and…now that this wonderfully sentimented thread has been utterly hijacked, I’m done.

sheesh!

I’m not for or against government-controlled health care. I’m for more efficient health care to which everyone has access. The Netherlands does this through private insurance, and it works quite well, because everyone has to buy into the system, and those who are too poor to do so are provided subsidies to allow them to participate. A system that includes the young and healthy spreads the risk around the population and keeps costs manageable. It makes no difference who manages it. Americans appear to be unique in their utter unwillingness to pay anything as long as they are healthy, coupled with their unwavering demand to be cared for at great public expense the moment anything goes wrong. In this respect we are truly a nation of five-year-olds. In other respects, we fare better.

I never said the US is not great. I said it’s not objectively the greatest country in the world.

You have every right to attack my character as well as (or in addition to) my arguments, but by doing so you pretty much guarantee that I won’t be persuaded by your reasoning.

As for the Wall Street Journal article that you cited, which does indeed state that “less than 10% of multimillionaires cited inheritance as their source of wealth,” this sounds as though millionaires were self-reporting the source(s) of their wealth. Of course people are going to underreport the extent to which they got where they are due to inheritance. That’s the myth of American self-sufficiency that comes from watching too many Western movies. I’d like to see actual figures and not self-reported ones.

I for one have wealth due to my own savings and shrewd investments as well as inheritance. The inheritance and its growth make up more than half of my wealth, and I freely admit that I would be far worse off if I had only what my own efforts have reaped. Even with my inherited wealth I am far from wealthy, but barring any unforeseen hardships, I am comfortably off. One life-threatening illness coupled with unemployment could end that forever, though, and I suspect that’s true for most people who are not Bill Gates rich.

The life expectancy and infant mortality statistics I cited were just two areas in which America is quite demonstrably not the greatest country in the world. It may be the country you prefer to live in, and that’s fine (I like it here, too), but when people just reflexively spew that “greatest country in the world” mantra, it seems counterproductive to me. After all, if we’re the greatest country in the world, we can just stop trying to make things better and completely ignore the experience of other countries, right?

The myth of America is that the average person has a statistically significant chance of becoming very wealthy. If you ask Americans, “Is your income in the top 1% of all Americans?” a staggering 19% respond in the affirmative. Because of this utter disconnect from reality, we’re willing to forego a meaningful social safety net for an infinitesimal chance that we’ll be the next Bill Gates. It reminds me of the Simpsons episode where the nuclear plant workers gave up their health insurance in exchange for a pinball machine in the break room, only when it’s real it’s a lot less funny.

The millionaire fact is from here – http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2008/01/14/the-decline-of-inherited-money/ I don’t make up facts or present random nonsense to prove my points.

Did I say socialism? No, I said sciolism. Maybe you should use one of your seven library cards to go look it up.

So what is your answer, Andrew? Government controlled health care? That’s going to rocket the US to a higher LE and prove you right?

I’m trying to understand what your argument and or point is as you randomize your replies jumping from point to point. Is this dialogue about the US not being great, or is it about health care?

Simply remember…….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOih0MHNmZU

I never suggested Germany was “great.” Again, you can’t refute the facts, so you pick a straw man argument. If you’re going to argue, you should learn the rules of how to do so.

I have not one but seven library cards.

Stories of people coming from nothing and becoming more are commonplace in all rich, democratic countries, including this one.

If you’re accusing me of being a socialist, you’re incorrect. I do believe in a social safety net to help protect people from some of the ravages of the capitalist system which exists to produce great amounts of wealth. I also believe in equality of opportunity. I do not believe in equality of income, wealth, or outcomes.

Where do you get your figures about inherited wealth? They _feel_ inaccurate to me, but if you could cite some reliable sources, I might change my mind.

And I’ll stop talking when I feel like it or when the blog owner stops approving my comments, not when you tell me to.

Oh yeah, let’s not forget that 70 years ago we bashed Germany and only by our benevolence did we not wipe them out of existence. Would your great Germany be as so kind?

You have weak arguments and poor points to come to any conclusion. I suggest you get a library card membership and read on facts before posting your ignorance online.

And the stories of people coming from nothing and becoming more is the backbone and heart of this great country.

Your trivialization of becoming wealthy is another shortcoming of yours. less than 10% of multimillionaires cited inheritance as their source of wealth. Additionally, the top 1% wealthiest only claim 9% as inherited. Plain old millionaires? Only 2%.

Please stop talking now, as it’s becoming very difficult to figure out if I’m stepping in “it” or your sciolism.

However, that story is hardly unique to the United States. Immigrants have built successful lives and raised successful children in rich countries all around the world. Those rich countries have better social safety nets, lower infant mortality, and higher life expectancy.

As for how the rich got their wealth, some gained it through hard work and sacrifice, some through inheritance, and some through shady business practices and crime. I suspect that’s true in all countries, not just the United States.