The United States of America.

The United States of America claims to be a first world nation, but is it really? They're the only western nation to execute people. You can only have health care if you can afford health insurance or afford to pay for treatment out of your own pocket. The same goes for justice and higher education. Everyone gets taxed at the same rate, regardless of whether they earn £10,000 or £1,000,000 dollars a year. There's also people living there in desparate poverty. Add to this.

America still seems to have a real race problem, with blacks, gays and non-Christian religions treated as 2nd class citizens in the deep south. Also, the right to own an assault rifle seems to over ride the safety of the nation's school children. They tried to use a terrorist extradition treaty to extradite Asperger's sufferer Gary McKinnon to the states to face terrorism charges, merely for his misguided attempt to look for little green men. There's also the debacle of Guantanemo Bay.

First world nation? I don't think so.

When you take all of this in to account it would appear that America is a 2nd world nation at the best

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Comments

  • WilkieWilkie ✭✭✭

    It's not actually true that you can only have health care if you can pay for insurance, or pay for your treatment.

    There are county hospitals which treat people who can't afford to pay.

  • What do you mean by "first world nation" and who makes the claim? I'm also not sure stating that the USA is the only "western" nation with the death penalty is a particularly good comment - it kind of suggests that western nations are morally superior, are we? Being taxed at the same rate regardless of income - surely that is fair and encourages people to work harder and earn more?

    So which country is your first world nation?

  • MillsyMillsy ✭✭✭
    I suppose it depends on what criteria you use.

    If, like Rickster, you just judge on the bad points of each county I'd imagine that no countries will be classed as 1st world.
  • The US is far from being the only Western nation with the death penalty.  In Europe, Belarus still has it.

  • 1st World = freedom-loving capitalist democracies

    2nd World = Commies

    3rd World = poor people

     

  • GertieGertie ✭✭✭

    Japan and Singapore also have the death penalty.

  • The USA oprates on a system of get ahead or be trodden on. Seems to have worked pretty well for them on the whole. It's pretty much the system the world has used for 4.5 billion years until recently. How would evolution have happened if you didn't need to get to the highest branch or the next island to survive? We would all still be piles of green slime.

  • The truth is, there are two Americas and they exist side by side.

     I believe someone (Gavin Esler?) once wrote a book called "The Divided States of America". It pretty well sums it up.

    The more I think about what's best and worst about the place the more it fries my brain, frankly.

    When I'm there I just try to enjoy the burgers and the scenery and not think too much about the politics... 

  • Kathy HKathy H ✭✭✭

    America is complicated. It has the best and the worst of almost everything.

    Other countries imitatation show that it is seen as the way to be. And the President seen to be the leader of the 'free world'.

    It could be a force for good, and often has been so. It is a nation of, what is called sometimes, 'the first world'.

    But sometimes its policies and practices stink!

  • Kathy H wrote (see)

    America is complicated. It has the best and the worst of almost everything.

    Other countries imitatation show that it is seen as the way to be. And the President seen to be the leader of the 'free world'.

    It could be a force for good, and often has been so. It is a nation of, what is called sometimes, 'the first world'.

    But sometimes its policies and practices stink!

    Policies, practices and, unfortunately, social attitudes of a large proportion of the population.

    But, as you suggest, has some great things and great people in it's favour too.

    I love America to visit, but really wouldn't want to live there.

  • Switzerland? Oh no doidn't they steal all the money from the jews in WW2? C'mon dopey head, there are no squeaky clean countries. People like (p)Rickster want to benefit from the dirty work that happens but don't have the balls to put their own big dopey head on the chopping block. 

  • WilkieWilkie ✭✭✭

    They grow a lot of tobacco in Andorra - not so harmless, after all!

  • theyGet they can't grow much, Andorra isn't that big 

  • Since when did dirty laundry become an indicator of a "first world" nation or otherwise?

    Surely the sort of thing we should be looking at is a combination of overall living standards, healthcare, economic output, average wage, average lifespan..?

  • MillsyMillsy ✭✭✭
    Thats far too sensible!
  • Does the third world have laundry ? 

  • America does annoy me.they go around the world trying to make other countries conform to their brilliant way.........

    yet as the OP said....they have such divide in those who have and who haven't.........they also have so much corruption.........

    they still have racism and it was still openly racist only a few decades ago.....

    yet they think thay have a right to tell other countries how they should run themimage

  • F.oggyF.oggy ✭✭✭
    Rickster wrote (see)

    The United States of America claims to be a first world nation, but is it really? They're the only western nation to execute people. You can only have health care if you can afford health insurance or afford to pay for treatment out of your own pocket. The same goes for justice and higher education. Everyone gets taxed at the same rate, regardless of whether they earn £10,000 or £1,000,000 dollars a year.

    That is incorrect. Tax rates are as follows:

    • 10% on taxable income from $0 to $8,925, plus
    • 15% on taxable income over $8,925 to $36,250, plus
    • 25% on taxable income over $36,250 to $87,850, plus
    • 28% on taxable income over $87,850 to $183,250, plus
    • 33% on taxable income over $183,250 to $398,350, plus
    • 35% on taxable income over $398,350 to $400,000, plus
    • 39.6% on taxable income over $400,000

     

  • MillsyMillsy ✭✭✭
    These facts just get in the way of a good story.
  • You could say that if it wasn't for America we might be alll goose stepping to work and saying seig heil and people with big dopey heads might have been sent to special camps for people with big dopey heads. 

  • Andorra has the death penalty for kitten mutilation.

  • RicFRicF ✭✭✭

    Robbie Coltrane summed up America on his road trip series. "Where its good, its very good, but where its bad, its terrible".

    The thing that I remember reading about (some) Americans in the wake of 9/11 was that they were not only convinced that America was the greatest country on earth. But they assumed everyone else in the world was of the same opinion also.

    🙂

  • Sussex Runner (NLR) wrote (see)

    Andorra has the death penalty for kitten mutilation.

    Shame 

  • And for being a member of Mumford and Sons

  • Ah.. That gets my vote, in fact hanging would be too good for them 

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