MrShadowzs wrote...
Ummmmmm, I think that's a fucking stupid idea. Why the hell would we need to overthrow the government, it's just fine, while place like Libya and Somalia people are literally dying under their government (or lack there of). And we bitch about how we don't like our leaders, give it a few years and they'll be out of there, while in other countries leader can be there for decades and if you don't like it and say so YOU DIE. America is a great country where we don't have to worry about that so stop complaining.
1). The current poverty rate in the United States is at 12% give of take. Not fantastic but, if could be worse. Until you take into account that the poverty rate in the United States is based on 1969 standards of living. Updating the poverty line for economic growth since 1969 would yield a 2010 poverty line of $45,736 for a family of four. A family of four living on less than $45,736 today is just as poor -- relative to the country as a whole -- as a family in poverty was in 1969 when the current line was set. By that standard, about 28% of American families of four are now living in poverty, twice the official poverty rate. If that sounds high, it's only because we are much more miserly today than our grandparents were in 1969.
2). The United States finished 2009 with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 85%, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The 90% level has become the IMF's make-or-break point for countries hoping to grow their way out of debt. If the government debt load climbs above 90% of GDP, economic growth slows so much that growth is no longer a viable solution for reducing that debt, and the IMF insists on austerity measures. The current standing in 2011 is at 92%.
3). Declining Civil Rights. In America, private discussions and movements are
monitored.free speech is
corralled. the freedom to assemble for protest is by
Government decree. Then anyone who questions or challenges the system are labeled as you.
terrorists, pedophiles or whatever else they can slap you with to demonize and disgrace
4).
America's crumbling infastructure
*According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, more than 25 percent of America's nearly 600,000 bridges need significant repairs or are burdened with more traffic than they were designed to carry.
*According to the Federal Highway Administration, approximately a third of America's major roadways are in substandard condition - a significant factor in a third of the more than 43,000 traffic fatalities in the United States each year.
*The Texas Transportation Institute estimates that traffic jams caused by insufficient infrastructure waste 4 billion hours of commuters' time and nearly 3 billion gallons of gasoline a year.
*The Association of State Dam Safety Officials has found that the number of dams in the United States that could fail has grown 134% since 1999 to 3,346, and more than 1,300 of those are considered "high-hazard" - meaning that their collapse would threaten lives.
*More than a third of all dam failures or near failures since 1874 have happened in just the last decade.
*According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, aging sewer systems spill an estimated 1.26 trillion gallons of untreated sewage every single year, resulting in an estimated 50.6 billion dollars in cleanup costs.
5.Disappearing middle class: During the last presidential debate season, they argued that a family income of $250K was solidly middle-class. Well,
Census data shows less than 15% of families make over $100K, and only 1.5% of families make over $250K. The income gap between the rich and poor has increased at a staggering pace, while many more middle-class folks join the ranks of the poor every day. Cavernous income gaps may be what Third-World nations are best known for.
6. Devalued currency: The value of the Federal Reserve Note (U.S. dollar)
has declined 96% since the inception of the Rederal Reserve in 1913
7. Controlling the media: A government-influenced media that censors information is a key component of Third World countries. In some countries it is openly owned by the State. In America, privately-owned major media
is not as balanced or as diverse as it seems; the concentration of ownership has led to
censorship when national and corporate interests have sometimes overlapped. The persecution of high-profile investigative journalists such as WikiLeaks is set amid a backdrop of the proposed Internet censorship of bloggers who wish to remain anonymous. The end of net neutrality creates a pay-to-play system that can lead to further corporate and government control of information and opinion.
Time to wake up Dorothy. You're not in Kansas anymore.