for the sake of being disagreeable, i would already say our nation is "up". i can't think of any other country i'd rather live in.
While you may be right about not wanting to live anywhere but the U.S. I must say my opinion, that we are spiraling downward out of control.. It may not seem like it because the gov is trying its hardest to make it seem like all is well so we don't panic... We have many entities "floating" us along until a certain time when it will all come crashing down.. I just feel like nobody is actually doing anything to stop the spending, only complaining about it or saying that its going to be okay..
When a person is not bringing in enough money to pay for their expenses they:
1. Stop adding more expenses/debts
2. Make a list of their Income/Expenses
3. Review the list and determine what is necessary and what is just a waste of money..
4. Brainstorm on how they can bring in more income and make it happen
5. Turn off their lights when they don't need them on and unplug computer/tv/microwave/etc that is no longer used
6. Are resourceful, recycle, and reuse
7. Determine who to pay back first and who to pay back last
8. Get their shit together and get out of debt
Take that and apply it to every American citizen/government agency and we should be off to a good start..
Americans are so wasteful and detached from the way life should be that they think they need all the new stuff and the tastiest food when they cant actually afford it.. Think about how much money Americans would save if they didn't use cancerous tobacco products.. I understand that people are entitled to do what they please but one has to think about the long term effect on themselves, their town, their state, their country, and ultimately the world.
Here is an example of where we are going wrong:
My dad smokes 2 packs of cigarettes a day and pays about $7/pack. That is ~$400/month minimum, ~$5,000/year. Multiply that by 2 for his girlfriends bad habit and you have ~$10,000 per year MINIMUM.. That is about 1/3 of my current annual income and that my friend is a waste of money.. Now think about the future health cost for the user and the health care system associated with 2 packs of cigs/day and we are drowning in debt... oh and some people smoke 3 or even 4 packs a day so that is double my calculations. This is just for cigs..
We have:
Alcohol (liver problems, retarded babies, car accidents, and addiction)
Unhealthy diets; fat saturated foods, extreme sugar levels, cancer causing food types (obesity, diabetes, heart conditions, addiction, and laziness)
Prescription pills (fatty liver, psoriasis of the liver, mental illness, addiction)
And many more contributing factors leading to poor health, wellness, and high health care cost...
Our country is a great place to live but we have to determine the difference between what we need and what we want... Only after that can we start to indulge in life's tangible treats...
A country can either have a strong military or a strong health care system but not both.. And we need to decide as Americans what we want. There is not enough money flowing through the lower class to run it all.. What we need is money coming in from other countries buying our goods instead of pumping our money out...
In my opinion people shouldn't be receiving food stamps and section 8 housing if they are buying cigarettes on a regular basis