US Is Becoming A ‘Developing Country’ On Global Rankings That Measure Democracy, Inequality - TPM – Talking Points Memo

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This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was originally published at The Conversation.

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1432734
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The United Staes has basically become a corporate dystopia. The only real questions are, how close are we to finally hitting bottom? Or maybe, is there a bottom?

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We’re not a “developing democracy”. We’re a derelict democracy.

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Democracy correlates positively with development. Pretty obvious when you think about it, although the Deep Thinkers a few years ago were saying China proves the opposite. Now, of course, we see that as China has become more repressive, the wheels are coming off its artificially inflated economy, and the country has become an environmental catastrophe.

A Swiss friend who is visiting Hungary says the terrible roads threatened to break his car’s suspension. The reason? Graft and corruption in public services, combined with the fact that Orban withholds infrastructure funds from towns that don’t have a Fidesz Party mayor. Sounds like something out of a Republican governor’s playbook.

It would be interesting to tabulate these measures of development and democracy versus the rest of the world if the scores were separated between red and blue states. Something tells me there is a yawning gap.

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The people who can fight this can be said to have split into those who are exhausted, those who are indifferent, those who want the Perfect to be the Enemy of the Good, and those who are subject to the same tribalism as Trumpers.

You are either concerned with our survival as a country which represents its citizens and which is committed to saving our planet or not…

The task belongs to the Democratic Party. It is the only viable organization which can address these important issues.

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That “Developing Country” label would be changed with a difference of the following.

Twelve Republican Senators switched to Democratic

That would be all that would be needed.

  • The GOP Senators changed to Democratic would pass Nancy Pelosi’s Voting Rights Bill
  • These Senators would alter the makeup of SCOTUS
  • The full Congress + Biden would enact needed legislation
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Doesn’t “developing” kinda sorta imply an upward trajectory?

Deteriorating, maybe?

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Developing into nihilism, maybe…

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I have a solution; confiscatory taxes above $1 million a year. No one, NO ONE needs more than that to live very comfortably. It is a disgrace that a country where morons like the Defeated Former President can have a gold-plated toilet when little children go to bed hungry. Enough.

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Probably, if you define nihilism as a lack of any values and a lust for destruction (“tear it all down!”) and self destruction, as we see with opioid deaths, suicide, and death by misadventure, as is evident in the red states.

Does decay in democracy breed nihilism? Or the reverse? It’s probably a feedback loop.

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To call America a Developing Country implies a directionality toward something better. Sadly in our case it is the reverse.

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If the UN hadn’t lowered the US ranking would it be worthy of a headline? The “Cafe” is one note.

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no-one believes AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM… except Americans…that idea is where the Ugly American came from.

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I have believed in that. Have you?

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No one with a functioning brain who has actually been paying any attention to this country for the last 40 years should be surprised by any of this information. The worship of wealth and the unfettered and unregulated greed that keeps driving our most important decisions is our undoing. They have ranked us too low, I think, in overall status, but there is absolutely no doubt that we have been losing our democracy for some time now. We seem to have no idea what is actually good about our government and are willing to sacrifice all of it over imaginary grievances and childish desires for “stuff”. We are becoming the selfish buffoons of the world and are rapidly losing the trust, faith and respect of thinking people everywhere.

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Racism has cheated many Americans out of the health care, education, economic security and environment they deserve.

And here we are. After seeing people’s posts about racism vs sexism on another thread, this is why sexism is still invisible. Because you know who else has been historically cheated out of health care, had medical experiments practiced on them, been cheated out of education and economic security? Wiiminz

racism and sexism are twin, world-wide evils

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this

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I would argue that racism can at least be overcome – by men joining together to oppress women.

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That’s the spirit! Have you thought about joining your local Proud Boys chapter? They need a bright young feller like yourself. That kind of out-of-the-box thinking will get you far.

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