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12/5/2013 11:45:47 PM
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Population makes the US different
When it comes to pointing out the issues of the United States, it's not surprising that people will often turn to other countries for solutions. "Why can't we be more like the UK?" "Why can't we be more like Germany?" "Why can't we be more like Canada?"
I'm not criticizing anyone for saying this, in fact I completely understand. If another country has something going on that's better, we should get in on it. The problem however I want to point out is that people seem to think that comparing countries to countries is an Apples to Apples comparison, that's just not right.
When you want to implement something, we can all agree that the larger the population the more chaotic implementing it will become. Small numbers makes things easier cause you can see right away whether or not it will work, and it gives you lee way for experimenting.
So how big of a difference is the population between the US and other countries?
In the United States we have 315 MILLION people.
The population of Finland = 5.4 Million.
How about a bigger country? Germany? 82 Million.
UK? 64 Million.
France? 66 Million.
Sweden? 9.5 Million.
Denmark? 5.6 Million.
Norway? 5 Million.
New York City? 8.3 Million.
Wait, New York City? Yup, not a country. More people live in New York City than Norway. In fact Norway is the Equivalent of Colorado with 5.2 Million.
What about outside Europe? Okay.
Australia? 23 Million.
New Zealand? 4.4 Million.
Canada? 35 Million.
California has 38 Million people which is bigger than Canada.
In fact if you add up all the other countries I just mentioned, it still wouldn't equal the total population of the United States. It would 299.9 Million.
Think about that. So the next time you hear someone say "Why can't we be more like Finland?" tell them because we have 300 Million more people.
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8 RepliesEdited by Quantum: 12/6/2013 12:13:42 AMHave you ever heard of statistics? Magically saying "the US has a larger population" is not a valid argument unless it is a really specific case. Either way you would have to explain why the population being bigger would do this/wouldn't do this to have any reasonable case. A population of 60 million running a successful system heavily implies that a population of 300 million could do the same. Economically, the 300 million population would also benefit from a larger market, and economies of scale. 99% of time I have seen it used as just a handwave. "This doesn't apply to the US because the population is bigger, end of story." That's not a valid argument.
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3 RepliesWhich is why socialism wouldn't work for this country the way it works in countries in Europe.
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Edited by Yvonne: 12/7/2013 3:34:26 AMDear World: This is why we Americans "just can't get along." Love, The Whole -blam!-ing Continent [spoiler]This is including the diversity factor of it, by the way.[/spoiler]
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bigger population therefore different therefore fancifully specific conclusion? I don't buy it.
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You have more resources than Finland.
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China: 1.35 Billion The Peoples Liberation Army: 4.585 Million
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1 ReplyBut isn't that the point of states though? To have these policies, with federal government supplying rules that states have to follow?
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You should've also mentioned that we don't have one universal culture. The Southeast is like a completely different country than the Northeast/West Coast.
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7 RepliesGreat - far too many people in this country for my taste. I'll move when I get the chance.
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Edited by MoReCoWbELLx2x1: 12/6/2013 4:22:23 PMGosh I love these forums. Gaara didn't say anything about a type of government or attack anyone, and he gets attacked saying stuff like "You should accept socialism." Or "it's because Americans are stupid" Like can people not have a regular conversation now? Do people always just have to insult people? That's called red herring people. When you insert things in a conversation that is emotionally charged for no reason. It means your trying to make yourself feel better.
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20 RepliesEdited by Madman Mordo: 12/6/2013 3:47:20 PMThe population card is not a valid argument. The reason why America can't be like other countries is because of its ingrained individualistic "screw you I got my own" attitude towards everything. If the American people were more willing to take on say, mild forms of socialism both on the federal and state level, then it'd work. It wouldn't not work because of some bullshit half assed "well pohpewlayshun" excuse. That's just nothing more than a lazy handwave.
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2 RepliesThe whole argument is flawed, but the best part was when you started in with;[quote]Wait, New York City? Yup, not a country. More people live in New York City than Norway.[/quote]I can hear you screaming if anyone mentioned any one of the thousand small US towns ... or lets take some of those middle US states who's population is lower per square meter than many of those European countries. Plus your whole argument seems to center around the shear mass of stupidity stopping the US from changing ... not a great point to start with.
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Edited by IchEsseKinder: 12/6/2013 3:09:07 PMI just love when people say we should adopt similar gun laws like the UK. So tell me how a near-weapons ban stopped 2 mass shootings nine years apart? wait, it didn't. In fact, the bans/restrictions caused more deaths since UK police typically don't carry guns and there wasn't any single gun owner that could have stopped the two insane individuals. Don't forget about the guy who found a shotgun in his yard, took it to the police station, and was put in jail. Or how about the soldier who received a handgun from his Afghan (or Iraqi) counterparts but didn't know they put it in is suitcase and was charged and placed in jail. Yeah, let's totally follow the same laws. Hell, you have to go through a process in order to buy a large knife. Sadly people fail to utilize Switzerland as a great system to use with guns. Oh wait, it goes against Democrat agenda as nearly every home has at least one firearm (handgun or semi-automatic rifle) and the crime rate is one of the lowest in Europe, if not the world. *zips flamesuit* *casts fishing line*
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1 ReplyThe OP does have a valid point, though he's only scratched the surface. You have to add in demographics, and how wildly they vary all across the US compared to other countries.
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22 RepliesEdited by cxkxr: 12/6/2013 12:07:46 AMWhich is why states rights are important. Putting everyone in cookie cutter legislation mandated by the fed on a national level is beyond retarded.
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Good point, this is one reason why we lack the social cohesion that makes small countries work well.
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Dear god... I knew that the US probably had a bigger population but -blam!-! That's absolutely insane.
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1 ReplyEuropeans are a little too stupid to understand this.
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America is extremely bigger than most of the countries you've mentioned.
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3 RepliesThat doesn't actually explain why we can't be more like (insert country here). Yes, there's way more bureaucracy involved since we do have a larger population, I get it. But this is a strawman. People don't want to be more like a country per se, but they want the US to adopt the policies of said country. Let's ignore the countries and say "Why can't the US have (Insert policies of smaller country)?", it asked the same question, but it's ignoring the country and instead focusing on the policies of said country. You can't really use the "because we have 300 million more people" logic because you're not comparing the US to another country. That being said, should we dismiss what works for the small countries just because we're a large country? I'm just saying, if I ask why can't our economic system be more like the economic system of 1. A small left-wing country 2. a small moderate country 3. and small right-wing country. You can't really dismiss all three of the economic systems since we're going to have to be similar to one of their's. (You can argue that I presented a false trichotomy, but that's not the point)
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Thank you for saying this.
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TLDR; Merica is superior
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Edited by PandaJerk007: 12/6/2013 3:00:09 AMThat is a good point that I've never really thought about OP
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28 RepliesWhy can't we be more like China?
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1 ReplyPopulation statistics are a lot more important than most people seem to think.
