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I am new to this forum... What do you think about crime problems in US, and poverty? I am an European living in US.
I have seen many places and travelled a lot... A while ago, when i was younger, US seemed like a promised land to me, but after years of living here, i think otherwise.
I like US very much, and it will always be part of my life, but i think I may
finally leave for good.
I thought, a long time ago, that people here earn more money... but now i Know it's not true. So called "low taxes", when i add house taxes, hidden sales taxes... it's not low, barely ANY lower than many parts in Europe, and high compared to Switzerland! Taxes in New York, for income are actually higher than i paid in UK.
Poverty... i've seen many cities, places. In country like US, many opportunities exist, but poverty is extreme by western standards.
What i find appaling is that there is a place where super rich are, few kilometers away, it's total poverty! Slums, shantyhouses, drugs... pregnant teenage girls.
Why is there so much poverty? Minimum salary is half the rate in western europe, a bit more...
minimum salary like 5$, HOW can one live on that??? No HI, no vacation, no social security, no maternity leave... you get sick, you slide into poverty!
Crime- extreme problem in US. I don't want my kids to live here. Cities with murder rate more than 30 per 100 000... murders everyday, kids carrying guns to school... US is FAR from safe.
Gang feuds were almost everyday occurence in Los Angeles... random killings...
Did you know that 80%+ world serial killers live in US??
Also, i don't understand how people continue to support government spending billions of taxpayers money for keeping people in prisons???
Did you know that US keeps more of its population in prison, than dictatorship countries? more than russia? In fact, US has more than 500% as much prisoners per capita than some western countries. It also has that much higher murder rates.
Many(MOST in world) people in prison, STILL highest murder rates!
Don't tell me i haven't seen something, and that it's this and that... i've seen a lot.
Do you think this will ever change? I think that social system in US is screwed.
Don't get me wrong, i earn very good money here(200k$)... but when i consider how much i work, spend hours in car... i don't think it's that good. HI is becoming expensive by the day. Insurance covers nothing... i pay f*ckin 1000s for it, deductibles, copays etc they suck every penny out of you.
Overall, i LIKE US in many ways, but it's one of WORST countries for kids.
Do you think that any government change will ever get rid of poverty, social problems?
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
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Our problem with crime and poverty is that no one in offfice is paying attention to it. As long as our officals can live in the suburbs and not have to be around "po folk" we'll be ridden with crime and poverty for the forseeable future.
Our problem with crime and poverty is that no one in offfice is paying attention to it. As long as our officals can live in the suburbs and not have to be around "po folk" we'll be ridden with crime and poverty for the forseeable future.
Yes, i agree... I ALSO hate this distinction bewteen classes. Have and have not's.
In US, although nobody admits this, either you're rich, go in good school, can afford chances... or you're poor and you can't. In contrary to beliefs, poor in US are VERY likely to stay poor!
Minimum salary in many W Europe countries is about 12+$/hr, including HI, benefits, maternity leave, ill leave...
What we SEE in movies, ARE the richest. Poor in US are by far worst off(social benefits, crime etc.)...
And corruption, how much do you think this is the problem?
Make no mistake... i make VERY good money, but i do CARE about problems around me. IF other people are better off, less poverty, then there is less crime, people are happier... children are better off...everyone is!
Well, we're having thousands of people sneaking in year after year finding work & getting ahead. If you cant get ahead here its most likely because you dont feel you should have to try that hard. Minimum wage dont mean much. If your ambitious you will make much more.
JMHO but our biggest problem is we pay benefits for lazyness. Why work when you can get housing & cash free as long as you dont?
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
26,699 posts, read 41,730,129 times
Reputation: 41381
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tin Knocker
Well, we're having thousands of people sneaking in year after year finding work & getting ahead. If you cant get ahead here its most likely because you dont feel you should have to try that hard. Minimum wage dont mean much. If your ambitious you will make much more.
JMHO but our biggest problem is we pay benefits for lazyness. Why work when you can get housing & cash free as long as you dont?
if our government only got this idea alone, we'd jump ahead leaps and bounds in fighting poverty. Apparently, common sense is looked down upon in today's federal government.
It's important to understand that the poor in this country are looked down upon and resented as legalized thieves every time they collect a welfare benefit. In neighborhoods of poor to mid income people, if it becomes rumored that a family has gone on welfare, it may set off a wild rock and clod throwing spree between neighborhood kids that the parents have to come out and try to stop. IF the parents brought up their children to better respect the poor like Jesus did, it may be of much help in this country.
Meanwhile, Europeans would surely get a better overall impression of America by living in the smaller cities that are doing well. There's bound to be less crime and poverty in such places.
Last edited by StillwaterTownie; 03-07-2008 at 08:08 PM..
Well, we're having thousands of people sneaking in year after year finding work & getting ahead. If you cant get ahead here its most likely because you dont feel you should have to try that hard. Minimum wage dont mean much. If your ambitious you will make much more.
JMHO but our biggest problem is we pay benefits for lazyness. Why work when you can get housing & cash free as long as you dont?
Considering that the OP comes from a place where the "benefits for lazyness" tend to be more common & generous and that according to him the poverty is far less severe over there, I'll wager he won't find this answer satisfactory.
The US, unlike many European countries, is a country where you can make your way out of poverty if you work hard enough and have the intelligence and ambition. No one will give it to you and it won't be easy, but if you bust your hump as a kid, you can get scholarships and financial aid to get an education. With an education, you have the opportunity to work hard and make a good living. Many states now have full state sponsored scholarships to the state university system for nothing more than a B grade point avg. Here in GA it's called the "Hope Scholarship" and I know similar programs exist in other states. The key is that you have to want it and work to get it.
Nothing is easy, no free lunches, and you have to take responsibility for your life. If you're lazy, stupid, and make bad choices for yourself such as taking drugs or getting pregnant as a teenager, then your life will not turn out the way you want. That's no one's fault but the individual's, and it's high time people stated taking some personal responsibility.
If the US is sooooo screwed up and such a terrible place to live, then why do millions of people continue to move here, both legally and illegally, to live under our system?
Why don't these people stay at home in their utopian paradises where they are taken care of from cradle to grave by the state?
Why do these same countries always look to America to save them from the ills of the world? I wonder what would happen if the Europeans actually spent some money on their own defense. Would they still have as much to throw around on social programs?
How did the US economy grow to be the world's biggest and most productive economy with millions of people literally waiting in line to join in the fun?
Again, people seem to be taking this personally...
I was not attacking anyone, I am an American citizen, just as you are! I hold US passport, so I am rightfully entitled to speak about things.
It seems that, every time someone says something is wrong in this society,
people speak "Why do they come"... You know why? Because, what movies show us, isn't the way Americans live.
Also, people come... some expect something else, but immigrants from third world countries are surely much better off here.
Also, it doesn't seem that everyone reads what i write... I said i earn GOOD money here, very good money. I do not need to advance, I am wealthy as it is-that depends on how you view extreme expenses you have for medical and social system here. I do work so much... and people in US generally work very much, it is "live to work" instead "work to live" philosophy.
About advancing in US society... poverty is getting worse and worse, UNINSURED numbers are spiralling, and real incomes haven't really gone up
for quite a bit of time!
Median salary in US is 31 000$. 50% earn less that that, 50% more. When you pay for childcare, HI, EVERYTHING, you are barely left with anything...
hence ZERO savings! This is 20 000Euros, which is a joke... considering you have to pay for absolutely everything here, including ever rising childcare costs, Uni, HI, disastrous social system etc.
SAVINGS? It is common in Europe to have savings, US savings are barely above zero. They were negative for some time... WHY is this?? American families can't afford to save a dime after paying for ever rising costs of everything.
crime and children- US is worst place for children, i'm sure about that... when reading all this ****, do you let your child into park, or school without fear?
Medical system- WORST medical system in western world(costs rising above inflation for more than decade!-today almost 4000$ for single person)... most expensive, riddled with fraud, bureocracy... you get sick, it's not good!
For instance, although i have a very good insurance, i still have to pay everything out of pocket. Almost 50 million have no insurance, many people can't afford to go to doctor, or repair their teeth... sometimes it's not their fault, since MANY companies are dropping HI altogether...
Should i get an illness "not mentioned in contract", i am screwed. I can sell my kidney, and slide into poverty.
If US didn't spend SO MUCH money to put ENTIRE population in prison and PUT in prison kids who smoke pot, things would improve.
NOT everything in US is bad, as i said, i came here... i EARN good money, but accounting for hidden expenses, childcare, schools etc. it eats a large amount of money.
The so called American dream is that for a small amount of people... I agree that THERE are many chances here, jobs etc.BUT there are a load of problems.
BIG problem in US is quality of life. Bad work/life balance... also, US is together with some African countries, not having ANY kind of paid maternity leave...
About minimum salary- companies pay it, NOT government. Check min salary in OZ, New Zealand, Luxembourg etc. The poor here are extremely poor... shockingly so, and in extremely large numbers.
I came... with a dream... that dream has disappointed me. Republican government, evermore cutting taxes for rich, increased poverty, uninsured, deficit... US dollar is at record low. Why? Unstable economy, people don't want dollar... exports are zero, US has become an "import colony".
Where are the good days? CEO to NORMAL salary has become 400+ times higher... "increases" to salaries are for those earning millions, normal people
don't get it.
I am not talking about utopia... I am trying to figure if anything will be ever done to solve this? It is not only about social programs... something else is wrong, too. LIKE corrupt government getting bribes from pharmas to pass laws they want...
BTW, check numbers about low median salary, US having WORST child poverty, ALL kind of poverty in western world, having WORST medical system...
dozens of sources confirm that. UN, quality of living surveys, WHO.
MOST of the world's TEN richest countries in the world are in Europe and US is NEVER on any list considering quality of life... also, you can check that US salaries aren't even close to highest(min salary is by far the lowest of all western nations-also NO benefits at all come with it). I'm not talking about people earning billions, shown on US TV, but average Joe.
I still am living here, but after years of rat race, I am considering leaving forever. My wife, US citizen also, agrees. I am just saying that people shoudl push for changes.
Last edited by fiksi; 03-08-2008 at 06:17 AM..
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