What is the state of your country?
 

Just curious, what does everyone think of the conditions of their respective countries? What do you think of your government? What do you think of your economy? What do you think of the general state of your own country? What needs to be done to improve it?

I am sure I already know what most American's will say:roll: but I am curious about everyone else as well.

Edit:
I would also like to mention that I am looking for an honest personal assesment. I would NOT like to see anyone bash or try to correct anyone else's point of view.

:o What a can of worms.....

UK - It's poor state but certainly better than others. I'm afraid that, although I follow legislation/economics etc, I really don't try to let it worry me. I could go on and on but I'll leave that privaledge to STEED.

@ STEED, if you can para-phrase it would be nice.;) :p

What does everyone think of the conditions of their respective countries?

I like my "Respective Country"... at this time I do...ask me that again in 20 years

What do you think of your government?

Better than most I believe... there is room for improvement, as Im sure is the case with most Governments.

What do you think of the general state of your own country?

We are being degraded from within...Demographics show America will be Muslim in 40 years. Seems we Americans better get off our collective BUTTS and do some baby making and learn how to keep our families together.

What needs to be done to improve it?

OMG! ... That could take awhile and I gotta go pay my taxes(go to work)... I will attempt to answer this when I get home.

:sunny:

Michigan-ah.

:yep:

We are doing fine I think, for the moment. :cool:

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/6/35/20213240.pdf

Where the heck do I start? :rotfl:


First of all I agree with Melonfish/Pete, well said.

The EU is controlling us with there claptrap legislation and we must withdraw and get back control of our country. All the political party's are now defunked none of them give a hoot about the voters, it's all image to them and scoring Brownie points off each other. We need a massive shake up on the political scene and out law all this PC Madness which has bought about a lot of harm to our country. We must pull back from the police state we live in and dump this mad idea for ID Cards which is a disgrace bought about by the worst Government on record. Tony Blair and his spin doctors have done sweet nothing for any of us it's all smoke and mirrors with Blair, who spends more time strutting around on the world stage while the U.K. goes down the tubes.

The sad fact here is I see no end to it and mark my words this country is going to be in big trouble after we hold the 2012 Olympic games with massive debt. The cost of the build has gone way over the top. We may be 5th in the world on the economic front but that money is not being put back in to the country and why? Consumer debt last year went over the £1 trillion mark, we are heading for a rough time and I would not be surprise to see riots in this country against our political masters in Westminster.

Cant complain

That said, I'm living in the US until September...

OKay... here goes.

What needs to be done to improve it?

Start by learning how to keep the family unit together.
Learn how to respect.
Learn Discipline.
Learn how to love.
Learn there is more to life than money.
Learn how to spend the money you earn.
Learn how to work.
Learn how to play.
:hmm: I could go on with this endless list but it comes down to just one thing to learn really...
:up:
Learn who Jesus Christ the son of God is.:up:
:up: :sunny:

For both countries of my, I would say both have problems and neither I see in any kind of rosy light.

Russia has a horrendous socioeconomic situation with a gross gap between a tiny and largely-detestable elite who gained their wealth mostly by unfair means, and a huge largely-impoverished majority. Crime rates are abhorrent; alcoholism and suicide are big social problems. The state of democracy in Russia is often something that Western media talks about, but really that's one of the more minor problems on the ground. If you were to ask me what I'd choose between democracy and a more balanced socioeconomic picture at the expense of some civil liberties - I'd choose the latter, as would most Russians I think.

Canada overall is a far more acceptable place to live, which is why I'm here. Here however the problem is a badly-managed welfare state that wastes public money while accomplishing largely nothing and often not actually helping those who need help. At the same time I geniunely dislike the political right (Conservatives) and their view of social and international policy. And yet there's no party to represent views of people like me (I hope I'm not alone!) which frustrates me at election time and often forces me to vote for the 'lesser evil' at election time, which certainly doesn't give me that much enthusiasm for the perceived democracy. I would be far happier with proportional representation.
In both countries, Canada more so, I'm very worried by the consumer society and waste of resources (and people).

Honestly I don't think I'll be ever entirely happy with any country I'm in though. Ones that come closest are some of the northern european social-democrat-run states, but then they share many of the same problems I see in Canada (just slightly less so).

***

What I think is a key point is that an individual person can be happy in any reasonably liberal society. Which I am for example.
Where I don't buy that view is that when one individual that's in all ways as good as the happy individual is left behind. This is why I'm noted for proclaiming myself a socialist around here - for me the idea of civil liberties is meaningless in a society of the have and have-not. I'll always have at best a skeptical view of any state that isn't both ideologically and practically socialist-oriented. A lot are ideologically, but in practice things are a lot messier.

According to observations on „Observing Hermann the German“ by (self-description) “an amnesic American lost in Berlin” (a very funny guy actually) Germany is doing quite well:
"Germans stinking filthy rich – and cautious"
http://hermann.blog.com/1436812/#cmts

Yet, at the same time, Germany is said to be world champion in cheerful dooming and glooming. But I guess, others folks are good at it, too.
To me it seems the said German grumpiness can be labelled as moaning on a very high level.

The kingdom of BAWLZAK is in the middle of a boom period and just expanded its armed forces to a whole infantry battalion 6 fighter aircraft 6 frigates and a zeppelin.

And theyve just opened 20 strip clubs.

State of my country???? Does Hell and a hand basket have any indication what I think? This is where the US is going and is just about there!!! GOSH can I say this? Is it politically correct? I do not want to offend anyone:doh:

AVGWarhawk, people have literally been saying that for 231 years. It seems that way sometimes, but conditions move up and down, and it all depends on the observer's point of view.

I suspect this is true of most countries.

The country is going down hill at a clip that cannot be stopped. I'm not talking economically but socially it is in ruins. Just my day to day experiences. It is a selfish generation out there.

Down under is pretty alright if you ask me.

the international pressure over 'mandatory detention' in the NT a few years back, with even the un having a shot at us - what the fed. opposition and the bloody civil libertarians never told anyone was that that policy was for the 3rd offence, you got 2 other chances to smarten up your act!

Tampa 'crisis'. Again, sensationalism. I dunno, maybe you guys in the states dont care about illegals as much. we were getting literally hundreds of boats a year full of people who tried to skip the line to get into the country. Now, we get maybe 2 a year.

Detention of Illegal Immigrants. Lets see, they break a boatload of laws (pun intended) and arrive on our shores, and expect to be released freely into society! Whats worse, is there's a truckload of people who support the bloody idea! They go into detention so that 1 they can be punished for breaking our laws, and 2 they cant p!ss off somewhere to hide cos they know they really dont have a case.

Taxes. Generaly alright, except for there being 2 seperate taxes on petrol, one of which was to fund the duplication of a stretch of federal highway 24 years ago and then be dropped (the road is yet to be begun). Furthermore, everyone in the country knows that the petrol companies are ripping the hell out of us, quick to raise the price and slow to drop it. Past 3 years its gone up more than 30%! But, its not as bad as other places, ie Britain.

Politically, the sooner we get rid of the greens the better, they're bloody hippies who are led by a gay bloke who well and truly sleezed onto myself and a couple of mates a few years back at a convention (we were minors at the time). The sooner the Liberal party under howard toughen up even more and stops catering to the pansy-minded leftwing the better. And if you've heard about those draconion new industrial relations laws, have you heard that every person presented on the ads had lied point blank to the camera and thus the nation, whilst presenting their case as completely and utterly true?

We're in great shape, on the whole - better than most places out there, and def the UK - you gotta laugh, commit the crime and steal a loaf of bread, so the pommies send these 'criminals' out to a paradise where their offspring can live quite happily and kick their asses at cricket!:rotfl:

EDIT* And one thing the govt has just got to do is strip that d!ckhead sheik Alhilaly of his visa and kick him the hell outta the country. This bloke is an absolute disgrace, openly applauds the attacks against NY and the pentagon, supports attacks against foreigners in Iraq, thinks 30 years is too long for a bloke who led 18 ppl in a 18 hour long kidnapping and gangrape 'for being aussie', says that woomen who dont wear burqas and who dress immodestly are like pieces of meat - "you dont blame the wild cat for being drawn to attack the raw meat, why blame the young man for being drawn to do the same with women wearing revealing clothes". Oh and his latest is to say that muslims deserve Australia more than 'them' (namely white australians), because whites came here in chains as convicts and muslims paid their way.

Frankly, i vote that he is stripped of visa etc, and sent away. but cos i dont want more money be spent on him than necessary, take him to international waters, then dump him. some fish offal thrown overboard would also be nice, attract the sharks a bit faster.

I think the US is in a bad way for a variety of reasons, most of which can be attributed to downright ignorance and lack of practicality. Many think that the greatest threat to the overall health of the USA comes from immigrants, and that couldn't be further from the truth. Immigrants of all nationalities and religions will only make America a better place to be in the long run. Honestly, I will really get worried if the immigrants ever stop coming, because that means there is no more American dream and no more reason for this to be the greatest country on earth. Sure the new diversity these immigrants bring will cause some difficulty in the short term, but in the future America will be even stronger and improving all the time. People who panic and think that the English language will disappear and we will all be following Sharia instead of our constitution are so far off the mark. People wouldn't spend their life savings, leave their families, and risk arrest to come to another country just to make it like the one they left, that's absurd. Face it, the problem isn't America's newest residents, it's the ones who have been here all our lives and have either lost or never had an appreciation for what is important in this nation.

Australia does have one big problem, where in a drought!! It's considered the worst in a 100 years (the records only go back that far!) Every major city has water restrictions, some major towns have run out or have levels at extreamly low levels.

All levels of government have been slow to address this (Federal, State, Local). Some of their 'Fixes' leve alot to be desired.

Just one question for the rest of you, does anyone know of an effective rain dance???;)

lol yeh thats true, but soon enough la nina will rise again and we'll be complaining the crops cant grow cos they're waterlogged!

USA:

Quickly sliding down the slope of socialism. Huge minimum wages, social security benefits for illegal immigrants (I think the government just stands at the border handing out $100 bills and free cars now). The 10th amendment seems to have been flushed down the toilet.

The socialist aspects of our government make me sick. :damn: