Why do so many people want America to be like Europe?

Considering 3/4 of Americans do not even own a passport, I am willing to bet you fall into this category. Now, how can anyone who has never stepped foot outside the US, or even lived in another country, European or not, make such blanket statements?

Here are a few facts you may find interesting.

1) USA ranking on Literacy scale: #9

(#1 Sweden and #2 Norway) OECD

2) USA ranking on health care quality index: #37

(#1 France and #2 Italy) World health organization

3) USA ranking of student reading ability: #12

(#1 Finland and #2 South Korea) OECD PISA

4) USA ranking of student problem solving ability: #26

(#1 South Korea and #2 Finland) OECD PISA

5) USA Ranking on student mathematics ability : #24

(#1 Hong Kong and #2 Finland) OECD PISA

6)USA ranking of student science ability: #19

(#1 Finland and #2 Japan) OECD PISA

7) USA ranking on women's rights scale: #17

(#1 Sweden and #2 Norway) World economic forum report

8)USA ranking on life expectancy: #29

(#1 Japan and #2 Hong Kong) UN human development report

9) USA ranking on journalistic press freedom index: #32

(#1 Finland, Iceland, Norway and the Netherlands tied) Reporters without borders.

10) USA ranking on political corruption index: #17

( #1 Iceland and #2 Finland) Transparency international

11) USA ranking on quality of life survey: #13

(#1 Ireland and #2 Switzerland) The economist magazine

12) USA ranking on environmental sustainability index: #45

( #1 Finland and #2 Norway) Yale university

13) USA ranking on infant mortality rate: #32

( #1 Sweden and #2 Finland) Save the children report

14) USA ranking on human development index: (GDP, education, etc) #10

(#1 Norway and #2 Iceland) UN human development report

Another myth:

Denmark gives the most of its GDP (1.01%) to developing countries: Norway

gives 0.91%: The Netherlands give 0.79% and so on until the end of the list, where

the USA sits. Yes the USA ranks DEAD LAST in foreign aid at the pathetic 0.1% of

its GDP, compared to the other 21 nations listed as developed nations. The idea that

the US government is a heroic bunch that runs around the world helping the poor and

the ddis-empoweredis not backed up by the evidence. We have one of the stingiest

governments on Earth.

Most Americans believe the US spends 24% of its budget on aid to poor countries:

the actual amount is well under a quarter of 1%. Our country also ranks #5 on the

asylum-seeker acceptance rates (#1 is Denmark and #2 is Canada)

Just some food for thought. I guess these are just a few of the reasons why any other country, much less a European one, would want to be like America.

Donna

Europe

for a start Europe has repaid every single cent lent to it by the US in the war, in fact the UK made it's last payment in 2005. (and you cut off all aid to the UK in 1946, so you certainly didn't rebuild anything there)

then we have the fact that while SOME Americans live very good standards of living,

most of you don't,

(90% of the wealth of america is in the hands of 10% of it's citizens, the other 90% can bask in the reflected glory but still get to worry about bills)

you have the highest percentage of people living below the international poverty line than any other 1st world nation,

you have the largest percentage of population in jail of any nation outside of communist dictatorships, this matches your insane levels of crime (the closest a european nation has come to an american murder rate, was northern ireland in the early 1990's when they were almost in civil war!)

you have the highest illiteracy rate in the first world,

the highest percentage of single parents and the highest percentage of teenage pregnancy.

you spend twice as much per GDP on your healthcare than most other nations yet somehow only manage to be 37th on the world lists of best healthcares.

your nation is one of the most polluted on earth with only 3rd world junkyards beating you.

your democracy is basic and limited, with only two parties to choose from - your either one or the other, most other countries like to have a bit of choice and get a wide range of views

your legal system is based on the richer you are the more you can get away with.

your business style, paid for Hitlers and Japans rearmament in the 1930's, (you were still giving money to Hitler in 1940!! and Japan until 1941!) which then lead to millions of deaths, (since then you have done nothing but moan about having to save the day - from a mess you helped make in the first place)

your business style paid for communist china to come into existence, who in turn repaid you by causing the deaths of thousands of young americans in both korea and vietnam.

you bankrolled Saddam's army in the 1980's, (that didn't turn out well, did it)

and lets not its forget your business style that paid for the taliban, (who i suspect still have not repaid you yet)

and your the fattest nation on earth with one of the lowest life expectancies.

personally i too wonder why more people don't try the American way.

Whoa... you lost me after ..'They are living a lifestyle lesser than ours'....

A person like you does not want an answer, you just want idiots to agree with you.

Let America be what it wants to be, and let Europe do fine as usual.

I am American and Live in Europe.

The ''Marshall Plan'' to rebuild europe after WW2 was not offered full of expectations of a quick payback. The USA has a 3 trillion dollar debt it has not ''paid back''. Tell me again how '..American Capitalism, ...we do better..'

You conveniently forgot to mention all the European disaster Relief Organizations, Doctors Without Frontiers, and the economic strength of the British Pound and the EURO.

How much money did Europe pledge after the Sunami? Beaucoup!!

How many rescue teams did Europe send to earthquake zones in Turkey and Haiti, along with America ? Muchos amigo.

Have you ever been to Europe? No.

RONALD.... isn't your last name McDONALD?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/46/Rona...

JAJAJAJA Ignorant, Europeans dont have to worry about a lot of things we do and their economy is waaaaaaaay stronger, they dont owe as much money as we do and there is racism but not as mucn as here, the only reason why so many people from mexico wants to be here is because is closer, BUT, now we have a great realistic president , i hope Obama have enough time to fix so much problems left by Republicans

The US is pretty much behind as far as science education and energy saving is concerned. I haven't seen as badly insulated houses as in the US. And it's not an accident that's where the Hummer was built... Compare fuel efficiency of US and European cars. Look at where regenerative energy research happens.

The US business style brought the housing bust and worldwide recession. Do we really want to adopt this business style worldwide?

Have you ever traveled to Europe?

I'd like to first start out by saying that saying that claiming Europeans have a better lifestyle than Americans is open to debate. That is a matter of opinion. This would highly depend on the part of Europe and the certainly the part of the U.S. too. Europeans have the natural advantage of having so much of western cultures historical arts (ex. the Vatican) there. There are also so many more languages and cultures to study. The U.S. is one culture (despite people exaggerating about sub-cultural differences). People claim it is a mesh of so many cultures. Yet we are a monolingual society where 90%+ of our citizens born here can't handle learning a second language. This is embarrassing in the developed world. I am an American studying French telling you that.

No one is disputing the generosity of the U.S. You could say the same of Europeans or other regions too. There are histories in both places not to be proud of too. What makes you believe capitalism truly achieves a great lifestyle? Do you not realize socialized programs exist in the U.S. too? Who pays teachers, cops and fireman? Taxes. Where do those taxes come from? The people. That is a form of socialism. What about soldiers salaries and benefits? Or your grandparents social security and medicare? Or your uncle's union that protects his job? Each functional society is a mix of capitalism and socialism. Europeans practice capitalism too. There are distinctions between rich and poor there too. The difference is they have more adequate social programs to protect the average worker. Are you telling me you'd apologize for having 4-5 weeks vacation after just starting full time at McDonalds?

Where are you getting your information from? Your biased opinion? All of Europe was not in shambles after WWII. The United Kingdom and the Soviet Union won the war too. Britain's geographic isolation from mainland Europe prevented it from getting destroyed. The Soviet Union simply ripped the Nazis a new one once they unwisely attacked them on their soil. Following WWII, Germany was divided up into 4 territories (French, British, American, Soviet). The French, British and Americans consolidated into west Germany and Soviet into east Germany. The Soviet influence in eastern Europe was much more heavy than American influence in western Europe ever would become. Western Europeans adapted quickly after WWII just like the Japanese. They went back to their lives and prosperity came slowly. The U.S. shouldn't be discredited from their aid. But it'd be wrong to say western Europeans couldn't have survived without them.

Who are these ''so many people'' you speak of? Most Americans are either anti-European or simply indifferent on them. They don't want to be like Europeans. Many Americans even pride their simpleness. Even though I don't like the jingoism over the government, or the judgemental, stereotypical and widespread unintellectual nature of most of the rest of my citizens, I respect their patriotism. We are our own country with our own identity and we don't need the rest of the world to determine that for us. We should practice that same ideology when respecting the rest of the world.

I know your type. American could never be wrong. As long as you have clothes, you're not starving and have your video games, no one could possibly have a higher lifestyle than yours. You resent the idea of others not being like yourself. Your type in this country seems to get into it with Canadians on the same issue.

I wish more Americans would travel and live internationally like Europeans and Canadians so they could develop an informed opinion. Trust me, the world is a more interesting place to see where you are walking on someone elses soil than it is watching videos or listening to Rush Limbaugh on the radio.

I'd like to know how many Europeans you have actually met. And of those few, how many have called you arrogant.

It seems like you are basing your argument purely on cliches. Maybe you need to think for yourself.

Also, I'd quite like to know exactly how the European lifestyle is lesser than the American one.

I don't know. I just know why so many people don't want Europe to be like America.