US Ranked Worst Country To Raise A Family (along with Mexico)

Sounds like the same things wrong with America are also wrong with Mexico.

Isn't the Us the only developed country that doesn't have any paid maternity leave.

You hear that, immigrants? It totally sucks here. You should try Canada.

[quote]Isn't the Us the only developed country that doesn't have any paid maternity leave.

We don’t even have universal healthcare so why would no paid maternity leave be surprising?

The US seems like a dystopian nightmare to live in, the disparities between rich and poor really shocked me the handful of times I visited for work.

The US should go more Scandinavian

Americans generally live in denial about their country. Although there is a large back log of Italian Americans seeking to move to Italy via their blood right.

Who's doing the rating? How did they determine this? Sounds very fishy.

The ego you Americans have is enormous. We’re all laughing behind your back.

Iran is wonderful.

Yes, if you like going splat off the top of a skyscraper for refusing to cut off your dick.

R9 Where are you from? Are you doing anything to help the more than 60% of the American public speaking out in the face of Trump’s fascist assaults on his own citizens by jack booted goons? Who is you leader? Who is your PM or President? Has he or she publicly condemned these clearly neo-Nazi tactics being used to beat, arrest and subjugate citizens who are whisked away by a dark secret service? The answer is NO!

Are you doing anything but blaming the abused for being abused? I’ve heard NOTHING from European leaders that lead me to believe you people don’t even fucking care about the rise of fascism in America in the face of your silence despite your little experience with it in the 30s & 40s,

Because of EU / Brit allies’ complacency, Trump has risen and a new reich is place. Great job Angela, Macron, Boris, Justin. The rest of you pissant countries are useless. So much for being allies. So much for saving democracy. Thanks for fucking nothing EU suckasses.

Your privilege is vulgar.

I find listening to this song always helps ease the anxiety when these rankings are released.

These lists are always exercises in anti-Americanism, it's so transparent, they made it slightly more subtle this time, if they could've gotten away with it they'd have placed North Korea above the US.

But American publications are using the same objective data. This one covers parental leave/paternity leave.

Most "American publications" relish this kind of thing

I’m American and I know it’s the truth. I don’t if it was the same ages ago, but young people today have it awful here in the US. I don’t see how a family unit is possible with low wages, skyrocketing cost of living, no affordable housing, etc. etc. etc. What an awful mess the US is in. We can turn this around though, if we start electing more progressives.

R14 the “experts” and the media have made utter fools of themselves. I and millions of Americans now take everything they say with the same grain of salt as a DL blind item thread. Be careful lest you become the monster you’re fighting and all that.

R18

Young people are literally telling you how hard it is, backing up the study. But you and the other idiots in this thread refuse to listen.

Many Americans may not even be *familiar* with European-style parental leave for new fathers.

Countries should be looked at individually, some are comparable on a surface level - but for example, comparing small Scandinavian countries with homogeneous populations to the giant that is the United States of America is absurd.

and I think maternity leave should be left up to individual businesses too, isn't that the model the Americans follow, they just don't have it mandated by the federal government, right?

R21

Oh, please. With the big population of the US, and the huge amount of taxes that brings, why are Americans not being taken care of? Why are we not being protected?

Your excuses only exacerbate the problems.

R22

Lol so you admit you support exploitive, predatory businesses over human beings. People like you are the problem.

I was too rash with my post on maternity leave, what I should have said is I don't think it's as simple as the government mandating it across the board - what about small businesses, exploitation, less opportunities for perspective female employees etc.

It always makes me laugh when the US is compared to these small, all white countries. How can you even begin to compare New Zealand to the US? New Zealand has 4 million less people than NYC.

R19 I’m a millennial.

R27

Then you’re a dummy. All facts point to this study being true. Anyone who actually has contact with other Americans know it’s fucked. I don’t know why people are acting oblivious. The US is fucked up.

Then live somewhere else r28.

R29

Sad that you’re too uncomfortable and cowardly to acknowledge and seek change for the serious problems in this country. If we keep ignoring, eventually it’s going to be too late.

Why not just give personal leave to all employees, prorated according to part-time and full-time status. That way you can use the time at your own discretion be it for parental, sick, or family leave. It would be more fair to single or childless people who are truly stiffed, as we often have to tske unpaid leave to care for elderly family members.

This is such bullshit.

I lived in a Euro country for years. it was wonderful and great place to raise kids, but so much better than the US? No.

I think the great advantage there was that kids were under much less pressure at school and from their parents. A more homogenous populace also has it's advantages.

I hate to sound like a RePug, but it annoys me that despite our country reportedly being so shitty we still have a far-too-large flow of immigrants. It annoys me that despite being the "laughing stock of the world", as you all say, we still have hordes of people from other countries trying to come live here.

If America truly is so awful and the rest of the world sees that then can the immigrants from the Middle East, Africa, and South America please aim the rafts they float over on a little closer to Europe?

If America is the worst country in the world then why is it the escape route of so many people from other countries? You'd think that if we truly were such an abysmal country and seen as such by the rest of the world that we'd have a hell of a lot less people trying to immigrate here.

[quote] If America truly is so awful and the rest of the world sees that then can the immigrants from the Middle East, Africa, and South America please aim the rafts they float over on a little closer to Europe?

Well, Western European countries already take in way more refugees than the US, so...

That's why discerning immigrants head for Canada or Australia.

R35 That's excellent, let THEM deal with it. If America is truly seen as hell on earth by the rest of the world then immigration here should be seen as laughable.

I don't think the US is horrible--and I do think this list is a bit ridiculous. Is America last among other western nations? Probably. Is it last among all countries? No.

The supreme stupidity of R36.

You might want to check out Canada and Australia's immigration requirements and policies.

R34

Because that’s how America has always advertised itself. Also America is guilty of destabilizing a lot of these countries where the immigrants are coming from, so.

PS: The US actually NEEDS immigrants for the economy more than ever. We should stop making attacking immigrants the go-to for every issue when it’s bullshit.

I'm well aware of them, R39, as I live in Ireland and know foreigners who are currently living in those countries. I'm talking about people with the right skills, people who have something going for them and actually have a shot at making a life for themselves over there. There are good alternatives to the US for European immigrants.

Americans as a whole are actually pro immigration. It's ILLEGAL immigration which is what American opinions is more mixed on. Whereas in many countries even in Western Europe, immigration itself and diversity are not exactly looked upon favorably.

R42

What has been happening on the Southern border is not pro-immigration and is actually inhuman.

Anyway, stop shifting goalposts you vile creature.

R42 no, we have enough legal immigrants too.

R43, wtf are you talking about? I wasn't "shifting" the goalposts. I was talking about American attitudes to immigration as a whole.

Good thing we gays cannot breed, so, who cares?

You realize many illegal immigrants are gay, right? The Trump admin has been targeting gay immigrants and deporting them back to unsafe conditions.

Anyway this topic is not about immigration so fuck off.

R47, you should take your own advice. What does Trump deporting gays or some illegal immigrants being gay have anything to do with the topic at hand?

We aren't attacking immigrants, we're attacking the claim that America is the worst country in the world to raise a family by bringing up the massive amounts of immigrants we have. Our point is that if America is really the worst place on earth to raise a family, and if the rest of the world knows that and sees us as a "laughing stock", why do so many families of immigrants keep coming here?

But honestly if we're getting down to brass tacks I think it's ridiculous for immigrants to come here and then complain about the state of the country. Americans have every right to critique the country and say it's shitty if they want to, but it's weird to willingly come into another country and uproot your life to be in it only to go on and on about how horrible it is. Those people are more than welcome to, and it's painful to say but, go back to their own countries.

[quote]We can turn this around though, if we start electing more progressives.

Progressives only gave us Trump and Bush.

Thanks Ill stay in Sweden. Americans are robot slaves. The fact that you stay at work all night trying to prove yourself doesn’t make any sense. Life is about balance . Also you talk nonstop about work. I can spot an American in about one second in Stockholm because they won’t shut the fuck up about what they do for a living.

Swedes are smug assholes.

[quote]Young people are literally telling you how hard it is, backing up the study.

Young people can suck my dick.

Slovenia nummer one in eddication!!! This why I spick six lenguages and em femmis arkiteck.

They need to publish this article all over the world.

This is not new information. I opted out of the "American dream" of a house, a spouse, 2.5 kids long ago and my life has been better for it. Nevermore so than during this whole pandemic nightmare. I understand that procreation is a biological drive. But it's far from the only one and most of us have managed to overcome many other biological drives that don't serve us in the modern world. Why not this mania to breed? It's destructive to ourselves and the world around us. Rather than continuously looking for ways to make breeding possible for those who can't do it naturally, we should be putting some kind of drug in the water supply that tamps down the urge. Having kids in the current world is the dumbest decision you can make, for yourself, the spawn, and the larger world.

The disparities within the US and between it and other advanced economies has been widening since the 70s. It's been gradual enough that we don't fully grasp how much worse it's gotten.

[quote] A "full-time" workweek in Denmark is typically 37 hours spread over the course of five days. On the other hand, the average American works 44 hours per week, or 8.8 hours per day, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

But what's even more striking is the Danes' attitude toward working long hours. While many Americans see working late as badge of honor and a way to get ahead, in Denmark it's seen as a weakness — it shows you can't get things done in the allotted work time.

Why on earth are you comparing Denmark to the US?

Please note in the article:

"This is no coincidence. Nordic countries rank so high on the happiness report because they have things like free education and healthcare, low crime rates, cushy social security nets, a relatively homogeneous population and they’re fairly prosperous."

That "relatively homogeneous population" is the key.

The people are on the same page. They all share the same culture, the same background, the same belief system, the same values, the same sense of responsibility.

This is what Danes require of those who do not fit their culture.

"Starting at the age of 1, “ghetto children” must be separated from their families for at least 25 hours a week, not including nap time, for mandatory instruction in “Danish values,” including the traditions of Christmas and Easter, and Danish language. "

And it doesn't stop there.

I think these measure are great. Something similar would solve a lot of problems in the US.

But how do you think it would go over?

Sorry, this is the link I wanted to post:

I'm happy Norway is 2nd after Iceland.

I do not understand people like R14, who are so surprised by lists like this. We have no paid parental leave mandated by law, we do not have universal health insurance, a bad overprices healthcare system, and underfunded schools.

What other metrics would you expect to be used to measure how good a place is to raise children? These are the things that matter to most parents and we are way behind the curve on these issues.

Think about the people you know who have moved to Canada or Europe? It is usually because of issues around healthcare and education, so why would a list like this be a surprise to be met with suspicion?