20 not so good catagories that the U.S. leads the world in...

Here we go people...We Americans like to think we are the best in the world and some of us may be right..

but we have our issues just like any other country...here is a list of 20...makes me wonder where we go from here..

source

#1 The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world and the largest total prison population on the entire globe.

#2 According to NationMaster.com, the United States has the highest percentage of obese people in the world.

#3 The United States has the highest divorce rate on the globe by a wide margin.

#4 The United States is tied with the U.K. for the most hours of television watched per person each week.

#5 The United States has the highest rate of illegal drug use on the entire planet.

#6 There are more car thefts in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world by far.

#7 There are more reported rapes in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world.

#8 There are more reported murders in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world.

#9 There are more total crimes in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world.

#10 The United States also has more police officers than anywhere else in the world.

#11 The United States spends much more on health care as a percentage of GDP than any other nation on the face of the earth.

#12 The United States has more people on pharmaceutical drugs than any other country on the planet.

#13 The percentage of women taking antidepressants in America is higherthan in any other country in the world.

#14 Americans have more student loan debt than anyone else in the world.

#15 More pornography is created in the United States than anywhere else on the entire globe. 89 percent is made in the U.S.A. and only 11 percent is made in the rest of the world.

#16 The United States has the largest trade deficit in the world every single year. Between December 2000 and December 2010, the United States ran a total trade deficit of 6.1 trillion dollars with the rest of the world, and the U.S. has had a negative trade balance every single year since 1976.

#17 The United States spends 7 times more on the military than any other nation on the planet does. In fact, U.S. military spending is greater than the military spending of China, Russia, Japan, India, and the rest of NATOcombined.

#18 The United States has far more foreign military bases than any other country does.

#19 The United States has the most complicated tax system in the entire world.

#20 The U.S. has accumulated the biggest national debt that the world has ever seen and it is rapidly getting worse. Right now, U.S. government debt is expanding at a rate of $40,000 per second.

So are you convinced that we are in trouble yet?

reply to post by baddmove


You could probably make that the top 100 bad catagories the U.S lead the world in!

nothing to be proud of!

And yes!...The U.S.A is in trouble....but we all are i'm afraid!

Who cares, we still beat every other country in all 20 categories!!! Wooooooo Hooooooo!!!!!!!
We're number 1 !!!!!!!!!!!!!

reply to post by baddmove

#1 The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world and the largest total prison population on the entire globe.

#10 The United States also has more police officers than anywhere else in the world.

This one gives ample opportunity for the US to lead the world in cops beating citizens up.

Maybe.

You need to factor in the US population when comparing things like this. The US has the 3rd highest population in the world. Only China and India have more people and they are both developing countries with questionable statistics. So it's easy to say the US has all these problems compared to much smaller countries.

I wonder if intolerance should be added to the list.

reply to post by Soldier of God


Yeah! That's the spirit!

/sarcasm

Originally posted by baddmove
Here we go people...We Americans like to think we are the best in the world and some of us may be right..

but we have our issues just like any other country...here is a list of 20...makes me wonder where we go from here..

You really can't simplify stuff like this.
source

#1 The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world and the largest total prison population on the entire globe.

Because we have longer sentences then other countries. People stay longer so you have more people piling up. If you were to average out the sentences with Europe, some European countries would actually have us beat. Remember that the next time someone is in jail for 3 years for a small amount of narcotic. So if you looked at it as admissions per year, we are not top.

#2 According to NationMaster.com, the United States has the highest percentage of obese people in the world.

Actually Isreal, Kuwait, and Bosnia have us beat.
And the numbers reported for obsesity are not uniform and depend on the state, because each state has their own criteria for what obesity is.

#3 The United States has the highest divorce rate on the globe by a wide margin.

Not a lot of countries give a report on divorce rate. And nice sensationalism. We run neck and neck with Sweden, and Puerto Rico, depending on what numbers you look at.

So you are 0 for 3 so far.....

#4 The United States is tied with the U.K. for the most hours of television watched per person each week.

If we are tied, then we are not first. Though this wouldn't surprise me. Industrialized nations can afford TV, so it leaves a lot of countries out of the competition.
Taiwan is a close second btw.

#5 The United States has the highest rate of illegal drug use on the entire planet.

Define illegal. Not all countries consider the same drugs illegal, or Amsterdam wouldn't be so popular. In Saudi Arabia, poppy seeds that you find on your bagel are illegal. The US deems a lot illegal that other countries don't. This number is very subjective.

#6 There are more car thefts in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world by far.

And we also own the most cars. So the statistics go together.No embarassment here. It is not a secret about American's obsession with cars. our highway system is so efficient that China is almost copying it down to the inch.

#7 There are more reported rapes in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world.

Key word here is reported. I am sure the women of Congo and Sudan, would beg to differ. But the government threatens to kill them if they say anything.

#8 There are more reported murders in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world.

Again, the key word is "reported". Kinda like how Hussein reported the mass graves in Iraq.

#9 There are more total crimes in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world.

What kind of crime? That is a broad spectrum. The teenager being busted at Spencer for stealing a skull necklace count?

#10 The United States also has more police officers than anywhere else in the world.

Would this be a problem if it were the most fire fighters? Again, this is a very subjective number. Who is considered a police officer? Are MP included? Are rangers included? Does this include the special agents who only go after terrorists or the DEA? Many police officers are specialized.

#11 The United States spends much more on health care as a percentage of GDP than any other nation on the face of the earth.

This one I will give you. It is insane.

#12 The United States has more people on pharmaceutical drugs than any other country on the planet.
#13 The percentage of women taking antidepressants in America is higherthan in any other country in the world.

Because we pay the most for health care and have access. You think a poor clinic in god's country has a stockpile of wellbutrin? Americans also pay a hefty price for it because we can afford to subsidize the research. 12 & 13 can be combined.

#14 Americans have more student loan debt than anyone else in the world.

Yes its a racket.

#15 More pornography is created in the United States than anywhere else on the entire globe. 89 percent is made in the U.S.A. and only 11 percent is made in the rest of the world.

And this is a bad thing?
Entertainment is the American export. That and corn. And peaches. So pornography falls into the entertainment category. While Baliwood makes the most movies, they are relatively low budget and most of us have never seen one.

#16 The United States has the largest trade deficit in the world every single year. Between December 2000 and December 2010, the United States ran a total trade deficit of 6.1 trillion dollars with the rest of the world, and the U.S. has had a negative trade balance every single year since 1976.

Which is why China and India are becoming rich.

#17 The United States spends 7 times more on the military than any other nation on the planet does. In fact, U.S. military spending is greater than the military spending of China, Russia, Japan, India, and the rest of NATOcombined.

This is our other export. We need to protect all those pirated dvd. We could spend less on military. But he who has the most toys, wins. Btw, it is not just about war, about every toy we have has come from the military....like um our gps.

#18 The United States has far more foreign military bases than any other country does.

This can just be combined with #17

#19 The United States has the most complicated tax system in the entire world.

I am sure others would argue who has the worst XD

#20 The U.S. has accumulated the biggest national debt that the world has ever seen and it is rapidly getting worse. Right now, U.S. government debt is expanding at a rate of $40,000 per second.

you really think the government doesn't know what its doing, we hang onto the recession just a little bit longer and the Chinese dollar will collapse......

So are you convinced that we are in trouble yet?

NO

So why don't you go post 20 positive facts?
Of course the US has issues. But go live in the Sudan for awhile and tell me how bad it really is.

Most of those thing just sound like we are the richest nation in the world, with the biggest drive for entertainment, and the biggest economy for consumption. The only one that really stands out to me is the prison population.

Also, are we looking at total numbers, or per capita numbers? That makes a big difference, and I happen to know that a few of those statistics are extremely different when you look at the per capita numbers.

There are some immediate problems with some of this stats.

1. In some countries, rape is still legal and worse, a woman that claims rape is often jailed. I can guarantee rape is higher in these countries than the US.

2. The US has some of the strictest drug laws in the world. Hence, there are more laws to break, so our numbers are higher.

3. Divorce is illegal in some Muslim countries.

4, reported murders is not the same as actual murders.

Interesting article and well researched, however it is only one portion of the picture that should be discussed. For every negative there is something else that could be stated:
#1 The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world and the largest total prison population on the entire globe.
While they do not discuss the conditions of said prisons around the world, nor does it get into how the inmate population is generally treated. That should at least be discussed and added in as a factor. In some countries, prisons are far more dangerous than others, and a lot more brutal, where inmates are given neither compassion or the benefit of a trial by jury, being presumed to be guilty and having to prove their innocence.

#2 According to NationMaster.com, the United States has the highest percentage of obese people in the world.
Why yes we may have the highest percentage of obese people in the world, yet that should state that the US has the highest percentage of people who are not starving or going hungry.

#3 The United States has the highest divorce rate on the globe by a wide margin.
Here again, it can be asked, what about the other religions and how they play into that rate as well. After all those that have the lowest divorce rate, also have some very untactful statistics, such as India where the murder of ones bride is up high. So while the divorce rate is up in the US, the woman is still living.

#4 The United States is tied with the U.K. for the most hours of television watched per person each week.
We like our entertainment and TV

#5 The United States has the highest rate of illegal drug use on the entire planet.
You got us on that one.

#6 There are more car thefts in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world by far.
Well yeah, but would that not be proportionate to the number of cars owned in the world?

#7 There are more reported rapes in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world.
That statistic can be argued, as there are many countries where if a woman reports a rape, she is seen as guilty or it goes unreported. The statistic is flawed in that fact.

#8 There are more reported murders in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world.
Those are reported, yet there is the question that in some countries, how murders do not go reported, and are often left forgotten by those who would collect the data.

#9 There are more total crimes in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world.
Define crime, as many countries have different criminal codes.

#10 The United States also has more police officers than anywhere else in the world.
Yes, but no other country in the world has a very large and diverse population, nor are the police constrained to follow the laws, where the police can not legally claim to be the law.

#11 The United States spends much more on health care as a percentage of GDP than any other nation on the face of the earth.
Yet ignores the fact that many medical innovations and research are being made in the US that is a leader in the industry.

#12 The United States has more people on pharmaceutical drugs than any other country on the planet.
Has stricter drug control laws on the books to prevent the pharmaceutical companies from introducing something that is potentially dangerous to the general population.

#13 The percentage of women taking antidepressants in America is higherthan in any other country in the world.
Not sure on that one.

#14 Americans have more student loan debt than anyone else in the world.
And yet the US colleges are easier to get into than most places in the rest of the world, and most are businesses in themselves, not relying on too much public funding. Seems like India is benefiting from this factor, as they have the highest number of graduates from US colleges and Universities that come here, get a degree and return home.

#15 More pornography is created in the United States than anywhere else on the entire globe. 89 percent is made in the U.S.A. and only 11 percent is made in the rest of the world.
And we think freedom of speech is bad why?

#16 The United States has the largest trade deficit in the world every single year. Between December 2000 and December 2010, the United States ran a total trade deficit of 6.1 trillion dollars with the rest of the world, and the U.S. has had a negative trade balance every single year since 1976.

#17 The United States spends 7 times more on the military than any other nation on the planet does. In fact, U.S. military spending is greater than the military spending of China, Russia, Japan, India, and the rest of NATOcombined.
Yet it seems like anytime some one cries for help it is the US that goes in first, no matter what the situation is, be it humanitarian aid or to help out.

#18 The United States has far more foreign military bases than any other country does.
Yes the US does have a lot of foreign military basis. Course it does not mention how it affects the local economy’s there, the people that are hired.
#19 The United States has the most complicated tax system in the entire world.
Yet our taxes, for as complicated of a tax system are lower than the rest of the worlds.

#20 The U.S. has accumulated the biggest national debt that the world has ever seen and it is rapidly getting worse. Right now, U.S. government debt is expanding at a rate of $40,000 per second.
Ok that we have, but at the same time, we do seem to be the back bone of the world, too many countries are wanting to trade with us.
The point of this is that for every negative point that is brought up, there is a good point behind it that is either ignored, or something that is left out. No country is perfect nor do they have the entire answers to the problems of their societies.

reply to post by Soldier of God
Typical blind arrogance.

Your country in a bad way as listed, so ignore the evidence, the situation & the consequnces.

Its just full speed ahead into oblivion & take as many as physically possible with you.

In the words of MR T, "I pity the fool"



reply to post by baddmove
I would be proud of point 15

reply to post by baddmove


For some of these I may need to see the percent versus total number, because we are a large country.

As far as rape and murder, you could argue it's because they actually get reported, which is probably a good thing.

Then again, #10 is our policing, which is high and, one argument could be, at least, that this is why there is so much reporting. Then again, it could be a vicious circle...the more police, the more "crimes" committed, the more incarceration, etc.

reply to post by baddmove


:lolnly in america

reply to post by Sphota


If you look at the source..

you will see some meters and graphs on each numbered statistic..

that shows most of these are actually facts...

for the U.S. that is....

That we imprison more people than China should be an eye opener.

You would think that with the amount we spend on heath care that our infant mortality rate would not be so high. The high infant mortality rate and the rising number of pregnant women who die in this country should be something to be ashamed of. You would think those who were pro life and all about saving babies would give a crap about saving those babies.

America bashing... so classy and original.

Deny Ignorance, fools.

reply to post by de Thor


I'm sorry..

did you have a point?

If so...

what was it?

reply to post by baddmove


Pick out any country in the world and I can skew the stats to make it look like Satan runs the show.

I think you forgot one...America is the biggest CON on the planet. They have the people actually believing their free, while making a FORTUNE doing it via their ponzi schemes; from taxes to wall street. Face it, dear American citizens....you're being played for FOOLS! Look at what has been done to your country, over the last decade. Nothing really to brag about....so put down the pom-poms...the party is O-VA! The people running the country, dont care about you! They ALSO have mouths to feed....and you KNOW silver spoons dont come cheap.