That's all a bit disingenuous - given the debt rises before Covid 19 were mostly due to tax cuts for the mega rich - and a lot of the Covid 19 package was corporate welfare .
I like that Americans are very friendly and hospitable - but you guys are the most brainwashed in the western world - with your swearing allegiance at school - to your total subjugation to your Corporate Gods - Classic Stockholm syndrome .
Proud of only 2 weeks holiday federal holidays.
Proud to have no meaningful socialized medicine ( why not go after primary schools?? )
Proud to have few employee rights.
Proud to work stupid hours- When I watched TV in the 70s I was amazed in shows when Corporations told employees to move State - they complied like whipped animals - uprooting kids and family .
As for the topic at hand - there is no easy answer - but the current system is very detrimental to happiness - will folks enjoy gated communities & 24 hour security if it comes to that like in some countries ?
Always makes me laugh when The Haves complain about positive discrimination - when then little dumb son Donny can get into good schools with some payoffs
The pledge of allegiance is not required and hasn't been for nearly 30 years. But I was taught (and others I know from around the USA said similar) the flag is a representation of the people of the country and the history we come from. When you pledge allegiance to it your pledging allegiance to the people, not the government, the government has it's own symbols. This is also why some people take flag burning as a serious offense, they see it as you symbolizing that you want to destroy the people of the country, not the government (which is usually who those people are most angry at)
Most Americans don't trust and have a lot of gripes with many of the large corporations that operate in the country. It's hardly a undying obsession and love for them.
2 weeks holiday is standard, many jobs have 2-4 weeks depending on time with the company or how they accrue it for hourly position, it's also something that can be negotiated when hired.
Social medicine is complex as hell subject here in the USA, but it typically boils down to who earned what and dealing with consequences for ones actions and choices. Basically if I choose to take up heavy drinking and smoking, knowing full well what the effects are, is it right for me to pass the burden of my choices onto my fellow citizens in millions of dollars in medical bills? Should I have to pay for some guy who got shot in a gang on gang violence in a state that is over 2,000 miles away from me? This has worked on a national level in much smaller less culturally diverse countries than the USA, and it works damn well for them, others have a terrible implementation of it with no better or even worse care then private healthcare. We get compared to the various Europeans nations a lot for healthcare, I like to counter with a though experiment. Imagine if the entire EU decided very quickly to force all the countries in it to switch to one universal EU health care system, do you think it would go over smoothly? I could see years of fighting over "who's system is the best" and "who has to pay what amount" and "why do we in France have to pay for the people in Lithuania?" type of arguments. Then factor in the massive lack of individual representation the average person has at the EU level of government. That's the general issue in the United states. You can't think of us one unified culture, we are a large country geographically, with a lot of different cultures and ideas spread throughout it. I think if states were given the right (like they have over the majority of other things) to implement whatever healthcare system they want in the state we would see it implemented in nearly half the states. The best part would be the different kinds of systems, proving which methods work better than others. It would also have the chance to be implemented in a democratic way in that states elections and tailored specifically over time to that state's needs. The people of California get the system they want and they pay for it, not everyone else paying for the stuff that mainly benefits California. But the feds have basically blocked this and it would take an act of god for them to allow it at this point.
Employee's rights vary from state to state (this is a major thing they have control over) some states (like California and New York) are strict with lots of employee protection, others not so much, but the people in those states can choose to change it.
If 40 hours a week seems like a lot to you then that's odd, historically we worked 50-70 hour weeks so 40 is pretty light, and many only work 25-35 hours. When being asked to move for a job a significant bonus is usually involved or your moving for a new higher position which will give you more pay and a better path for advancement.
Current system could easily be solved with simple bipartisan work and a realistic approach. Anytime one side try's to force something they want(especially with the slim majorities we have seen in the last decade) without any say or opinion allowed or implemented from the other side is when **** get's hectic and it's been a steady 12 years of tit for tat bullshit from both sides.