“What Are Americans Not Ready To Hear?”: 40 People Share Honest Answers

As an American that immigrated into Canada 15 years ago the above is SPOT ON. I didnt have insurance for a few years when I lived in Florida and let me tell you, that was horrifying. I moved from Florida to Ontario and I never want to move back. Ill take snow any day of the year because I can see a doctor whenever I need and not worry about the bill, in fact I would pay MORE taxes if dental was included. :D HEALTH CARE FOR ALL!

The US is the only country you can go bankrupt because of medical bills.

Gotta take issue with that minimum wage one. That's the federal minimum wage ($7.25/hr), which is just a starting baseline for the states to work from; the individual states have their own minimum wage rates and more than 30 states/territories have it set higher than $7.25/hr. The rates do vary wildly, from just around $8/hr all the way up $16+/ hr, and the rates do fall along political lines ("red" states tend to have low or no state minimum, "blue" states tend to have much higher minimums). Wage minimums are not considered a federal issue in the US, it is something for the individual states to address. This is due to the varying financials of each state; cost of living can be wildly different from state to state and income levels and minimums vary accordingly. It can be argued that some states have not been responsive to the changing economy and that altering the federal minimum would force the issue, but that bumps up against state's rights politics, a sticky issue in red states.

You must have visited a bright red state. You completely missed the nuance you admit exists. Once again, the US is more like the EU than it is a unified country. I live in Massachusetts. The minimum wage here is $14.25. Abortion is legal and accessible. We have some of the strictest gun laws in the country.

So you're saying the Republicans platform of expanded gun ownership, abortion restriction, wealth transference to the rich, anti-voting, and poverty inducing policies are really obvious to the rest of the world but for some reason escapes the folks here? Shocking! :-0

I am sorry, Americans. Your healthcare sucks.

Yes it is, and that’s because money is so much more important than caring about eachother. It’s so sad, and it will be our downfall one day

The system makes me feel very ill just thinking about it. I would be broken in the USA with my complex needs, I certainly would not be fit enough to work to and would likely then lose any health benefits I had through employment....this cycling further and further down the economic foodchain until I ended up destitute...all because of physical diseases I could not have physically prevented. Thank the lord for the NHS

I'm a poster child for this. Spent five years having to use the ER as a primary care. Being of usual ER quality, I couldn't get them to take this horrid pain I'd been afflicted with seriously. For five years straight. By the time they did my spine had pushed past pinching both a major nerve and a nerve cluster but was instead actively cutting into them. Again, for over five years. I'm on disability now bc I never stop hurting. Ever. The damage is done. My entire left side feels like it's on fire even now...and it always will. Me and Harvey Dent, right? If I'd had access to regular medical care, they'd have figured out I was actually in major distress WAY sooner. I'd still be *functional*. Cannot state enough how much I hate this place.

I live in Sweden, with rather affordable universal healthcare. Our right-wing parties, who just won the election, want to make us more like the US, with MORE for-profit healthcare (and subsequently more people dying and more people going into personal bankruptcy), sadly.

A problem everywhere in the world not just the US.

First heard this on Grey's Anatomy...church and state...had to go and look up what it meant as a defined description ..... Religion and politics, 2 very emotive arenas that deserve separation, although it's all too obvious that it doesn't get it...not just in the USA though, many countries are guilty of mixing them

This is not something that "Americans are not ready to hear." Most of us fully understand and support the separation of church and state. Stop judging my entire country by the tiny minority of people who scream louder than everyone else.

There's a lot of things the government needs to keep their nose out of but as long as their all on the take, it'll never happen.

Time the Netherlands found that out too...

Same as the UK!

Boom

Yes it is different just exactly who paid for the millions spent on the weddings of Harry , William and Charles?

This doesn't fit under things Americans aren't ready to hear: we already know this, it's just they don't care. Apparently the sound of money drowns out your conscience calling you a fuggin hypocrite.

Truth!

Australia being one of them. Only took one mass shooting to get the message across

Actual "automatic" weapons, that fire continuously when the trigger is pulled, are very rare legally. They require a separate background check and tax stamp as well as registration with the federal government. Semi-automatic weapons, that fire once with every trigger pull are common. According to recent polls, 1/3 of Americans, approximately 100 million people, legally own firearms. I'm not saying we don't need changes to gun laws, because we do. But banning then outright would turn 100 million law abiding citizens into criminals. Unfortunately,as with every hot button topic, the extremists on both sides make a common sense solution unlikely.

Although we can buy fully auto firearms they are prohibitively expensive and the paperwork takes many months. But This argument which seeks to frame rights based on technology are inane on its face. The framers knew technology would change. That didn't invalidate the 2A. Because if it did, you're 1A is useless. If that sounds illogical to you, then please, write me a response on rag paper and have it sent by Horseback to your nearest news organization.