really jarring coming back to the US after traveling to Asia for the last three weeks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you never heard of the coffin homes in Hong Kong or Guryong Village in S Korea? You were a tourist in a series of small countries and now you think you are worldly enough to criticize the place that gave you the opportunities and privilege to visit those countries to begin with?

Have you ever heard of Jackson, Mississippi or Flint, Michigan? Hell, many parts of the US look like Cambia, Laos, or the poorer parts of Thailand.

I've been to Jackson, Mississippi and it's nothing at all like a third world country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think people are making good points on both sides of this debate. As a 50-year old, I am somewhat depressed at where our country has been headed with respect to national infrastructure and government services, however. I blame on part the Reagan revolution which started or accelerated the war on federal government (which Trump really super-charged by affirmatively trying to destroy basically all federal agencies), plus our American sense of independence which really seems to be spinning out of control. The 20th century had a couple major shocks that pulled people together in a common interest — the Great Depression led to much infrastructure through the WPA and TVA, for instance, and WW2 led to the development of the interstate highway system and many bridge improvements so we could move military equipment across the country. We just don’t seem to hand together like that anymore. There’s no sense of shared sacrifice to create something communal. If your schools stink, people want tax credits to send their kids to private. People throw trash on the ground and if you ask them not to do that, you’re derided as a busybody. People are impressed by a presidential candidate that pays no taxes and it is what every rich person and corporation aspires to.
Then you also have things like citizens United that have basically destroyed our system of government. Our Congress is barely functional — it takes years to get one piece of functional legislation like ACA or Infrastructure and everything grinds to a halt in the meantime.
I’m a born of the 4th of July patriotic American who really does think this is the best country in the world but it is all rather depressing. It’s like we’re actively sabotaging ourselves as a country.

I'll refer you to the Big Dig in Boston and the colossal waste of taxpayer dollars on a corrupt infrastructure project that went years over estimate. Feds can't unilaterally decide to build bridges, trains, airports, etc. It's built locally and Dem-run cities are horribly corrupt cesspools that pocket $$ that should be going to infrastructure. Don't blame Reagan, blame the grifters of Boston, NYC, Baltimore, Philly, DC, ad nauseum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you never heard of the coffin homes in Hong Kong or Guryong Village in S Korea? You were a tourist in a series of small countries and now you think you are worldly enough to criticize the place that gave you the opportunities and privilege to visit those countries to begin with?

Have you ever heard of Jackson, Mississippi or Flint, Michigan? Hell, many parts of the US look like Cambia, Laos, or the poorer parts of Thailand.

I've been to Jackson, Mississippi and it's nothing at all like a third world country.

Except for the whole issue of not having something as basic as potable water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think people are making good points on both sides of this debate. As a 50-year old, I am somewhat depressed at where our country has been headed with respect to national infrastructure and government services, however. I blame on part the Reagan revolution which started or accelerated the war on federal government (which Trump really super-charged by affirmatively trying to destroy basically all federal agencies), plus our American sense of independence which really seems to be spinning out of control. The 20th century had a couple major shocks that pulled people together in a common interest — the Great Depression led to much infrastructure through the WPA and TVA, for instance, and WW2 led to the development of the interstate highway system and many bridge improvements so we could move military equipment across the country. We just don’t seem to hand together like that anymore. There’s no sense of shared sacrifice to create something communal. If your schools stink, people want tax credits to send their kids to private. People throw trash on the ground and if you ask them not to do that, you’re derided as a busybody. People are impressed by a presidential candidate that pays no taxes and it is what every rich person and corporation aspires to.
Then you also have things like citizens United that have basically destroyed our system of government. Our Congress is barely functional — it takes years to get one piece of functional legislation like ACA or Infrastructure and everything grinds to a halt in the meantime.
I’m a born of the 4th of July patriotic American who really does think this is the best country in the world but it is all rather depressing. It’s like we’re actively sabotaging ourselves as a country.

Not a Reagan fan, but we’ve also had Clinton and Obama…infrastructure has not been a true priority for anyone. It doesn’t matter the political stripe (as much as people think it does). Congress has its constituents, presidents have their pet projects, and there is a lot of corruption all around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well that’s one narrow part of Asia. Visit Bangladesh and you’ll kiss the linoleum at JFK.

Bangladesh is a third world country.

US, S.Korea and Japan are first world countries.

Government pension in S Korea and Japan is less than $500 per month. No thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did a road trip from Canada through Detroit to Oregon. I was shocked how bad the roads were in MIchigan, INdiana, etc - crazy potholes, like a country road. in Canada. And these were highways, not country trails. It's also noticeable when you go over the border to Washington State. IT's sad. It makes the US seem poor.

Interesting. I just drive the interstates between MD and IL, and they were more or less fine.

That you think it's fine speaks volumes imo. Maybe people who live in the US don't see how bad it is.

[Anonymous]

I’ve lived in multiple countries in West Africa, Europe and Asia. Sure each region has some specific advantages relative to the US, but as a package deal in term of overall quality of life I don’t think anywhere else compares. The good news is that if you do think life would be better in a foreign country, as a US citizen it’s relatively easy for you to apply for a visa to relocate compared to the vast majority of the world population.

[Anonymous]

It’s really pretty bad considering we have the wealth. Even the roads in the DMV are are awful compared to wealthy parts of Europe and don’t even get me started on the trains/buses/metro. People like to say that things are worse in places like Bangladesh or Armenia, but we really should be comparing to other wealthy nations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve lived in multiple countries in West Africa, Europe and Asia. Sure each region has some specific advantages relative to the US, but as a package deal in term of overall quality of life I don’t think anywhere else compares. The good news is that if you do think life would be better in a foreign country, as a US citizen it’s relatively easy for you to apply for a visa to relocate compared to the vast majority of the world population.

How is it easier for a US citizen to apply for a foreign visa to relocate to some Western European country or East Asian country, compared to vice versa??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve lived in multiple countries in West Africa, Europe and Asia. Sure each region has some specific advantages relative to the US, but as a package deal in term of overall quality of life I don’t think anywhere else compares. The good news is that if you do think life would be better in a foreign country, as a US citizen it’s relatively easy for you to apply for a visa to relocate compared to the vast majority of the world population.

NP here. It's a different point I agree with OP on - US infrastructure sucks. I mean it does. Unless you compare it to a 2nd/3rd world country. I don't understand how anyone justifies that it does not suck. Quality of life is a different subject altogether. Can you honestly tell me that you disagree PP that the US does not have a solid infrastructure system and by that I mean -
1. EVERYONE in this country has access to viable WIFI (cause rural areas sure don't)
2. Our rail system is convenient and connects major cities in an efficient and effective manner leveraging first world technology (ie Europe/Asia).
3. Our highways/roads are well constructed and long lasting (how much construction is always happening? How long does it take to redo a highway here?)

Ultimately, the US does not care about infrastructure. What we care about is money and "standard of living" ie the rich are able to get richer. I say this being among the "top 3%" with HHI at $400k. But I still feel very strongly that although not sexy, US infrastructure sucks here. Go to Hong Kong, Taiwan, even China has better train systems. Italy trains are great and cheap. Amtrak is not cheap nor is it great. Why we don't prioritize getting from SF to NYC or even Boston to DC quickly is beyond me, sigh.. We have planes but we don't seemingly believe in driving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had similar thoughts after spending time in Shanghai and Hong Kong in 2019. Felt light years ahead of us - and they've done it all in such a short amount of time. Really changes your perspective

I am Chinese. The thing is there's a LOT of labor. I mean everyone has a housekeeper. Everyone has a nanny. Labor can be found easily and thus, shit gets built in like a day literally I agree that it's impressive, I'm just saying from a practical perspective, it's not that hard to do when you have a zillion people working on a project anywhere, anytime Here in the US, labor is NOT easy. I am a professional corporate recruiter and yeah, it's not easy to hire for anything, from truck drivers to CPAs. People here have expectations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was just in Vietnam & Cambodia and was overall impressed with how much a strong sense of family structure impacts the overall society. There is very little visible homelessness (there is lots of visible poverty everywhere), and there is great pride in the family.
Social services are much fewer yet people seem more secure.

The loss of a shared culture and moral and decay of America is at fault here IMO. I now live in a micro-niche US locale that has a subtly oppressive, homogenous shared culture with strong families and, despite the drawbacks associated with that, it’s an incredibly clean and orderly place like something out of Scandinavia. To the extent that people lose their nerve and become lax in their moral life is when pockets of violence, despair, and poverty begin popping up.

Mormon enclave?

Hell no, LOL. An enclave of tiny niche Northern European ethnic group immigration who kept all their weird (but cute!) traditions and religious identity.

they live in a lake community in Minneapolis

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had similar thoughts after spending time in Shanghai and Hong Kong in 2019. Felt light years ahead of us - and they've done it all in such a short amount of time. Really changes your perspective

I am Chinese. The thing is there's a LOT of labor. I mean everyone has a housekeeper. Everyone has a nanny. Labor can be found easily and thus, shit gets built in like a day literally I agree that it's impressive, I'm just saying from a practical perspective, it's not that hard to do when you have a zillion people working on a project anywhere, anytime Here in the US, labor is NOT easy. I am a professional corporate recruiter and yeah, it's not easy to hire for anything, from truck drivers to CPAs. People here have expectations.

This is interesting but not at all the case in most other countries that are cited here (Japan, Korean, European countries)

[Anonymous]

Those who say the US is the greatest country ever have never left the country, IMO.

This past holiday season showed one of the biggest flaws in the US: reliance on and build-up of one method of travel (air) over all others to the point where that method is a monopoly and has no incentive to offer adequate service.

Imagine if we expanded our rail infrastructure to where we could go from DC to Chicago in 6 hours instead of 18?

Air travel wouldn't be so over-crowded if other methods existed. If you want to go from DC to CA to visit grandma for Christmas in a reasonable amount of time, you are 100% reliant on the airlines to get you there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those who say the US is the greatest country ever have never left the country, IMO.

This past holiday season showed one of the biggest flaws in the US: reliance on and build-up of one method of travel (air) over all others to the point where that method is a monopoly and has no incentive to offer adequate service.

Imagine if we expanded our rail infrastructure to where we could go from DC to Chicago in 6 hours instead of 18?

Air travel wouldn't be so over-crowded if other methods existed. If you want to go from DC to CA to visit grandma for Christmas in a reasonable amount of time, you are 100% reliant on the airlines to get you there.

+1000

Monopolies in telecom, travel, entertainment, all of our options are limited