Is the US becoming a "Third World" Country?

[rdean]

Is America becoming a “Third World” country? I believe it is.

1. After Sputnik, America became concerned that a Soviet Satellite was right over our heads and moved towards and promoted science as a way to fight back. It was vital to our future as a country. Sputnik was a danger that was "right there" and over us day and night.

Well, lately, it hasn’t worked out very well. Many areas of science are no longer taught in lower and middle schools because the schools just don't have the money to "fight the controversy". By ridiculing entire branches of science, some have created a "controversy" out of "mysticism" and made scientists seem either untrustworthy, lying or some kind of "elitist" with an "agenda".
Many don’t see the need for higher education because they believe that "Jesus" will save us. Sounds very “Third World”. Religion is replacing education.

2. Check out the free health clinic setting up shop in LA at the Forum that lasted for a few days. The organizers of this event usually set up shop in Africa or India. But in LA? In California? Who would show up? Turns out thousands. Turns out they had to turn people away.

People spending the night sleeping on sidewalks to get free medical care? In America?

Seeing a little girl getting free glasses. If she didn't get for free there, she wouldn't get any? People saying that the alternative to this health care is "pain"? In America?

This wasn’t “illegals”. This was American families. Many have jobs. They just can’t afford insurance. Some people were seeing the dentist for the first time in years. Even though many were turned away because there were so many, they didn’t scream. They didn’t call names. They were polite and orderly and thankful.

But the question is, "Why would we need to set something up like this in the first place"?

3. Many of our jobs have moved overseas. We are becoming this huge, uneducated labor pool.

So yes, I believe that we are becoming a Third World country. I wish someone could explain how we aren’t.

 

[eagleseven]

No, and for an easy reason: capital.

No other country in the world has the capital reserves of America, and so no other country has the capability to grow and rebound as the US does. We're hurting now, as we are in a depression, but the potential for rebound is there.


That is assuming, of course, that Obama doesn't fuck up the capital exchanges, which he is actively doing in the name of equality.

 

[rdean]

No, and for an easy reason: capital.

No other country in the world has the capital reserves of America, and so no other country has the capability to grow and rebound as the US does. We're hurting now, as we are in a depression, but the potential for rebound is there.


That is assuming, of course, that Obama doesn't fuck up the capital exchanges, which he is actively doing in the name of equality.

capital reserve

Definition From Business Dictionary:

Resource created by the accumulated capital surplus (not revenue surplus) of a firm (I’m assuming in this case a country), such as by an upward revaluation of its assets to reflect their current market value after appreciation. Allocating such sums to capital reserve means they are permanently invested and will not be paid as dividends.

So the fact that we have a dwindling educated labor force. Our debt is growing. We have nothing to sell. We make nothing. We are losing the capacity to "compete". But somehow we "rebound"? Not sure I follow.

 

[editec]

Feudal societies don't need (indeed, even want!) a well educated population. So why pay for one?

As science is becoming increasing beyond the reach of many of us, and as machines, and algorhym replace many of the jobs that humans once did, an increasing number of us will become worse than off (or at least less worth in the eyes of society) than feudal peasants.

Many of us become outsiders in the cities and in the country. Our apparently permanent underclass are already at that state. and we have the prisons to prove it, too.

The path will always be there, I suspect, for the best and brightest to achive, indeed, even to migrate from class obscuity to the upper echlons of society.

But increasing the best and brightest will need fewer and fewer of us.

As to what has happened to the social sciences?

Well, the leadership class would prefer that those squeaky wheels would just stop turning, altogether, with the notable except of the criminal justice sciences.

The law, particularly law enforcement, will continue to invade our lives, of course.

Oligarchies are fearful of the populations which host them. We'll have to be kept in line.

If the masters elect to continue making their base of operations, then the USA will continue to have some FIRST world things going for it: a crackerjack military, plenty of cops, a thriving prison industry.

America will be what it is today...a mixed world nation...where some of us live on the margins of third worldism, and a lucky few live in Techno-Camelot.

 

[garyd]

Mr. Dean you are an idiot. You advertise free anything and you'll have people camping out in the parking lot to get some I don't care if it's healthcare or concert tickets.

We have poor quality education because 30 years ago the leftist NEA decide it would be better to teach kids what to think rather than how to think.

 

[Sinatra]

Mr. Dean you are an idiot. You advertise free anything and you'll have people camping out in the parking lot to get some I don't care if it's healthcare or concert tickets.

We have poor quality education because 30 years ago the leftist NEA decide it would be better to teach kids what to think rather than how to think.

You are right in my wheelhouse here and absolutely right - unfortunately.

Our education system is a mess - and has been so for some time.

The top 20% in this country prop up the rest - but with an increasingly burdensome tax system, the foundation for this model is cracking badly.

If the so-called American poor think they have it bad now, wait until the top 20% give up and move on, or join their ranks. (some of this movement is already underway)

A new tax revolution is in order - free up the American market - job creation - wealth creation, etc. Why are companies moving overseas? Simple - the cost of doing business in America has become so much the diminishing returns make it more feasible to ship those jobs elsewhere.

Smaller government, lower taxes - that is the only hope for this country to move beyond the current stagnation and emerge with the economic opportunies available to all those willing to work, that we for so long once stood for...

 

[tigerbob]

Is America becoming a “Third World” country? I believe it is.

1. After Sputnik, America became concerned that a Soviet Satellite was right over our heads and moved towards and promoted science as a way to fight back. It was vital to our future as a country. Sputnik was a danger that was "right there" and over us day and night.

Well, lately, it hasn’t worked out very well. Many areas of science are no longer taught in lower and middle schools because the schools just don't have the money to "fight the controversy". By ridiculing entire branches of science, some have created a "controversy" out of "mysticism" and made scientists seem either untrustworthy, lying or some kind of "elitist" with an "agenda".
Many don’t see the need for higher education because they believe that "Jesus" will save us. Sounds very “Third World”. Religion is replacing education.

2. Check out the free health clinic setting up shop in LA at the Forum that lasted for a few days. The organizers of this event usually set up shop in Africa or India. But in LA? In California? Who would show up? Turns out thousands. Turns out they had to turn people away.

People spending the night sleeping on sidewalks to get free medical care? In America?

Seeing a little girl getting free glasses. If she didn't get for free there, she wouldn't get any? People saying that the alternative to this health care is "pain"? In America?

This wasn’t “illegals”. This was American families. Many have jobs. They just can’t afford insurance. Some people were seeing the dentist for the first time in years. Even though many were turned away because there were so many, they didn’t scream. They didn’t call names. They were polite and orderly and thankful.

But the question is, "Why would we need to set something up like this in the first place"?

3. Many of our jobs have moved overseas. We are becoming this huge, uneducated labor pool.

So yes, I believe that we are becoming a Third World country. I wish someone could explain how we aren’t.

I thought the term was now obsolete.

 

[oreo]

This country will not become a socialist country IF? we can stop Obama. Obama's plans are obvious. Most recently a take-over of health care industry in this country--in a direct attack on private sector medical insurance companies.

Government is not suppose to "compete" with the private sector--they instead can inact laws that protect citizens from ruthless private sector practices.

"The problem with socialism is that government eventually runs out of other peoples money to spend." Margaret Thatcher.

 

[garyd]

Not quite Bob there is still a second world granted it only consists of North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela everyone else including China and Russia having pretty much given up on Marx and Engels bastard child.

 

[Sinatra]

This country will not become a socialist country IF? we can stop Obama. Obama's plans are obvious. Most recently a take-over of health care industry in this country--in a direct attack on private sector medical insurance companies.

Government is not suppose to "compete" with the private sector--they instead can inact laws that protect citizens from ruthless private sector practices.

"The problem with socialism is that government eventually runs out of other peoples money to spend." Margaret Thatcher.

Your Thatcher quote is spot on. There has been a positive review of Thatcher underway in Great Britain in recent years. It has been in vogue to diminish and mock her conservative ideals for some time, but of late, her status is emerging much improved. Britain, like much of Western Europe, grows weary under the yoke of economic stagnation and ever increasing immigration concerns that have become the hallmarks of the the modern liberal legacy...

 

[oreo]

This country will not become a socialist country IF? we can stop Obama. Obama's plans are obvious. Most recently a take-over of health care industry in this country--in a direct attack on private sector medical insurance companies.

Government is not suppose to "compete" with the private sector--they instead can inact laws that protect citizens from ruthless private sector practices.

"The problem with socialism is that government eventually runs out of other peoples money to spend." Margaret Thatcher.

Your Thatcher quote is spot on. There has been a positive review of Thatcher underway in Great Britain in recent years. It has been in vogue to diminish and mock her conservative ideals for some time, but of late, her status is emerging much improved. Britain, like much of Western Europe, grows weary under the yoke of economic stagnation and ever increasing immigration concerns that have become the hallmarks of the the modern liberal legacy...

Margaret Thatcher was a great friend of Ronald Reagan--both truly conservatives--that believed in smaller government so that the people could prosper in the free markets.

I don't know what's happened to this country since those times--but we have continually moved to the left ever since.

With Obama & this congress in power--it's punish success while rewarding failure.

If not stopped this will eat at the core of this country & eventually destroy it.

 

[Sinatra]

This country will not become a socialist country IF? we can stop Obama. Obama's plans are obvious. Most recently a take-over of health care industry in this country--in a direct attack on private sector medical insurance companies.

Government is not suppose to "compete" with the private sector--they instead can inact laws that protect citizens from ruthless private sector practices.

"The problem with socialism is that government eventually runs out of other peoples money to spend." Margaret Thatcher.

Your Thatcher quote is spot on. There has been a positive review of Thatcher underway in Great Britain in recent years. It has been in vogue to diminish and mock her conservative ideals for some time, but of late, her status is emerging much improved. Britain, like much of Western Europe, grows weary under the yoke of economic stagnation and ever increasing immigration concerns that have become the hallmarks of the the modern liberal legacy...

Margaret Thatcher was a great friend of Ronald Reagan--both truly conservatives--that believed in smaller government so that the people could prosper in the free markets.

I don't know what's happened to this country since those times--but we have continually moved to the left ever since.

With Obama & this congress in power--it's punish success while rewarding failure.

If not stopped this will eat at the core of this country & eventually destroy it.

GW Bush was not a true conservative, nor were many Congressional Republicans during that era. As such, the choice for Americans this last presidential election came down to soft conservatism vs a smiling smooth talking candidate of color. Many Americans, weary of the Bush years, either made a feel-good legacy vote, or failed to vote at all. McCain was a horrid candidate, apologetic for the conservative legacy, while at the same time hopfeful of the conservative support needed to secure a victory.

Such elections are often bellwethers for actual political growth and change though - real change in direction, not the smiling empty change of Obama.

I am hopeful that Americans are once again looking for a true conservative to lead them from this dangerous mess of a liberal wilderness...

 

[oreo]

Your Thatcher quote is spot on. There has been a positive review of Thatcher underway in Great Britain in recent years. It has been in vogue to diminish and mock her conservative ideals for some time, but of late, her status is emerging much improved. Britain, like much of Western Europe, grows weary under the yoke of economic stagnation and ever increasing immigration concerns that have become the hallmarks of the the modern liberal legacy...

Margaret Thatcher was a great friend of Ronald Reagan--both truly conservatives--that believed in smaller government so that the people could prosper in the free markets.

I don't know what's happened to this country since those times--but we have continually moved to the left ever since.

With Obama & this congress in power--it's punish success while rewarding failure.

If not stopped this will eat at the core of this country & eventually destroy it.

GW Bush was not a true conservative, nor were many Congressional Republicans during that era. As such, the choice for Americans this last presidential election came down to soft conservatism vs a smiling smooth talking candidate of color. Many Americans, weary of the Bush years, either made a feel-good legacy vote, or failed to vote at all. McCain was a horrid candidate, apologetic for the conservative legacy, while at the same time hopfeful of the conservative support needed to secure a victory.

Such elections are often bellwethers for actual political growth and change though - real change in direction, not the smiling empty change of Obama.

I am hopeful that Americans are once again looking for a true conservative to lead them from this dangerous mess of a liberal wilderness...

DITTO--It's not that conservative Americans left that big tent of conservatism--it's that those republican politicians left that tent. In a futile effort to agree with the left--we had John McCain a moderate.

When the RNC figures out that conservatives really won't vote for moderates--then maybe we'll get a true conservative for our nominee.

I don't know why we have to continually remind people that Ronald Reagan won in a 49 state landslide? It's because 60% of the American population consider themselves to be conservative.

 

[Ringel05]

Mr. Dean you are an idiot. You advertise free anything and you'll have people camping out in the parking lot to get some I don't care if it's healthcare or concert tickets.

We have poor quality education because 30 years ago the leftist NEA decide it would be better to teach kids what to think rather than how to think.

You are right in my wheelhouse here and absolutely right - unfortunately.

Our education system is a mess - and has been so for some time.

The top 20% in this country prop up the rest - but with an increasingly burdensome tax system, the foundation for this model is cracking badly.

If the so-called American poor think they have it bad now, wait until the top 20% give up and move on, or join their ranks. (some of this movement is already underway)

A new tax revolution is in order - free up the American market - job creation - wealth creation, etc. Why are companies moving overseas? Simple - the cost of doing business in America has become so much the diminishing returns make it more feasible to ship those jobs elsewhere.

Smaller government, lower taxes - that is the only hope for this country to move beyond the current stagnation and emerge with the economic opportunies available to all those willing to work, that we for so long once stood for...

Unfortunately the (primarily public) education system was flawed from the start. Modern primary education's rise coincided with that of the industrial age, mainly structured to teach children how to be good employees. (Funny how for decades we were the only country that did not teach it's own economic system to it's young). It took most of our colleges and universities a bit longer to dumb down to that level.
Thankfully there has been a resurgence by some higher educational providers during the past two decades to apply a much more rounded "classical" education (including our economic system), the type of education that taught people how, not what to think.

 

[Epsilon Delta]

I don't know about "becoming" but in terms of its health and public education system, the US has always been curious because their systems operate more like those in the Third World than those of other industrialized countries.

 

[veritas]

No, and for an easy reason: capital.

No other country in the world has the capital reserves of America, and so no other country has the capability to grow and rebound as the US does. We're hurting now, as we are in a depression, but the potential for rebound is there.


That is assuming, of course, that Obama doesn't fuck up the capital exchanges, which he is actively doing in the name of equality.

Where is this alleged capital now? I'm really interested to know where it is stored.

 

[KittenKoder]

Re OP: It is possible, I see the changes in that direction everyday, but I doubt it's likely, as a populace too many of us are now beginning to resist those changes.

 

[JakeStarkey]

No, and for an easy reason: capital.

No other country in the world has the capital reserves of America, and so no other country has the capability to grow and rebound as the US does. We're hurting now, as we are in a depression, but the potential for rebound is there.


That is assuming, of course, that Obama doesn't fuck up the capital exchanges, which he is actively doing in the name of equality.

Where is this alleged capital now? I'm really interested to know where it is stored.

KittenKoder with cantip with the capital in the capitol.

 

[tigerbob]

No, and for an easy reason: capital.

No other country in the world has the capital reserves of America, and so no other country has the capability to grow and rebound as the US does. We're hurting now, as we are in a depression, but the potential for rebound is there.


That is assuming, of course, that Obama doesn't fuck up the capital exchanges, which he is actively doing in the name of equality.

Where is this alleged capital now? I'm really interested to know where it is stored.

KittenKoder with cantip with the capital in the capitol.

Miss Scarlet with the rope in the kitchen.

 

[editec]

Capital is going to save us from becoming a third world nation?

Are you serious?