So Americans Don't Live In A Country Where The Streets Are Paved With Gold...

[sandyRoe]

"President Obama is calling on Congress to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10. And the President has taken the first step by signing an Executive Order raising the minimum wage for federal contractors.

Raising the federal minimum wage will give millions of Americans a raise, and it's long overdue -- because no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty."
$7.25 is less than the minimum wage here in the UK. Even $10 an hour isn't much above it. Who'd have thought that the land of opportunity is also the land of poverty in employment?

[pixie373]

I suppose you have to equate it with the cost of living. Perhaps their utilities and groceries are cheaper. It's hard to tell with a straight comparison.

[emmie]

have you been to the US, i was surprised or actually shocked at the level of poverty, driving from one state to another, seeing shanty towns, rows and rows of clapboard housing, and it goes without saying that the medical care is often not. That over 40 million Americans have no medical insurance is shocking for a modern, wealthy country.

[emmie]

the American dream is often a nightmare, not a country i could live in, i did consider it once, i was soon dissuaded by my numerous visits.

[factor-fiction]

When I first went to the States I noticed that despite the apparent affluence there were quite a number of people living in what seemed like shanty town huts - but they usually seemed to be proudly flying the US flag

[pastafreak]

As an American living in the UK,I was surprised by the US minimum wage when I learned what it was several years ago. And,as far as I know,it can vary from state to state. I was making much more than that figure when I last worked there as a freelance artist almost 30 years ago. Hate to think what the minimum was then.

[pastafreak]

Here is a cost of living comparison ... most things are more costly here.

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_countries_result.jsp?country1=United+States&country2=United+Kingdom

[zebo]

So agree with the comments about the standard of living in some parts of the USA, driving through West Virginia, Georgia and the Carolinas was an enormous shock. We all know that standards vary in every country but we were also shocked at the attitude of people to the poor, many were totally dismissive and argued against any attempt to improve their lives eg by giving decent healthcare. There are always people on these pages who come over as being unsympathetic to the plight of others but the people we've met, especially in election years, in the US make most ABers look kind, generous and caring. Even you!

[emmie]

i was with an American friend and couldn't have been more surprised,
even he said that there was a large social divide, many American black people totally left out in the cold as far as the wealth of the nation

[sandyRoe]

I had sometimes wondered how the American proletariat lost its way. But I imagine that the American Dream of making it big doesn't leave much room for class solidarity.
It's surprising to see that costs here in the UK are so much higher.

[sandyRoe]

Even me? And I thought I was the embodiment of kindness, generosity, and carefulness. :-)

[whiskeryron]

One of the things I find astonishing in the land of freedom & opportunity is (I think I am right in saying) that American Indians are not allowed to own land.

See Wikipedia quote The Bureau of Indian Affairs reports on its website that its "responsibility is the administration and management of 55,700,000 acres (225,000 km2) of land held in trust by the United States for American Indians, Indian tribes, and Alaska Natives".[109] Many Native Americans and advocates of Native American rights believe that it is condescending for such lands to be considered "held in trust" and regulated in any fashion by other than their own tribes, whether the U.S. or Canadian governments, or any other non-Native American authority.

WR.

[jomifl]

3 million American families live in trailer (caravan) parks. and 20% of the population live in slums.

[ToraToraTora]

who told you the streets are paved with gold sandy?

[emmie]

the perception that it is a very wealthy country, and that if you work hard you can have the American dream, which seems all well and good until you realise that for many that will never come true, and the black, white divide is still very much in evidence.

[Hopkirk]

... and then throw freely available guns into the mix.

[sandyRoe]

ToraToraTora, if the streets of London are paved with gold then surely American cities too.
Oh Mary this London's a wonderful sight
with the people here working by day and by night
They don't sow potatoes nor barley nor wheat
But there's gangs of them digging for gold in the street
At least when I asked them that's what I was told
So I just took a hand at this digging for gold
But for allthat I found there I might as well be
Where the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea
.

[FredPuli43]

I read a serious study; wish i could find it now; which demonstrated that it was much harder for someone in the poorest percentiles to progress out of those percentiles in the USA than it was for the same groups here. And it does appear that the difference between richest and poorest is greater there than here, though in both countries this gap is widening.

Almost needless to say, but the arguments against the increased minimum wage are the same there as here; the business groups say that it will hinder or stop the growth of businesses. Why is not fully explained; it appears that we are to take it as one of those truths which is self-evident !

[mikey4444]

The minimum wage here in Britain is now £6.31 an hour for those who are 21 and over, and even less at £5.03 for those who are 18-20. That is scandalously low. Even Osborne thinks it should be higher.

Blair is continuously derided in Britain these days, but the minimum wage didn't exist until he and the Labour party introduced it after they won the 1997 election. The Tories had years and years to bring this policy in but didn't think it important enough to do so.

One of the direct consequences of having such a low figure such as £6.31 is that the State has to step in with extra aid. This supports greedy employers with huge subsidies, paid for by all of us. Why should anybody need a extra handouts if they are working 40+ hours a week ? The minimum rate needs to be raised by a substantial amount asap.

I too have travelled extensively in America and its easy to think that it is a gloriously wealthy country. But go off the beaten track and you see real poverty. I have driven coast-to-coast three times in the last 25 years, and I noticed one reliable way to judge the wealth of an area. If you see a washing line, then its obvious that the people concerned can't afford a tumble dryer. My wealthy friends in New York and Boston have never used a washing line, despite have huge gardens.

[mikey4444]

Sandy...thanks for the Mountain of Mourne. It was my late fathers favourite song, as he was born right in the middle of the mountains, at Rostrevor.

[RATTER15]

I never understood the "American Dream" If I was an American, my dream would be to get out of the country as quick as I could.
So what exactly is this dream, survival?

Looks like Pasta had the right idea!! but we don't want too may over here ;-)

Oh dear is that a little racist?