traveling open your eyes to how terrible the US is in many ways?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Definitely not. I live in Germany, and I have to laugh when so many Americans fantasize about moving to Europe and talk about it like some kind of utopia. It's insanely naive. Every place has its problems and issues

The problem in the US is not that we have problems. It is our obstinate refusal to solve any of them while new problems continue to crop up. While many of these problems are sort of relegated to the poorest people in our country, they are increasingly “trickling up” to the middle class.

People are routinely dying from a lack of healthcare or going bankrupt from medical problems. This should have been resolved ages ago, and is simply not such a crisis in other countries.

Same with gun violence. Yes, there are a multitude of tertiary issues related to gun violence but the main issue is simply guns.

And now, we have a huge mentally ill homeless population suffering in our cities and it’s only growing.

And I think the worst part is that people seem so lonely and unhappy.

Why do we tolerate this?

When I go to my parents’ home country, it just isn’t so miserable. I’m staying in a middle class neighborhood, not a luxury hotel. I have been here often over the last 2 decades: People are grinning and bearing it. No one is shot in the street. If I need medicine I can just walk into the pharmacy and buy it for $2. People are out past 8pm having fun. People are just enjoying being with other people more.

Something is just broken at home. I really feel like I get a break abroad, from the horrible political news and violence and apocalyptic weather events. I have not felt this way before.

Totally disagree. The American personality is a go getter, problem solving one and if anything we are overly optimistic about our ability to change things particularly when utilizing the government. PP had it right, you’re entitled to your opinions but I don’t believe your take on things is widely viewed.

our infrastructure development is demonstrably behind other peer nations, as is our education and health care system. this is objective fact not feeling. In a healthy political climate we could work together to solve this but American individualism has turned into toxic culture wars. ironically not individualism at all but banding together to tribally reject whatever the other guys do.

I don’t agree with this either. You can’t compare our infrastructure in such a huge country with that of something dense like Western European countries. We do have a very good interstate highway system and our air travel is probably the best. Our rail is less developed, sure, but there are reasons for that.

our cities should be just as good as European cities.

Ah, so now I think we have come to an agreement. You aren’t comparing America as a whole to other nations as a whole, just our cities. Unfortunately, you have to look who is running American cities to place the blame for that. We used to have shining examples of well run, clean cities until wackos took over (looking at you, San Francisco).

No we are not in agreement because you’re still trying to make what is the common national good into a partisan political issue.

But it’s not a national problem - some cities are better run and more clean and safe than others. Try comparing Charleston or Charlotte to San Francisco or Philadelphia. Or compare the San Francisco or Portland, Maines of 15 years ago to the debacle they have become today. It’s fair to look at how those cities are run. Policies matter.

of course policies matter. That’s what I’m saying. but as much as you want to make it partisan, it really is not. Both parties fail at this stuff but in different ways. And of course San Francisco is not really comparable to Charlotte.

Total BS. The main differences in the US on policy are by party. It’s Democratic policies that have negatively affected cities from Chicago to San Francisco and it’s absolutely ridiculous that a thread about decaying cities shouldn’t address that fact.

“both parties fail at this stuff but in different ways” is what I wrote.

She knows what you wrote, she is saying you are wrong. You are correcting her as if dhe didn't hear your "fact" and you need to make her aware of a "fact". No, you just have an opinion, an utterence.

so you think Republicans are exclusively the party of good public management?

Not PP but I think in general Republican cities are better run and managed. I also think more purple cities are better managed than blue cities, at least at this point in time.

Dallas and Fort Worth are that much better than Houston?

What is the point of rhetorical questions? Just make your point.

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Anonymous wrote:Taiwan is about the size of MD and Delaware combined. Of course it's easy to run cross-country trains for cheap in a place that small.

The king of Thailand is the richest monarch in the world (estimated net worth $30-70 billion) and Thailand has the strictest Lèse-majesté laws in the world, meaning criticizing the king carries a sentence of 3-15 years in prison.

I've lived abroad in a few countries and traveled to nearly 100. What I look at is things like innovation, economy and standard of living. Thailand's economy is nearly 50% from tourism (it's 3% in the US). For the most part, tourism does not require innovation. Name any innovations from Thailand that you use. They have 0 Nobel prize winners. Compare that to the US, where more than half of all Nobel prizes awarded in 2024 went to Americans, despite having less than 5% of the world's population.

Taiwan does a little better on the innovation scale -- TSMC is a massive semiconductor manufacturing company and you probably have at least one of their chips in some device in your house. But I think people would struggle to name even one major Taiwanese company.

Then look at standard of living. In the US, even low-income people live in a house with air conditioning and usually a dishwasher and a garbage disposal. Meanwhile, every time there's a heat wave in Paris and scores of people die from the heat.. because not all places have air conditioning. Compare that to for example, Montgomery County, where air conditioning has been _required_ in all rental properties since 2020.

Yes, the US has many downsides, crime and violence in particular. I think we as a society choose to live with it because those who are middle class and above are mostly isolated from it, and ther lower class do not have a strong enough voice. Compare that to many countries, especially in Asia, where you can walk around alone at night down dark alleys with zero fear.

The US is by no means perfect, but it's hardly terrible. A 1-week vacation to some tourist land in another country is hardly a typical experience of how real life is like there.

The US is uniquely bad in infrastructure development compared to peer countries and I bet also compared to many “poorer” countries. We just don’t invest in it; and leaving decisions to fragmentary states and municipalities results in an uncoordinated and ineffecient system. What OP was seeing in terms of superior transportation was real. In the US we just accept things like regular air travel delays of hours and cancelled flights; and the lack of rail options in most of the country.

https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/state-us-infrastructure

When it comes to roads, you seem to be overlooking the interstate highway system. The federal govenrment funds most major transporation infrastructure projects in the US, and for good reason -- the nation's economy overall benefits from having a well-connected country. Yes, states are the ones to propose and implement such projects, but typicallly the feds put in the majority of the funding.

Even with "local" rail, like Metro's silver line, the Feds put in about 40% of government funding.

As for rail infrastructure, the US is just so much bigger and with lower population density than most countries. Why would anyone sit 2+ days on a train from New York to LA when they can fly in 5 hours? The same is in Europe -- Copenhagen to Athens is a shorter distance but no one is going to sit 2 days on a train and bus (there are no inter-city trains to Athens) when they can fly it in 3 hours.

Shhh don’t tell him about high speed trains …

But the point is not only long haul trains but also regional rail. Imagine if instead of the patchwork of WMATA, MARC and VRE we had a comprehensive regional rail system like Madrid?

Just get a car

And then join the wailing and gnashing of teeth about beltway traffic and the cost of parking … ?

Honest question as someone who hasn’t lived in DC in decades, what’s wrong with the metro? I’ve never had bad experiences on it?

oh I’m a big fan of the metro! it’s just not extensive enough to meaningfully reduce beltway traffic.

Do you mean it should reach farther out geographically? Because that’s an example of America making progress as things changes, not a complaint about our transit system per se. But it does take time.

No just moving further out is problematic. It should look more like a mesh like other major cities, with lots of hub and spokes. Having one hub and many spokes is pathetic and doesn't provide even the most basic transit coverage. Simply expanding the spokes is foolish. And like a PP said, we all know the issue but nobody can agree on how to fix it, like we would have done in the past. Now everyone is individual rather than collective so we have a system that serves only a few, poorly, when it could be much more robust, which would feed into more successes for it and more funding for it, etc. etc. etc.

We have an Amtrak now that links Chicago to Miami DAILY with stops in Cleveland, Pittsburg, DC. But does anyone really utilize it? Most Americans would rather fly.

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Anonymous wrote:Definitely not. I live in Germany, and I have to laugh when so many Americans fantasize about moving to Europe and talk about it like some kind of utopia. It's insanely naive. Every place has its problems and issues

The problem in the US is not that we have problems. It is our obstinate refusal to solve any of them while new problems continue to crop up. While many of these problems are sort of relegated to the poorest people in our country, they are increasingly “trickling up” to the middle class.

People are routinely dying from a lack of healthcare or going bankrupt from medical problems. This should have been resolved ages ago, and is simply not such a crisis in other countries.

Same with gun violence. Yes, there are a multitude of tertiary issues related to gun violence but the main issue is simply guns.

And now, we have a huge mentally ill homeless population suffering in our cities and it’s only growing.

And I think the worst part is that people seem so lonely and unhappy.

Why do we tolerate this?

When I go to my parents’ home country, it just isn’t so miserable. I’m staying in a middle class neighborhood, not a luxury hotel. I have been here often over the last 2 decades: People are grinning and bearing it. No one is shot in the street. If I need medicine I can just walk into the pharmacy and buy it for $2. People are out past 8pm having fun. People are just enjoying being with other people more.

Something is just broken at home. I really feel like I get a break abroad, from the horrible political news and violence and apocalyptic weather events. I have not felt this way before.

Totally disagree. The American personality is a go getter, problem solving one and if anything we are overly optimistic about our ability to change things particularly when utilizing the government. PP had it right, you’re entitled to your opinions but I don’t believe your take on things is widely viewed.

our infrastructure development is demonstrably behind other peer nations, as is our education and health care system. this is objective fact not feeling. In a healthy political climate we could work together to solve this but American individualism has turned into toxic culture wars. ironically not individualism at all but banding together to tribally reject whatever the other guys do.

I don’t agree with this either. You can’t compare our infrastructure in such a huge country with that of something dense like Western European countries. We do have a very good interstate highway system and our air travel is probably the best. Our rail is less developed, sure, but there are reasons for that.

our cities should be just as good as European cities.

Ah, so now I think we have come to an agreement. You aren’t comparing America as a whole to other nations as a whole, just our cities. Unfortunately, you have to look who is running American cities to place the blame for that. We used to have shining examples of well run, clean cities until wackos took over (looking at you, San Francisco).

No we are not in agreement because you’re still trying to make what is the common national good into a partisan political issue.

But it’s not a national problem - some cities are better run and more clean and safe than others. Try comparing Charleston or Charlotte to San Francisco or Philadelphia. Or compare the San Francisco or Portland, Maines of 15 years ago to the debacle they have become today. It’s fair to look at how those cities are run. Policies matter.

of course policies matter. That’s what I’m saying. but as much as you want to make it partisan, it really is not. Both parties fail at this stuff but in different ways. And of course San Francisco is not really comparable to Charlotte.

Total BS. The main differences in the US on policy are by party. It’s Democratic policies that have negatively affected cities from Chicago to San Francisco and it’s absolutely ridiculous that a thread about decaying cities shouldn’t address that fact.

“both parties fail at this stuff but in different ways” is what I wrote.

You also said it’s not partisan but sorry it is. We have seen the biggest collapse in standard of living in blue run cities. Not only blue vs. red, but cities like LA that are becoming bluer.

it absolutely is partisan to turn things that used to be bipartisan (like education and transportation) into partisan issues and inane fulminating about “biker bros.” it is true that most large cities are run by democrats but not exclusively. And again I fully agree that there are problems with democratic policies so I’m not sure what point you are trying to make?

It’s not partisan to have a goal to improve education and transportation. Left and right, we both want clean cities and effective k-12 schools.

But policies to get at those solutions differ by party, and those party policies also have variable outcome on effectiveness.

Until we actually believe they are common goals instead of falling to the temptation to make them into a culture war soundbite, we can’t make progress. I feel scared at how close sometimes real educational reform (like going back to the “science of reading”) got mixed up with culture war nonsense, although there the evidence seems strong enough that the policy merits won out. Both parties need to sit down and find common ground.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:It seems like anytime someone tries to raise real issues here, someone else tries to beat them down. I suspect the extreme flag waivers haven't traveled much.

Yes, the US is a superpower with great potential, but we do have serious problems:

*Gun violence
*People going bankrupt because of high health care costs
*Inadequate education (more than 54% of the population between 16-54 have less than a 6th grade literacy rate)
*Growing numbers of homelessness
*High college tuition costs
*Declining Democracy
*Increased range between " have and have nots"
*Declining middle class

We can do better because we have done better.

The only thing the US is a super power in is exportation of death. It's honestly shocking how little influence the US has. Everyone only wants the US not to bomb or kill them, and that's about it. No one wants their style of democracy. No one wants their healthcare. No one wants their poor education. No one wants their 'freedumbZ!', which include mass gun casualties. No one wants their poor food and poor health. Everyone in the world knows the US is untrustworthy because they change their mind every 4 years.

Bleh. It's honestly shocking how much Americans accept a very poor quality of life, and not only that, adamantly try to defend it.

Nope this is incorrect.

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Anonymous wrote:Definitely not. I live in Germany, and I have to laugh when so many Americans fantasize about moving to Europe and talk about it like some kind of utopia. It's insanely naive. Every place has its problems and issues

The problem in the US is not that we have problems. It is our obstinate refusal to solve any of them while new problems continue to crop up. While many of these problems are sort of relegated to the poorest people in our country, they are increasingly “trickling up” to the middle class.

People are routinely dying from a lack of healthcare or going bankrupt from medical problems. This should have been resolved ages ago, and is simply not such a crisis in other countries.

Same with gun violence. Yes, there are a multitude of tertiary issues related to gun violence but the main issue is simply guns.

And now, we have a huge mentally ill homeless population suffering in our cities and it’s only growing.

And I think the worst part is that people seem so lonely and unhappy.

Why do we tolerate this?

When I go to my parents’ home country, it just isn’t so miserable. I’m staying in a middle class neighborhood, not a luxury hotel. I have been here often over the last 2 decades: People are grinning and bearing it. No one is shot in the street. If I need medicine I can just walk into the pharmacy and buy it for $2. People are out past 8pm having fun. People are just enjoying being with other people more.

Something is just broken at home. I really feel like I get a break abroad, from the horrible political news and violence and apocalyptic weather events. I have not felt this way before.

Totally disagree. The American personality is a go getter, problem solving one and if anything we are overly optimistic about our ability to change things particularly when utilizing the government. PP had it right, you’re entitled to your opinions but I don’t believe your take on things is widely viewed.

our infrastructure development is demonstrably behind other peer nations, as is our education and health care system. this is objective fact not feeling. In a healthy political climate we could work together to solve this but American individualism has turned into toxic culture wars. ironically not individualism at all but banding together to tribally reject whatever the other guys do.

I don’t agree with this either. You can’t compare our infrastructure in such a huge country with that of something dense like Western European countries. We do have a very good interstate highway system and our air travel is probably the best. Our rail is less developed, sure, but there are reasons for that.

our cities should be just as good as European cities.

Ah, so now I think we have come to an agreement. You aren’t comparing America as a whole to other nations as a whole, just our cities. Unfortunately, you have to look who is running American cities to place the blame for that. We used to have shining examples of well run, clean cities until wackos took over (looking at you, San Francisco).

No we are not in agreement because you’re still trying to make what is the common national good into a partisan political issue.

But it’s not a national problem - some cities are better run and more clean and safe than others. Try comparing Charleston or Charlotte to San Francisco or Philadelphia. Or compare the San Francisco or Portland, Maines of 15 years ago to the debacle they have become today. It’s fair to look at how those cities are run. Policies matter.

of course policies matter. That’s what I’m saying. but as much as you want to make it partisan, it really is not. Both parties fail at this stuff but in different ways. And of course San Francisco is not really comparable to Charlotte.

Total BS. The main differences in the US on policy are by party. It’s Democratic policies that have negatively affected cities from Chicago to San Francisco and it’s absolutely ridiculous that a thread about decaying cities shouldn’t address that fact.

“both parties fail at this stuff but in different ways” is what I wrote.

You also said it’s not partisan but sorry it is. We have seen the biggest collapse in standard of living in blue run cities. Not only blue vs. red, but cities like LA that are becoming bluer.

it absolutely is partisan to turn things that used to be bipartisan (like education and transportation) into partisan issues and inane fulminating about “biker bros.” it is true that most large cities are run by democrats but not exclusively. And again I fully agree that there are problems with democratic policies so I’m not sure what point you are trying to make?

It’s not partisan to have a goal to improve education and transportation. Left and right, we both want clean cities and effective k-12 schools.

But policies to get at those solutions differ by party, and those party policies also have variable outcome on effectiveness.

Until we actually believe they are common goals instead of falling to the temptation to make them into a culture war soundbite, we can’t make progress. I feel scared at how close sometimes real educational reform (like going back to the “science of reading”) got mixed up with culture war nonsense, although there the evidence seems strong enough that the policy merits won out. Both parties need to sit down and find common ground.

We don't need common goals aka groupthink

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Anonymous wrote:Definitely not. I live in Germany, and I have to laugh when so many Americans fantasize about moving to Europe and talk about it like some kind of utopia. It's insanely naive. Every place has its problems and issues

The problem in the US is not that we have problems. It is our obstinate refusal to solve any of them while new problems continue to crop up. While many of these problems are sort of relegated to the poorest people in our country, they are increasingly “trickling up” to the middle class.

People are routinely dying from a lack of healthcare or going bankrupt from medical problems. This should have been resolved ages ago, and is simply not such a crisis in other countries.

Same with gun violence. Yes, there are a multitude of tertiary issues related to gun violence but the main issue is simply guns.

And now, we have a huge mentally ill homeless population suffering in our cities and it’s only growing.

And I think the worst part is that people seem so lonely and unhappy.

Why do we tolerate this?

When I go to my parents’ home country, it just isn’t so miserable. I’m staying in a middle class neighborhood, not a luxury hotel. I have been here often over the last 2 decades: People are grinning and bearing it. No one is shot in the street. If I need medicine I can just walk into the pharmacy and buy it for $2. People are out past 8pm having fun. People are just enjoying being with other people more.

Something is just broken at home. I really feel like I get a break abroad, from the horrible political news and violence and apocalyptic weather events. I have not felt this way before.

Totally disagree. The American personality is a go getter, problem solving one and if anything we are overly optimistic about our ability to change things particularly when utilizing the government. PP had it right, you’re entitled to your opinions but I don’t believe your take on things is widely viewed.

our infrastructure development is demonstrably behind other peer nations, as is our education and health care system. this is objective fact not feeling. In a healthy political climate we could work together to solve this but American individualism has turned into toxic culture wars. ironically not individualism at all but banding together to tribally reject whatever the other guys do.

I don’t agree with this either. You can’t compare our infrastructure in such a huge country with that of something dense like Western European countries. We do have a very good interstate highway system and our air travel is probably the best. Our rail is less developed, sure, but there are reasons for that.

our cities should be just as good as European cities.

Ah, so now I think we have come to an agreement. You aren’t comparing America as a whole to other nations as a whole, just our cities. Unfortunately, you have to look who is running American cities to place the blame for that. We used to have shining examples of well run, clean cities until wackos took over (looking at you, San Francisco).

No we are not in agreement because you’re still trying to make what is the common national good into a partisan political issue.

But it’s not a national problem - some cities are better run and more clean and safe than others. Try comparing Charleston or Charlotte to San Francisco or Philadelphia. Or compare the San Francisco or Portland, Maines of 15 years ago to the debacle they have become today. It’s fair to look at how those cities are run. Policies matter.

of course policies matter. That’s what I’m saying. but as much as you want to make it partisan, it really is not. Both parties fail at this stuff but in different ways. And of course San Francisco is not really comparable to Charlotte.

Total BS. The main differences in the US on policy are by party. It’s Democratic policies that have negatively affected cities from Chicago to San Francisco and it’s absolutely ridiculous that a thread about decaying cities shouldn’t address that fact.

“both parties fail at this stuff but in different ways” is what I wrote.

She knows what you wrote, she is saying you are wrong. You are correcting her as if dhe didn't hear your "fact" and you need to make her aware of a "fact". No, you just have an opinion, an utterence.

so you think Republicans are exclusively the party of good public management?

Not PP but I think in general Republican cities are better run and managed. I also think more purple cities are better managed than blue cities, at least at this point in time.

Dallas and Fort Worth are that much better than Houston?

What is the point of rhetorical questions? Just make your point.

it wasn’t rhetorical. I really want to know specifically what PP thinks Republican mayors do better. Dallas and Forth Worth are the biggest Republican governed cities.

I’m truly curious. My sense is that Republicans mayors face exactly the same problems as Democratic mayors and have similar solutions (or lack thereof) but I’d welcome additional input on that.

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Anonymous wrote:Definitely not. I live in Germany, and I have to laugh when so many Americans fantasize about moving to Europe and talk about it like some kind of utopia. It's insanely naive. Every place has its problems and issues

The problem in the US is not that we have problems. It is our obstinate refusal to solve any of them while new problems continue to crop up. While many of these problems are sort of relegated to the poorest people in our country, they are increasingly “trickling up” to the middle class.

People are routinely dying from a lack of healthcare or going bankrupt from medical problems. This should have been resolved ages ago, and is simply not such a crisis in other countries.

Same with gun violence. Yes, there are a multitude of tertiary issues related to gun violence but the main issue is simply guns.

And now, we have a huge mentally ill homeless population suffering in our cities and it’s only growing.

And I think the worst part is that people seem so lonely and unhappy.

Why do we tolerate this?

When I go to my parents’ home country, it just isn’t so miserable. I’m staying in a middle class neighborhood, not a luxury hotel. I have been here often over the last 2 decades: People are grinning and bearing it. No one is shot in the street. If I need medicine I can just walk into the pharmacy and buy it for $2. People are out past 8pm having fun. People are just enjoying being with other people more.

Something is just broken at home. I really feel like I get a break abroad, from the horrible political news and violence and apocalyptic weather events. I have not felt this way before.

Totally disagree. The American personality is a go getter, problem solving one and if anything we are overly optimistic about our ability to change things particularly when utilizing the government. PP had it right, you’re entitled to your opinions but I don’t believe your take on things is widely viewed.

our infrastructure development is demonstrably behind other peer nations, as is our education and health care system. this is objective fact not feeling. In a healthy political climate we could work together to solve this but American individualism has turned into toxic culture wars. ironically not individualism at all but banding together to tribally reject whatever the other guys do.

I don’t agree with this either. You can’t compare our infrastructure in such a huge country with that of something dense like Western European countries. We do have a very good interstate highway system and our air travel is probably the best. Our rail is less developed, sure, but there are reasons for that.

our cities should be just as good as European cities.

Ah, so now I think we have come to an agreement. You aren’t comparing America as a whole to other nations as a whole, just our cities. Unfortunately, you have to look who is running American cities to place the blame for that. We used to have shining examples of well run, clean cities until wackos took over (looking at you, San Francisco).

No we are not in agreement because you’re still trying to make what is the common national good into a partisan political issue.

But it’s not a national problem - some cities are better run and more clean and safe than others. Try comparing Charleston or Charlotte to San Francisco or Philadelphia. Or compare the San Francisco or Portland, Maines of 15 years ago to the debacle they have become today. It’s fair to look at how those cities are run. Policies matter.

of course policies matter. That’s what I’m saying. but as much as you want to make it partisan, it really is not. Both parties fail at this stuff but in different ways. And of course San Francisco is not really comparable to Charlotte.

Total BS. The main differences in the US on policy are by party. It’s Democratic policies that have negatively affected cities from Chicago to San Francisco and it’s absolutely ridiculous that a thread about decaying cities shouldn’t address that fact.

“both parties fail at this stuff but in different ways” is what I wrote.

You also said it’s not partisan but sorry it is. We have seen the biggest collapse in standard of living in blue run cities. Not only blue vs. red, but cities like LA that are becoming bluer.

it absolutely is partisan to turn things that used to be bipartisan (like education and transportation) into partisan issues and inane fulminating about “biker bros.” it is true that most large cities are run by democrats but not exclusively. And again I fully agree that there are problems with democratic policies so I’m not sure what point you are trying to make?

It’s not partisan to have a goal to improve education and transportation. Left and right, we both want clean cities and effective k-12 schools.

But policies to get at those solutions differ by party, and those party policies also have variable outcome on effectiveness.

Until we actually believe they are common goals instead of falling to the temptation to make them into a culture war soundbite, we can’t make progress. I feel scared at how close sometimes real educational reform (like going back to the “science of reading”) got mixed up with culture war nonsense, although there the evidence seems strong enough that the policy merits won out. Both parties need to sit down and find common ground.

We don't need common goals aka groupthink

well, that is a truly inspiring view on civic participation.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Definitely not. I live in Germany, and I have to laugh when so many Americans fantasize about moving to Europe and talk about it like some kind of utopia. It's insanely naive. Every place has its problems and issues

The problem in the US is not that we have problems. It is our obstinate refusal to solve any of them while new problems continue to crop up. While many of these problems are sort of relegated to the poorest people in our country, they are increasingly “trickling up” to the middle class.

People are routinely dying from a lack of healthcare or going bankrupt from medical problems. This should have been resolved ages ago, and is simply not such a crisis in other countries.

Same with gun violence. Yes, there are a multitude of tertiary issues related to gun violence but the main issue is simply guns.

And now, we have a huge mentally ill homeless population suffering in our cities and it’s only growing. The massive rural broadband program hasn’t connected a single house to the internet.

And I think the worst part is that people seem so lonely and unhappy.

Why do we tolerate this?

When I go to my parents’ home country, it just isn’t so miserable. I’m staying in a middle class neighborhood, not a luxury hotel. I have been here often over the last 2 decades: People are grinning and bearing it. No one is shot in the street. If I need medicine I can just walk into the pharmacy and buy it for $2. People are out past 8pm having fun. People are just enjoying being with other people more.

Something is just broken at home. I really feel like I get a break abroad, from the horrible political news and violence and apocalyptic weather events. I have not felt this way before.

Totally disagree. The American personality is a go getter, problem solving one and if anything we are overly optimistic about our ability to change things particularly when utilizing the government. PP had it right, you’re entitled to your opinions but I don’t believe your take on things is widely viewed.

our infrastructure development is demonstrably behind other peer nations, as is our education and health care system. this is objective fact not feeling. In a healthy political climate we could work together to solve this but American individualism has turned into toxic culture wars. ironically not individualism at all but banding together to tribally reject whatever the other guys do.

I don’t agree with this either. You can’t compare our infrastructure in such a huge country with that of something dense like Western European countries. We do have a very good interstate highway system and our air travel is probably the best. Our rail is less developed, sure, but there are reasons for that.

our cities should be just as good as European cities.

Ah, so now I think we have come to an agreement. You aren’t comparing America as a whole to other nations as a whole, just our cities. Unfortunately, you have to look who is running American cities to place the blame for that. We used to have shining examples of well run, clean cities until wackos took over (looking at you, San Francisco).

No we are not in agreement because you’re still trying to make what is the common national good into a partisan political issue.

Ma’am this is the politics board. If you want politics kept out of this discussion, head to travel.

lol well this went full circle we’re so dang polarized that any discussion of infrastructure has to end up in politics

Anyway I think we need a 3rd party of true pragmatists.

I think it’s fair to ask where all our infrastructure spending went that was supposed to address the very issues you deem problematic in comparison to other nations. It’s not as if we haven’t passed bills to spend more in categories like bridges. So where did all the money go? You can’t answer questions like that without delving into politics because politics is how our taxpayer funds are allocated. It’s like you want to keep this entire thread some pie in the sky America vs. the world discussion rather than asking real questions about WHY we haven’t made progress (despite billions spent).

OK let’s talk about it. I’d welcome that. The Biden infrastructure bill (which was bipartisan BTW) hasn’t had that much time to be implemented but I’m sure there’s something you can post here. Also my fear is that merely throwing money at projects isn’t enough for real reform needed to make this all happen more quickly - and of course we need to improve education which is the backbone of development.

$1.2 trillion in spending is the definition of throwing money at projects and we should have seen more progress by now.

[Anonymous]

The massive rural broadband package in the infrastructure act hasn’t connected a single home to the internet!

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Definitely not. I live in Germany, and I have to laugh when so many Americans fantasize about moving to Europe and talk about it like some kind of utopia. It's insanely naive. Every place has its problems and issues

The problem in the US is not that we have problems. It is our obstinate refusal to solve any of them while new problems continue to crop up. While many of these problems are sort of relegated to the poorest people in our country, they are increasingly “trickling up” to the middle class.

People are routinely dying from a lack of healthcare or going bankrupt from medical problems. This should have been resolved ages ago, and is simply not such a crisis in other countries.

Same with gun violence. Yes, there are a multitude of tertiary issues related to gun violence but the main issue is simply guns.

And now, we have a huge mentally ill homeless population suffering in our cities and it’s only growing.

And I think the worst part is that people seem so lonely and unhappy.

Why do we tolerate this?

When I go to my parents’ home country, it just isn’t so miserable. I’m staying in a middle class neighborhood, not a luxury hotel. I have been here often over the last 2 decades: People are grinning and bearing it. No one is shot in the street. If I need medicine I can just walk into the pharmacy and buy it for $2. People are out past 8pm having fun. People are just enjoying being with other people more.

Something is just broken at home. I really feel like I get a break abroad, from the horrible political news and violence and apocalyptic weather events. I have not felt this way before.

Totally disagree. The American personality is a go getter, problem solving one and if anything we are overly optimistic about our ability to change things particularly when utilizing the government. PP had it right, you’re entitled to your opinions but I don’t believe your take on things is widely viewed.

our infrastructure development is demonstrably behind other peer nations, as is our education and health care system. this is objective fact not feeling. In a healthy political climate we could work together to solve this but American individualism has turned into toxic culture wars. ironically not individualism at all but banding together to tribally reject whatever the other guys do.

I don’t agree with this either. You can’t compare our infrastructure in such a huge country with that of something dense like Western European countries. We do have a very good interstate highway system and our air travel is probably the best. Our rail is less developed, sure, but there are reasons for that.

our cities should be just as good as European cities.

Ah, so now I think we have come to an agreement. You aren’t comparing America as a whole to other nations as a whole, just our cities. Unfortunately, you have to look who is running American cities to place the blame for that. We used to have shining examples of well run, clean cities until wackos took over (looking at you, San Francisco).

No we are not in agreement because you’re still trying to make what is the common national good into a partisan political issue.

But it’s not a national problem - some cities are better run and more clean and safe than others. Try comparing Charleston or Charlotte to San Francisco or Philadelphia. Or compare the San Francisco or Portland, Maines of 15 years ago to the debacle they have become today. It’s fair to look at how those cities are run. Policies matter.

of course policies matter. That’s what I’m saying. but as much as you want to make it partisan, it really is not. Both parties fail at this stuff but in different ways. And of course San Francisco is not really comparable to Charlotte.

Total BS. The main differences in the US on policy are by party. It’s Democratic policies that have negatively affected cities from Chicago to San Francisco and it’s absolutely ridiculous that a thread about decaying cities shouldn’t address that fact.

“both parties fail at this stuff but in different ways” is what I wrote.

She knows what you wrote, she is saying you are wrong. You are correcting her as if dhe didn't hear your "fact" and you need to make her aware of a "fact". No, you just have an opinion, an utterence.

so you think Republicans are exclusively the party of good public management?

Not PP but I think in general Republican cities are better run and managed. I also think more purple cities are better managed than blue cities, at least at this point in time.

Dallas and Fort Worth are that much better than Houston?

What is the point of rhetorical questions? Just make your point.

it wasn’t rhetorical. I really want to know specifically what PP thinks Republican mayors do better. Dallas and Forth Worth are the biggest Republican governed cities.

I’m truly curious. My sense is that Republicans mayors face exactly the same problems as Democratic mayors and have similar solutions (or lack thereof) but I’d welcome additional input on that.

Don't bother with this person. Their one-sentence truly asinine "thoughts" are contributing nothing to this thread and we are all better off not responding and getting on with our good conversations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Definitely not. I live in Germany, and I have to laugh when so many Americans fantasize about moving to Europe and talk about it like some kind of utopia. It's insanely naive. Every place has its problems and issues

The problem in the US is not that we have problems. It is our obstinate refusal to solve any of them while new problems continue to crop up. While many of these problems are sort of relegated to the poorest people in our country, they are increasingly “trickling up” to the middle class.

People are routinely dying from a lack of healthcare or going bankrupt from medical problems. This should have been resolved ages ago, and is simply not such a crisis in other countries.

Same with gun violence. Yes, there are a multitude of tertiary issues related to gun violence but the main issue is simply guns.

And now, we have a huge mentally ill homeless population suffering in our cities and it’s only growing. The massive rural broadband program hasn’t connected a single house to the internet.

And I think the worst part is that people seem so lonely and unhappy.

Why do we tolerate this?

When I go to my parents’ home country, it just isn’t so miserable. I’m staying in a middle class neighborhood, not a luxury hotel. I have been here often over the last 2 decades: People are grinning and bearing it. No one is shot in the street. If I need medicine I can just walk into the pharmacy and buy it for $2. People are out past 8pm having fun. People are just enjoying being with other people more.

Something is just broken at home. I really feel like I get a break abroad, from the horrible political news and violence and apocalyptic weather events. I have not felt this way before.

Totally disagree. The American personality is a go getter, problem solving one and if anything we are overly optimistic about our ability to change things particularly when utilizing the government. PP had it right, you’re entitled to your opinions but I don’t believe your take on things is widely viewed.

our infrastructure development is demonstrably behind other peer nations, as is our education and health care system. this is objective fact not feeling. In a healthy political climate we could work together to solve this but American individualism has turned into toxic culture wars. ironically not individualism at all but banding together to tribally reject whatever the other guys do.

I don’t agree with this either. You can’t compare our infrastructure in such a huge country with that of something dense like Western European countries. We do have a very good interstate highway system and our air travel is probably the best. Our rail is less developed, sure, but there are reasons for that.

our cities should be just as good as European cities.

Ah, so now I think we have come to an agreement. You aren’t comparing America as a whole to other nations as a whole, just our cities. Unfortunately, you have to look who is running American cities to place the blame for that. We used to have shining examples of well run, clean cities until wackos took over (looking at you, San Francisco).

No we are not in agreement because you’re still trying to make what is the common national good into a partisan political issue.

Ma’am this is the politics board. If you want politics kept out of this discussion, head to travel.

lol well this went full circle we’re so dang polarized that any discussion of infrastructure has to end up in politics

Anyway I think we need a 3rd party of true pragmatists.

I think it’s fair to ask where all our infrastructure spending went that was supposed to address the very issues you deem problematic in comparison to other nations. It’s not as if we haven’t passed bills to spend more in categories like bridges. So where did all the money go? You can’t answer questions like that without delving into politics because politics is how our taxpayer funds are allocated. It’s like you want to keep this entire thread some pie in the sky America vs. the world discussion rather than asking real questions about WHY we haven’t made progress (despite billions spent).

OK let’s talk about it. I’d welcome that. The Biden infrastructure bill (which was bipartisan BTW) hasn’t had that much time to be implemented but I’m sure there’s something you can post here. Also my fear is that merely throwing money at projects isn’t enough for real reform needed to make this all happen more quickly - and of course we need to improve education which is the backbone of development.

$1.2 trillion in spending is the definition of throwing money at projects and we should have seen more progress by now.

I mean that’s exactly what I am saying - even with money American development is far far too slow

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Definitely not. I live in Germany, and I have to laugh when so many Americans fantasize about moving to Europe and talk about it like some kind of utopia. It's insanely naive. Every place has its problems and issues

The problem in the US is not that we have problems. It is our obstinate refusal to solve any of them while new problems continue to crop up. While many of these problems are sort of relegated to the poorest people in our country, they are increasingly “trickling up” to the middle class.

People are routinely dying from a lack of healthcare or going bankrupt from medical problems. This should have been resolved ages ago, and is simply not such a crisis in other countries.

Same with gun violence. Yes, there are a multitude of tertiary issues related to gun violence but the main issue is simply guns.

And now, we have a huge mentally ill homeless population suffering in our cities and it’s only growing.

And I think the worst part is that people seem so lonely and unhappy.

Why do we tolerate this?

When I go to my parents’ home country, it just isn’t so miserable. I’m staying in a middle class neighborhood, not a luxury hotel. I have been here often over the last 2 decades: People are grinning and bearing it. No one is shot in the street. If I need medicine I can just walk into the pharmacy and buy it for $2. People are out past 8pm having fun. People are just enjoying being with other people more.

Something is just broken at home. I really feel like I get a break abroad, from the horrible political news and violence and apocalyptic weather events. I have not felt this way before.

Totally disagree. The American personality is a go getter, problem solving one and if anything we are overly optimistic about our ability to change things particularly when utilizing the government. PP had it right, you’re entitled to your opinions but I don’t believe your take on things is widely viewed.

our infrastructure development is demonstrably behind other peer nations, as is our education and health care system. this is objective fact not feeling. In a healthy political climate we could work together to solve this but American individualism has turned into toxic culture wars. ironically not individualism at all but banding together to tribally reject whatever the other guys do.

I don’t agree with this either. You can’t compare our infrastructure in such a huge country with that of something dense like Western European countries. We do have a very good interstate highway system and our air travel is probably the best. Our rail is less developed, sure, but there are reasons for that.

our cities should be just as good as European cities.

Ah, so now I think we have come to an agreement. You aren’t comparing America as a whole to other nations as a whole, just our cities. Unfortunately, you have to look who is running American cities to place the blame for that. We used to have shining examples of well run, clean cities until wackos took over (looking at you, San Francisco).

No we are not in agreement because you’re still trying to make what is the common national good into a partisan political issue.

But it’s not a national problem - some cities are better run and more clean and safe than others. Try comparing Charleston or Charlotte to San Francisco or Philadelphia. Or compare the San Francisco or Portland, Maines of 15 years ago to the debacle they have become today. It’s fair to look at how those cities are run. Policies matter.

of course policies matter. That’s what I’m saying. but as much as you want to make it partisan, it really is not. Both parties fail at this stuff but in different ways. And of course San Francisco is not really comparable to Charlotte.

Total BS. The main differences in the US on policy are by party. It’s Democratic policies that have negatively affected cities from Chicago to San Francisco and it’s absolutely ridiculous that a thread about decaying cities shouldn’t address that fact.

“both parties fail at this stuff but in different ways” is what I wrote.

She knows what you wrote, she is saying you are wrong. You are correcting her as if dhe didn't hear your "fact" and you need to make her aware of a "fact". No, you just have an opinion, an utterence.

so you think Republicans are exclusively the party of good public management?

Not PP but I think in general Republican cities are better run and managed. I also think more purple cities are better managed than blue cities, at least at this point in time.

Dallas and Fort Worth are that much better than Houston?

What is the point of rhetorical questions? Just make your point.

it wasn’t rhetorical. I really want to know specifically what PP thinks Republican mayors do better. Dallas and Forth Worth are the biggest Republican governed cities.

I’m truly curious. My sense is that Republicans mayors face exactly the same problems as Democratic mayors and have similar solutions (or lack thereof) but I’d welcome additional input on that.

Republican mayors don’t do stupid things like eliminating cash bail, incentivizing migrants to come, promote defund the police mantras, or charge citizens like Daniel Penny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The massive rural broadband package in the infrastructure act hasn’t connected a single home to the internet!

Do you know why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely not. I live in Germany, and I have to laugh when so many Americans fantasize about moving to Europe and talk about it like some kind of utopia. It's insanely naive. Every place has its problems and issues

The problem in the US is not that we have problems. It is our obstinate refusal to solve any of them while new problems continue to crop up. While many of these problems are sort of relegated to the poorest people in our country, they are increasingly “trickling up” to the middle class.

People are routinely dying from a lack of healthcare or going bankrupt from medical problems. This should have been resolved ages ago, and is simply not such a crisis in other countries.

Same with gun violence. Yes, there are a multitude of tertiary issues related to gun violence but the main issue is simply guns.

And now, we have a huge mentally ill homeless population suffering in our cities and it’s only growing. The massive rural broadband program hasn’t connected a single house to the internet.

And I think the worst part is that people seem so lonely and unhappy.

Why do we tolerate this?

When I go to my parents’ home country, it just isn’t so miserable. I’m staying in a middle class neighborhood, not a luxury hotel. I have been here often over the last 2 decades: People are grinning and bearing it. No one is shot in the street. If I need medicine I can just walk into the pharmacy and buy it for $2. People are out past 8pm having fun. People are just enjoying being with other people more.

Something is just broken at home. I really feel like I get a break abroad, from the horrible political news and violence and apocalyptic weather events. I have not felt this way before.

Totally disagree. The American personality is a go getter, problem solving one and if anything we are overly optimistic about our ability to change things particularly when utilizing the government. PP had it right, you’re entitled to your opinions but I don’t believe your take on things is widely viewed.

our infrastructure development is demonstrably behind other peer nations, as is our education and health care system. this is objective fact not feeling. In a healthy political climate we could work together to solve this but American individualism has turned into toxic culture wars. ironically not individualism at all but banding together to tribally reject whatever the other guys do.

I don’t agree with this either. You can’t compare our infrastructure in such a huge country with that of something dense like Western European countries. We do have a very good interstate highway system and our air travel is probably the best. Our rail is less developed, sure, but there are reasons for that.

our cities should be just as good as European cities.

Ah, so now I think we have come to an agreement. You aren’t comparing America as a whole to other nations as a whole, just our cities. Unfortunately, you have to look who is running American cities to place the blame for that. We used to have shining examples of well run, clean cities until wackos took over (looking at you, San Francisco).

No we are not in agreement because you’re still trying to make what is the common national good into a partisan political issue.

Ma’am this is the politics board. If you want politics kept out of this discussion, head to travel.

lol well this went full circle we’re so dang polarized that any discussion of infrastructure has to end up in politics

Anyway I think we need a 3rd party of true pragmatists.

I think it’s fair to ask where all our infrastructure spending went that was supposed to address the very issues you deem problematic in comparison to other nations. It’s not as if we haven’t passed bills to spend more in categories like bridges. So where did all the money go? You can’t answer questions like that without delving into politics because politics is how our taxpayer funds are allocated. It’s like you want to keep this entire thread some pie in the sky America vs. the world discussion rather than asking real questions about WHY we haven’t made progress (despite billions spent).

OK let’s talk about it. I’d welcome that. The Biden infrastructure bill (which was bipartisan BTW) hasn’t had that much time to be implemented but I’m sure there’s something you can post here. Also my fear is that merely throwing money at projects isn’t enough for real reform needed to make this all happen more quickly - and of course we need to improve education which is the backbone of development.

$1.2 trillion in spending is the definition of throwing money at projects and we should have seen more progress by now.

I mean that’s exactly what I am saying - even with money American development is far far too slow

You said Biden hasn’t had much time to show improvements. I said we should have seen progress by now. No, we aren’t saying the same things at all.

[Anonymous]

China is about the same size as the US and now has high speed rail connecting almost every part of the country. They're testing trains that could potentially travel at 220-250 mph. Meanwhile, people are paying $300 for Amtrak, lol. American education ranks near last doe so called first world nations. Public safety is horrendous due to guns.

I mean it is honestly a huge eye opening experience when you can go to a foreign country and pay <$2 for a 30 mile regional rail ride and <$100 as a fully uninsured person who was sent to the ER, got seen by a doc immediately, and had lab tests back in <1h.

US healthcare alone makes it a backwards 2nd world country.