Government - 10 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
It has to do with our diverse population and a lot of the population always wanting more. Americans are very competitive as a whole.
2 :
Because they have small, homogeneous populations. Socialism is fine for 4 million Finns who don't mind giving 80% of their paychecks to the government. Doesn't work for a country as expansive and diverse as the US.
3 :
You have too many segments of America that are only interested on getting more money for themselves without having to work for it.
4 :
Because of capitalism in USA.
5 :
It worked it Germany(30'-40's), Italy(30'-40's), and Sweden(recently) so well, didn't it? Simply put, Socialist countries run out of other people's money.
6 :
I have only really studied the question in America, and know little about Australia, so i will address this from the American perspective. The main reason is the concept that American Dream is about self-betterment through economic means. Many people therefore assume that in the United States social mobility is easier than in other countries. This concept is held by immigrants regardless of origin. For example, to European immigrants, the US was the land of opportunity, while the Chinese name for San Francisco is still 旧金山 (Mandarin for "Old Gold Mountain"), which represents the wealth and opportunity that America seemed to offer. While social mobility is easier than it is in the EU, it is not significantly so. However, when polled on how easy social mobility is in their country, Europeans significantly underestimate it, while American's significantly overestimate it. And, as any game theorist knows, perceptions of payoffs are actually much more important than reality. Additionally, American's, more than any other people, are risk loving. This cultural phenomenon is due to the fact that we are a nation of immigrants. So with the exception of the Indians and Hawaiians, all of our ancestors were willing to take one of the biggest risks of all: moving into a new country. This risk-loving behavior has been embedded into our culture, passed down from parent to child. Therefore, compared to our European counterparts, we more willing to risk it big in hopes of a big reward than rely on constant, yet low-yielding, government support. Also, the long fight against Communism during the Cold War alienated many Americans to any variation of Marxist philosophy. But on a more negative reason, its because of America's ethnic diversity. In America race is clearly linked into our socio-economic system. Therefore our poor our a different color than our rich. In Scandanavian countries, the poor look identical to the rich, all nordic. People are more likely to help out people of the same ethnicity. This is universal, not just unique to America. Europeans are less willing to provide government benefits to the new wave of Eastern European immigrants. However, because race is so intrinsic in our socio-economic system, those with money and power are less willing to redistribute it to those who don't.
7 :
Has a lot to do with the fact that social mobility has been historically easier in places like the USA or Australia. The reason being is that countries that are just in their beginning don't have established lineages of wealth like they did in Europe. And then there's the fact that socialism was suppressed by our government, most notably during the 50s with McCarthy.
8 :
Socialism.. they're free market capitalist countries with an extended social sector. Higher taxes support things like health care and education in a more significant way than in USA or Australia.
9 :
Americans should look to their north, at Canada. We too come from Immigrant stock , who were willing to "risk it all " by coming to a undeveloped wilderness. BUT we also were smart enough to see that in order to be strong and healthy as a country, we needed to provide support to the weak, ill and elderly among us. To that end, Canada was the FIRST country in the world to pass laws that mandated national old age pensions in 1926 , worker's injury compensation on a national level 1941, women's right to vote and be elected to Parliament 1920, national health care plans ( 1960 ) and guranteed national maternity leave, 1968 and many other social support programs that have resulted in our being consistently rated in the top five countries in the world in which to live. Vancouver British Columbia is rated the "best city in the world to live in 2011 ". Canadians have the highest percentage ( 45 % ) of University graduates in the world, based on our national population; while the USA ranks 12 th on that same list. Why? We support University students with our income taxes, and all of our Universities are PUBLICLY owned, not private corporations. No sports scholarships in Canadian Universities, and no 100,000 seat fotball stadiums either, but if you are a superior student, yoiu can get a 100 percent scholarship, in a hard science program. .People in Canada are not worried that their entire future may be ruined by a medical emegency, as in the USA. That goes a long way towards being less tense. Our seniors know that they are not going to be making a choice between paying for life saving medications and paying the rent. After age 65, ( later this year ) I will be paying a flat rate of $4.50 for each script that I fill at the local drug store here in Toronto. That goes on for life. Americans are just too damm self centred, to see that their lack of social compassion is killing them. The " I'm all right Jack, screw you " attitude is just too deeply buried in the national mentality, for it to change any time soon. Of course, may be the " new poor ", who have lost their homes and jobs, and are living in motels with their kids, will have something to say about that at the ballot box. We watch the USA's problems, from up here, north of the border, and shake our heads at the crazyness that goes on down there. Individual Americans are nice people, but as a nation they are scarey, in their ignorance of the world outside of their own borders. That even applies to their "next door neighbours " who are their best busines customers, and who sell them MORE stuff than the next five countries, combined. How many Americans know that Canada supplies nearly HALF of all your oil and gas stocks, via pipline from Alberta, not Saudi Arabia ? And we will continue to do that, for the next 100 years ? Socialism is not the boogy man that Americans think it is.......after all..... you all pay into the Social Security pensioin plan, don't you ? Are you going to send the SS cheques BACK ? When you get them as a senior ? I didn't think so. Jim B. Toronto.
10 :
Well, living in Norway I can tell Norway isn't socialist. The same is true for Finland and Denmark too. he truth is that we have a mixed economy with private ownership and corporations as well as a strong centralised government that takes ownership in certain sectors of society, like healthcare, electricity, telephones, national broadcasting, oil, trains, roads, water and dams, but also opens up for private competition.
