Current Events > People that think the USA is a third world country or is becoming one...

(+) Yeah! (+)

...have never been to a real third world country.

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Look at the wealth gap, so much poor people versus a handle of rich. Barely any middle class. America is turning into slum dog millionaire

And Ive been to South East Asia and South America, Im very cultured

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It's the epitome of white privilege to claim the US is a thrid world country.

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Ya, I just assume people are exaggerating when they say stuff like that
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Americans may have a few more amenities than people in actual third world countries but the society they live in seems like one of the most dystopian ones I can think of tbh.

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Preach, TC.

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yeah i mean we have iphones and fast food and electricity so we're fine

The wealth inequality is actually greater than in most third world countries

We're not a third world country but given our current trajectory, we don't have too long to becoming one

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Rexdragon125 posted...

The wealth inequality is actually greater than in most third world countries

This. We're a poor country with a lot of wealth in it.

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The presence of rich people doesn't make you poorer. The "inequality" argument is nonsense.

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Rexdragon125 posted...

The wealth inequality is actually greater than in most third world countries

Doesn't mean much when you consider even most "poor" people here are well off

America's response to protests against police brutality was the police tear gassing protesters, our prisons are packed full, amphetamines and opioids are tearing the midwest apart, and consumer debt is reaching unsustainable levels

All signs of a healthy nation if you ask me, I think people are just overreacting

And no, poor people here are not well off

https://youtu.be/M_afuN1ABxc

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There are areas of the US just as impoverished as any other third world country

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Rexdragon125 posted...

The wealth inequality is actually greater than in most third world countries

This is true if you look at cities like SF, NYC or LA. Incredible wealth apartheid with a growing homeless and slum problem.

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Squall28 posted...

The presence of rich people doesn't make you poorer.

It actually does.

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Squall28 posted...

The presence of rich people doesn't make you poorer. The "inequality" argument is nonsense.

It does when rich people influence government policy and are directly responsible for stagnant wages.

Also a lot of those rich people became rich due to the exploitation of the poor/working class.

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IShall_Run_Amok posted...

It actually does.

It doesn't

Has anyone here ever been to Laos? Now that's a fucking third world country.

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coh posted...

It doesn't

Rich people shouldn't exist.

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how do you guys define third world country? It's a really ambiguous term.

A place like argentina can be third world. But then a place like Sierra Leone can be third world too. The difference between Sierra Leone and Argentina is bigger than the difference between Argentina and Portugal, the latter being the bottom of the barrel of the 1st world.

Oh wow we have iPhone and McDonalds, Americans are so well off ::rolls eyes:: compared to countries that have been bombed or war torn for centuries!!! ::rolls eyes::

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twitterfriends posted...

Oh wow we have iPhone and McDonalds, Americans are so well off ::rolls eyes:: compared to countries that have been bombed or war torn for centuries!!! ::rolls eyes::

I mean yeah this but without the sarcasm

10 Facts About Poverty in Laos

1. According to Vision Launch Discover, 90 percent of Lao people lived off of $1 a day in the 1990s; now, this number is about $1.25. The other 10 percent live in Vientiane, the capital and largest city of Laos. Vientiane draws in the most wealth as the economic center of Laos.
2. Laos is the most bombed country in history because of World War II. From 1964 to 1973, the U.S. dropped more than 2 million tons of ordnance over Laos during 580,000 bomb missions. Fifty people a year are killed from unexploded bombs left over from the war. These bombs scattered around the country are usually mistaken for toys and get tossed around before exploding; thus 40 percent of bomb deaths are children. Since 80 percent of people depend on their land to eat and live, people in Laos have no choice but to risk their lives working in fields covered in unexploded bombs.
3. Forty-four percent, or 363,000, of Lao children under 5 years old are affected by stunting, a highly common condition in Laos. Stunting is usually caused by maternal undernutrition before and during pregnancy.
4. More than 60 percent of children are malnourished and anemic. These conditions become potentially fatal due to the inadequate nutrition and lack of access to healthcare providers.
5. Although improving, 23.2 percent or about 1.4 million Laos people are still living at or below the poverty line. Still, this is a major improvement from the 33.5 percent of the past.
6. Agriculture is a key pillar in life in Laos, accounting for 80 percent of employment. The most important and produced crops are rice, vegetables, beans, sugarcane, starchy roots and tobacco.
7. Education is scarce; therefore, people are forced to work in agriculture since there is little to no access to established schools and workplaces. According to United Nations Lao PDR, 70 percent of employed people work in agriculture and over a third of them dont make enough to live sufficiently.
8. Women receive less schooling but work longer hours than men; however, 70 percent of the illiterate population are women. According to UNESCO, more than 4,000 villages lack access to education.
9. Two-thirds of people have a short supply of food and living essentials. During May and October of 2010, Laos faced what community leaders called the worst drought in living memory after Typhoon Ketsana in late 2009. This drought left 85,000 people affected with no seeds to harvest and no place to live. While poor climate is not unusual in Laos, this puts more burden onto the people that depend on their land to survive.
10. For more than 20 years, the United States has donated more than $100 million to support UXO programs. This money is intended to clean up unexploded ordinances and give victims access to rehabilitation centers. Also, in February 2016, the United States and Laos signed to a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, which will allow more opportunities and investments between the two nations.

Does anything in America even compare to the situation in Laos?

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yea we're way better than
Veggeta X posted...

the most bombed country in history

Bruh my parents in a place where they washed their clothes in a river and had no electricity. Privileged Americans complaining here while searching for their next Amazon purchase on their iPhones. Spoiled as shit.

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TheBabaYaga posted...

how do you guys define third world country? It's a really ambiguous term.

A place like argentina can be third world. But then a place like Sierra Leone can be third world too. The difference between Sierra Leone and Argentina is bigger than the difference between Argentina and Portugal, the latter being the bottom of the barrel of the 1st world.

Poor living conditions, inadequate access to basic necessities, lots of homeless/poor, largely uneducated populus, etc.,

Its hard to say the U.S. as a whole is third world because things vary drastically from state to state or even county to county, but there are cities within the U.S. that come very close to being a third-world environment, if they aren't already there.

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TheBabaYaga posted...

how do you guys define third world country? It's a really ambiguous term.

A place like argentina can be third world. But then a place like Sierra Leone can be third world too. The difference between Sierra Leone and Argentina is bigger than the difference between Argentina and Portugal, the latter being the bottom of the barrel of the 1st world.

afaik theres been no rigorous definition since the cold war ended

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I think it's kind of disingenuous to talk about America as a single entity to begin with, because it's such a diverse nation culturally and environmentally.

Gwynevere posted...

afaik theres been no rigorous definition since the cold war ended

People have moved away from it altogether. There are a few alternatives - "developed" and "developing" countries, "middle income country" and "low income country", "Global North" and "Global South" is becoming more prominent, too though those concepts have been around for decades.

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twitterfriends posted...

Look at the wealth gap, so much poor people versus a handle of rich. Barely any middle class. America is turning into slum dog millionaire

last night i had to hide in an outhouse while i was being shit upon

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RchHomieQuanChi posted...

Poor living conditions, inadequate access to basic necessities, lots of homeless/poor, largely uneducated populus, etc.,

Its hard to say the U.S. as a whole is third world because things vary drastically from state to state or even county to county, but there are cities within the U.S. that come very close to being a third-world environment, if they aren't already there.

Yeah, I mean, look at Skid Row. There's functionality no difference between the way people live there and the way people live in 3rd world countries. But that doesnt count because ???

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Skid row is not representative of the population

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It's starting to look third world.

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Dark_SilverX posted...

It's starting to look third world.

how so?

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Doe posted...

Skid row is not representative of the population

"We'll just pretend this poor area doesnt exist, and this one, and this one too, and now America is great again"

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Correct TC
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crumbling infrastructure

inaccessible housing and healthcare

oligarchical govt

quashing of dissent

state-fed misinformation

gun violence

disease

yeah we're doing fine

These poor areas in America. Are there little to no outlet from it?

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Diokneesius posted...

crumbling infrastructure

inaccessible housing and healthcare

oligarchical govt

quashing of dissent

state-fed misinformation

gun violence

disease

yeah we're doing fine

abandon hope all ye who enter!

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why do normal complaints prompt you to misrepresent them with fake histrionics

Diokneesius posted...

why do normal complaints prompt you to misrepresent them with fake histrionics

whoa man i never said your histrionics were fake

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ha

CHM_Punk posted...

*Poverty exists.*

Capitalism has failed! - Said the twerp that exclusively gets their political information from tweets and memes.

Who are you trying to argue against right now?

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I think it's more along the lines of a reaction to people who believe unquestioningly that the United States is the greatest country in the world, and have likely never been to another country.

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The23rdMagus posted...

I think it's more along the lines of a reaction to people who believe unquestioningly that the United States is the greatest country in the world, and have likely never been to another country.

Don't think that's what some people ITT are saying bro. They literal mean to parts of the USA are the same as a 3rd world country or we're at least close to becoming one.

I wish some people are just exaggerating the state our of country with the comparisons but I don't think that's the case.

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Gwynevere posted...

our prisons are packed full

Yup. We make up 4.4% of the worlds population but have 22% of the worlds prisoners.

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Diokneesius posted...

crumbling infrastructure

I recently saw someone say, No, modern America does not resemble ancient Rome during its fall, because Rome at least had good roads.

lol

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You haven't been to the rural deep south if you don't think parts of the US aren't third world. Or Idaho lol

CHM_Punk posted...

*Poverty exists.*

Capitalism has failed!

Yeah, its pretty silly. Poverty is an integral part of capitalism.

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