Views on America

bbq sounds good. but let me load my assault rifle first, go out and shoot the cow or pig (depending on which state you live) and THEN its on!

You must live in Montana..........

. The quality of the student loans over there just aren't up to par. My friend went to university in the US and she asked for assistance with funding and they told her to go to a loan shark. We don't even have those over here in the first place and I really think that is testament to the quality of the student loans systems and also just funding for poorer people in general.

HAHAHAAHAH! What?! I could see perhaps if a foreign student wanted assistance how that migh be hard, but your average US citizen that has the wherewithall to actually go apply for a student loan is VERY likely to get one. The only time I've seen issues is when someone is still a dependent of their partents and their parents make TOO MUCH money. I put myself through college with the GI Bill and student loans. I applied and literally had 0 income and got the loans. It's not as big of a problem as people make it out to be.

It HAS however become more of a problem now that the government is the sole lender in the US and not multiple institutions.

It's not so much an issue of getting the student loans... it's paying them back at a time when a degree no longer guarantees a well paying job. Reports are coming out now showing that senior citizens still have student loan debt and that many are having trouble making those payments. I had NO problem getting money for school... I'm just screwed when I graduate this fall

AND? That should not be the problem of the people, nor the government to solve. Sorry you choose to study something that became worthless, but you made that decision. I sympathize though, I too went to school for electronics, got my degree and was met with no jobs in areas that I wanted to actually live. I then made an effort to change the direction of my career slightly and am now in IT.

I'll be paying for my student loans for years and years to come, but oh well, my problem not someone elses.

This!

I agree as well. I began my college career as a Musical Theatre major. MUSICAL THEATRE. Somebody, ANYBODY please tell me what kind of job you can get with that degree. Most of the friends I had that graduated with that degree are waiters, bartenders, or work in retail. No thanks, those are the jobs I had when I was IN college. I quickly changed my major to Marketing and Advertising, a degree that got me the great job I have now.

My mom worked her butt off to put herself not only through undergrad, but graduate school as well. She has ZERO student loan debt and nobody handed her the money for her education. She got scholarships and paid for both herself by getting jobs and grants and what not. It can be done, but I think the problem is that so many of us feel entitled to it that we're not willing to put in the hard work it takes to achieve our goals. I'm glad I busted my *kitten* to get scholarships and to get the job I have now. It makes me insane every time somebody tells me they're a philosophy major or something and then cry about how worthless their undergrad degree is.

My minor is philosophy actually (major in humanities). It doesn't translate to a lucrative job but it is FAR from worthless. Again I'll say that I was not suggesting that it is somehow your problem that I have student loan debt. I was stating the observation that an education does not always guarantee success. At any rate... we have to face the fact that not everyone can be successful... No matter how great the education system is.. no matter how smart our children become... from a functionalist perspective.. someone has to be around to "do the dirty work". We can't be a nation with only a very rich upper class and a very poor lower class... there will always have to be a middle class

Philosophy can translate into a lucrative career. It teaches one to look at a problem from all sides and then find a solution. It also teaches critical thought as opposed to just following procedures.

hence the FAR from worthless part

I agree as well. I began my college career as a Musical Theatre major. MUSICAL THEATRE. Somebody, ANYBODY please tell me what kind of job you can get with that degree. Most of the friends I had that graduated with that degree are waiters, bartenders, or work in retail. No thanks, those are the jobs I had when I was IN college. I quickly changed my major to Marketing and Advertising, a degree that got me the great job I have now.

My mom worked her butt off to put herself not only through undergrad, but graduate school as well. She has ZERO student loan debt and nobody handed her the money for her education. She got scholarships and paid for both herself by getting jobs and grants and what not. It can be done, but I think the problem is that so many of us feel entitled to it that we're not willing to put in the hard work it takes to achieve our goals. I'm glad I busted my *kitten* to get scholarships and to get the job I have now. It makes me insane every time somebody tells me they're a philosophy major or something and then cry about how worthless their undergrad degree is.

Again, missing the point. Education is great, the more people who have one the better. But not having an education does not make you disposable people, undeserving of a decent standard of living. Plenty of people work all their lives and have nothing, they can't retire, can't afford their medication, can't save money for their own children. Why? Because America is a country where if you aren't smart enough or rich enough, you apparently don't deserve to live and should be grateful to be allowed to exist at all.

This is wrong. It's a sickness in our society that this view is so accepted. There is also a blind spot in our society that allows educational opportunities to be an excuse for not having universal healthcare and a living wage even though there aren't enough good jobs to go around for the graduates that we do have.

I'm sorry but you are flat out wrong. There is no caste system here in the US as you paint it to be. Many millionaires and independently wealthy people come from nothing. America is the ONE PLACE that anyone can succeed. Nobody is actively barring you from becoming rich or famous. Nobody is stopping anyone from getting an education. And for those that can work their entire lives and have nothing to show for it...well that's life, sometimes that happens.

I see no place in America where people are barred by race, religion, sex, sexual preference, nor any other list of items from becoming wealthy, and if there are, guess what, you have the freedom to move to a different state and succeed there.

The ONLY people that we should be helping, protecting and caring for are those that are actually too disabled to work. The mentally handicapped, physically handicapped and children. Too many people in America are in it for "me" looking for a handout and don't work even though they are able bodied. The liberal system has ingrained this in them. Why work when you don't have to, we'll just take the money from someone else that is working so you don't have to.

I know people like this. I friend of mine's brother has been on welfare for years. He's still young, but hasn't worked since he was 18. There is nothing wrong with him. And somehow between his welfare checks and live in girlfriend he has more than I have after busting my hump for years in shcool, the military and pushing to get ahead in my career, and that's just not right.

And what a few others mentioned about how in America unless you're rich or smart you're unimportant....I'm neither rich nor super smart, but I work HARD. Hard work is valued. I have worked very hard to get to where I am and to set a path for myself. THAT is the problem in America. Fewer and fewer people are willing to put in the hard work it takes to be successful. Sure, there need to be people to do the minimum wage jobs. But nobody should be content at the bottom of the totem pole, no matter what country you live in. Hard work pays off eventually.

. The quality of the student loans over there just aren't up to par. My friend went to university in the US and she asked for assistance with funding and they told her to go to a loan shark. We don't even have those over here in the first place and I really think that is testament to the quality of the student loans systems and also just funding for poorer people in general.

HAHAHAAHAH! What?! I could see perhaps if a foreign student wanted assistance how that migh be hard, but your average US citizen that has the wherewithall to actually go apply for a student loan is VERY likely to get one. The only time I've seen issues is when someone is still a dependent of their partents and their parents make TOO MUCH money. I put myself through college with the GI Bill and student loans. I applied and literally had 0 income and got the loans. It's not as big of a problem as people make it out to be.

It HAS however become more of a problem now that the government is the sole lender in the US and not multiple institutions.

It's not so much an issue of getting the student loans... it's paying them back at a time when a degree no longer guarantees a well paying job. Reports are coming out now showing that senior citizens still have student loan debt and that many are having trouble making those payments. I had NO problem getting money for school... I'm just screwed when I graduate this fall

AND? That should not be the problem of the people, nor the government to solve. Sorry you choose to study something that became worthless, but you made that decision. I sympathize though, I too went to school for electronics, got my degree and was met with no jobs in areas that I wanted to actually live. I then made an effort to change the direction of my career slightly and am now in IT.

I'll be paying for my student loans for years and years to come, but oh well, my problem not someone elses.

This!

I agree as well. I began my college career as a Musical Theatre major. MUSICAL THEATRE. Somebody, ANYBODY please tell me what kind of job you can get with that degree. Most of the friends I had that graduated with that degree are waiters, bartenders, or work in retail. No thanks, those are the jobs I had when I was IN college. I quickly changed my major to Marketing and Advertising, a degree that got me the great job I have now.

My mom worked her butt off to put herself not only through undergrad, but graduate school as well. She has ZERO student loan debt and nobody handed her the money for her education. She got scholarships and paid for both herself by getting jobs and grants and what not. It can be done, but I think the problem is that so many of us feel entitled to it that we're not willing to put in the hard work it takes to achieve our goals. I'm glad I busted my *kitten* to get scholarships and to get the job I have now. It makes me insane every time somebody tells me they're a philosophy major or something and then cry about how worthless their undergrad degree is.

My minor is philosophy actually (major in humanities). It doesn't translate to a lucrative job but it is FAR from worthless. Again I'll say that I was not suggesting that it is somehow your problem that I have student loan debt. I was stating the observation that an education does not always guarantee success. At any rate... we have to face the fact that not everyone can be successful... No matter how great the education system is.. no matter how smart our children become... from a functionalist perspective.. someone has to be around to "do the dirty work". We can't be a nation with only a very rich upper class and a very poor lower class... there will always have to be a middle class

Philosophy can translate into a lucrative career. It teaches one to look at a problem from all sides and then find a solution. It also teaches critical thought as opposed to just following procedures.

hence the FAR from worthless part

What I meant from that, is that when you graduate college and go on job hunting, there aren't a whole lot of employers out there listing a "BA in Philosophy" as a requirement. The education is not worthless, but in practical terms, it's not as marketable of a degree in the job world.


And what a few others mentioned about how in America unless you're rich or smart you're unimportant....I'm neither rich nor super smart, but I work HARD. Hard work is valued. I have worked very hard to get to where I am and to set a path for myself. THAT is the problem in America. Fewer and fewer people are willing to put in the hard work it takes to be successful. Sure, there need to be people to do the minimum wage jobs. But nobody should be content at the bottom of the totem pole, no matter what country you live in. Hard work pays off eventually.

Haha my company distributes a beer from Montana and the brewery rep always refers to it as "Montucky" (the brewery is in Missoula)

I love that. And I love that you live in Austin. And that you work for a beer distributor! :drinker:

Haha my company distributes a beer from Montana and the brewery rep always refers to it as "Montucky" (the brewery is in Missoula)

I love that. And I love that you live in Austin. And that you work for a beer distributor! :drinker:

OMG Texas doesnt have stills? No moonshine?

Wow... just skimming the current pages there are so many misconceptions that I don't even know where to start... *sigh* and health care CAN be affordable if one learns how to navigate the system.

Exactly. People confuse halthcare with insurance.
Insurance is what I have incase I need to go to the
ER. Healtcare is what I receive when I give my DR
$60. ($100 for a full Physical) Healthcare is quite
affordable when you eliminate the middle man.
That, and our health savings account (pretaxed)
we do just fine.

Heck, I had to have out patient surgery done on
my face, and it was $400 cash. I paid $100 that
day, and $100 per month. In 3 months it was
paid off. (that included the biopsy)

The only people that come between and my
doctor, are the people they have working at
the front desk, and the RN.

And that's the way it should be. No insurance companies, no government involvement.

Anyone that's been in the military or worked for the US government can tell you that government mandated healthcare will be a total and complete flaming train wreck.

Haha my company distributes a beer from Montana and the brewery rep always refers to it as "Montucky" (the brewery is in Missoula)

I love that. And I love that you live in Austin. And that you work for a beer distributor! :drinker:

OMG Texas doesnt have stills? No moonshine?

Hahaha I've actually tasted moonshine before....it hurt me lol

I agree as well. I began my college career as a Musical Theatre major. MUSICAL THEATRE. Somebody, ANYBODY please tell me what kind of job you can get with that degree. Most of the friends I had that graduated with that degree are waiters, bartenders, or work in retail. No thanks, those are the jobs I had when I was IN college. I quickly changed my major to Marketing and Advertising, a degree that got me the great job I have now.

My mom worked her butt off to put herself not only through undergrad, but graduate school as well. She has ZERO student loan debt and nobody handed her the money for her education. She got scholarships and paid for both herself by getting jobs and grants and what not. It can be done, but I think the problem is that so many of us feel entitled to it that we're not willing to put in the hard work it takes to achieve our goals. I'm glad I busted my *kitten* to get scholarships and to get the job I have now. It makes me insane every time somebody tells me they're a philosophy major or something and then cry about how worthless their undergrad degree is.

Again, missing the point. Education is great, the more people who have one the better. But not having an education does not make you disposable people, undeserving of a decent standard of living. Plenty of people work all their lives and have nothing, they can't retire, can't afford their medication, can't save money for their own children. Why? Because America is a country where if you aren't smart enough or rich enough, you apparently don't deserve to live and should be grateful to be allowed to exist at all.

This is wrong. It's a sickness in our society that this view is so accepted. There is also a blind spot in our society that allows educational opportunities to be an excuse for not having universal healthcare and a living wage even though there aren't enough good jobs to go around for the graduates that we do have.

I'm sorry but you are flat out wrong. There is no caste system here in the US as you paint it to be. Many millionaires and independently wealthy people come from nothing. America is the ONE PLACE that anyone can succeed. Nobody is actively barring you from becoming rich or famous. Nobody is stopping anyone from getting an education. And for those that can work their entire lives and have nothing to show for it...well that's life, sometimes that happens.

I see no place in America where people are barred by race, religion, sex, sexual preference, nor any other list of items from becoming wealthy, and if there are, guess what, you have the freedom to move to a different state and succeed there.

The ONLY people that we should be helping, protecting and caring for are those that are actually too disabled to work. The mentally handicapped, physically handicapped and children. Too many people in America are in it for "me" looking for a handout and don't work even though they are able bodied. The liberal system has ingrained this in them. Why work when you don't have to, we'll just take the money from someone else that is working so you don't have to.

I know people like this. I friend of mine's brother has been on welfare for years. He's still young, but hasn't worked since he was 18. There is nothing wrong with him. And somehow between his welfare checks and live in girlfriend he has more than I have after busting my hump for years in shcool, the military and pushing to get ahead in my career, and that's just not right.

So you're saying that anyone not intelligent or rich enough to seek higher education deserves lack of proper healthcare, decent housing, and basic necessities for themselves and their children? You think it's okay, because they aren't as smart as those who succeed?

Why not just give everyone an IQ test at the age of 4 and if they don't do well, execute them and be done with it? The system you're praising is based in eugenics and Social Darwinism. You're basically applauding a system that requires either your parents to succeed or for you to succeed before that society will value you and see you as anything but cheap, disposable labor.

Yes I can definitely attest to this. My husband was in the military for 3 years as an infantry solider. It's amazing what they think ibuprofen can cure. Also he's been out for over 3 years and still waiting on the VA to finish processing his paperwork.

Extremist. That's how the united states are viewed. In everything that is seen and heard about americans here, there are no social/cultural norms. Everything is either very sexualised, or very prudish. Very wealthy or suprisingly poor. The entire culture is viewed as terribly over-indulgent and having an every-man-for-himself mentality. I have been to your country and i know that there are many normal people who live the same as i do and have a good head on their shoulders, but as whole it is not represented as such.

I don't have much room to speak though, everyone thinks i live in an igloo and say 'eh' a lot.

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