Politicians from both left and right of the political spectrum often call the United States the best country in the world. And its citizens tend to agree. In a YouGov poll of more than 11,000 US adults, Americans tended to support the notion by 50% to 31%.
But one New Zealander living in the UK thinks the opposite. And he has made it his mission to argue the point. The man even has a TikTok account called 'America Is The Bad Place.' There, he posts videos addressing mostly social problems within the US, like the cost of healthcare and the quality of higher education, but also challenges American pride and the international image of the nation.
Continue scrolling to check out some of the points he's made and upvote the ones you agree with. Of course, feel free to share your thoughts on these difficult multi-layered issues in the comments—even if you think this guy is wrong.
#1
Letting people die of a treatable illness because they don't have enough insurance. A country's first job is to protect its citizens, not to act like a fireman who just continues watering his grass while watching the neighbor's house burn down.
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217points
#2
A country still arguing about whether women should have bodily autonomy.
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204points
#3
Your Senate filibuster bill. The fact that 41% of senators are representing only 27% of the American people can block bills supported by 70% of the American people is about as democratic as just letting Ken Bone be king.
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195points
#4
Measuring your police training in weeks. Two to four years is the norm elsewhere.
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193points
#5
Gerrymandering. Democracy should have their voters choosing their representatives, not their representatives choosing their voters.
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174points
#6
Sending 18-year-olds to war. When your country doesn't believe they're mature enough to buy beer.
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171points
#7
Every minute an American is forced into medical bankruptcy. The only surprise cost in other developed countries is that some hospitals charge visitors for parking.
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160points
#8
Having military recruiters in school. It's especially with the biggest incentives to join the military are healthcare and affordable education, which are just considered human rights in normal countries.
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159points
#9
Forcing you to use vacation days when you're ill. Some countries make employers change paid vacation days to paid sick days when you're ill on vacation.
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156points
#10
Charging parents for their baby's delivery. Other countries consider it an investment in the future tax payers.
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154points
#12
Minimum wage not rising with inflation every year.
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126points
#13
Not having paid maternity leave. 14 to 68 paid weeks off is the investment that the 15 countries above the US on The Human Freedom Index make in their future taxpayers.
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124points
#15
Needing to do taxes if you're an employee. Your politicians are bribed by the accounting industry to make your taxes difficult.
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111points
#16
People getting married for the purpose of qualifying for health care through marriage is weird. So is people needing to divorce a dying loved one to avoid being responsible for their medical debt and all that for the low, low price of 53% more per person than any other country on Earth.
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111points
#17
Having healthcare through an employer. So are doctors needing to argue with companies for you to get what you're prescribed.
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110points
#18
Doing drills at school for something other than fires and earthquakes. Forcing kids to go through the trauma of lockdown drills. The fact that they're necessary is horrific.
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108points
#19
Some of you think that voting should be made harder than buying a gun. Most prisoners in most developed countries can still vote. In some US states, an ex-felon will be blocked from voting, yet his neighbor on the terrorist watchlist will still be allowed to buy weapons.
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105points
#20
Playing your national anthem before a sporting event that doesn't involve your country playing another country, especially when it involves kids at school.
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99points