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The US Suffers from Not Enough Government

Such as providing healthcare?

And honestly I find neither war nor space to be incredibly useful.

Americans took care of their own healthcare for literally centuries.

We'll have to disagree on war and space though.
 
Americans took care of their own healthcare for literally centuries.

We'll have to disagree on war and space though.
War is some times necessary, doesn't mean it's useful.

Space... can we sort out Earth first?
 
The US ranks 28th in overall social welfare, and is dropping.

A measure of social progress finds that the quality of life has dropped in America over the last decade, even as it has risen almost everywhere else.

The index, inspired by research of Nobel-winning economists, collects 50 metrics of well-being — nutrition, safety, freedom, the environment, health, education and more — to measure quality of life. Norway comes out on top in the 2020 edition, followed by Denmark, Finland and New Zealand. South Sudan is at the bottom, with Chad, Central African Republic and Eritrea just behind.

Out of 163 countries assessed worldwide, the United States, Brazil and Hungary are the only ones in which people are worse off than when the index began in 2011.

The United States now lags behind significantly poorer countries, including Estonia, Czech Republic, Cyprus and Greece, because those nations have more robust government supports for their people.

The United States ranks No. 1 in the world in quality of universities, but No. 91 in access to quality basic education. The U.S. leads the world in medical technology, yet we are No. 97 in access to quality health care.

It would appear that by “access to” goods/services you actually meant having someone else work to pay for them (as well as to provide them for themselves and their own dependents). Basically, that boils down to: from each according to their ability (to pay more taxes), to each according to their need (for more public subsidies).
 
The US ranks 28th in overall social welfare, and is dropping.

A measure of social progress finds that the quality of life has dropped in America over the last decade, even as it has risen almost everywhere else.

The index, inspired by research of Nobel-winning economists, collects 50 metrics of well-being — nutrition, safety, freedom, the environment, health, education and more — to measure quality of life. Norway comes out on top in the 2020 edition, followed by Denmark, Finland and New Zealand. South Sudan is at the bottom, with Chad, Central African Republic and Eritrea just behind.

Out of 163 countries assessed worldwide, the United States, Brazil and Hungary are the only ones in which people are worse off than when the index began in 2011.

The United States now lags behind significantly poorer countries, including Estonia, Czech Republic, Cyprus and Greece, because those nations have more robust government supports for their people.

The United States ranks No. 1 in the world in quality of universities, but No. 91 in access to quality basic education. The U.S. leads the world in medical technology, yet we are No. 97 in access to quality health care.
^ A Democrat who WANTS the standard of living for Americans to be worse than Estonia.

So others can understand what you want for Americans, the average income in Estonia is less than $1000 per month. This is what you want for Americans.
 
That's great news!!!!!

I'm not interested in social welfare as it is not your neighbors responsibility to be supporting you.

You are in fact interested when these "neighbours" who are without work or shelter begin robbing you or infiltrating your neighbourhood. Then you demand tax money to arrest and jail such people. If you or a loved one got sick and could not afford medical care you would be the first one to demand help.

Its easy to pose like you only care about your own best interests and to hell with everyone else but your "own best interests" is not based on the fact you are completely independent and in no need of social assistance. You live in an illusion if you think you are not dependent on a collective tax system to build roads, schools, infrastructure, hospitals, the military, police. Anything government does for you is technically a social benefit.

If you are a true libertarian get off the map and go move somewhere off the grid. The fact you are even on the internet is hilarious if you want to pose as Mr. Independent I don't give a rat's ass about anyone.
 
The US ranks 28th in overall social welfare, and is dropping.

A measure of social progress finds that the quality of life has dropped in America over the last decade, even as it has risen almost everywhere else.

The index, inspired by research of Nobel-winning economists, collects 50 metrics of well-being — nutrition, safety, freedom, the environment, health, education and more — to measure quality of life. Norway comes out on top in the 2020 edition, followed by Denmark, Finland and New Zealand. South Sudan is at the bottom, with Chad, Central African Republic and Eritrea just behind.

Out of 163 countries assessed worldwide, the United States, Brazil and Hungary are the only ones in which people are worse off than when the index began in 2011.

The United States now lags behind significantly poorer countries, including Estonia, Czech Republic, Cyprus and Greece, because those nations have more robust government supports for their people.

The United States ranks No. 1 in the world in quality of universities, but No. 91 in access to quality basic education. The U.S. leads the world in medical technology, yet we are No. 97 in access to quality health care.
If the US ranks very low compared to the world in the desire to go to hell in a hand basket, I consider that a good thing.
 
That's great news!!!!!

I'm not interested in social welfare as it is not your neighbors responsibility to be supporting you.


^^
The modern right and everything wrong with America defined. What's the point in having a country if you think like that?
 
Interesting. I agree that our government is not aiming to help most people, but I wonder how much our own stubborn behavior and contrarian refusal to believe anything except conspiracy theories and hateful rhetoric plays in. We eat fast food until we are obese, pride ourselves on being armed to the teeth in every confrontation, disbelieve any science about the environment, and appear to have a coronavirus death wish causing us to view masks as an affront to freedom ... maybe we are just a uniquely stupid people who earn our low ranking with our own choices?
Fast food is not the cause of obesity. Eating too much and not enough exercise is the cause of obesity.
For 1 buck a cheeseburger has about all of the daily nutrients you need for a lunch.
it is hard to beat that price. now if you eat 4 cheeseburgers a large fry and drink a large coke then sit on your butt
for the rest of the day yes you will get fat.

if you eat 2 big macs and a large fry and coke and do nothing then yes you will get fat.
 
^^
The modern right and everything wrong with America defined. What's the point in having a country if you think like that?

What’s the point of having city, county and state governments if everything is to be handled federally?
 
The US ranks 28th in overall social welfare, and is dropping.
good as it stands we waste too much money in giving away free stuff now.
A measure of social progress finds that the quality of life has dropped in America over the last decade, even as it has risen almost everywhere else.

The index, inspired by research of Nobel-winning economists, collects 50 metrics of well-being — nutrition, safety, freedom, the environment, health, education and more — to measure quality of life. Norway comes out on top in the 2020 edition, followed by Denmark, Finland and New Zealand. South Sudan is at the bottom, with Chad, Central African Republic and Eritrea just behind.

Out of 163 countries assessed worldwide, the United States, Brazil and Hungary are the only ones in which people are worse off than when the index began in 2011.

The United States now lags behind significantly poorer countries, including Estonia, Czech Republic, Cyprus and Greece, because those nations have more robust government supports for their people.

The United States ranks No. 1 in the world in quality of universities, but No. 91 in access to quality basic education. The U.S. leads the world in medical technology, yet we are No. 97 in access to quality health care.
If you want to live like they do New Zealand or Denmark move there.
 
That's great news!!!!!

I'm not interested in social welfare as it is not your neighbors responsibility to be supporting you.
Whether it's your responsibility or not, people are still suffering. Government is one way to help those people.
 
Whether it's your responsibility or not, people are still suffering. Government is one way to help those people.
How does that square with what you said in your introductory post?

[Snip]
I'm a socialist who would prefer not to have a state if possible but grant that it may be a necessary evil.
[Snip]
Does state not equal government? Is more government preferred to less government, but no government is best?
 
Beware of all such indexes. By giving different weight to different factors the compilers can control the outcome. This outfit is avowedly socialist so their rankings are unsurprising.
Note their entirely meaningless claim to be "inspired by" all those Nobel winning economists.

I agree that indexes such as these are easy to manipulate. Still, it rings basically true in many areas.
We have among the highest GDP's per capita, and yet we also have some of the worst indications of poverty.
We're one of the few developed countries whose average life expectancy is declining.
We have great health care for those who can afford it, and tons of people still having to declare bankruptcy because they got sick.
The ability of people to rise above their income rank at birth (and "achieve the American dream") is among the lowest of developed nations.

The biggest problem is that almost all the wealth generated by the country in the past few decades has been syphoned off by a handful of the richest.
Our economy is being hollowed out at the middle which is bad economics, bad ethics, and bad democracy.
 
Keep the government small, weak, and poor, and it is your servant...allow the government to become large, rich and powerful, it becomes your master.
How trite.
 
In order for that society to remain strong it is imperative for individuals in that society to pull there own weight and not drag others and society as whole down with them.

That's one way to look at it. Try looking at it another way. In the 1960s the US, in a "cold war" against Communism, spent buckets of taxpayer money to reach the moon before the Soviets. The scientific and engineering advancements that were gleaned from that enterprise powered American technology and our economy for a generation.

Now we're struggling to out-compete the Chinese while we beggar the research and investment arm of the government. That's not the path to strength.
 
**** your heritage. I have no interest in it. If I am in a society, I want to see a return on the work I contribute in that society.

That is called Communism.

"What we have to deal with here is a communist society, not as it has developed on its own foundations, but, on the contrary, just as it emerges from capitalist society; which is thus in every respect, economically, morally, and intellectually, still stamped with the birthmarks of the old society from whose womb it emerges. Accordingly, the individual producer receives back from society – after the deductions have been made – exactly what he gives to it. What he has given to it is his individual quantum of labor. " -Karl Marx, Critique of the Gotha Programme
 
How does that square with what you said in your introductory post?


Does state not equal government? Is more government preferred to less government, but no government is best?
I don't have a magic wand that would make the world into what I want it to be. I wouldn't use it if I had one. Therefore I've got to have a vision of how we get from where we are to where we ought to be. I also need a sense of which changes should have priority.

Creating a stateless society does not take priority over relieving suffering. Also I don't see how we get to that society without first helping people in need in any way (within reason) that we can.
 
fight wars and explore space is what I always say. though I will freely acknowledge it has some other functions as well. So basically the use of the federal govt. at least in my view is to do things that the general populace is incapable of doing themselves.
We know. War mongering is your forte, too bad the general populace has not been benefitting from it at all.
 
Americans took care of their own healthcare for literally centuries.

We'll have to disagree on war and space though.
That went horribly, hence the need for the new deal. You will be out of power soon enough. Americans dont exist to serve the military and fatten the wallets of defense contractors.
 
That went horribly, hence the need for the new deal. You will be out of power soon enough. Americans dont exist to serve the military and fatten the wallets of defense contractors.

If defense contracting is so lucrative why have so many major contractors disappeared since the end of the Cold War. Rockwell, General Dynamics, Grumman, McDonnell Douglas.....just to name major aerospace corporations.
 
The US ranks 28th in overall social welfare, and is dropping.

A measure of social progress finds that the quality of life has dropped in America over the last decade, even as it has risen almost everywhere else.

The index, inspired by research of Nobel-winning economists, collects 50 metrics of well-being — nutrition, safety, freedom, the environment, health, education and more — to measure quality of life. Norway comes out on top in the 2020 edition, followed by Denmark, Finland and New Zealand. South Sudan is at the bottom, with Chad, Central African Republic and Eritrea just behind.

Out of 163 countries assessed worldwide, the United States, Brazil and Hungary are the only ones in which people are worse off than when the index began in 2011.

The United States now lags behind significantly poorer countries, including Estonia, Czech Republic, Cyprus and Greece, because those nations have more robust government supports for their people.

The United States ranks No. 1 in the world in quality of universities, but No. 91 in access to quality basic education. The U.S. leads the world in medical technology, yet we are No. 97 in access to quality health care.
What we lack are Leaders and Vision...........
 
That went horribly, hence the need for the new deal. You will be out of power soon enough.

What makes you think I'm "in power" now? Hell, I'm not even employed.
 
President Ronald Wilson Reagan had the correct statement about government: "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problems, government IS the problem".
 
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