Do you believe the US is the best country in the world? If not, then which?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. By far. There is nowhere else in the world with a little bit of hustle that an immigrant can buy/own a 3 bedroom 2 bath brick rancher within 10-15 years of migrating to the US.

Billions of people in the world live in cardboard shacks with no way out.

Sorry, no. The rest of the world has places where immigrants can do this. For one example, Canada:

1. Rola Dagher came from Lebanon in the 90s as a teenage refugee. She quickly worked her way up through the Dell business ranks and has been the president and CEO of Cisco Canada since 2017.

2. Susur Lee, the celebrity chef, immigrated to Canada at 20 in 1978 and was an executive chef within 6 years, and was opening his first restaurant of his own in 9 years.

3. Nav Bhatia immigrated to Canada from India in 1984 and could not find work as an engineer, so he took his first sales job selling cars. He bought his first car dealership 2 years later.

4. Selwyn Collaco immigrated to Canada in 1996 with just $700 in his pocket. Fifteen years later, he had worked his way up to a senior director at CIBC bank. He's currently the chief data officer of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

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Look. Pointing this out doesn't mean I don't think the USA is great. It is. And we don't have to lie about the rest of the world being a dead zone for immigrant prosperity to admit that.

When you overclaim on these things, you make this country look weak. Other countries can be great, too, and that does not take away from what the USA has. Don't make us look weak.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:2022: R.I.P. UK

BoE announced they're going to buy bonds. Pure insanity. This is after tax cuts and stimulus. I guess they've given up the fight and will eat 20% inflation. The pound may collapse to $.50. The UK is gonna turn into a destitute wasteland that will need another IMF bailout.

Feel really bad for British people. Their life savings are about to be worthless.

The grass is always greener until you move there and then the country is driven into the ground and their currency collapses.

They voted in ultra-isolationist wingnuts, withdrew from their shared alliances, and embraced anti-immigration conservative party policies.

Yes, you are correct that this sea change was a mistake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. By far. There is nowhere else in the world with a little bit of hustle that an immigrant can buy/own a 3 bedroom 2 bath brick rancher within 10-15 years of migrating to the US.

Billions of people in the world live in cardboard shacks with no way out.

Sorry, no. The rest of the world has places where immigrants can do this. For one example, Canada:

1. Rola Dagher came from Lebanon in the 90s as a teenage refugee. She quickly worked her way up through the Dell business ranks and has been the president and CEO of Cisco Canada since 2017.

2. Susur Lee, the celebrity chef, immigrated to Canada at 20 in 1978 and was an executive chef within 6 years, and was opening his first restaurant of his own in 9 years.

3. Nav Bhatia immigrated to Canada from India in 1984 and could not find work as an engineer, so he took his first sales job selling cars. He bought his first car dealership 2 years later.

4. Selwyn Collaco immigrated to Canada in 1996 with just $700 in his pocket. Fifteen years later, he had worked his way up to a senior director at CIBC bank. He's currently the chief data officer of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

---------

Look. Pointing this out doesn't mean I don't think the USA is great. It is. And we don't have to lie about the rest of the world being a dead zone for immigrant prosperity to admit that.

When you overclaim on these things, you make this country look weak. Other countries can be great, too, and that does not take away from what the USA has. Don't make us look weak.

It's funny because Canada is a lot harder to immigrate to than the US. They don't let any schmo wall over the border and stay like we do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. By far. There is nowhere else in the world with a little bit of hustle that an immigrant can buy/own a 3 bedroom 2 bath brick rancher within 10-15 years of migrating to the US.

Billions of people in the world live in cardboard shacks with no way out.

Sorry, no. The rest of the world has places where immigrants can do this. For one example, Canada:

1. Rola Dagher came from Lebanon in the 90s as a teenage refugee. She quickly worked her way up through the Dell business ranks and has been the president and CEO of Cisco Canada since 2017.

2. Susur Lee, the celebrity chef, immigrated to Canada at 20 in 1978 and was an executive chef within 6 years, and was opening his first restaurant of his own in 9 years.

3. Nav Bhatia immigrated to Canada from India in 1984 and could not find work as an engineer, so he took his first sales job selling cars. He bought his first car dealership 2 years later.

4. Selwyn Collaco immigrated to Canada in 1996 with just $700 in his pocket. Fifteen years later, he had worked his way up to a senior director at CIBC bank. He's currently the chief data officer of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

---------

Look. Pointing this out doesn't mean I don't think the USA is great. It is. And we don't have to lie about the rest of the world being a dead zone for immigrant prosperity to admit that.

When you overclaim on these things, you make this country look weak. Other countries can be great, too, and that does not take away from what the USA has. Don't make us look weak.

It's funny because Canada is a lot harder to immigrate to than the US. They don't let any schmo wall over the border and stay like we do.

Of course, you are probably referring to the points system, which (as I am sure you know) does not apply to many of the immigration routes, including as a refugee. Canada accepted 130,000 refugees in 2021, and the US accepted just under 12,000. The US has 9 times the population of Canada. Which isn't to make any claims about that -- just stating the numbers so we can be clear in conversation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, there's no doubt the US is the best country in the world. Whether folks want to admit it or not, most would live here in a heartbeat if given a chance.

Agree. Politically I have very little in common with your stereotypical "flag-waver" but I think it's almost willfully blind not to understand the advantages we have as American citizens, appreciate the work America has done to further the cause of freedom and democratic ideals around the globe, and accept that the vast majority of people in the world would choose American citizenship if given the opportunity. This certainly doesn't mean we are perfect. We aren't. And it doesn't mean that our future is inevitable. It isn't, and right now it feels increasingly tenuous in ways that greatly worry me.

But sort of like a Rawls thought experiment, if you were offered the choice before birth to decide between "American" or "random chance of all the other countries in the world," you'd be crazy not to choose America.

You've either swallowed the propaganda or are willfully ignorant of all the oppression America doles out around the globe when it perceives that a democratic process somewhere is likely to support policies it does not approve of.

I can tell you that "America supports of freedom and democratic ideals around the globe" is a uniquely American view. That is, this is NOT a view shared by most people around the globe outside of America. It is DEFINITELY not a view, for instance, that has any support in the Arab world. How can it, with so much evidence to the contrary? Latin America? Hello?

Oh wow, the theocratic and monarchical and largely repressive Arab world doesn’t agree that American ideals are good? And here I was assuming that I could rely on them to be purely neutral arbiters of the best and most free societies.

As for Latin America, I know whereof I speak when I say that El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Venezuela are not exactly thriving at the moment. Not many people trying to emigrate to those countries.

You either can't read or are being willfully ignorant. I'll spell it out for you again.

People in other countries - other than America - do NOT believe that "America supports freedom and democratic ideals around the globe". Only Americans believe that because that's what the propaganda feeds them. Evidence of actual American behavior around the globe does not support it. America's actions in other countries do not support freedom and democratic ideals. America's actions in other countries support only American interests, and if American interests as America perceives them require that a repressive, undemocratic regime needs to stay in place, then America will support that repressive, undemocratic regime to stay in place. Conversely, if American interests as America perceives them require that a democratic regime is removed, then America will not hesitate to try and remove it.

I'll write it again to remove all confusion: Only Americans believe that "America supports freedom and democratic ideals around the globe". People in other countries do not believe that "America supports freedom and democratic ideals around the globe" because they have a better, closer view on what America actually does around the globe.

Citizens of other countries—especially the repressive and corrupt governments pervading many parts of the Middle East and Latin America—would by and large have no idea what we actually do and think. It’s incredible that you think that Americans are uniquely susceptible to “propaganda” but that the average citizen of Iran or Venezuela will have a clear eyed picture of us that I’m not even allowed to question.

Honest question: If given the choice between being an “average” citizen of the United States and an “average” citizen of, say, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen, El Salvador, Venezuela, Guatemala, or Nicaragua, what percentage would choose the United States? 90%? 95%? Why do you think that is, if those other countries are so enlightened about how awful we are?

Your question has nothing to do with the essence of the notion in question. The quality of life America creates for its own subjects is not in question.

Does America support freedoms and democratic ideals around the globe or does it not?

Looking at what America does around the world (and not at what it says it does), can we say with a straight face that it supports freedoms and democratic ideals around the world?

And yes, I think an average Iraqi would have a much better view on what America does in Iraq than you.

Yes. I think so. Name a current dictatorship, autocracy, true monarchy, or communist country that is an unequivocal ally of the United States. Name just one. UAE is as close as you can get, and isn’t exactly our closest friend or a country whose governance model we’ve exactly supported.

The question for you is, do you think we could and should be doing more to support democracy and freedom that we aren’t doing?

You must be joking. The US is on record for its enthusiastic alliance with every single Gulf monarchy. The relentless kiss-ass to Al-Saud? Is your amnesia really taking hold so early? Multiple takedowns of democratically elected leaders in other countries? Suppression of democratically inspired uprising in Bahrain? Wake up.

I think America should focus on itself and let other countries decide how they want to run their shop.

But that is what they are doing with the Gulf States, and it sounds like you are criticizing them for that?! Do you just enjoy arguing?

Do you think the works should sit back for Russia’s behavior?

[Anonymous]

the US accepted just under 12,000

Bahaha….Approximately 50,000 vehicles and 25,000 pedestrians enter daily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

the US accepted just under 12,000

Bahaha….Approximately 50,000 vehicles and 25,000 pedestrians enter daily.

Accepted. As. Refugees.

That's a legal term. Most immigrants are not accepted as refugees. You cut out the context of the conversation. I'll include it here:

Of course, you are probably referring to the points system [for immigration to Canada], which (as I am sure you know) does not apply to many of the immigration routes, including as a refugee. Canada accepted 130,000 refugees in 2021, and the US accepted just under 12,000. The US has 9 times the population of Canada. Which isn't to make any claims about that -- just stating the numbers so we can be clear in conversation.

In regards to your post:

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), a refugee is an alien who, generally, has experienced past persecution or has a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Individuals who meet this definition may be considered for either refugee status under Section 207 of the INA if they are outside the United States, or asylum status under Section 208 of the INA, if they are already in the United States.
- https://www.state.gov/refugee-admissions/

Now this was a lower number than typical, probably in part because of the pandemic. It usually averages more.

2015: 69,933
2016: 84,995
2017: 53,691
2018: 22,405
2019: 29,916
2020: 11,800
2021: 11,411

The United States admitted 11,411 people[b] through the refugee admissions program in fiscal year 2021, according to the State Department, the lowest number in 40 years.
- https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/05/politics/refugee-united-states/index.html

Far more refugees were admitted under Trump than have been under Biden, for whatever that is worth. We are still under Public Health Emergency status, and that might affect it. I really don't know. But I do know that your "Bahaha….Approximately 50,000 vehicles and 25,000 pedestrians enter daily" is not true for refugees, which is what you were responding to. Of course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have lived in several countries on various continents and my parents come from two vastly different countries. When they met, they had no common language, religion or culture.

So please believe me when I say that there is no "best" country.

Each country is good at something. Right now I live in the US on a visa. It's great for healthy young people who want professional opportunities. Not so great if you're poor and have to live in violent, gun-filled neighborhoods, with exorbitant medical care and intermittent access to clean water or internet. Other countries all have their advantages and disadvantages.

But if you're talking about what matters to global stability today, then I can think of two concepts:

1. Climate change - the USA is one of the worst offenders. This needs to change. Poor countries are dying now because of climate events, heat waves, drought and rising seas.

2. Democracy and spreading it around the world. Interestingly, even as democratic institutions are threatened domestically, the USA is still the defender of democracy abroad, confronting China and Russia, among others. That is something we need to sustain, with the help of our allies.

Why did you put “access to clean water” this is not a problem in the USA.
I disagree about spreading democracy by force it didn’t work in Iraq, Libya or Afghanistan.

Flint, Michigan.
Jackson, Mississippi.

Spreading democracy refers to wealthy democracies acting as bulwark against inroads made by autocratic nations: Russia in Ukraine and China with its eyes on Taiwan are the most visible, but there is a fraught battle going on in developed nations for control of resources, just as there is a cyberwar going on regarding (dis)information and seeking to divide and weaken the other side.

Please become a more educated and aware citizen. These things are important.

See also, no access to clean water in West Virginia, Navajo Nation, Texas: https://www.digdeep.org/our-work

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, there's no doubt the US is the best country in the world. Whether folks want to admit it or not, most would live here in a heartbeat if given a chance.

Agree. Politically I have very little in common with your stereotypical "flag-waver" but I think it's almost willfully blind not to understand the advantages we have as American citizens, appreciate the work America has done to further the cause of freedom and democratic ideals around the globe, and accept that the vast majority of people in the world would choose American citizenship if given the opportunity. This certainly doesn't mean we are perfect. We aren't. And it doesn't mean that our future is inevitable. It isn't, and right now it feels increasingly tenuous in ways that greatly worry me.

But sort of like a Rawls thought experiment, if you were offered the choice before birth to decide between "American" or "random chance of all the other countries in the world," you'd be crazy not to choose America.

You've either swallowed the propaganda or are willfully ignorant of all the oppression America doles out around the globe when it perceives that a democratic process somewhere is likely to support policies it does not approve of.

I can tell you that "America supports of freedom and democratic ideals around the globe" is a uniquely American view. That is, this is NOT a view shared by most people around the globe outside of America. It is DEFINITELY not a view, for instance, that has any support in the Arab world. How can it, with so much evidence to the contrary? Latin America? Hello?

Oh wow, the theocratic and monarchical and largely repressive Arab world doesn’t agree that American ideals are good? And here I was assuming that I could rely on them to be purely neutral arbiters of the best and most free societies.

As for Latin America, I know whereof I speak when I say that El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Venezuela are not exactly thriving at the moment. Not many people trying to emigrate to those countries.

You either can't read or are being willfully ignorant. I'll spell it out for you again.

People in other countries - other than America - do NOT believe that "America supports freedom and democratic ideals around the globe". Only Americans believe that because that's what the propaganda feeds them. Evidence of actual American behavior around the globe does not support it. America's actions in other countries do not support freedom and democratic ideals. America's actions in other countries support only American interests, and if American interests as America perceives them require that a repressive, undemocratic regime needs to stay in place, then America will support that repressive, undemocratic regime to stay in place. Conversely, if American interests as America perceives them require that a democratic regime is removed, then America will not hesitate to try and remove it.

I'll write it again to remove all confusion: Only Americans believe that "America supports freedom and democratic ideals around the globe". People in other countries do not believe that "America supports freedom and democratic ideals around the globe" because they have a better, closer view on what America actually does around the globe.

Citizens of other countries—especially the repressive and corrupt governments pervading many parts of the Middle East and Latin America—would by and large have no idea what we actually do and think. It’s incredible that you think that Americans are uniquely susceptible to “propaganda” but that the average citizen of Iran or Venezuela will have a clear eyed picture of us that I’m not even allowed to question.

Honest question: If given the choice between being an “average” citizen of the United States and an “average” citizen of, say, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen, El Salvador, Venezuela, Guatemala, or Nicaragua, what percentage would choose the United States? 90%? 95%? Why do you think that is, if those other countries are so enlightened about how awful we are?

Your question has nothing to do with the essence of the notion in question. The quality of life America creates for its own subjects is not in question.

Does America support freedoms and democratic ideals around the globe or does it not?

Looking at what America does around the world (and not at what it says it does), can we say with a straight face that it supports freedoms and democratic ideals around the world?

And yes, I think an average Iraqi would have a much better view on what America does in Iraq than you.

Yes. I think so. Name a current dictatorship, autocracy, true monarchy, or communist country that is an unequivocal ally of the United States. Name just one. UAE is as close as you can get, and isn’t exactly our closest friend or a country whose governance model we’ve exactly supported.

The question for you is, do you think we could and should be doing more to support democracy and freedom that we aren’t doing?

You must be joking. The US is on record for its enthusiastic alliance with every single Gulf monarchy. The relentless kiss-ass to Al-Saud? Is your amnesia really taking hold so early? Multiple takedowns of democratically elected leaders in other countries? Suppression of democratically inspired uprising in Bahrain? Wake up.

I think America should focus on itself and let other countries decide how they want to run their shop.

But that is what they are doing with the Gulf States, and it sounds like you are criticizing them for that?! Do you just enjoy arguing?

Do you think the works should sit back for Russia’s behavior?

I think people should stop repeating obvious lies like "America supports freedoms and democratic ideals around the world" or "America opposes dictatorships and autocracies worldwide."

What the world is doing with Russia is driven by politics and not at all by how unacceptable their behavior is. The "world" has let worse things happen in silence when they were done by the right people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. By far. There is nowhere else in the world with a little bit of hustle that an immigrant can buy/own a 3 bedroom 2 bath brick rancher within 10-15 years of migrating to the US.

Billions of people in the world live in cardboard shacks with no way out.

Sorry, no. The rest of the world has places where immigrants can do this. For one example, Canada:

1. Rola Dagher came from Lebanon in the 90s as a teenage refugee. She quickly worked her way up through the Dell business ranks and has been the president and CEO of Cisco Canada since 2017.

2. Susur Lee, the celebrity chef, immigrated to Canada at 20 in 1978 and was an executive chef within 6 years, and was opening his first restaurant of his own in 9 years.

3. Nav Bhatia immigrated to Canada from India in 1984 and could not find work as an engineer, so he took his first sales job selling cars. He bought his first car dealership 2 years later.

4. Selwyn Collaco immigrated to Canada in 1996 with just $700 in his pocket. Fifteen years later, he had worked his way up to a senior director at CIBC bank. He's currently the chief data officer of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

---------

Look. Pointing this out doesn't mean I don't think the USA is great. It is. And we don't have to lie about the rest of the world being a dead zone for immigrant prosperity to admit that.

When you overclaim on these things, you make this country look weak. Other countries can be great, too, and that does not take away from what the USA has. Don't make us look weak.

It's funny because Canada is a lot harder to immigrate to than the US. They don't let any schmo wall over the border and stay like we do.

Of course, you are probably referring to the points system, which (as I am sure you know) does not apply to many of the immigration routes, including as a refugee. Canada accepted 130,000 refugees in 2021, and the US accepted just under 12,000. The US has 9 times the population of Canada. Which isn't to make any claims about that -- just stating the numbers so we can be clear in conversation.

dp.. also, the US also doesn't share a border with a poorer region. I'm sure if Canada was the one to share a border with MX, you'd Canada inundated with illegal immigrants as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. By far. There is nowhere else in the world with a little bit of hustle that an immigrant can buy/own a 3 bedroom 2 bath brick rancher within 10-15 years of migrating to the US.

Billions of people in the world live in cardboard shacks with no way out.

Sorry, no. The rest of the world has places where immigrants can do this. For one example, Canada:

1. Rola Dagher came from Lebanon in the 90s as a teenage refugee. She quickly worked her way up through the Dell business ranks and has been the president and CEO of Cisco Canada since 2017.

2. Susur Lee, the celebrity chef, immigrated to Canada at 20 in 1978 and was an executive chef within 6 years, and was opening his first restaurant of his own in 9 years.

3. Nav Bhatia immigrated to Canada from India in 1984 and could not find work as an engineer, so he took his first sales job selling cars. He bought his first car dealership 2 years later.

4. Selwyn Collaco immigrated to Canada in 1996 with just $700 in his pocket. Fifteen years later, he had worked his way up to a senior director at CIBC bank. He's currently the chief data officer of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

---------

Look. Pointing this out doesn't mean I don't think the USA is great. It is. And we don't have to lie about the rest of the world being a dead zone for immigrant prosperity to admit that.

When you overclaim on these things, you make this country look weak. Other countries can be great, too, and that does not take away from what the USA has. Don't make us look weak.

It's funny because Canada is a lot harder to immigrate to than the US. They don't let any schmo wall over the border and stay like we do.

Of course, you are probably referring to the points system, which (as I am sure you know) does not apply to many of the immigration routes, including as a refugee. Canada accepted 130,000 refugees in 2021, and the US accepted just under 12,000. The US has 9 times the population of Canada. Which isn't to make any claims about that -- just stating the numbers so we can be clear in conversation.

dp.. also, the US also doesn't share a border with a poorer region. I'm sure if Canada was the one to share a border with MX, you'd Canada inundated with illegal immigrants as well.

Mexico?
Or did you mean to say the reverse?

And yes, absolutely. I mean, Canada does share a border with a poorer region, but it's not in an area amenable to overland crossing anyway. Geography matters, as do immigration rules. None of this is simple enough to fit on a bumper sticker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2022: R.I.P. UK

BoE announced they're going to buy bonds. Pure insanity. This is after tax cuts and stimulus. I guess they've given up the fight and will eat 20% inflation. The pound may collapse to $.50. The UK is gonna turn into a destitute wasteland that will need another IMF bailout.

Feel really bad for British people. Their life savings are about to be worthless.

The grass is always greener until you move there and then the country is driven into the ground and their currency collapses.

Hmm I wonder if they had remained in the EU if they would be in such dire straits?

IMO they would have weathered this better if they stayed within the EU. Many experts predicted dire financial outcomes if Brexit went ahead. Their economy was so tied to the EU and their farmers/ primary producers enjoyed access and subsidies that far outweighed minor inconveniences the Brexit nationalists emphasized.

Have a number of British friends who feel devastated by Brexit and the reduced choices and prospects for their children.