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ThePrem t1_ixz0fws wrote

“The USA is a third world country”

I think people forget the standard of living is just higher here. Someone in lower middle class/ poverty in the US generally has a better quality of living than most other countries. Not comparing apples to oranges until you look at something like this.

Im also not sure things like cost of living are included in this comparison

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Zagacity t1_ixz5l7b wrote

Well, I understand that you could believe this but this generally isn’t true.

Poor is always relative to the currency of the same country.

Maybe a poor person in the USA would be considers rich in South Asia or west africa. Bit the poor us Citizen neither works abroad nor can he afford to travel.

Also are there more criteria’s aside from income. Health systems, infrastructure, education.

While it is definitely true that the income per capita in USA is one of the highest, the USA lacks definitely at more than one of the other fields.

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macdelamemes t1_iy2shrh wrote

Exactly. Bottom 10% in the US make 4k USD/year. 300 dollars in the US means you don't have enough to rent even the cheapest shitty room in a big city, let alone afford food, transportation, healthcare etc.

Meanwhile 300 dollars per month in Brazil for example, while being far from ideal, will probably be enough to get you a roof over your head and enough cheap food, meaning you'll be poor but not homeless.

Doesn't mean Brazil is better than the US, but it's nonsense to compare income distribution without taking into acount purchasing power parity

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40for60 t1_iy3ppgf wrote

The bottom 10% would not be people in the work force or primary earners. More like part time people and people on goverment assistance. Poverty in the US is classified as anyone who can't participate in normal activities not people who can't buy food and clothing. Also because the US doesn't have a VAT and the sales taxes are low the PPP is actually much higher then just about all countries.

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macdelamemes t1_iy3ulkn wrote

I don't know if you know what PPP is bit it's definitely not much higher in the US than it is in just about all countries. https://data.oecd.org/conversion/purchasing-power-parities-ppp.htm

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40for60 t1_iy3vj9n wrote

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)_per_capita

Yes it is and on top of the PPP the US doesn't have a VAT so the consumption tax revenue is 50% less then most all of the other OECD's while the income taxes on the top earners are higher. PPP is not a issue in the US neither are social safety nets for the very poor. The US system favors flexibility and a progressive tax system over security and a regressive tax system.

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macdelamemes t1_iy45ind wrote

Again I don't think you understand what we're talking about... This is a link to GDP PPP. I'm not saying the US sucks I'm just saying 100 dollars in the US buys less stuff than 100 dollars in Indonesia.

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40for60 t1_iy45raq wrote

and you earn a lot less in Indonesia, great to go visit with your US income but hardly a demonstration of buying power for a citizen from Indonesia.

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Ikkon t1_ixz7u9a wrote

As far as education is concerned, America always ranks as one of the best countries in the world, both when rating public schools and higher education institutions. In case of the later, America is rated MUCH higher than any country other than the UK. America has the most prestigious universities in the world, even smaller American school rank higher than top universities in other countries. Life expectancy is one of the weaker aspects of America, but still, it ranks as above average on the global scale. And I don't understand the infrastructure aspect. Besides passenger rail, most of American infrastructure is great.

America as a whole ranges from being the best to being above average. Comparing it to a third world country in any way is simply incorrect

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folstar t1_ixzn7az wrote

Public education? We don't crack the top 20 and it is getting worse.

Life expectancy. Kind of funny to use the global scale instead of comparing to other OECD countries, especially while claiming NOT a third-world country. Then add in our voracious health spending while leaving people without basic care. It's not a pretty picture.

Infrastructure. Besides passenger rail... cycling, walking, buses, and everything else that isn't a car.

Funny enough, these three all have something in common. We spend a shitload of money on each for worse outcomes. But since $ big, we call it a win- USA! USA! USA!

https://www.businessinsider.com/us-ranks-27th-for-healthcare-and-education-2018-9

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Ikkon t1_ixzxmbp wrote

When it comes to education in OECD, the US ranked 19th in students skills, ahead of France and Spain and just behind Norway. And the difference between the highest rated countries are tiny. America scored 495, Austria 491, France 494, Norway 497, the UK 503, and the best country is Estonia at 526. So American students perform at the same level as western European students. For comparison, Mexico scored 416 and South Africa 390.

When it comes to educational attainment, so population with at least upper-secondary education, America scored 8th, ahead of Finland, Switzerland and Germany and on par with Canada.

https://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/topics/education/

>Kind of funny to use the global scale instead of comparing to other OECD countries

Because when you state a country is a "third world country" you have to actually compare it to third world countries. By being well above global average the country cannot be a third world country. When it comes to life expectancy America is on par with Eastern EU, which is still one of the richest regions in the world.

Life expectancy in America is 78.9 years, the average for central Europe is 77.27 years, and the average for the entire EU is 80.5. Japan, the highest rated OECD member is at 84.4. World average is 72.75, and DR Congo, an actual third world country, is at 60.97. So America is above average on the global scale, average for the OECD, and significantly better than actual third world countries.

https://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/topics/health/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_countries_by_life_expectancy

So no, I wouldn't call America a third world country. It is a very rich country with some issues.

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trenomas t1_iy0wygd wrote

The US is a big place. Most of our public schools are rather poor in all the metrics that matter. It's a patchwork of infrastructure that prioritizes wealth. Most of the US's systems, for low-income individuals, undermines success and embroil them in debt and incarceration, systems that empower the wealthy.

Look at cancer alley. Look at Flint Michigan. Look at overpolicing in communities of color by white officers. Look at the crumbling rail systems that keep getting sidelined in favor of car infrastructure despite the objective efficiencies in a rail economy.

For some it really is comparable to a third world country. That's not to say we are or aren't, because again the place is huge.

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