spidey Posted January 29, 2005 Posted January 29, 2005 > Sorry for the formatting but someone sent me this via email. > 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). > * One-third of our science teachers and one-half of > our math teachers did not major in those subjects. > (Quoted on The West Wing, but you can trust it - > their researchers are legendary.) > * 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% 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%, Indians 51%, South Koreans 28% (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% > 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% 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 work-force in the 1980s. ... In > the 1990s, the U.S. average compensation growth rate > grew only slightly, at an annual rate of about 0.1%" > (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 > was 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 10. 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% 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.
Guest RabidBillsFanVT Posted January 29, 2005 Posted January 29, 2005 Well, we are now living in an America that believes in how the surface looks, and doesn't really give a hoot beyond it. We have the ability to be the best, but we never use it to get there.
/dev/null Posted January 29, 2005 Posted January 29, 2005 i started reading that but then got bored hey, i wonder whats on the ashlee simpson show?
Guest RabidBillsFanVT Posted January 29, 2005 Posted January 29, 2005 i started reading that but then got bored hey, i wonder whats on the ashlee simpson show? 222582[/snapback] HAHAHA Remember Tom Hanks, playing "Mr. Short Term Momory" on SNL??? hehehe "HEY, YOU'RE TONY RANDALL!!!!" priceless!!!
SilverNRed Posted January 29, 2005 Posted January 29, 2005 > The USA is "No. 1" in nothing but weaponry, consumer> spending, debt, and delusion. 222391[/snapback] It's all true, what a horrible country we are! I wish we were like Europe! Oh, those enlightened Euros!
Britbillsfan Posted January 29, 2005 Posted January 29, 2005 The America is No. 1 in everything myth is one that does get tired. However as with anything most developed countries have good and bad points going for them, and the article was a little harsh (to say the least), pointing out only the negatives and not any positives. America has overall a very strong economy, and the average standard of living is better than anywhere else except for a small number of countries that have vast natural resources and small populations. However, saying that, the inequalities of the American economy between haves and have-nots is extreme, which is the cause of a lot of the statistics quoted in the article, and the level of both government and personal debt will probably cause problems down the road. Of course the fact that Europeans have finally stopped butchering each other in vast numbers in the last 60 years has meant that the gap between Europe and America accross the board would close, and Europe would inevitably overtake America in some areas. Some comparisons are false, however. The issue of health care is one that vexes many on both sides of the pond. How come Europeans can get such good health care at less than it costs Americans - well, in simplistic terms, we cheat (kind of). In Europe health care is pretty much monopolised by the state, in real terms, and as monopolies the states then can pressure the drug companies to sell them the drugs at vastly reduced prices. In America the various health plans are not in as strong a position to get such deals and as such end up paying far more than their share of the development costs of new drugs. The issue is far more complicated than a few sentences in an article (or PPP post!!) and of course a lot of the problems feed on one another and snowball badly - poverty = poor diet & no / bad health care = more deaths in childbirth.
Adam Posted January 30, 2005 Posted January 30, 2005 I think this is a bit one sided, but we do need to invest more in education.
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