To be so intrigued by America?

As someone who lives just north of the US/Canada border, we fully understand how America works. You can keep it. There is nothing we want.

An American I know says the US is really "fifty countries in a trenchcoat".

Have you actually lived in the US?

It's very different. Religion has a much bigger hold over there though I'm not sure why. They also seem to demonize left-wing views and anything mildly socialist gets labelled as communism. I think it's because it's the rich who have the greatest power (like Trump and Musk) and they like to promote the 'American dream' idea that anyone can succeed if they work hard enough. It's a myth but it makes them feel they've earned their wealth and power and shouldn't have to share it.

big proportion of states have much better abortion laws than we do in the UK.

Could you explain that please?

Would be most grateful for an explanation please.

I’ve (unfortunately) had a lot of contact with American people over the last few days because of a holiday company going bust.

im shocked at how many of them seem to think things like travel insurance is just completely useless. Until now, where they’re now all angry because they cant get refunds! It seems like a very weird society to live in.

Sorry to hear that.

It was difficult to discern quite what Medicaid would cover but I take the point.

She recorded every phone call. You can watch them on TikTok. She also had the noise of a baby crying in the background and the ones that ask her if she has tried xyz are told that she has tried everything she has phoned everywhere and she is desperate her baby hasn’t eaten since the night before. They still say no.

A lot of the churches also only help people that are from that church.

She also got people blaming the Biden Obama administration, it’s bizarre.

If they think it’s a scam then they would be out one can of baby formula if it’s true and they rejected her then they let a crying baby go hungry.

What is so sad and even becoming dangerous is how people form opinions, which then turns into what they think is the truth from what they hear or read on social media. Worse, it takes one random stranger bloke to say something and that becomes scientific evidence of a fact.

Honesty people, get off your phone and get a sense check of real life!

As a Canadian, I can assure you there is an exactly zero chance of me ever considering where I am from as “America”.

It always amuses me when people say that the food in America is “vile “ - do they think there is no fresh produce here? The supermarkets are amazing with a huge variety of groceries and produce, and plenty of high quality and organic food. Some people do not eat well for a variety of reasons, and there are sadly “ food deserts “ where it is impossible to buy fresh food. That is a terrible thing and many people are working to change that.
But there are also plenty of farmers’ markets and a range of grocery stores selling exactly the same type of food you find anywhere else. I do all my -affordable and healthy- grocery shopping down the road at Aldi , as I did in the UK !

This sounds like the uk health system to me. My family member (we’re in the uk) is going through this exact thing with the nhs.

Having lived in the U.S, part of our taxes were for Medicare. So everyone can access basic health care. They have a stronger work ethic and don’t expect everyone else to be subsidising them. They are much more self reliant and do not have the same expectations as many people do here.
It is the norm to have 6 weeks maternity leave, no where near as much annual leave as us and no reliance on sick pay. They are far more productive at work and can command far better pay. Without doubt they have a higher standard of living. They are more upbeat and respect professionals. Their economy has boomed over the years and they lead the way in innovation and technology.
By the way we are not a rich country, we are very nearly bankrupt.

You’d be surprised how much alumni donate to their British colleges too.

I’ll be buggered if Manchester University are getting a penny more from me and I definitely wouldn’t feel differently if I were a billionaire

Tax deductible.

My understanding is that people in general are not going without so they can give to charity. It's the taxman who goes without.

Instead of saying ‘The United States of America’ every time, many people just shorten it to ‘America’. I don’t think anyone is denying the existence of Uruguay or any of the other countries on the continent by doing this. It would be perhaps better to shorten it to “The States” but on this thread we all know which country is being referred to when someone types “America”

I know this is pedantic, and lots of people do it, but please - America is not just the USA.

There are 35 different countries in the Americas - e.g. Brasil, Mexico, Argentina, Canada etc etc. The USA is just one of these 35 countries.

Absolutely!

Me too.

The Brits in Boston Facebook group is great and they have lots of meet-ups, btw.

"It would be a dereliction of their duty to their citizens to agree to that."

Why ?

Should we work on majority vote or not?

If the rule from the start had been one person one vote for federal stuff, then Wyoming might not have joined. Their choice It would certainly be interesting to see the USA today if they had went with a one man one vote majority system ( and it was men only who could vote as we know. . Erm checks web, apart from Wyoming. Well done Wyoming, universal suffrage since founding in 1890.

They are happy enough to just have one congressman compared to the 52 from California.

And they still have their State laws.

The system now is that a Wyoming senate voter has 68 times the power than a California voter. The 3 million US citizens in Puerto Rico have zero vote power in the Senate.

So Puerto Ricans have to abide by fed laws they have no say over.

I don't think it is a whataboutism to mention PR, because we are discussing the US as a whole.

Me too

Also completely agree with this. My jaw dropped when I found out how much one of the senior partners at my firm had donated to his old university (7 figures…). There’s a HUGE culture of giving.