I hope I step on no ones toes here, but I am becoming more and more convinced that USA is simply a less developed country than Western Europe and Canada.
- At least until recently people would still go bankrupt because of medical emergencies.
- People have to save for lifetime to send their children to collage.
- Politics is populistic.
- The legal system is unjust in some areas (e.g. legal defense against bogus charges can drive you into bankruptcy).
- Immigration decisions are arbitrary and unpredictable.
- Business has a large(r) influence in the government.
I am currently staying in Thailand and since I do so I have developed a better understanding of what it means to be poor and what it means for country to be developed. If you are poor, most of the times you basic needs are still covered, but you are facing great unpredictability. A less developed country, is thus a country that can not provide certainty to it's citizens. For instance, I know of people here in Thailand who have gone from very rich (having a chauffeur on staff) to poor (sawing in a factory). I also just saw a documentary about a town in Mexico where many people life in constant fear to get kidnapped or killed and reporting to the police would actually make them a target. I could give endless examples. But I guess the point is, the US has some characteristics that normally a developed economy does not have, but which you would normally find in an emerging one.
EDIT: I am not saying that the US is an emerging economy. Most emerging economies have much graver problems than the ones I listed above.
In all of the below measures, the US is not at all comparable to Developed countries, and sits squarely within Developing countries.
infant mortality, child poverty, child health and safety, life expectancy at birth, healthy life expectancy, rate of obesity, disability-adjusted life years, doctors per 1000 people, deaths from treatable conditions, rate of mental health disorders, rate of drug abuse, rate of prescription drug use, incarceration rate, rate of assaults, rate of homicides, income inequality, wealth inequality, and economic
mobility.
> At least until recently people would still go bankrupt because of medical emergencies.
On the flip side, they get the long term care they need earlier and more reliably. They can also get this care based on medical advice as opposed to political opinions. There is a reason I moved from Canada to the US for health care, and I've paid less for that care here in the US.
> People have to save for lifetime to send their children to collage.
Depends on where you want to send them. Send your children to MIT and see what you have to pay.
> Politics is populistic.
It's that way in other countries as well. You just tend to hear more about it because it's the US.
> The legal system is unjust in some areas (e.g. legal defense against bogus charges can drive you into bankruptcy).
Again, this can happen anywhere, and it the exception rather than the rule.
> Immigration decisions are arbitrary and unpredictable.
Immigration? Sure. We still let in more than most countries (every other country?). Or are you talking about border entry?
> Business has a large(r) influence in the government.
Larger? Hardly. Just as large. Do not think for a moment that large companies aren't entrenched in other governments as well.
Really, what it comes down to is this:
> If you are poor, most of the times you basic needs are still covered
And that's true in the US as well. Yes, not all parts of the US are equal. We have 50 states, all with their own rules and regulations that are completely different from one another.
- At least until recently people would still go bankrupt because of medical emergencies.
- People have to save for lifetime to send their children to collage.
- Politics is populistic.
- The legal system is unjust in some areas (e.g. legal defense against bogus charges can drive you into bankruptcy).
- Immigration decisions are arbitrary and unpredictable.
- Business has a large(r) influence in the government.
I am currently staying in Thailand and since I do so I have developed a better understanding of what it means to be poor and what it means for country to be developed. If you are poor, most of the times you basic needs are still covered, but you are facing great unpredictability. A less developed country, is thus a country that can not provide certainty to it's citizens. For instance, I know of people here in Thailand who have gone from very rich (having a chauffeur on staff) to poor (sawing in a factory). I also just saw a documentary about a town in Mexico where many people life in constant fear to get kidnapped or killed and reporting to the police would actually make them a target. I could give endless examples. But I guess the point is, the US has some characteristics that normally a developed economy does not have, but which you would normally find in an emerging one.
EDIT: I am not saying that the US is an emerging economy. Most emerging economies have much graver problems than the ones I listed above.