Tonight I watched the "Swing Vote". It's a DVD flick, with Kevin Costner playing a New Mexico guy, in who's hands is the future of the free world.

At the very end, he poses an interesting question. I am not so sure if Kevin knows what he is asking. May-be he does.

Do you know the answer?

Alright, here is his question:

"They say, we live in the richest country in the world. If that's so, then how come so many of us can't afford to live here?"

politics, my dear watson

our income is great...

but cost of living is not

I feel that one of the reasons is education.

I suppose you can take that with a grain of salt.I think America is the only place on earth where you can come here dirt poor with no education and in a few years end up living in a house with two cars in the driveway,and a cruise every year.Yes there is alot of poor people but even working at minimum wage you should be able to afford a apartment and put food on the table.I read not too long ago that 1 in 10 people in America are millionares.

Although America is the richest country on earth I have found out day to day living is the same as any other country.I worked with a man from the Ukraine who said he earned about 20 dollars a month working his full time job in that country.That may seem like nothing but his rent was only 5 dollars a month and a loaf of bread costs 1 penny.It is the same situation in America.You make 2,000 a month and spend 5oo on rent.I also believe that if you work hard your whole life you will be happy and live well.


Remember the greatest wealth is health!

Thomas,

You said:

"Even working at minimum wage you should be able to afford a apartment and put food on the table."

You may be able to afford a 3 room apt. in a not good neighborhood and live on Ramen noodles and other low cost foods with min. wage. What about clothes and car? What if you have a child? What about medical care?

Of course you have to put all those things into consideration.Having a child is very expensive and you must have money for that child no matter what.Having a car is also expensive and you should take these things into consideration.I have worked for minimum wage and had to resort to renting a room in someone house where I had to share the bathroom with at least 6 other people living there.But it was either that or live with my parents which I wasn't about to do.I didn't blame anyone.I never went to college and in my early twenties I knew I wasn't going to get a good paying job.That doesn't mean I was unhappy.I didn't have a car or tv but I had my own room and could do what I wanted.I had my freedom and my health.

Everybody has health care in America.Hospitals have to treat you if you have a emergency.Hospitals will treat you anyway even with out insurance and bill you later.If you are poor(typically under $24,000 a year)the hospital will generally get you in a charity program where most if not all will be paid for.There is also numerous church,local and state programs that will help you get medical or dental care for little money down.I know when I was on unemployment I had to get a hernia operation and I didn't have any insurance.Since I didn't make that much the hospital covered most of it.Other programs(such as donations to the hospital)covered even more.In the end I think I had to pay around $1200 for a $15,000 dollar operation.Although I felt bad for mooching the hospital they told me not to feel bad at all as they had millions set aside for these type of situations and often the money is sent back as it goes largly unused.

You can also go to the state and get your own dental and medical benefits for about the same as what you pay through your paycheck at work.I am not going to lie.Going to the dentist office through the state is like going to a 3rd world hospital with stone age equipment and nothing but illegal immigrants everywhere.But if you have to do it you can.

Thats a no brainer!!!!!! Use the ERs!!! And your are not smart enough to figure out why health care is unaffordable to most. USE THE ER!!!! Someone pays! The costs are passed on! Charities for health care is a good concept but show some facts! WHERE!!!!!!You are dreamin if you think the states will pay. Sure the will cover the "children" IN MOST CASES if you have no assets! So lets continue paying high cost treatment for low cost ailments. What an idiot!!!

37...That is all...

The World Health Organization's ranking
of the world's health systems.
Source: WHO World Health Report - See also Spreadsheet Details (731kb)

The World Health Organization's ranking of the world's health systems was last produced in 2000, and the WHO no longer produces such a ranking table, because of the complexity of the task.
http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html

1 France
2 Italy
3 San Marino
4 Andorra
5 Malta
6 Singapore
7 Spain
8 Oman
9 Austria
10 Japan
11 Norway
12 Portugal
13 Monaco
14 Greece
15 Iceland
16 Luxembourg
17 Netherlands
18 United Kingdom
19 Ireland
20 Switzerland
21 Belgium
22 Colombia
23 Sweden
24 Cyprus
25 Germany
26 Saudi Arabia
27 United Arab Emirates
28 Israel
29 Morocco
30 Canada
31 Finland
32 Australia
33 Chile
34 Denmark
35 Dominica
36 Costa Rica
37 United States of America

I suspect america is even lower than 37 far lower with the masive economic meltdown.

What do they mean by a good health system?

This could be anything... National healthcare commie-style?

My own answer to the question would be this:

Because, in the system where money is replaced with fraud notes, by the time newly created money make its way to Bud (Kevin's character), the pricing structure already had plenty of time to react. Bud is always out priced theoretically, and in practice as well.

If Bud wasn't so lazy and bad-behaved, he could stop buying beer and get himself a book to gain some perspective.

It was funny to watch, how Bud doesn't believe either of the candidates. He has enough brains to understand that neither of them is about the country.

He also understands, that he can't change anything with his one vote.

And yet, he will not delegate his vote to someone who knows better. He admits that he knows nothing, and proceeds to the Final Debate.

He knows that the system doesn't work. But he doesn't realize that all of it is his own fault. It's not, as he thinks, that "the people we elect keep screwing us". It's that "we keep electing people who intend on screwing us".

In other words, Bud doesn't realize that what it is, is a result of people voting. It is exactly how the population wanted it.

Just my opinion

double post, sorry..

We LEAVE in the richest country?

http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats

Poverty Facts and Stats
Author and Page information
by Anup Shah
This Page Last Updated Wednesday, September 03, 2008

At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day.

More than 80 percent of the world’s population lives in countries where income differentials are widening.

World gross domestic product (world population approximately 6.5 billion) in 2006 was $48.2 trillion in 2006.

The world’s wealthiest countries (approximately 1 billion people) accounted for $36.6 trillion dollars (76%).

The world’s billionaires — just 497 people (approximately 0.000008% of the world’s population) — were worth $3.5 trillion (over 7% of world GDP).

Low income countries (2.4 billion people) accounted for just $1.6 trillion of GDP (3.3%)

Middle income countries (3 billion people) made up the rest of GDP at just over $10 trillion (20.7%).

The world’s low income countries (2.4 billion people) account for just 2.4% of world exports
The total wealth of the top 8.3 million people around the world “rose 8.2 percent to $30.8 trillion in 2004, giving them control of nearly a quarter of the world’s financial assets.”
In other words, about 0.13% of the world’s population controlled 25% of the world’s financial assets in 2004.

The poorest 40 percent of the world’s population accounts for 5 percent of global income. The richest 20 percent accounts for three-quarters of world income.

Less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn’t happen

The total wealth of the top 8.3 million people around the world “rose 8.2 percent to $30.8 trillion in 2004, giving them control of nearly a quarter of the world’s financial assets.”
In other words, about 0.13% of the world’s population controlled 25% of the world’s financial assets in 2004.


So why should they be required to pay more taxes than the poor??

May-be because the world wanted the weapons, and not the schools?

If you do not have the weapons, then how are you going to kill all those kids when they come to take your freedom away?

Tell me. Why?

You are the brains in this outfit!

Hell, you can even see into the future!!!



Please tell us Obie wan canobie!!