For my 1K post I wanted to do something a little different, and have been thinking about this for a good month now. If you just want some nice booby pics, I can't do any better than you'll find Here. However if you are ready for something interesting and fun, join me in giving your opinion on the three worst problems with America.
I find it really intriguing how such differing opinions exist about one countries' problems. Hopefully our ranking of the issues here will shed some light on what the smart ppl of the world really think about our problems, and how much we agree.
Let's say you find a Genie who will grant you exactly three wishes, but only three wishes that solve some major problem with America. (Damn specific Genie, I know.) You've got three magical wishes to make America as 'perfect' as possible. You just have to name the three exact problems for the Genie to make dissapear. (In other words, let's not bicker about the varied trade-offs of making these wishes.)
Here are my 3 wishes for the USA, in order of importance:
1. Corporate control of the Government through Lobbying.
This would solve so many problems that so many scary documentaries like Food Inc. and Gasland point out... We'd have far better Medicine, better products, a more stable economy with less outsourcing, policians whose hands are untied and can really solve your issues for a change, etc, etc... It would solve a large percentage of the overall problems with the USA just by stopping corporations from lobbying our lawmakers.
All of the other problems I bitch about regularly here on this forum, including Credit & debt, Taxes, oil versus solar or Nuclear power, and Health Care, all really fall under Problem #1 as far as I'm concerned. If only we could get every American to watch Centurty of the Self and know how this problem is at the root of all evils in the USA. It makes all political problems here look like two kids fighting over the last cookie.
2. Educational unimportance.
Although education starts AT HOME, not just in the classrooms, the amount of care America puts into it's educational system is staggeringly low, on par with many, many 3rd-world countries, and NOT on par with any other 1st world countries. -Solving this problem would allow us to create smarter citizens that want to make something of themselves and the world around them, instead of winding up on welfare or in prison. And speaking of prison...
3. Prison profiteering.
The percentage of America in the prison system is larger than any other countries' percentage on Earth. Why? It is profitable for industries to keep them there, at a loss to the taxpayer, naturally. Sadly, the effects of treating our criminals like this only makes them WORSE criminals, not better, and the cycle grows and grows until most of the nation is in cell block A. Not cool.
Many liberals argue that the prison problems here are all solved when you solve the education system problem... I disagree. There is an Industry built to take advantage of prisoners, (and the taxpayers) and this means the corporations will continue to force cops to keep prisons full. Even if that problem is solved by both wishes 1 & 2 being granted, our mindset needs to change greatly on how to treat a criminal... Like Norway does it, for instance. Seems too liberal for us now, but would work fine if Wish #1 was granted.
What are YOUR three worst Problems with the USA to be wished away? (Foreigners feel free to join in & criticize away!)
I find it really intriguing how such differing opinions exist about one countries' problems. Hopefully our ranking of the issues here will shed some light on what the smart ppl of the world really think about our problems, and how much we agree.
Let's say you find a Genie who will grant you exactly three wishes, but only three wishes that solve some major problem with America. (Damn specific Genie, I know.) You've got three magical wishes to make America as 'perfect' as possible. You just have to name the three exact problems for the Genie to make dissapear. (In other words, let's not bicker about the varied trade-offs of making these wishes.)
Here are my 3 wishes for the USA, in order of importance:
1. Corporate control of the Government through Lobbying.
This would solve so many problems that so many scary documentaries like Food Inc. and Gasland point out... We'd have far better Medicine, better products, a more stable economy with less outsourcing, policians whose hands are untied and can really solve your issues for a change, etc, etc... It would solve a large percentage of the overall problems with the USA just by stopping corporations from lobbying our lawmakers.
All of the other problems I bitch about regularly here on this forum, including Credit & debt, Taxes, oil versus solar or Nuclear power, and Health Care, all really fall under Problem #1 as far as I'm concerned. If only we could get every American to watch Centurty of the Self and know how this problem is at the root of all evils in the USA. It makes all political problems here look like two kids fighting over the last cookie.
2. Educational unimportance.
Although education starts AT HOME, not just in the classrooms, the amount of care America puts into it's educational system is staggeringly low, on par with many, many 3rd-world countries, and NOT on par with any other 1st world countries. -Solving this problem would allow us to create smarter citizens that want to make something of themselves and the world around them, instead of winding up on welfare or in prison. And speaking of prison...
3. Prison profiteering.
The percentage of America in the prison system is larger than any other countries' percentage on Earth. Why? It is profitable for industries to keep them there, at a loss to the taxpayer, naturally. Sadly, the effects of treating our criminals like this only makes them WORSE criminals, not better, and the cycle grows and grows until most of the nation is in cell block A. Not cool.
Many liberals argue that the prison problems here are all solved when you solve the education system problem... I disagree. There is an Industry built to take advantage of prisoners, (and the taxpayers) and this means the corporations will continue to force cops to keep prisons full. Even if that problem is solved by both wishes 1 & 2 being granted, our mindset needs to change greatly on how to treat a criminal... Like Norway does it, for instance. Seems too liberal for us now, but would work fine if Wish #1 was granted.
What are YOUR three worst Problems with the USA to be wished away? (Foreigners feel free to join in & criticize away!)
