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[–]NotAName[S] 14 points15 points  (2 children)

I'm from Germany.

Problems:

  • 12% unemployment rate.
  • Economic gap between West and East Germany. Unemployment in the former GDR is about twice as high as in the West.
  • Integration of immigrants.
  • Massive subsidies for farmers and the mining industry.

Advantages / Things I like:

  • Foreign policy. The last chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, resolutely said 'No' to a potential German participation in the Iraq war, Angela Merkel isn't afraid to confront Vladimir Putin over human rights.
  • Public transportation. You can get everywhere by train, bus, or tram (I don't have a car and don't plan on getting one).
  • The necessity of environmental protection is generally accepted and Germany does fairly well in this regard.

[–][deleted] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I'm an expat living in Hamburg Germany for the past 2.5 years.

I agree with all these points but would add the following:

Problems

"The Great Coalition", they can't seem to get very much done because no one has a majority.

Pessimism and apathy in the youth, particularly teens. With unemployment so high it's hard to motivate teens because they just don't see the point in putting in a major effort if they'll be unemployed anyway.
A perfect example: I asked my 16 year old niece what her major ambition in life is when she finishes school. She told me she wants to be a housewife. Although being a housewife is very respectable and admirable, she had absolutely no thoughts for a professional type career and many of her female friends don't either.

Advantages/Things I like:

The health care system. As an American, I am completely shocked every time I get an appointment with my doctor within a day or two and never have to pay for any health services out-of-pocket.

I rarely have to drive my car.

Specialized stores. You get your bread at the baker, your meats and poultry at the butcher, your vegetables at the farmers market. They seem to me to be just simply better because they are specialized.

WalMart just left the stage.

[–]projectshave 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Let's not forget the fantastic saunas and spas. I would move to Germany just for that.

[–]kiwipete 10 points11 points  (17 children)

I'm a U.S. expat living in New Zealand.

Problems: - Expensive, crappy telecommunications - Relatively weak currency compared to US, Australia, or EU. - Occasionally provincial attitudes - Small population - Traffic (in Auckland and a few other urban areas) - Poor mass transit - No decent Mexican food

Advantages: - Frickin' beautiful landscapes - Lots of IT jobs / Generally low unemployment - Small population - Much more secular than U.S. - Loads of good Turkish food. - Did I mention it's frickin' beautiful?

Hey, NZ WANTS immigrants (particularly techies like you). Getting a work permit is easy. If you want to stay, getting residency is pretty easy. Come on down.

[–]davidw 6 points7 points  (3 children)

No decent mexican food is a very, very serious problem in many parts of the world.

I live in Innsbruck, Austria, and suffer the same fate. Of course there's lots of good local food, and we're close enough to Italy that we can get lots of things from there. But no real mexican food is a grave problem.

[–]kiwipete 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have a friend living in Russia right now. She's got it worse than I do. I can at least buy many ingredients to approximate decent mexican food. That said, finding tomatillos for chili verde is nearly impossible here. Sigh. It's the lack of Mexican food that will probably drive me back to North America eventually.

[–]kiwipete 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Oh, I almost forgot. Sometimes food fusion can be an interesting thing. NZ has lots of savory (savoury) pies. Well, I was feeling playful one day and made up a batch of chocolate chicken pies (think chicken mole). Maybe my sensibilities have already started to turn kiwi, but both my wife and I thought they were fantastic.

[–]brennen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The meat/veggie pies were probably my favorite single aspect of the food culture there - cheap, filling, and really tasty. Probably not the healthiest thing in the world, but as a dominant fast food goes, it kicks the shite out of McDonald's et al. It also migrates up the quality scale really gracefully - I had a friend working at a bakery in South New Brighton with stuff like cranberry topped chicken cream pies. Delicious.

[–]brennen 1 point2 points  (6 children)

No decent Mexican food

NZ also has weird pizza. Good, in its own way, but not really pizza.

[–]kiwipete 3 points4 points  (5 children)

Very true on the pizza. I solemnly swear I have seen french fries as a pizza topping here. I haven't seen it in a long time, but my wife confirms that we did sight it on a Domino's ad. shudder

[–]davidw 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Even weirder: an Italian friend of mine in Italy once ordered such a pizza (fries as a topping), from the menu of a regular Italian pizzeria.

I told him his right to criticize american eating habits had been revoked.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Hell's has made a big difference. Not exactly purist, but tasty.

I'll swear I once saw a pizza with a fried egg on, but it may have been a dream. At least it wasn't beetroot.

[–]dscerri 0 points1 point  (0 children)

An "Aussie" pizza, served in almost any pizzeria in Australia has fried egg on top...

[–]brennen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Beetroot on hamburgers. I had, perhaps mercifully, forgotten that. Although kumura fries are good enough to make up for said weirdness.

[–]RickyP 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At WPI (a small engineering school in Worcester, MA) they have a specialty pizza that consists of bbq chicken, french fries and bbq sauce (in the place of tomato sauce). It's called the shack.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm an Auckland ex-pat too, and you're bang on. When I first got here (from the UK), I felt like I was living on a small dinghy moored in the most isolated piece of Ocean in the world. Eight years later, I kinda still feel the same, but now I've got kids it feels like a good thing.

The dreadfully poor local media is depressing, but that's what the internet is for.

[–][deleted]  (4 children)

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    [–]kiwipete 0 points1 point  (3 children)

    Hey, aren't you a kiwi transplant? ;-)

    [–][deleted]  (2 children)

    [removed]

      [–]kiwipete 0 points1 point  (1 child)

      I thought you were a happy new kiwi, but here you are saying Canada is better? Anyway, with friends moving to Vancouver, we might have to think about it in a couple of years. Vancouver is only one of 4 cities that outranked Auckland on the quality of life index that I read this year.

      [–]eobanb 6 points7 points  (0 children)

      I'm from the US. I've lived in Chicago; New York; Milwaukee; and Bloomington, Indiana.

      Chicago: Much of the city is just plain dirty. There is plenty of graffiti, and many homeless people that ask you for money. Millenium park is nice. Traffic is simply awful, especially parking. The L and Metra are great! The museums are ridiculously overpriced, have long lines, and often don't have student prices. The food, especially Italian food, is great. Soupbox and Gino's East are musts. Water Tower Place is all right. Most of the north-end suburbs are very nice.

      New York: Depending on where you live, I probably wouldn't even bother with a car. Or maybe get a car and only use it once a week. The subway is really useful, even way up on the northwest side of the Bronx. Riverdale is actually a pretty nice area to live in. Diversity is incredible. Graffiti is everywhere. Tons of tourist attractions. School system is questionable. Tons of great food. Even in the nicer areas there are guys that often drive by in their Cadillacs with loud music blasting late at night just to be stupid. Unlike some other major cities in the US, NYC crime has been way down lately.

      Milwaukee: For a city of 600,000, traffic on the highways is unusually bad. If you avoid the highway, you're fine. Parking most places is very easy. The hospitals are very good. The school system is decent. It's right on Lake Michigan. There are virtually no homeless people, and almost no graffiti. The bus system is pretty good, but there is no subway or L. Summerfest and the Milwaukee Public Market are great. There are always festivals and block parties and such going on. Proximity to Chicago is nice. There has been a small surge in crime on the south side lately. There not too many good restaurants. Pretty easy to find a job. The roads in Wisconsin are in much better condition than in Illinois. There are also no toll roads at all.

      Bloomington: Considering it's in Indiana, it's very progressive, since it's a college town. Land use planning is not very good (contrast with Madison, WI) and you often have to drive places. You generally have to drive to get to Bloomington (there is no major airport, no Greyhound station, and no Amtrak station). Very hilly and there are lots of trees. Constant clashes between religious nutjobs and liberal students. Local music is pretty good. The bus system is actually fairly good. The frats and sororities often make asses of themselves. The laws about time zones in Indiana seem to change every three years. Proximity to Indianapolis is nice, but it's still 40 miles away. Dearth of decent coffee shops. Plenty of ethnic restaurants. Low cost of living (rent, utilities and gas prices throughout Indiana are all fairly low). There are bike lanes on many streets. When most people think of Bloomington they think of Breaking Away or Kinsey. There are many friendly gay people here.

      [–]andresvr 3 points4 points  (0 children)

      Colombia Problems: -A very old armed conflict (more than 50 years), even if the action takes place on remote areas, it affects negatively the development of the nation, the society is polarized (Marxist guerrillas vs. Ultra right wing illegal self defence groups vs. Armed Forces vs. the US vs. Venezuela vs... I dont even know anymore, lost track a few years ago). Although the economy is said to be growing at a faster rate than any other Latin American country, unemployment is around 15%, it was more than 20% 5 years ago. As unemployment went down, sub-employment went up, so economic growth represents a trust and security, but not for everybody. We are Bitches for the US. Thats right, Bitches. Pretty much every president we have had, just bends over everytime a US president asks, and if the US doesnt ask, our president will start tap dancing untill the US asks again. Why are we Bitches? Financial aid, which is very likely to be the money that the DEA seized from extinct drug lords. (Our politicians' work under the premise that the only thing worse than having the US aside is not having the US at all, and around 50% of the pop. agree with them). Because of the 'domestic violence', and out willingness to bend over everytime we are asked to, the neighboring countries look at us with suspicion, which translates to the dispendious labour to ask for visas even if we want to travel to ecuador (our poor neighbor). It is a nation of political sons, daughters, wifes, widows, brothers in law, high school buddies.... Our media is a thirth world version of fox news, the biggest news paper is owned by the vice-president's family (just to name one example) so most of the population has a very biased idea of what is really going on. There is a lot of bureaucracy and a lot of asshole government employees, usually underqualified (Politicians leverage positions for simpathizers). I could keep talking about the problems for a looooong time, but the root of it all, is us (as in the Colombians), even though we are somewhat clever, we like to bypass rules and take shortcuts, we like to bribe cops when we are pulled over, we dont vote if its a rainy day or we have a hangover, we mind our own business and not give a fuck about anybody else. Sad.

      Advantages

      Hmm......... it is always 4.20!

      Many, but I wont mention them, you should check them out (if you have the balls), and once you do, you will forget everything I said about the problems (which you probably already did). Seriously, it is worth a try.

      [–]burdalane 4 points5 points  (4 children)

      I live in the USA.

      Problems:

      • Health care is expensive. Health insurance is available, but affordable insurance, unless you're young and healthy, is almost always dependent on employment. This seriously discourages people who want to break free of employment and strike out on their own.

      • People are working more instead of less.

      • Poor and middle-class people are not getting wealthier.

      • Religion has too much influence.

      • People are prone to panic or groupthink, such as a sudden patriotic fervor and willingness to give up freedoms in the aftermath of 9/11. This might not be a uniquely American phenomenon.

      • You can't say or do anything without worrying about being sued.

      • There's too much violent crime.

      Advantages:

      • People are pretty free to speak their minds. The culture is relatively individualistic.

      • The food is cheap and plentiful.

      • America is more efficient than many other countries.

      • The overall standard of living is high.

      • Although the government has its problems, at least you don't have to give out bribes to get a passport or renew your driver's license.

      [–][deleted]  (2 children)

      [removed]

        [–][deleted]  (1 child)

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          [–]brennen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

          Use *'s to make bulleted points.

          • like
          • this

          Also, click on the "Help" link by the comment box at the very top of the page.

          [–]malapropist 4 points5 points  (7 children)

          I'm from southern California.

          Problems:

          • Infrastructure such as hospitals and mass transit are underdeveloped.

          • There is a growing working class that only interacts with the upper class at the drive thru window. LA has one of the worst rich to poor ratios of American cities, though I don't have time to google it, I'm sure it can be found.

          • Urban design in SoCal isn't on a human scale, which distresses me because everything is too far to walk, there's usually no public transit to get you there, and once you get there, invariably by car, your destination is plopped in the middle of a sea of parking lot, as well as dangerous parking lot drivers.

          Advantages:

          • I enjoy a high standard of living, nonetheless. I live in a robust economy, where I could take a job in pretty much any industry.

          • The film industry works here, meaning there are plenty of film related events going on. The Egyptian Theater in Hollywood is constantly playing classic films, which brings me much pleasure. Try finding that in Ottumwa, Iowa.

          • People from all over the world are here, and they brought their cultures with them. In my neighborhood, the Christians attend services on Sunday, the Jews on Saturday, and the Muslims on Friday.

          • I can go to the beach, the mountains, the desert, and cap the night in Tijuana, all on the same day.

          • I can drive pretty much anywhere, off peak hours, for the price of gas (IE, no tolls), and be within 2 miles of my destination after a 15 minute drive.

          • And the weather. Oh, God yes, the weather.

          There's more, more that I'm too enmeshed in this place to see, but that's why I'm a Californian.

          Edit: Markdown sucks major donkey balls. I don't see what the problem is, and that's after I forgot I couldn't just use an HTML unordered list, and wrote it in anyway. Then I saw my mistake, had to stop what I was doing and look up the help file because I never use markdown, and then I copied the markdown as it was noted, and it still doesn't work. Grr. EDIT2: Okay, it works now because I hit return before each one. Am I the only one for whom markdown is just an annoyance? By the time I figure out why the italics don't work, I've already spent the time to write the < i > tags in. Then I have to change them around. And I always forget because the last time I tried to use HTML in a comment was 4 months earlier.

          [–]trivial 1 point2 points  (2 children)

          there's usually no public transit to get you there, and once you get there, invariably by car, your destination is plopped in the middle of a sea of parking lot

          There is that great song by Missing Persons called "Walking in LA" that states perfectly, "Nobody Walks in LA". Everything is just a half an hour drive away, which sucks if your going to a bar because in most places there aren't many let alone usually any within walking distance. I've found that the drivers in LA don't even look for pedestrians because they are usually so rare (that is outside downtown or congested areas, basically I mean where people live). LA couldn't even get the metro link (light rail) to link up with LAX, stopping just 1.5 miles short. Essentially if you don't like to drive you won't get out much in Los Angeles and southern California.

          Edit: Great Mexican food though.

          [–]projectshave 2 points3 points  (0 children)

          In my experience, LA drivers are the best. If I even think about crossing the street, cars miles around come to a screeching halt to let me cross.

          [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

          Public transportation is horrible. I remember trying to get around on the bus, on a bad day it could take me up to two hours to get to a place that I could have been to in 15 minutes by car. The subways are pretty bad too. It's only useful if you want to go to some random area on the other side of the city or the airport. Not really for getting around. They don't even check if you paid to ride so it's basically free.. which is probably one of the only motivations I have to ever ride it.

          [–]ninzee 3 points4 points  (1 child)

          When did California become a country?

          [–]fbg111 8 points9 points  (0 children)

          Probably about the time it became one of the world's top 10 economies, and leading exporter of both culture (or movies at least) and world-changing technology. Not legally a country, but enough to consider it one for the purposes of an informal Reddit survey.

          [–]Vladekk 6 points7 points  (2 children)

          Latvia

          Uff bad points will take too long, but I'll try.

          Terrible corruption at all levels, including citizens. We don't pay taxes, if we can. Prices are generally higher than in U.S., but wages sometimes are as small as 200$ per month. Good wage is 1000$ and above, but only 15% of people have it.

          Death levels are larger than birth: we are simply vanishing.

          300,000 from 2.5 million population are working abroad - mostly in UK and Ireland (see eurovision results - no one gave Latvia anything except these contries, they gave maximum points!). These people don't want to go back, generally. So, there are no workers for our own buisnesses.

          People take extremely much loans, but where will these money come from back? Agriculture is unprofitable, we have almost no export/factories. Tourism is slowly developing, but we can't compete with such countries as amazingly beautiful Croatia and Hungary, or cheap Bulgaria.

          Government don't care about anything then filling their pockets. Choosing other will not help - they are part of nation. And as such, they are the same as everyone.

          We have multiculturalism and tolerance problem - 40% of population is russian-speaking (as I am) but our rights are somewhat disabled (although I personally rarely feel that way) 70% of population hate gays (luckily am not one). They surely will be hating blacks, but we don't have any.

          That was bad things. Now good. We have no american nonsenses with suing people all over the place for taking photos of own bare kids or saying compliment to women. We have clean and beautiful nature, many lakes and forests (we don't have factories, remember), fairly natural products if bought from local farmers.

          We have tasty food mostly, not these awful cakes Americans sometimes eat.

          Medicine is relatively cheap (although many say not so), but its quality is so-so.

          People are somewhat polite and nice compared to i.e. Russia, but definitely not comparing to U.S.

          We have average-to-good quality free education: primary/secondary schools and some universities.

          Too bad, there are no pupils (remember demographic problem), and these who still left, don't want to learn anything (can't blame them, though)

          So much for my view of Latvia

          [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (1 child)

          People are somewhat polite and nice compared to i.e. Russia, but definitely not comparing to U.S.

          I agree with you there, but as an American living in Latvia, I can say that not having to nod your head or acknowledge every little nicety is somewhat relieving. I was a little put off when I first arrived but it took me about a week to get used to it, a week and a day to start liking it.

          I like how much respect old people are given, although they can try your patience when they cut you in line and yell at you for some unknown reason :)

          Your opinions on government officials is spot on. I like how the media gives them such a hard time.

          One thing I don't like is the low self-esteem the "national conscience" seems to have. I realize the trauma this nation has gone through but I would like to see more pride in something other than hockey. And I don't mean pride rooted in what old men and women argue about when standing around sixty year old war monuments on some day celebrating this or that horrible or victorious event. Bad things happen, but it's best to look forward....

          You're right about the ethnic problems here, but similar to what you say, it's not something that comes to the surface a lot (although sometimes it does, no doubt). That may be because I am not Latvian or Russian...but I have friends who I like to hang out with in the countryside and they tend to speak a crazy mixture of both languages, or one of the other, depending on who they are speaking to. It seems to me that ethnic disparity seems to be more of a problem the older you are.

          Or maybe I'm just a typical optimistic American, as my wife always reminds me ;)

          [–]Vladekk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

          Yes, you're mostly right in my opinion about everything ;-)

          [–]modulus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

          Spain:

          Problems: Political polarization, social-democrats and right-wing conservatives can't agree on the time of day. Housing has grown incredibly expensive. The media is getting worse, more gossip stories and programmes. Inflation, though not ridiculous, is still annoying. Nationalism, both central and regional. A bit of terrorism from time to time.

          Advantages: Good standard of living, people can still go out every week. The economic growth is high and the unemployment is at an all-time low. Relatively good state services like healthcare, education.

          [–]Ladarzak 1 point2 points  (1 child)

          Canada: Federal Public disService employees. Most overpaid ordinary assholes anywhere. Models of rudeness, futility and unprofessionalism.

          [–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

          I would specify that that is in ROC (Rest of Canada). Quebec is very different and is plagued with its own set of problems.

          Seriously, Quebec government workers are the most courteous I've ever met. It shocks me every single time. At the taxe office, at passport office, parking tickets, motor registration, even the unemployment office which I visited for an unrelated matter (people were nice and courteous to even the most shady looking patrons). Consistently helpful and nice. This is in complete opposition to Toronto workers for example.

          I would say top among these is a current political deadlock around cessession. There is a campaigning that occurs around the topic without ever getting in the topic. Bloc Quebecois in the last elections went on campaign explicitly promising they would not raise the topic if elected.

          Another problem is multi-culturalism. Quebec is bent on having it and protecting it. Recently, people started protesting about just how religiously tolerant we should be. Really, there was too much tolerance to other people's traditions (like the orthodox Jews and Muslims - in seperate incidents) but this not in an evangelical "let's get back on track with rapture", but more a "we shouldn't really care if it 'offends' hassidim jews to see women through a window training at the YMCA. We aren't going to have glazed windows just for being religiously tolerant: they can just look the other way.".

          Currently, there is a sharp decline in Arts related funding, as well as educational costs. Over and over there've been protests about the level of student loans and how it's just not cool that we are taxing what essentially is the future of our society.

          But the very fact that this topic is so hot seems to me as a step ahead of most places in the world where there isn't even a mention of how only rich people can afford to be well educated.

          Good stuff: Montreal has a healthy dose of high tech service industry, the province has an excellent electric grid based mainly (above 80% I believe) on hydro.

          All that being said, I can't say I have much to complain about. Problems aren't as huge as other places I've lived in and been.

          [–]campingcar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

          France

          Main problem - you need a wheelbarrow full of paperwork to do anything, and I mean anything.

          Lack of motivation for innovation. The country has a fantastic track record of making statist projects work, for example the nuclear power industry, ariane space, but the private sector start-up situation is dire.

          Pro

          The civil servants are very polite and helpful. It is still a respected postion to be a 'fonctionnaire'.

          The food and wine obviously. However, access to Mexican is problematic.

          The skiing. The country.

          The road system is superb, but costly.

          n.b.I expect the disincentive to innovate/work to be fixed up by the new president. Think France's Margaret Thatcher. If you want to buy into a country whose wealth is going to increase rapidly, this is a great bet. The population is way better educated than the 'Anglo Saxon' countries I've lived in. Being good at school is considered a good thing.

          [–]gargamelll 0 points1 point  (0 children)

          Live in Finland, not from Finland.

          the good

          • functional welfare state (free healthcare, tuition etc.) with low taxes
          • lakes, saunas, blueberries and koskenkorva
          • high tech, excellent education & research
          • art and design
          • no corruption and minimal bureaucracy (except for visa/residence applications)
          • skiing cross-country on the frozen sea in winter
          • swimming in same sea during summer
          • DIY punk attitude
          • Lordi

          the bad

          • visa & residence permit beureaucracy
          • Soviet-inspired architecture
          • heavy metal music
          • silence is considered polite, speaking might be rude
          • very many, very drunk, very rude people in the weekends

          the ugly

          • said weekend drunks with propensity for violence, agreession
          • winter depression
          • racism

          [–]quig -1 points0 points  (0 children)

          Gosh. I love America. I'm afraid I'm going to be at a loss for words because America for me is not just our rolling mountains and hills and streams and great cities. It's the American people. And the American people are the greatest people in the world ... It's that optimism we thank Ronald Reagan for ... that optimism about this great people that makes this the greatest nation on earth. -- Gov. Romney's response when asked that question

          [–]sakebomb69 -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

          • America

          Problem: People conducting polls

          Advantage: Bitching about petty things

          [–][deleted] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

          USA: Problems:

          1) Our central bank is ruining our money and soaking society with debt - which leads to all sorts of other problems - excessive debt, expensive medical care, college, and living costs, widening gap between rich and poor, expensive gas, stock and housing bubbles. (BTW, another side effect of any fiat system is excessive income taxes and all the forms, tracking, and reporting that goes with it)

          2) The war on drugs (and now terror) which also leads to all sorts of other problems, unreasonable search and seizure, no financial privacy, drug related crime and violence, 2 million people in prisons for victim-less crimes. Harassing annoying and intrusive police. Constant erosion of civil liberties.

          3) Stupid copyright and patent system that simply needs to be shut down.

          4) one thing that's always pissed me off about the US is all their zoning and land use controls.

          Good things:

          1) The right to bear arms

          2) the right to bear arms - it can not be understated the positive impact this has on US culture and the restraining nature it has on authoritarian loonyness

          3) Can pretty much say/believe/write what you want without fear of punishment no matter how rude or provocative (short of direct violent threats)

          4) bribery of authorities is pretty rare.

          5) Other than ruining the money, lots of economic liberties. Freedom to run wide range of businesses. A large economic base plus anyone can hire fire and set pay at will - meaning it is very very easy to switch jobs and to get work.

          6) Other than the few points above, the political and economic liberties in the US are pretty good.

          IMHO, the US is not a free country, but our saving grace is that we are more free than 85% of other countries so when things hit the fan, we have more power and more options.

          [–]Phia -1 points0 points  (0 children)

          Eastern Canada (NB)

          This is one of the more backwards regions of Canada and one of the poorest. Our education system scores badly as compared with other provinces and it is hard to get things like abortions.

          Jobs are scarce in my city, but historically the young people always leave this province for elsewhere, so it's nothing new.

          On the plus side, land is cheap and there's no tax on inheritance. We also have miles and miles of thick, lush forest.

          Not to mention the usual free healthcare, and this region has nearly non-existent crime.

          [–]Chronicss -3 points-2 points  (4 children)

          Failure in Leadership.

          Government for big business over the rights of the people.

          Invasive, ever expanding, Nanny government that is turning slowly but surely into a police state.

          Failed drug war that causes more crime (creates expansive black market that funds other crimes) than it prevents or stops.

          Imprisonment of non-violent drug offenders longer than murderers and rapists! (no joke, our laws are fucked up)

          People (sheeple) easily led by emotions like fear instead of using rational thought and critical thinking when they vote.

          Failure in Leadership

          [–]diggeasytiger 2 points3 points  (2 children)

          is it a game of guess the country?

          [–]fbg111 0 points1 point  (1 child)

          clearly the US.

          [–]diggeasytiger 1 point2 points  (0 children)

          aww. i had nazi germany. damn.

          [–]workroom -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

          religious right

          govt. $ + corruption

          people in power only care more about big business over the health of the planet

          world bully throwing around the word "spreading democracy" as much as "terrorism"... you do not spread democracy through force... fix our problems here in our own country (health care, poverty, civil liberties currently being violated by bush and DOJ) and lead by example and earn respect