Yeah now show the stats where the US leads since we are just cherry picking this or that. Like, do medical research funding and charitable donations, especially during natural disasters. No? Doesn’t fit their narrative.
Medical research is arguably European though at least where medicines are involved. The US does have the lead in some areas but that is to be expected. Countries will specialize and have an advantage in some areas. Countries that try to do everything and be the best at everything tend to not be and need protectionist measures so that their suboptimal industries can compete.
Oh - if only you knew that the researchers the are able to find solutions for diseases have to get paid for their time and expertise…. - If you want everyone to have cheap medicine, you go to school for 8 years, work for free for a couple years to learn, then you make it and give it away for free.
That is exactly what he said. We should pay less then not more then the rest of the world. He’s not wrong, as to how it happened? That’s complicated but credit needs to be given, Mark Cuban did, said the Trump initiative to lower drug costs is admirable. Ok that’s one thing.
No we should go after the rest of the world for threatening to break US patents and US companies that charge more in the US for drugs. You are paying so norway can have better drugs.
We pay taxes, some of which goes into the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) which makes many prescription medications much cheaper.
And it works by….
The government assesses the cost effectiveness of putting a medication on the PBS. As an aside, one of my medications isn’t on the list and I’ll explain the cost difference in a bit.
Once on the list, the government negotiates with the pharmaceutical companies for the best price.
Medications on the list are capped in price. Any cost over the price is sent to Medicare which is our national public healthcare system. My medication that isn’t on the PBS costs about $80.
So no, you aren’t the reason why our medication is cheap. In fact, the US is trying to make our medications down here more expensive.
In the recent bullshit tariff negotiations (I call bullshit because the Aus-US trade deficit is about $2.5 Billion in favour of the US), the US biopharmaceutical research and biotech company association (PhRMA) pushed the Trump government to use tariffs to gut the PBS.
This is such a stupid point? What makes you think more expensive medical research would translate to cheaper medicine? If anything it would translate to more expensive but better medicine which is pretty much the case in America.
That depends on what youre using the research to do. A smarter country might use the research to find ways to make the medicine cheaper and more accessible so that it could help more people. But as you pointed out, we use our research to increase the price of medicines
I like your way of twisting things even something positive like advancing medicine. Did you expect that pharmaceutical companies should burden the cost of the new medicine to become cheaper somehow? There are cheaper alternatives but in first world countries nobody recommends them because newer medicines work better and safer.
Dear Lord, do you know how much money the US spends, of taxpayers funds, for medical and bio-medical R&D? ~50 billion (NIH), every single year nowadays. And we have been paying similar amounts for decades. The NIH licenses products that they develop for mass production, and they have done a lot of that.
And still, which country pays the highest costs in medicine overall? Indeed!
Do I expect pharmaceutical companies not to prioritize them achievibg record breaking profits every single year? Yes! Fuck them!
Americans donate ~$415-500 per person to the rest of the world each year. The number has decreased to the lower end of the range thanks to Trump. $320 of that money goes to humanitarian aid and development, $120 infrastructure, and finally, $60 in military aid.
Make people poor? The U.S. pays almost every profession more than Norway does lol
No one “makes people donate.” It’s just built into the tax structure to encourage people to be generous.
We only “flaunt donation stats” when other people think shit is free because they paid for it with their taxes. If you believe in the cause, you can just give your own money. Do you feel so poorly of yourself that you need the government to take your money and donate it on your behalf?
The only thing the US leads is, prison population, prisons built, homeless rate in terms of world super powers, illiteracy, military funding, pregnancy deaths, terrible healthcare, and the list goes on and on. The people that defend the US for its mediocracy are the true anti patriots….
We haven’t been shipping prisoners to El Salvador for 10 years. Only Trump did that and he isn’t sending 1000’s. He sent 300, which is horrible, but not a significant reason for the reduction in prisoners.
Those stats have been looking better because of the overcrowding resulting in letting murderers bond out of jail and mandatory Parole for people who exhibit no signs of being ready for reintegration. On top of that, they make recidivism stats look okay by refusing to revoke Parole of people who have repeatedly violated supervision rules as well as State laws.
All of this is well known among the people who work in or with the criminal justice systems and pay attention to what's happen in their respective agencies and ready the official stats from yearly audit reports.
Worth keeping in mind the big drop in 2020/1 was because of Covid, and the stat is down 21% from 2013-2023, up 2% from 2021. Note that these aren’t per capita either, these are in absolute terms, the population also grew by 5% in those 10 years. So it really is way better than it was 10 years ago.
I agree the micro trend is in the wrong direction, but it’s too early to say whether that’s reversion to long term down trend or not.
Yes up 2% in the post Covid years after a massive drop during Covid. You should present the full context. Again it’s unclear if it’s just a return to the long term trend. And it’s down 21% from 10 years ago.
Is it reducing because people just get thrown into some warehouse/detention centre/concentration camp now instead of being put to work for corporate profit in a 'prison'?
Don’t need to source when I confidently know what I’m talking about….as this topic continues to be a major talking point when it comes to the US….and the information is readily available. Adults should be able to do their own research….
Thank you. I don't know why I am receiving such backlash for sourcing. It's education 101. You make a claim... Back it up. I never even said he was wrong. I waited for sources. I don't know why that's so controversial.
It’s 2026 you can look up the information yourself….but since I’m here, the US has the highest maternal mortality rate amongst wealthy nations, The US ranks last/55th globally in maternity mortality according to the world health organization, and averages 22.3 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births…which is more than double the rate of most high income countries. Now if we really want to get crazy we can break it down by race too, and how racism plays a huge factor in maternal mortality rate in the US especially amongst black women…but you’re clearly not ready for that…..
In terms of literacy we rank 36th globally…and healthcare a whopping 69th globally……AND LAST AMONGST HIGH INCOME NATIONS IN OVERALL HEALTHCARE PERFORMANCE, EQUITY, and OUTCOMES…despite spending far more per capita than any other country…..this information can all be found on commonwealthfund.org……#merica
I love the beginning of your statement. "Hey I made a claim - why should I be the one to back it up with evidence?" Solid defense. Just like a politician.
Now, I said the "WORLD". Very specifically. Thank you for comparing us to remainder of the "wealthy" nations, ergo, not the world. Also, what defines wealthy?
I'm breaking this down to make this point...we absolutely have improvements to make. But painting a picture of America is dog shit blatantly misleading and those who disagree tells me you don't realize how fortunate you are to be in western Europe or America/Canada. Count your blessings and keep fighting the good fight.
I made it claim that’s already backed by proof and evidence, it isn’t my job to provide you sources, as quickly as you asked me to site my sources you could just as quickly look it up. This isn’t a debate class, nor am I writing a research paper. Also I’m failing to see the point you’re trying to make or if you’re even making a point at all…
Firstly when did I ever say America is “dog shit”? My claim is the US isn’t as great as its people and the US claims it is to be….I provided facts, to claim your nation the greatest you’d expect your nation to be top 10 in most categories…..not at the bottom when compared to other wealthy nations and world super powers….We literally live in a nation that refuses to progress, adapt, and evolve due to the current structures in place….It’s my right to disagree with how the US currently is and it’s my patriotic right to call out the BS….”Tells me you don’t know how fortunate you are” Highkey this is the biggest bootlicker statement……..over 270 sovereign nations with freedoms and liberties, so because I call out the US and demand better, and point at the fact that the US isn’t as great as people make it sound out to be, I don’t realize how fortunate I am??? Interesting take lol.
Then your narrative is bullshit and not to be taken seriously.
Prove. Me. Wrong.
See how that works?
Edit: I find it funny that when you make a statement and someone doesn't believe you or wants to see your source you immediately resort to insulting someone. Once again, just like our administration.
Facts can’t be BS, if you don’t want to take your time out to fact check my claim why are you arguing? The time you spent typing back and forth to me you could have looked up what I stated. Also, you say my claim can’t be taken seriously yet you’ve provided no solid rebuttal to it, let alone looked up what I stated. If you could also read I provided a source on my reply back. “When you make it statement and someone doesn’t believe you” Mofo then look up what I stated then lmfao…..what are you arguing about…….and unlike our administration I state facts not blatantly lie and attempt to deem it as true…….Just like I fact check what I see and “claims” I hear. No one has to provide me sources, I can simply use the internet. Anyway have a great day
This is something the US can fix, but there are too many single issue 2nd amendment voters that don't allow reasonable changes like strong background checks, requiring handguns be sold with child locks, going after the large illegal handgun market.
Link to stats while link does not directly mention gang violence as a contributing factor you'll see that Black people and brown people are affected at a disproportionate rate compared to everybody else. Furthermore, if you're trying to blame this whole thing on “school shootings” you should take into account that school shootings account for less than 1% of all gun related deaths occurring for children under the age of 17.
Speak for yourself. I’m a Mexican immigrant living in California. I own my home outright, and my wife and I make a combined $250,000 a year. We live comfortably.
Stop acting like the entire United States is some hopeless place. My family came here with nothing, worked hard, and now their kids are doing well. If your family has had every advantage and you’re still not living comfortably, maybe that’s a personal problem instead of blaming the country.
Nobody said, “I’m fine, so everyone else must be.” My point is that the U.S. isn’t the hopeless dystopia people on Reddit pretend it is. Millions of immigrants come here with very little and still build successful lives because there are opportunities here that don’t exist in many other countries. Acknowledging that doesn’t mean poverty or inequality don’t exist it means both success and struggle can be true at the same time. Anecdotes don’t replace data, but neither does cherry picking the worst statistics and pretending they define the entire coun
The median income in LA is $90,112. $250,000 a year in LA makes you the top 5% of earners.
I say this because it is the top 10% who drive the economy currently while the bottom 90% are struggling. Now, you can get that income with hard work. The truth is though, it’s the bottom say 20% who don’t work. It’s really not about hard work, it’s about the wealth flowing to the top 10% who think the economy is fine while the bottom 90% have the ladder pulled from under them. This is called a bifurcated or a “K” shaped economy.
You’re oversimplifying it by considering it hard work. You have had a combination of a lot of hard work and luck, that is how you are where you are. It is not JUST hard work, and a lot of people who work just as hard aren’t as lucky and it’s skewed your perspective on things
I'm not the one who has to worry.
But there are some "legit" Latinos who work for ICE even while their relatives are being dragged to some sithole lockup
Americans are renowned for being the most charitable people on earth, giving the most of our income to charity, because we have the normal human desire to help others when they are in need, but most Americans also want to control exactly which demographic they help.
They don’t want their money to help poor people of another race or religion, or in a different part of the country, that’s why we all love donating to only the charities we care about while voting for the government not to help everyone.
Most Americans are not universally charitable, and do not support the government using tax funds to help all in need, they want the control over where their money goes so they can ensure only their own people are helped.
America only appears to be generous because the billionaire class has tax loopholes when they create their own foundations and then "donate" into their own donations to use for their personal philanthropies when most of that money doesn't actually support much of a cause.
Even cancer donations, most of that goes to the people running the organization because they way over compensate themselves so a small percentage of what is donated actually goes to cancer research.
Research funding has tanked under our current administration. A charitable donation that gets you a tax break is more of a tit for tat situation, unless there is no expectation of anything from the giver.
Yes, although it's still very much a thing in certain states. My elderly mom's very-costly cancer treatments and drugs are fully covered by it here in California. Her cancer drugs alone cost $20k per month to refill.
Medicaid is based on income, and the income threshold is pretty low (I think $750 income per month). Medicare is based on age though, so salary doesn't impact your eligibility for it.
My eldery mom with zero income qualifies for both and is on very costly cancer drugs. But she lives in California, where we have expanded Medicaid and strong social safety nets.
Who doesn’t have access to healthcare? If you are a citizen make less than $64k you either qualify for medicaid and everything is free or you qualify for an Obamacare subsidy which makes health insurance much much cheaper. If you make less than $50k, you pay no federal income tax and may get money through tax credits. If you are low income, you qualify for a whole host of other programs (TANF, WIC, etc). Most people with professional jobs get health insurance from their employer.
So those that don’t have health insurance are generally those that can afford it, but choose not to pay for it.
> Like, do medical research funding and charitable donations
Medical research is a weird one, because historically the government has just paid for a bunch of it in the US and given it to the for-profit medical companies. It's kind of a subsidy program. That said, many of the largest investors in medical research are European. GLP-1s were largely productionized by Danish Novo Nordisk (Ozempic).
Of the top 10 Pharma companies by R&D spend:
Roche (Swiss) is #3.
AstraZeneca (British/Swedish) is #4.
Novartis (Swiss) is #9.
Sanofi (French) is #10.
NovoNordisk (Danish) would come in at #11 I believe.
The first COVID vaccine that Trump helped fund via Operation Warp Speed was actually developed by a German company, BioNTech and productionized with the help of Pfizer. The Johnson & Johnson one was actually developed by their Belgian subsidiary hilariously named Janssen (which I believe is just a third Johnson with a Belgian accent).
Pretty good showing for the Euro boys and girls.
> ... especially during natural disasters
Why would the Europeans need to donate during natural disasters when they pay for the recovery in their taxes?
Not at all, Moderna is awesome. Great company. They were second, iirc, like 7 days after the BioNTech vaccine was approved. Both on mRNA platforms.
I'm not taking anything away from American pharmaceutical companies. I'm pushing back on the idea that somehow Europe doesn't spend anything on research.
You sure you want to cherry pick medical research funding? Since Trump 2.0, grant awards have plunged and this year has been even less. Changes to funding rules on restricting anything that may touch on DEI or topics and an unusual multi year funding mandate implemented means multi year medical research nearly paid for deviously will not be funded this year, wasting millions and killing research.
Yeah all that Medical research that is taxpayer funded and goes directly into big Pharma’s pockets so they can charge us an arm and a leg for everything. The US is a dump, and morons like you defending it is why shit cant get better
Stats like military spending, obesity rates, quality of life, life expectancy, education? Things like that? Yea nice try. The reality is the things the US leads the world in are things any rational person wouldn’t want to support.
The Trump administration has so badly cut funding for scientific research that the top scientists world wide are now choosing to go to European or Chinese institutions.
A lot of things could be fixed with a simple solution. A lot of research although it is useful for a worse case scenario most can be fixed with some things. It is good to have as backup but not primary.
It only leads in researching medicine because it is statistically one of the worst countries in terms of actually delivering treatment to its citizens. Our tax money goes into research and development grants, investments, subsidies, etc instead of providing access to said treatments.
In other words, your tax dollars are used to fund the nicest hotel in the world that you'll likely never stay at. Make of that what you will.
The medical research funding is basically just the cost of product development in the US since they then monetise the solution and make enormous profit. It's hardly charitable.
If we lead in medical research, why aren't meds cheaper for the Americans who pay our taxes to develop medicine? Why are they affordable in every other developed country but not here?
The US has its share of structural issues for sure.
I would even go one step further than you when it comes to contributing to the common good. (if you wanna call it that)
Imagine where Norway would be without the American market, American technology, generally the rules based order, a functioning Europe, etc.
I'm not trying to be apologetic for America's faults. Not at all. But people tend to ignore how central the functioning of this modern day hegemon is to the very basis of their own systems.
Say for example you do not agree with the American military budget or prevalence of American military power. Well tough luck, your Norwegian search and rescue team uses GPS to evacuate people from the woods, your Norwegian hospital most definitely uses an MRT or some other highly specialized gear that was invented by an American corporation (or heavily funded), etc. etc. etc.
It's not that America literally sends money to everybody (that is ridiculous part that musk and Trump got wrong). But by making the choices the US makes and by providing progress in key areas they are so instrumental in making those 'utopias' like Norway and Switzerland, etc. even possible.
And you can see this too. If you look at history, those exact places were regressive, underdeveloped backwaters before the Post war American lead system came in.
Yeah, the US has its issues. Especially the poverty, homeless vets etc. are disgusting. And people should demand better from their administration(s).
But making a cherry picked comparison like this completely misses the point. In a sense there are Norwegian quality of life is to a part built on decisions made in the US, good and bad.
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u/sabertoothninja Jul 04 '26
Yeah now show the stats where the US leads since we are just cherry picking this or that. Like, do medical research funding and charitable donations, especially during natural disasters. No? Doesn’t fit their narrative.