<p>Haha, what an uneducated comment. By saying that, you just proved you have missed my point all along. Oh well.</p>
<p>Here is an interesting article if anyone is interested:</p>
<p>[Why</a> Danes Are So Much Happier Than Americans | Food | AlterNet](<a href=“http://www.alternet.org/food/152673/why_danes_are_so_much_happie]Why”>http://www.alternet.org/food/152673/why_danes_are_so_much_happie)</p>
<p>Cheers!</p>
<p>Gaiou,</p>
<p>Uneducated? </p>
<p>I think you will benefit from Civics 101 (and maybe history classes) to understand where I am coming from.</p>
<p>Your stance on collectivism is intellectually dishonest. </p>
<p>Please tell me what do you call a person who is forced to work for free?</p>
<p>Or what do you call taking away hard-earned money from one person to give them to another who did nothing to earn them?</p>
<p>Perhaps when you are older you will understand where I am coming from. Perhaps not.</p>
<p>Look, I’m not saying that we should take all the money from the rich and give it to the poor, that would obviously be wrong. I just think that the situation is too extreme here, but in a way that’s what makes the USA the USA, and many people love that. I just don’t. I felt fine in Switzerland, and Switzerland is certainly a capitalist society as well, there is just more emphasis on social equality. </p>
<p>Wealth inequality, for example, has been studied extensively and has been shown to contribute to many societal problems. These include higher crime rates, shortened life spans, bad diet, family issues and an overall lower quality of life for many people. The U.S. really could learn from certain European countries such as Denmark. I’m not saying they should adopt that model completely, because the US is unique in its own way, but it wouldn’t hurt to at least consider some of what countries like Denmark are doing in terms of social welfare.</p>
<p>I personally am a very collectivistic person and I know that free will is limited by social environment, which is why I believe people who have more should contribute more.</p>
<p>Look, I’m not saying that we should take all the money from the rich and give it to the poor, that would obviously be wrong.</p>
<hr>
<p>Gao,</p>
<p>You probably do not see contradiction in the above, but I do. </p>
<p>One thing I want to note that if everyone contributed the same percentage of their earnings, than those who have make more would contribute more by virtue of making more money. But this is not what you want. The important question is how much money is fair in your opinion to take away from rich? Is it 50%, 60%, 90%? How do you decide? </p>
<p>I asked some other questions in my prior posts and I yet to see an answer. Is it because the questions are tough to answer?</p>
<p>gai…you just like stirring the pot, don’t you? LOL I am thinking you are trying to see how many people you can alienate as part of a social experiment or something. </p>
<p>These are nice people on here, and you have definitely brought out the worst in them. </p>
<p>You know I think that much of what you have to say has merit, as do a few others that have chimed in. But you are losing us with your approach. Maybe it is time to start a new thread on a different topic for now?</p>
<p>Look we don’t have to agree on this. This debate could go on and on. Obviously you don’t want to admit that the system in this country has many flaws, but do some research and look at statistics about social welfare and the level of happiness in the US compare to other countries, and you will see that this country is doing terrible on many levels.</p>
<p>I wish the US could just take a step back and stop thinking they are the best country in the world. I mean if the US is SO GREAT, how come people are so miserable compared to countries in Europe (especially Scandinavia)? Why are the crime rates so high? Why are there millions of people who can’t even have access to basic health care? Why do people have to pay so much for a higher education? Why do people here have shorter lifespans than in Europe? How come not all women get a good maternity leave after they have kids? </p>
<p>Now I realize these are random facts, but they all contribute to a general sense of unhappiness. It really would be nice if the US could take better care of their people. The extreme emphasis on individuality and competition will ultimately hurt this country. Believe me, time will tell.</p>
<p>I agree with you Vlines. It’s time to stop because at the end of the day, we all have opinions but sometimes we just have to agree to disagree.</p>
<p>It was fun to have a little debate though, so thank you to everyone who posted.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>Gaiou,</p>
<p>I actually admit that there are many things that are broken in this country. My reasoning though is very different from yours.</p>
<p>I think that the reason so may things are broken in this country is that we forgot on what ideals this country was founded. We started to socialize loss, but privatize profits (car manufacturers bailout, mortgage mess bailout, etc). We forgot that we are the country of equal opportunity, not equal outcome. And now we are seeing results of this kind of mentality.</p>
<p>I’ve mentioned before (maybe not on this thread). I’ve been poor. I know what it is like. However, it never occurred to me to be angry at people that had more than me (and think they should share with me just because I don’t have enough). This is because I always wanted to someday be one of them and this is the reason why I worked hard to achieve that. And I will freely admit, if I knew that I will not be rewarded for hard work, I would not try so hard.</p>
<p>By the way, one of the reasons the costs are rising is government involvement. If you look at health care, they regulate insurance companies by not allowing more competition (I cannot buy insurance from any company I want), by requiring them to provide comprehensive coverage (what if I don’t want to buy policy that covers wine stain removal?), by stiffing the doctors who service those covered by medicare and medicaid (who do you think is covering the gap?) and by requiring hospitals to provide emergency care to anyone without expectations for payment (why do I need insurance - there is always emergency room for the rescue and who care how the hospital is going to be paid). Health care is a complex problem, but involvement of government and lack of personal responsibility are major contributors to the costs.</p>
<p>This isn’t directly related, but the first thing I thought about when I read it today online, was this thread. </p>
<p>[Why</a> are rich people such jerks? - 1 - wealth & character - MSN Money](<a href=“MSN”>MSN)</p>
<p>Very interesting article, thanks for sharing. Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me at all.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Oh brother…like there aren’t a gazillion jerky low income and middle income people as well.</p>
<p>:rolleyes:</p>
<p>Really, there are??? I would have NEVER guessed. Lol</p>
<p>The study shows that, ON AVERAGE, the rich seem more likely to be unethical, ungenerous and uncompassionate than people lower on the socio-economic scale.</p>
<p>Seriously, it’s not rocket science to figure out that they are talking about averages here.</p>
<p>gaiou37, if you only read Alternet and listen to your sociology professors, you would believe that the US is a cesspit of misery. I am aware of the US’s numerous problems and challenges, but there is a lot more to the US than what you are saying. It’s not a particularly unhappy place. In fact, many American expats who live in Europe and enjoy the advantages of those societies will also admit that they miss the optimism, friendliness, openness, and can-do attitude of the USA. Sweden has high suicide and alcoholism rates and Denmark, with its “Jante Law,” cuts down tall poppies; it’s conformist and dull. I think you have to be careful about making blanket generalizations about national happiness.</p>
<p>It’s perfectly reasonable for you personally to not be happy here and to want to live elsewhere. But this is a subjective, not a scientific and objective, response. You won’t convince people that the US is a terrible, terrible place because it doesn’t have the right health insurance provisions.</p>
<p>*
The study shows that, ON AVERAGE, the rich seem more likely to be unethical, ungenerous and uncompassionate than people lower on the socio-economic scale.</p>
<p>Seriously, it’s not rocket science to figure out that they are talking about averages here.*</p>
<p>AND, I don’t believe that. The rich or affluent in this country are very generous and compassionate. You seem to think that rich people make their money by being unethical! This country is the most generous in terms of raising money for charities, disaster relief, etc. </p>
<p>I do NOT believe that the rich are any more likely to be as that study described as anyone else. </p>
<p>I know that it’s sweet to think that low-income and modest-income are mostly all just a bunch of honest, hard-working, generous, compassionate souls, while the rich are more likely to be greedy SOBs. The truth is most people (rich or poor) have those good qualities. And both rich and poor groups have their share of unethical, selfish, uncompassionate people.</p>
<p>I just want to add one more thing. These articles and this thread make it sound as if the “rich” were the vast majority of the people in this country. Therefore, the vast majority are greedy, unethical and poorly behaved individuals, when in fact we are talking about a very small percentage of a very small percentage. So when people make comments like “Americans are rude” Or, “Americans are all a bunch of rich obnoxious people”, thats just ignorance speaking. Do we have people like this in this country? Yes. But that absolutely exists anywhere in the world that you go. </p>
<p>I lived in the midwest for a few years. Having been a native New Yorker it was truly a change of pace but I loved it. Yet, I would hear people (midwesterners) tell me that they thought New Yorkers were rude. They would tell me that they were surprised that I was nice because when they visited NYC they felt people were always in a rush and literally couldn’t stop to give them the time of day. A friend of mine explained that when she was in NYC she truly did ask someone if they could give her the time and instead the NYer just kept walking. I always laughed at these stories because of course they were true depictions of NYer’s. We are different. We aren’t bad, greedy, unethical people, we are just different. In the midwest people have an hour lunch, pedestrians wait at a traffic light to turn green before they cross and no one cuts in line in traffic. Unfortunately, NYer’s don’t do those things. As a whole we are lucky if we have 10 minutes to swallow our lunch. As pedestrians, we dodge in and out of traffic because the train was late, and now we have an 7:30am meeting with Germany and have to get to the office. And for the tourist who is asking for directions or the time, well NYer’s are skeptical about talking to people we don’t know and now we are going to miss the train out of Penn Station, that waits for no one, regardless if you were being nice and giving someone the time.</p>
<p>For anyone reading this they may think “Well there you have it. NYers are rude, nasty, obnoxious people.” But thats not really true. Its the environment. Its what you do to survive. It may not be appealing but many of us love it. Again, its about embracing the culture not putting it down. (Also let me just say that I have met many people in NYC that were helpful, and nice. This is more the worse case scenario and what most people like to focus on.) </p>
<p>Lastly, when people come to this country and say things like 'Americans are rude" because they spent a week in NY , well than just remember you only visited one of fifty states and only one small portion of the state of NY. Don’t be so stupid as to assume that everything in the USA is just like what you saw on the small island of Manhattan. Thats just like when people say things like “America is dirty” all because they went into NYC. What about the beaches in the Hamptons that they didn’t visit or the beautiful states of Vermont, Maine, New Hamsphire etc etc. These blanket generalizations are annoying. And when I hear them it just makes me realize that the person making them is truly ignorant and shouldn’t be travelling outside their own country because they aren’t visiting with an openmind. They aren’t coming here to embrace American culture. They are just here to compare and be critical.</p>
<p>If you want to enjoy the town fireworks and attend a town family bbq, enjoy a high school football game under the lights, visit the midwest. It you want to see high fashion, expensive cars, beautifully clad beach bodies strolling down some of the most expensive avenues in the world, visit the Hamptons or Beverly Hills. The great thing about the USA is that we have it all!!! We are truly a diverse nation!!! Doesn’t get better than that!!!</p>
<p>I’m in Boston this week and I completely understand the hustle and bustle of the city. People have places to go and things to do. You might have people that just spent an hour or two to get into the city and then walking to their jobs from the subway or parking garage. I can tell you that I’m not the most cheerful person after a two-hour commute, especially when my normal commute is 20 minutes with no traffic.</p>
<p>If you go for lunch, you might have to wait ten minutes in line to get your food instead of bringing it in your car with you. If you want to workout, you have to carry your bag around with you in the city rather than leaving it in your car.</p>
<p>Things are slower and more relaxed up in NH and faster in Boston - circumstances drive behavior.</p>
<p>Earlier this week, there were two Greenpeace activists trying to stop people outside Whole Foods - I don’t know if they were doing a survey or trying to get people to sign something but nobody was stopping. One of them tried to shake my hand as I was on my way to get my son for an appointment - I just put up my hand and said: not interested. In NH, I might have stopped for someone asking a question if I weren’t in a hurry to get somewhere but in Boston, it seems that everyone is in a hurry to get somewhere.</p>
<p>I’m also a native NYer living in the midwest.</p>
<p>I actually always did help tourists and others who asked for help, and most people I in turn asked for help from (in an unfamiliar borough or whatever) gave it to me. I honestly can’t think of a time I was turned down.</p>
<p>What NYers do not do is say “good morning” to everyone they pass on the street, which is the norm in the small town I live in now. NYers could not physically form those words for every person passed; it’s a physical impossibility. So we don’t try. In the neighborhood market or whatever, of course. Just not to strangers.</p>
<p>Ohiobassmom: I lived in Ohio. Loved it but could never get used to sitting at the red light waiting for the green, when there was no one around to see me cross the street. My co-workers and i would be walking to get something to eat and I’d be talking to myself as the rest of the group stopped, and waited for the green light on the other side of the street. (lol) The midwest is awesome…Some of the niciest people I have ever met came from there.</p>
<p>Dungaree…I jaywalk. I admit it. Luckily i live in a college town where there are a lot of east coast kids who also jaywalk ;)</p>
<p>But I have to say the NICE level is off the charts here, it’s true.</p>
<p>I am from Midwest and people jaywalk here all the time, especially around UofMN. There is a particular traffic right, where it is almost impossible for more than one car to turn right per green light cycle. This particular traffic light has “no right turn on red” restriction and no incoming traffic (a 3-way intersection). Yet, I dread going through it because the students start walking regardless of whether it is their turn or not.</p>