would have to agree with the statistics.

[Joe Citizen]

Originally Posted by AdvertisingSex

there are many places I'd love to visit.. but, I like living in America.

~Ray

And just about everyone here feels the same way about their own country.

Just accept that it's all relative.

[BRISK]

I don't think any country is number 1.

[Zerof8]

too long, but I probably agree. LOL. America is GREAT because I grew up here and you tend to grow an attachment to your home but no country is greater than the other, simply because, in my opinion, the country is really the people and no person is better than another.
Ok theres my moral tangent of the day, lol

[spunkmaster]

The poorest people in the USA are the richest and fattest fuckers on Earth !

- Own 2 TV's
- Own 2 Cars
- 50% Own 1200 SF Home
- Kids go to school free
- Free health care
- ETC !

[Joe Citizen]

Originally Posted by spunkmaster

The poorest people in the USA are the richest and fattest fuckers on Earth !

- Own 2 TV's
- Own 2 Cars
- 50% Own 1200 SF Home
- Kids go to school free
- Free health care
- ETC !

Care to link to the study you're referencing?

I know there has to be one and you're not just making that up.

[rickholio]

One interesting tidbit I picked up while surfing the other day that appears germaine to the conversation at hand:

Between 45-55% of all bankruptcies in the US are related to medical problems / illness.
Of those bankruptcies, over 75% of them had medical insurance at the start of the illness.

Read About It Here.

Makes you wonder what the point of insurance is if they're just going to take everything anyways, doesn't it? ... and don't forget, the new bankruptcy bill is being pushed hard, so that if you file for bankruptcy due to an illness you could lose everything.

Moral of the story: Don't get ill in the US unless you're rich.

[BRISK]

Originally Posted by rickholio

Between 45-55% of all bankruptcies in the US are related to medical problems / illness.
Of those bankruptcies, over 75% of them had medical insurance at the start of the illness.

That's an amazing statistic.

[Manowar]

Originally Posted by spunkmaster

The poorest people in the USA are the richest and fattest fuckers on Earth !

- Own 2 TV's
- Own 2 Cars
- 50% Own 1200 SF Home
- Kids go to school free
- Free health care
- ETC !

Theres no free health care in the USA.

[Joe Citizen]

Originally Posted by rickholio

Read About It Here.

?We need to rethink health reform,? said Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, a study co-author and associate professor of medicine at Cambridge-based Harvard. ?Covering the uninsured isn?t enough. We also must upgrade and guarantee continuous coverage for those who have insurance.?

Hello?

It's called universal healthcare.

[rickholio]

Originally Posted by BRISK

That's an amazing statistic.

This is entirely my own conjecture, but I believe part of the reason why this happens is that people get their insurance through the workplace. If a serious or chronic illness occurs, the beancounters realize that this employee is going to be more liability than benefit and find ways to 'downsize' him/her.

I suspect that there's laws on the books to prevent this from happening (and if there isn't there should be), but ill people make for bad plaintiffs... and bankrupt + ill people doubly so. Hard to file legal briefs when you're on the corner rattling a cup for change to buy a crappy ass McD cheeseburger.

[BRISK]

Originally Posted by rickholio

Read About It Here

In 2001 there were 1.46 million personal bankruptcies in the US

[thaifan99]

Way too long.........answer is YES

[rickholio]

Originally Posted by BRISK

In 2001 there were 1.46 million personal bankruptcies in the US

It seems like a big number, but really it's still in line with average bankruptcy rates in the US since the reagan era, and the number is only around 2-3x that of more socialized safety-net nations like Canada or Japan. I can't find the latest numbers, but the last I saw (for late 90s) was a level of around 5.5 bankruptcies per 1000 people for a similar raw number (1.23 mil, I believe).

Still, 5.5 / 1000 is a fairly dramatic number. With roughly 1% of the population declaring bankruptcy every 2 years (accomodating overlap for multiple claimants) that could extrapolate out to a full sixth of the population being bankrupt at some point within every generation. Yikes!

[Project-Shadow]

Long read, and although im sure a lot of them only tell you half the truth of all the places I'd like to live, America is around 15th. Cmon America you know you can do better... and now I feel like an idiot talking to a country. Huzzah!s

[Prick]

I'm waiting for his post to come out on cliffs notes before I check it out.