Questions for our American friends

[philll_77]

Originally Posted by charliels531

No matter what you say, it is more fun to knock up a girl in the U.S. than it is in Britain.

If we're comparing rear seat sizes between US and British cars, it would be easier in the US, but more of an acheivement in the UK.

[Decadence]

Originally Posted by diamelsx

You mean the Libya regime change does not count? What about Honduras? Syria? I guess because Obama reneged on her red line plans after she left the state dept she can't get credit for that one.

Count as what? As I recall the regime changes is Libya and Egypt left us with folks running those countries that were worse than those deposed and didn't really involve the US military. Syria? That's still on going and initially (I believe) resulted in in the US arming what became ISIS. Not exactly our finest hour.

Originally Posted by xyzde69

And the worst in this story, is that according several statitics, USA has between 46 to 50 million people living under the poverty line.

Well, it is the Huffington Post.. not exactly a bastion of objectivity. Comparing the US with a country with 10% of our population is similarly pointless.

But, it's really not a surprise. The 8 years of Obama saw 40+ year lows in the workforce participation rate; record numbers of people on extended unemployment, welfare and food stamps; and record numbers of people put on long-term disability (which is basically getting the rest of your life off).

Sorry if those people aren't making what the Huffington Post considers an income of "above the poverty rate".

Originally Posted by Motorboater

Why was the Little River Band popular over there?

THAT made me laugh. I don't know why they were popular.. their music was as close to party-killing as you could get in those days.

Originally Posted by palo5

She's known to be ruthless anyway, as witnessed by her screwing Bernie over the Democrat nomination

But I know... you're amused because you're American, live there, and quite reasonably believe you must be better informed than people who aren't and don't. I get that

However, we believe your media don't tell you everything about many important matters. So we're amused that you're amused. Long story cut short, but that's the A and O of it

Ruthless is one thing.. ruthless in terms of going after whatever benefits her, personally.. not what's best for the country.

I'll agree.. the US media is horrible about telling the whole story. Too much of it is opinion reported as news rather than fact-based objective reporting. Hence our concern that those outside the US aren't getting a true feel for what's going on and how the majority of Americans truly feel.

Let's all be amused together!

[diamelsx]

Originally Posted by Decadence

Count as what? As I recall the regime changes is Libya and Egypt left us with folks running those countries that were worse than those deposed and didn't really involve the US military.

My point is she is no liberal dove. She is quick to jump into things that real liberal would not think of touching. The results do not matter, it is the initial action I am commenting on.

Originally Posted by Decadence

Syria? That's still on going and initially (I believe) resulted in in the US arming what became ISIS. Not exactly our finest hour.

Arming our enemies has been the American way for the last couple of decades.

[Arturo2nd]

Originally Posted by Decadence

But, it's really not a surprise. The 8 years of Obama saw 40+ year lows in the workforce participation rate; record numbers of people on extended unemployment, welfare and food stamps; and record numbers of people put on long-term disability (which is basically getting the rest of your life off).

The Obama years were difficult and things continue to be difficult. He inherited an economy in total breakdown after the Bush administration presided over an orgy of bank and mortgage fraud that ultimately crashed the global economy. GW also started two wars after cutting taxes and created an explosion in the national debt. Finally, Republicans in Congress refused to cooperate with Obama and spent the entire 8 years obstructing his agenda.

Admittedly, Obama was as mediocre as most Presidents have been, which was actually a pretty decent performance given his scanty pre-election credentials. It really is very unfair to lay all the failures of his Administration at his doorstep given the mess he inherited and the the knee-jerk opposition he faced.

We should really applaud the Republican Party. With the connivance of the Democrats they have made the United States a country that pays off big time for rich people. Ronald Reagan would be very proud of his legacy.

[vinceprince]

Katrina cost $150 billion + and Houston likely to at least equal that much of it going to people who have not taken out home/flood insurance. These incidents are only going to become more common in the future.

How come most Americans seem happy about socialised flood insurance but not socialised medical care? One is entirely avoidable if you avoid building on flood vulnerable areas, illness and death is not avoidable.

If people know they will be compensated by the Gov't if they build homes in these areas and don't even have to worry about insurance then building in these areas will just increase and become an even greater burden on tax payers in the future.

[diamelsx]

Originally Posted by vinceprince

Katrina cost $150 billion + and Houston likely to at least equal that much of it going to people who have not taken out home/flood insurance. These incidents are only going to become more common in the future.

Denial can be an expensive thing.

Originally Posted by vinceprince

How come most Americans seem happy about socialised flood insurance but not socialised medical care? One is entirely avoidable if you avoid building on flood vulnerable areas, illness and death is not avoidable.

Aid is not insurance the cost to rebuild or relocate is still going to be mostly paid by the homeowners. In Houston a lot of the damage were not in flood zones so they probably saw that as a unnecessary expense.

Originally Posted by vinceprince

If people know they will be compensated by the Gov't if they build homes in these areas and don't even have to worry about insurance then building in these areas will just increase and become an even greater burden on tax payers in the future.

there are caps on aid that fall well short of the expense of rebuilding. Also even if you do have flood insurance it is no guarantee that you will be made whole, companies can be shady.

[Arturo2nd]

Originally Posted by vinceprince

Katrina cost $150 billion + and Houston likely to at least equal that much of it going to people who have not taken out home/flood insurance. These incidents are only going to become more common in the future.

How come most Americans seem happy about socialised flood insurance but not socialised medical care? One is entirely avoidable if you avoid building on flood vulnerable areas, illness and death is not avoidable.

If people know they will be compensated by the Gov't if they build homes in these areas and don't even have to worry about insurance then building in these areas will just increase and become an even greater burden on tax payers in the future.

There are those of us who think it is idiotic to provide flood relief to people who choose to live in homes built on swamps (i.e., Houston) or in the flood plains of rivers. Mostly these folks do not have flood insurance, because any rational insurance company will charge a premium that reflects the near certainty of flooding. Houston floods every year. It is only the magnitude that is variable.

Recent polling is showing a shift in public opinion. Most Americans have come to accept the desirability of a single payer system that guarantees access to health care for all. Unfortunately, Republican congressmen and those who are reaping enormous profits from the current travesty of a system are adherents of the minority opinion.

It will be interesting to see if the voters can actually gain control of the United States government or if a descent into chaos and bloodshed is inevitable.

[Motorboater]

Originally Posted by Decadence

THAT made me laugh. I don't know why they were popular.. their music was as close to party-killing as you could get in those days.

!

For a long time. I thought they were a band that was popular only in Australia.

But no!

Hang on! Help is on its way. I'll be there as fast as I can!

[Decadence]

Originally Posted by Brian249x

The Obama years were difficult and things continue to be difficult. He inherited an economy in total breakdown after the Bush administration presided over an orgy of bank and mortgage fraud that ultimately crashed the global economy. GW also started two wars after cutting taxes and created an explosion in the national debt. Finally, Republicans in Congress refused to cooperate with Obama and spent the entire 8 years obstructing his agenda.

Admittedly, Obama was as mediocre as most Presidents have been, which was actually a pretty decent performance given his scanty pre-election credentials. It really is very unfair to lay all the failures of his Administration at his doorstep given the mess he inherited and the the knee-jerk opposition he faced.

We should really applaud the Republican Party. With the connivance of the Democrats they have made the United States a country that pays off big time for rich people. Ronald Reagan would be very proud of his legacy.

Well.. Obama had both houses of congress his first two years in office.. and still didn't pass a budget. It was only after the passage of Obamacare that the Dems lost both houses and eventually the presidency.

My issue with Obama was he actively recruited people to sign up for food stamps and other forms of relief. Between that, the cash giveaways, Obamaphones, etc., it seemed like his mission was to have as many people dependent on the government as possible. I wasn't a fan of that mentality.

Don't give me wrong, I hold the republicans in nearly equal contempt. In the last few years they have proven to be the most inept, impotent elected group of do-nothing bureaucrats I can remember. Always an excuse. "If only..."

[Puhbear69]

Remember Obama has inherited the mortgage crisis with a big recession (world wide !) after it from his predecessor at his first years. Several pension funds have gone bankrupt too at this time, because of their hazardous funding. And it could have come worthier if he didn't act like he did.

And once more: the Obama care was once planed at first as a state insurance. A state insurance (like the English have) is not forced to make money, they are only working for keeping their balance between the costs and the income.

But there was sadly no majority for this solutions (Republicans & some of the Democrats too !) and they gave "Obama care" to the sector of private insurances. Better than nothing Obama might have thought (... I don't know).

Private insurances are having well paid CEO's, are having shareholders who are want to make money ... must I explain more ? -> increasing the Costs !!!