Politicians from both left and right of the political spectrum often call the United States the best country in the world. And its citizens tend to agree. In a YouGov poll of more than 11,000 US adults, Americans tended to support the notion by 50% to 31%.
But one New Zealander living in the UK thinks the opposite. And he has made it his mission to argue the point. The man even has a TikTok account called 'America Is The Bad Place.' There, he posts videos addressing mostly social problems within the US, like the cost of healthcare and the quality of higher education, but also challenges American pride and the international image of the nation.
Continue scrolling to check out some of the points he's made and upvote the ones you agree with. Of course, feel free to share your thoughts on these difficult multi-layered issues in the comments—even if you think this guy is wrong.
@america_is_the_bad.place #universalhealthcare #education #USA #America #americaisthebadplace #thegoodplace #thisisthebadplace ♬ original sound - America_is_the_bad_place
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Letting people die of a treatable illness because they don't have enough insurance. A country's first job is to protect its citizens, not to act like a fireman who just continues watering his grass while watching the neighbor's house burn down.
A country still arguing about whether women should have bodily autonomy.
Your Senate filibuster bill. The fact that 41% of senators are representing only 27% of the American people can block bills supported by 70% of the American people is about as democratic as just letting Ken Bone be king.
And yet your leaders speak of democracy internationally like the crusaders in the Holy Crusade.
Measuring your police training in weeks. Two to four years is the norm elsewhere.
Gerrymandering. Democracy should have their voters choosing their representatives, not their representatives choosing their voters.
Sending 18-year-olds to war. When your country doesn't believe they're mature enough to buy beer.
My brother got sent straight overseas when operation desert shield/ storm started, straight out of boot camp at 19
Every minute an American is forced into medical bankruptcy. The only surprise cost in other developed countries is that some hospitals charge visitors for parking.
When I was in my 20s I cut my finger really bad in a broken glass while doing the dishes. I went to prompt med that to get stitches because it wouldn't stop bleeding. They told me it would cost $680 with my health insurance. I was working at Kroger at the time and I was making only $7.25 an hour, in college and living with my soon to be wife in an apartment that cost a little over $1000 a month so this was something we definitely couldn't afford. So I told the people at the front desk "Nevermind, I'll just go home and bleed to death." I had already been waiting for my wife to get off work to take me since we only had the 1 car at the time, I had been sitting with medical tape, gauze and a wash cloth wrapped around my finger while propping it up in the air for 4 hours before she got home. I came back out to the car and she was flabbergasted and we had to shop around online for another hour in the car until we found a cheaper place an hour and a half away.
Having military recruiters in school. It's especially with the biggest incentives to join the military are healthcare and affordable education, which are just considered human rights in normal countries.
I'm pretty sure our (UK) forces do send representatives to school/college careers fairs too. Of course they don't have to point out healthcare and education as benefits...
Forcing you to use vacation days when you're ill. Some countries make employers change paid vacation days to paid sick days when you're ill on vacation.
Charging parents for their baby's delivery. Other countries consider it an investment in the future tax payers.
Price for giving birth in US is absolutely horrible.. but what I find disgusting is that they bill for having a skin contact with the baby. The thing that is best for the baby they ask money for -.- even if the price is small portion of the whole operation, but come on let the parents hold their new born.
Having TV ads for prescription medicine.
All the side effects mentioned takes up 80% of time, you know diarrhea, suicidal thoughts, death ect..
Minimum wage not rising with inflation every year.
But don't worry! Congress will always give themselves a raise! I think they're at $600 an hour.
Not having paid maternity leave. 14 to 68 paid weeks off is the investment that the 15 countries above the US on The Human Freedom Index make in their future taxpayers.
Needing to worry about the cost of an ambulance.
New Zealand is a bit strange on this. We charge for ambulance rides, apparently, but in Wellington where I live we have Wellington Free Ambulance and you don't pay. The rest of the country has St John Ambulance and they do.
Needing to do taxes if you're an employee. Your politicians are bribed by the accounting industry to make your taxes difficult.
It's quite tragicomical thing that a country that have de facto invented computers, microchips, internet and so much more can be in some areas an actuallu a late stone-age 3rd world country. Here I just received my 2021 summary of taxes, logged online, corrected few reductions and submitted the form and all that took abut 10 minutes of time.
People getting married for the purpose of qualifying for health care through marriage is weird. So is people needing to divorce a dying loved one to avoid being responsible for their medical debt and all that for the low, low price of 53% more per person than any other country on Earth.
Having healthcare through an employer. So are doctors needing to argue with companies for you to get what you're prescribed.
Yes that is one thing that makes the least sense to me. What if you get sick and lose your job? You''ll be without a health insurance then just when you would need it the most!
Doing drills at school for something other than fires and earthquakes. Forcing kids to go through the trauma of lockdown drills. The fact that they're necessary is horrific.
They have lockdown drills in New Zealand too. Have been used to some degree, just when there's a threat in the neighbourhood - never for something in the actual school - so more just staying inside rather than barricading doors and hiding. Touch wood.
Some of you think that voting should be made harder than buying a gun. Most prisoners in most developed countries can still vote. In some US states, an ex-felon will be blocked from voting, yet his neighbor on the terrorist watchlist will still be allowed to buy weapons.
We also have a disproportionately enormous prison population. Though prisoners still pay taxes, in 48 states, people can't vote from prison. Knowing this fact could certainly incentivize people with power to create laws that target and lock up people who disagree with them.
Playing your national anthem before a sporting event that doesn't involve your country playing another country, especially when it involves kids at school.
It's so weird. The audience often gets really into it too. Y'all, standing for 90 seconds with your hat over your heart doesn't actually support the troops, build community, strengthen our country, or whatever else you think you're doing. Instead, how about funding the VA? Volunteering for nonprofits? Getting involved in local government? 90 seconds of pseudo-patriotism doesn't cut it, y'all.
The US government banning itself from negotiating prices with pharmaceutical companies.
Needing to post bail if you're not a threat to the public. It shouldn't be a crime to be poor.
If payment equals freedom, crime is only crime if you're poor. The rich can pay their way to freedom. That's not justice.
Not getting guaranteed vacation days. 20 to 40 days a year is the norm.
Husband has had the same job for 10 years at this point, he now has the maximum days allowed, 14. His sick days and pto are all rolled into that number btw.
Educational scholarships being a big deal. Education is normally free or heavily subsidized in the developed world.
Free to the end of college (high school) in NZ, but not after that. Not all of these things are uniquely American.
The amount of people you lock up. 116 countries have an incarceration rate per million at under a quarter of the US.
Liking guns. They never come up in conversations and it's rare to even see police with them.
It's sad to see my love of shooting become such a political football. I was a fat kid with breathing problems, never could get into any sports - until I saw a tv special about the Olympic sports, and saw target shooting. When I was old enough, got my licence and went into competition. Won a few, lost a lot; met some great people on the range. And now my government thinks I'm a potential mass murderer, and an easy victim of stupid laws. Sad, really.
Funding your schools through local property taxes. But it does go some way to explain how the US has dropped to 27th on The Global Social Mobility Index.
Making unlimited political donations legal, when you've created a fight to the moral bottom, where your elected officials live in constant fear that if they don't accept big money bribes, their political opponents will.
The amount your elections cost. Your five most expensive house of representative seats cost more than any election for any country in Europe.
In UK there is a spending limit per candidate, it’s small compared to US standards.Less than £9000 per candidate, then 6p per registered elector. Spending and donations have to be logged. It doesn’t stop shenanigans though
You've reinvented the slave trade with your prison system - that's weird. So are your coercive plea bargains, allowing companies that profit off this exploitation to invest unlimited money in the politicians that agree to do their bidding.
The strangest thing is that it doesn't even cost much money to bribe a US politician, because if you have enough money to finance their entire next political reelection campaign, then all you have to do is threaten to spend that money on their next primary opponent instead.
Hearing fireworks and thinking they could be something other than fireworks. Children should be running to the windows to look not questioning their safety.
Only if you live in a city that banned fireworks and that you've never heard a gun would you mistake the two, MAYBE. I was straight up told by this little punk my neice just broke up with "I've got a gun don't make me use it". He left and then there was a little pop outside, he then called my neice and said "you heard that, that's my gun, you don't leave me if I say you can't". I took her phone and told him I've heard guns and fireworks before, he just set off a little blackcat popper and if he wanted to hear what a real gun sounds like he'll keep messing with my neice. With how big the US population is, there's too many dumb people.
Note: this post originally had 37 images. It’s been shortened to the top 31 images based on user votes.
I'm not in the US and even I'M bored with all the US bashing. There isn't anything new here so why do we have these ALL the time? Week in, week out... Bored Panda, you are actively BORING a lot of us. Trouble is, people click on these and it keeps it going. We need to boycott US bashing posts if we want to stop it.
I only posted one thing (gerrymandering) because it's the same old same old AGAIN. I did downvote in the hopes not too many would open the thread. Jeeees
Cmon, the us has taught me one thing: if you want change, you need to take action. Let’s boycott it.
Because until it changes it needs to be spoken up about. The fact is is that the US is horrible and almost every other country does not treat its people the way the United States does. Telling the truth about what's really happening is not bashing. You can lie and act like it is but explaining the wrongdoing and atrocities that are going on are not being done in a malicious or derogatory way. People are just speaking on how messed up it is and it isn't right.
Then focus on other countries, and also maybe bring up the good of America,
Why are you so upset w the truth??? I'm American idc bc it's the absolute truth. People should know what's happening here
Not upset. Bored. B O R E D. Bored Panda readers would find it hard to not know what's happening. It's here all the time and rather hard to miss. There's nothing the rest of the world can do, there appears to be little Americans can do. What is wrong with NOT wanting to keep on hearing about America, America, America?
… since when was upset a synonym of bored?
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
I think it's great this is discussed. It also makes me very happy for not being American :) democratic socialism is great. Why would you pay more. You are not free. You are locked down by debt. If that is living free. Here in EU we make money as we want but sure not paying companies all we have. Or let us take away our holidays. Or our holiday money. Or pay zillions for insurance and still get nothing. This is not bashing this is life
I don't read these any more as you already know what they are going to say - healthcare, cost of drugs, lack of holidays, low pay, guns, cost of education - blah, blah, blah, yawn, yawn, yawn.
If someone was attacking you weekly (or more) about the same things over and over again wouldn't you actually start to feel rather picked on? True or not. It also IS boring to read the same things over and over again.
The repetitiveness of these posts is annoying, but your mindset is wrong if you think they are attacking YOU. They are attacking the things that you (in theory) are being subjected to.
I'm not American so can hardly feel attacked but judging by a lot of the comments from Americans THEY DO regardless of whether their 'mindset is wrong' or not. Like most people I'm just sick of the repetition. The rest of the world exists and we'd like to hear more about THAT instead for a flipping change.
I live in the US and I get it... It sucks here a lot of the time, but must we be beat over the head with it with posts constantly, BP? I don't know about everyone else, but I get on sites like this to forget my troubles. LOL
US bashed the world with its culture since 1920s. "Justice freedom, and the American way" "Land of the free" etc etc etc. Most people have nothing against most Americans, it's just a reaction to the propaganda that the US has been pouring itno the world.
While that is undoubtably true Bored Panda doing this weekly is still a bit much.
It's the governments fault, not the regular people though.
When you were copy/pasting this crap-on-America article together from the other ones you post every week, you forgot to complain about bathroom stall gaps. This is really boring guys. Get some new material.
PLEASE get some new material.
I'm not in the US and even I'M bored with all the US bashing. There isn't anything new here so why do we have these ALL the time? Week in, week out... Bored Panda, you are actively BORING a lot of us. Trouble is, people click on these and it keeps it going. We need to boycott US bashing posts if we want to stop it.
I only posted one thing (gerrymandering) because it's the same old same old AGAIN. I did downvote in the hopes not too many would open the thread. Jeeees
Cmon, the us has taught me one thing: if you want change, you need to take action. Let’s boycott it.
Because until it changes it needs to be spoken up about. The fact is is that the US is horrible and almost every other country does not treat its people the way the United States does. Telling the truth about what's really happening is not bashing. You can lie and act like it is but explaining the wrongdoing and atrocities that are going on are not being done in a malicious or derogatory way. People are just speaking on how messed up it is and it isn't right.
Then focus on other countries, and also maybe bring up the good of America,
Why are you so upset w the truth??? I'm American idc bc it's the absolute truth. People should know what's happening here
Not upset. Bored. B O R E D. Bored Panda readers would find it hard to not know what's happening. It's here all the time and rather hard to miss. There's nothing the rest of the world can do, there appears to be little Americans can do. What is wrong with NOT wanting to keep on hearing about America, America, America?
… since when was upset a synonym of bored?
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
I think it's great this is discussed. It also makes me very happy for not being American :) democratic socialism is great. Why would you pay more. You are not free. You are locked down by debt. If that is living free. Here in EU we make money as we want but sure not paying companies all we have. Or let us take away our holidays. Or our holiday money. Or pay zillions for insurance and still get nothing. This is not bashing this is life
I don't read these any more as you already know what they are going to say - healthcare, cost of drugs, lack of holidays, low pay, guns, cost of education - blah, blah, blah, yawn, yawn, yawn.
If someone was attacking you weekly (or more) about the same things over and over again wouldn't you actually start to feel rather picked on? True or not. It also IS boring to read the same things over and over again.
The repetitiveness of these posts is annoying, but your mindset is wrong if you think they are attacking YOU. They are attacking the things that you (in theory) are being subjected to.
I'm not American so can hardly feel attacked but judging by a lot of the comments from Americans THEY DO regardless of whether their 'mindset is wrong' or not. Like most people I'm just sick of the repetition. The rest of the world exists and we'd like to hear more about THAT instead for a flipping change.
I live in the US and I get it... It sucks here a lot of the time, but must we be beat over the head with it with posts constantly, BP? I don't know about everyone else, but I get on sites like this to forget my troubles. LOL
US bashed the world with its culture since 1920s. "Justice freedom, and the American way" "Land of the free" etc etc etc. Most people have nothing against most Americans, it's just a reaction to the propaganda that the US has been pouring itno the world.
While that is undoubtably true Bored Panda doing this weekly is still a bit much.
It's the governments fault, not the regular people though.
When you were copy/pasting this crap-on-America article together from the other ones you post every week, you forgot to complain about bathroom stall gaps. This is really boring guys. Get some new material.
PLEASE get some new material.