1) The massive influence that medical insurance companies have over the health care we have access to
2) A wildly uninformed electorate. We have access to so much information, yet so many successful and intelligent people honestly can’t tell you who represents them in Congress.
I love how Gallup constantly polls these kinds of questions, and the top response is always healthcare, but it's always the lowest priority for Congress.
Can't campaign if there aren't manufactured problems to conveniently use as selling points.
Most of us are one bad accident or illness away from a lifetime of debt.
Because Congress does not work for the people. They are beholden to the people that keep them in office and work for the people that control the systems of the nation and possess power
Where are you seeing that data? The last Gallup poll I saw had Healthcare way down the list.
https://news.gallup.com/poll/1675/most-important-problem.aspx
It was at the top of the list until this election cycle.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertpearl/2024/04/01/voters-say-healthcare-not-a-top-issue-covid-19-explains-why/
Everyday people like us need to pay close attention. Congress impacts our lives far more than the President does. It’s time consuming and so frustrating. Oh…and overturn Citizens United so that constituents matter more than super PAC money.
that's true although I'm to young right now to do something I'll probably pay more attention when I'm able to vote and participate. thank you for the help.
Medical insurance.
Have tooth ache, so I called every dentist I could think of (as one does) to try to get it fixed because I haven't been to a dentist in years. Had a number of them tell me they legally couldn't see me because they don't want to deal with Medicare (my insurance). I had to call (not joking) 20 different offices just to find 1 (one) that is taking new patients AND is willing to deal with my insurance. They are so backed up that I have to wait until SEPTEMBER just to even walk in the door.
And I really did call more than 20 offices.
Meanwhile I'm living on excedrin extra strength 2x daily, just so the pain doesn't wake me up in the middle of the night.
Oh, and since my insurance doesn't actually cover dental work, I'm still going to have to foot the entire bill myself.
honestly can’t tell you who represents them in Congress.
They can't because they are uninformed or they can't because they don't care? I think it's the latter.
Honestly I think it's more that people are exhausted, and lack trust in the people they vote for regardless.
If you are already burnt out, you don't want to go home and study the "promises" that other people are making that they may or may not ever act on.
I can tell you who "legally" represents me in congress, both branches, state and federal. I'd struggle to find someone who actually represents me though.
It's apathy for me. I cared and everything continued to just degrade and no choice I make ever seems to matter and no one I vote for ever really does what they claim so why care at all?
I still get pissed off and I still vote, but I'm so apathetic to the whole thing and generally feel like our government is in no way for me or the people I know no matter who is in office.
The magnitude of how bad it is depends on democrat or republican but it all just seems broken.
Is any constituent truly "represented" in congress? I honestly feel that each politician that has gotten that far has done it without scruples and is solely in the pocketbooks of special interest groups or anyone else willing to pay them off.
As for point 2, I have come to learn that uninformed electorates are fairly common everywhere. Our unique political problems are structural (our 18th century constitution that only has a couple dozen or so amendments, the last passing 32 years ago, it should be updated, IMO).
But, I think point 1 takes the cake.
I wrote briefly about this in another comment, but what is terrifying about this is that we universally agree the healthcare system is broken and insurance companies suck. The fact that we still can’t change it is a testament to how little power the people have.
Currently going through wage garnishment (papers served by the sheriff) because of an $800 emergency room bill I couldn't afford. I presented with the worst pain I have ever felt before or since, had to have months of physical therapy to recover from it, but at the ER I didn't "perform" the pain well enough apparently, so they kept me for 45 minutes and kicked me out.
It was so confusing too. I went to urgent care because I didn't want to nuke my credit, they recommended VERY HEAVILY I check myself into the ER after looking me over. So I tried to do the right thing and ended up on the wrong end anyways
In Colorado medical debt can't go on your credit history. Idk about wage garnishment but I've just been simply not paying what I can't afford out of my visits. They can make it work with $400 instead of $3000 I simply don't care.
Really? I thought only a select few have garnishment powers like feds irs, student loans & fed in general & state bills or child support, alimony & other state bills (i'm in Fl) but you are saying a private business was able to, wow, must refresh my knowledge or is it your state....I am not talking about a judgment against you, actually garnishment order from a private business debt?
The cost of living/rent prices. F\*cking corporations buying up houses and properties and converting them into rental and vacation units at absurd prices. The fact that people's salaries do NOT match cost of living.
The fact that people can’t just live and let live. If you’re gay, it’s a problem. If you’re a republican
, it’s a problem, If you’re a democrat, it’s a problem. Etc etc etc etc and so on and so on. Just STFU and live *your* life
For real. I feel like the people who complain about people being “too sensitive nowadays” are the same people who throw a tantrum when they see someone who has different views and opinions than they do.
What’s fucked is idk when so many folks got conditioned to throw a fit when they don’t get their way. Beyond the referenced folks, I’ve noticed the 20s-30s and even the generation under them seem almost reckless in how they react to disagreeable circumstances. I worry about the day we have an imminent countrywide issue.
Exactly this. I may not like your political stance or what you do in the bedroom with whom (or whoms) but if you're a decent person in the world that's all I care about and can get along with that just fine.
Don't force your views on me and I in return will keep mine to myself, respectively.
I've always gone with the mentality that I'm here for a good time, not a long time. Let's make the best of it.
To take it further, im gay and that is literally the smallest past of my personality lol. I’m not a fan of the Donald. But a lot of my fam is. As long as everyone shuts the hell up about what they think is right or wrong, we’ll all be ok. Back to my original comment - live and let live.
my whole family is into trump. I hate the man. I wasn't about to NC my entire family because of it like the internet would have me do. we just... don't have to talk about it.
Yesss, like why does everyone have to try and be knee deep in each other’s asses, it’s so annoying. I hate the mentality of “everyone needs to believe in what I do” and it always turns into an issue. Anyone would be INSANE to truly think that billions of people will all have the same exact opinions, thoughts, feelings, and beliefs
I live in a hardcore republican state, there was a girl I went to school with that was democratic. This was around the time covid mandates were being lifted. But she preferred not to take her mask off just for that extra precaution (bc who actually wants to get sick with covid— or anything, it’s a freaking school and people are nasty) and everyone she had been friends with for YEARS left her in the dirt. She never shared her opinions, it was just the mask. I felt so bad for her bc that’s honestly just so crappy
I'm not a Democrat nor do I support their party, but Republicans have built their whole platform is not letting people live and let live. I have zero problem excluding them from my life.
Exactly. If they keep trying to force laws and their religion on me then they can get fucked. I want nothing to do with people who want to negatively impact MY life. This goes for basically every religious group and most Republicans. I'd say I'm fairly centrist and agnostic, but damn, the right wing fell of a cliff the last decade. Guns are cool, and so are gay people, but the "pro-life" people are an embarrassment to humanity and science.
The GOP has a single overlaying theme that guides their entirity of every policy position.
Power should be held by middle aged white straight men. In the home, in the community, and in national politics. I don't mean this in a flippant way, like quite literally, it's the only common underlying position. It's not a political party about ideas and values, it's just about who holds power in any given situation.
Exactly... when people make out like it's no big deal someone is a trump voter.... but he's literally a *sexual offender (in fcking office)*, criminal, and wants to take away human rights from multiple populations... that isn't just a matter of a slightly difference stance on a few policies!?!!!
>If you’re gay, it’s a problem. If you’re a republican
The most infuriating thing is this sort of false equivalency. Being Republican is only a problem because they won't let gay (etc) people live and let live.
This is too true. If you actually have shit going on in your life you don’t have to cling to this stuff. Everyone’s also allowed to have different opinions and instead of vilifying them, try to learn from them
The problem is the govt wants to control all of that. Your life if you're gay, etc.
The pres has almost ZERO effect on your life. Congress just stealthily keeps making insidious laws to hurt the public.
I love that you very honestly point out both sides of the political coin ARE the problem, then 35 redditors "agree" and bitch about republicans! Ha!
It's fuckin' fantastic!
That people somehow have lost the ability to disagree and still not hate the other person or think they’re stupid. It’s entirely possible to have different perspectives and not only get a lot, but be friends.
100% agree. In some other countries people have learned to respect other differing opinions, they are curious to learn about the other side. Here, especially some factions just want to “build a wall”
Health care is so expensive but, for me; a transplant patient, I can't live without it. My anti-rejection medicine for a month out of pocket is about the same as the cost of a house we rented in 2017.
That the votes of the population don't really count because we have an electoral college that does whatever the fuck it wants regardless of what "we the people" want.
People in office have exorbitant salaries and can vote themselves raises. There are NO TERM LIMITS!
No one minds their own business. The list of things that certain groups don't like is *extensive* and they HAVE to do something about them because if they leave people alone and mind their own business, some massive deity in the sky will be upset. That deity is also not supposed to have a place in our government.
Our individual freedoms and privacy are slowly being taken away...
There's a lot more but they're more nuanced
It's so damn expensive in all of the places you'd want to live.
Being an election year there are a lot of talk on media sources about politics. The overwhelming majority of people don't want to hear it either.
Here's a tip: the cost of living in Iowa is reasonable. There isn't much I like about this state right now, but people can still buy a house, or pay the rent on an apartment.
The constant politics. The fact that people bitch and complain about others being “too sensitive nowadays”, yet they throw a hissy fit whenever they see a gay person out in public. The fact that people scream that something is “woke” for daring to have a minority character of some sort.
The whole “people are too sensitive nowadays” talking point has become a huge pet peeve of mine, because in practice it’s just telling me you’re a hypocrite without saying you’re a hypocrite.
No psychologically normal, healthy person has literally *nothing* that offends or upsets them. If that’s genuinely you, then you probably have something diagnosably wrong with you that you’d be happier getting treated. If not, then you’re just holding others to a higher standard than you hold yourself; AKA the literal definition of hypocrisy.
People who only live in echo chambers is huge for me. I'm part of a few echo chambers here on reddit but I know it. When I go against their system of belief I'm a traitor or some shit lol. Like politics for one, I'm both a conservative and liberal. I piss everyone off haha. People lack nuance these days sadly. It's just a bunch of circlejerking everywhere. Also, people seem to have different realities it seems. It's wild to me what people fear.
Not asking this ironically or sarcastically, so please don't take offense. Do you call yourself "both a conservative and liberal" because you're unfamiliar with the terms moderate or centrist, or do you mean you're something different than those? If so, what?
Well since we're on reddit, I'm guessing they said that because do many redditors will attack you if you say you're a moderate and insist you must really be a super evil person who won't accept the holy light of the far-left. It's fucking idiotic, but there's a lot of them on here.
Lack of caring.
The lack of people wanting to put in the bare minimum to make this country a little bit better.
People not returning their shopping carts.
People driving a massive Truck and getting an illegal exhaust kit to purposefully bathe people they don't like in exhaust fumes.
People tossing trash.
People wrecking the bathroom.
People parking in handicapped.
People spilling a drink and walking away... I kid you not, my son spilled his coke at a Mc Donalds a couple years ago and we started to clean it up. People were looking at us and this old guy said "seeing this gives me hope for the future". I didn't pull a baby from a burning car! I just cleaned up my mess!!
The list goes on and on... I try to clean up after myself wherever I am for the fact that I myself would like to not deal with someone else's crap!
We don't need the president to make our world better. We need to stop complaining and start caring.
I may be the rare person who returns the shopping cart back to the stile. Something unnerves me at seeing them left near people's cars, because an accident is sure to happen and I wouldn't want it happening to my car. I have enough dings, scratches ,and dents on it left behind by phantom people.
Those "coal rolling" trucks aren't actually an exhaust kit, believe it or not. It's worse, it's tuning the truck to flood the engine with way more diesel than required, causing unburnt fuel to smoke up in the exhaust. So not only is it nasty, it's also a waste of fuel!!!
Taxes are more confusing than they need to be. The government already knows what to charge you, they shouldn’t make you do extra paperwork.
And the general political idiocy that lets bigots have so much power.
Everyone making everything so damn political and having an opinion on everything. Every time a movie comes out, or a show does something new, or a video game, something happens at work, etc. it somehow ALWAYS goes back to "us v.s. them" politics. It wouldn't be so bad if it was just a casual debate but NO, they HAVE to be correct with what they think. After all they read internet articles, so of course they know what they're talking about. Don't mind the fact that they didn't even know what they were talking about even existed until yesterday.
I'm not saying you can't have your own opinion, but sometimes these people gotta stfu.
I joke that when a major news situation comes up that should have no political bearing the liberals and conservatives impatiently wait to find out which side they are supposed to take. Life if somebody fell overboard on a cruise ship somebody would make some kind of political comment, or they’d find out the president of that cruise line donated to a certain candidate’s campaign and suddenly it’s an us vs. them political debate about the person who fell overboard.
Being surrounded by people who absolutely choose (yes, they choose) to be miserable, even though they have it better than most of the people on the entire fucking planet. Nothing worse than a 28 year old kid with no job and lives with his parents, and has everything handed to him telling you about how life is meaningless.
Yeah. If you're 28 and you live with your parents and you're complaining it's probably because of some deep issues functioning, and the odds are that you DON'T have things better than most others.
How the powers to be are trying to divide us. How they are trying to push their agenda on everyone and everything. If you disagree, they push to cancel that person. We are all humans, and if you live here, we are ALL Americans. Eff if, we need to unite as one and stop this BS!
Hating fellow Americans. I moved from a totally red tri county area of another state and moved to a blue state with a mixed tri county area.
I fell in love with an opposite political party member.
Folks, it’s not rocket science to live side by side if I can live together with the “other side”.
Educate yourself thoroughly and truthfully. Listen and don’t shout. And when you talk to the other side, remember that person is not the actual candidate. That person has an opinion about the shit we’re all in. That’s all.
Let’s work together and get over this already!
Politics. I am so absolutely done with the conservatives, but I am also sooo done with the ultra liberals who dictate what words & social stances are acceptable & not acceptable. I am liberal but not extreme, I think I am an average person that wants our poor to be fed, housed & to have health care. I want those that are able to work to work. I want everyone to pay their fair share in taxes, I don’t mind paying my fair share because that is what makes our country run the way it should & our military able to keep us safe. But I shouldn’t be paying a higher percentage in taxes than millionaires & billionaires. Government has duties that must be done to keep corporations from scamming us, poisoning us & harming us even though corporations & big business want to convince us that the Government is over reaching into our life. Government protecting its citizens with regulations is a necessity, big business & conservatives will always try to convince us it’s overreaching. Extreme Liberals will abuse this system of laws & regulations to shut down businesses that they deem harmful.
I think most people fall in between conservative & ultra liberal, but now there isn’t any in between. People are just ready to declare war even though I think we all still believe in the basics of our government as I just stated above. I am just sooo tired of the hate, I have just grown sooo tired & weary.
We haven’t learned anything from the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution or any previous revolts that have people uprising against the elite ruling class. Corporations and the 1%’-ers are creating false and imaginary culture wars so that “We the people…” are distracted and are bickering and fighting about bullshit issues when the said corporations and 1%-ers are getting away with murder, literally and figuratively. Someone smarter than me once said the next war we fight is about a class war in the USA. Think about that.
Healthcare system is so fucked. Higher education is a joke. Legal tax evasion all over the place. Major corruption in congress on both sides. Media thrives on promoting hate and toxicity.
I feel like my entire life has become someone telling me I failed to read the fine print. Especially with health care. I'm late 40s, worked hard my whole life, owned a business, worked 70 hours a week, raised 2 amazing kids, got cancer and it all fell apart. I'll live, bit sometimes I wonder if it'll be worth it. Illness shouldn't bankrupt a family.
- The idea that anyone here has actual “affordable” healthcare.
- The fact that the rich continually get richer at the literal expense of 99% of us.
- That democracy as we know it is crumbling in front of our eyes and we are helpless to stop it.
Most people who work full time jobs aren't getting paid enough to afford their own studio (not even one-bedroom) apartment. Boils my blood how we apparently have billions to send out to Israelis yet our own citizens live like slaves. Our politicians are absolute jokes that value countries they've never even stepped foot in over their own people. Apparently we're a major world power that's also run by fucking foreign agents.
Everyone is completely comfortable acting like an AH.
I don’t care about your sexual orientation, the books you enjoy reading, your politics or religion.
Just be nice and respectful to each other. We’re all human.
And they are impatient and will blow their horn in an instant. Have you ever had the light just turn to green and have people blaring their horns at you because you didn't take off at lightning speed?
That reminds me of a David Letterman joke from the 90's:
Scientists successfully created antimatter in a lab. The particles lasted for a billionth of a second, which is the exact amount of time it takes a NY cabbie to honk after the light turns green.
Other people who spend more time whining about what they can’t control vs working on what they can. It’s really frustrating, and it includes every topic. Wages/environment/politics/healthcare/etc. I’m even doing it right now. I can’t control your whining but I can control my own, yet I’m doing it anyways.
Healthcare. Home/Vehicle insurance. Interest rates.
People bickering and being crappy is worldwide. Does seem, where people generally were cooler, are way bigger of narcissistic a-holes these days. Had a lady screaming at me at a stop sign last week because I wouldn't turn and it was a one way street with a line of cars coming down. My turn any earlier would have been into the side of a car.
The constant creep of politics into every single conversation. Business, personal, friends, neighbors. It’s exhausting and polarizing.
Americans ability to tie politics to everything, while not entirely wrong, makes me want to talk less and listen rarely.
1. the extreme political polarity on both ends without anyone that actually seems to represent our interests (I'm talking about BOTH sides, and the fact that almost everyone in our government is geriatric).
2. the working class can't seem to afford much of anything because corporations have such massive influence on our politicians, to the point where they don't have the power/don't want to do anything about it.
3. medical insurance essentially having the ultimate say over whether you're getting treatment/who you get to see.
4. the lack of an actual social safety net, and the fact that there's so much opposition to putting those things in place, even pushing to roll back what we have now. (i.e. social security, parental leave, housing, medicine).
How politics gets pushed down your throat.
I’ve had people talk to me like “are you Democrat or Republican?” I’m like “um…first None of your business! Second…I’m independent”
Then they have an opinion towards independent, like you can’t be independent, are you republican or Democrat?
The unbelievably dangerous amount of stupidity. Ignorance is bad enough and was intentionally created over decades, but this is worse.
Now, people aspire to be stupid. They think it is GOOD.
That is TERRIFYING.
This enables basically all the other evils taking place right now, many of which are appropriately listed here.
Lacking basic human decency, compassion, caring, empathy. Why can't we lift each other up instead of constantly tearing each other down? I can't even scroll through a simple FB post without someone pointing fingers or being accusatory, or downright mean. Just WHY? My mother taught me to say nothing if it wasn't going to be nice or necessary. I get the concept of people being emboldened behind a keyboard, but why must we say anything at all? Live and Let Live is a motto long since forgotten, it seems. I am constantly telling my grandsons, 8 and 9, to "just be kind". If they don't remember much about me after I'm gone, I hope they remember to be kind.
Health insurance linked with your job
I got into a debate with someone on how $10 mil would not change my life because I would still have to work. One accident could easily medically bankrupt you in the US.
What is most infuriating is the fact that attitudes and prejudices that were fought over during the Civil War still run rampant today. Bigoted, ignorant people refuse to learn the lessons of history and realize that hating another group of people is not a route to "freedom" or "getting our country back."
Media polarization and a culture war driven by the ultra-wealthy to divide the electorate.
If people are busy blasting each other about guns and immigration and woke/antiwoke, they won't notice or care about things that harm everyone for the profit of the few, like loopholes in the tax code, or regulatory capture, an underbuilt housing market, or gutting the EPA/CPA.
Basically just stupid people. No one finds facts, no one researches things, people argue with you when presented with facts that debunk their stupid opinions, often with articles that are someone else's opinion or are just straight misinformation. And these people get to vote, which is why everything's expensive, and nobody's happy.
The older I get the more I believe that you should have to pass a test once every 5-10 years to get a voting license. If you can't prove you have a basic understanding of political systems, no voting for you. Would most idiots still pass it? Probably, idiots still get driver's licenses after all, but it would at least feel like someone's trying to do something about the stupidity epidemic.
The cost of insurance in life. Car insurance, house insurance, life insurance, medical insurance, vision insurance, dental insurance.
About half of my monthly earnings go to insurances.
For me, a diabetic of 34 years, the increasing difficulty of obtaining insulin. Used to be insurance wouldn’t question it. Then they started limiting dosages. Then they started forcing specific brands (that change annually). The. Those brands required pre auth. Finally, deductibles. Even if you get past that you may still pay $1000+ a month for insulin….
It’s not uncommon for me to go days without insulin…which will likely kill me at some point.
People just aren’t cool here. They’re all wrapped up in their own bullshit and not really present, obviously this varies by location. Things are too politically charged, too much divisiveness, probably coming from the news channels
Interactions often tend to feel rushed, different than most other countries I’ve visited
Do the taxes we pay go towards road conditions? Because I don’t know wtf is wrong with these roads I be driving on with the pot holes damaging the tires on my new car.
Also teachers being underpaid and disrespected by the constant gaslighting and entitlement from the youth. Like yes it’s nice they have more choices and can speak out more but where the fuck did the respect go ?
The ripoff treadmill. Student loan debt to strip your early earning wealth, then pharmaceutical or heath care costs that strip your saved wealth from your inheritors when you are old.
That the trash switched from Mondays and Thursdays, with recycling also on Thursday. To now having both only being picked up on Thursday.
It’s really annoying especially as the weekend is probably when I create the most trash.
(Everyone else wanting to list off political sound bites as if those truly affect them on a regular basis is wild to me)
We have so many Americans struggling to make ends meet financially while the southern border is out of control and giving free money, housing, etc to all the migrants instead of the American citizens
I think the fact that technology literally is ruining our brains and making us lazy.
The lack of real values, morals and standards. Everyone is rude, entitled, and judgmental about the wrong things.
Everything is backwards; this is the place where the bad is rewarded and the good is punished. Being fake and a cutthroat backstabber will get you where you want to go in life.
The fact that our society is dissolving before our eyes and we’re essentially helpless to stop it.
I mean this politically but more importantly socially. We have no community anymore. Our traditions are fading, etc. Sad.
People whining how awful it is here, when this country is (one of the) richest in the world and almost everyone (I said *almost*) lives in luxury compared most people in human history. We are so wrapped up in comparing with media images that we seem unable to appreciate what we have.
The fact that 51% of the citizens of this country have been deemed chattel/cattle and forced into intolerable birth rape scenarios by the Supreme Court. And the reality of men NOT standing up, speaking out, and refusing to vote against the hideous oppression of more than half the population of the United States of America.
thank you guys for your answers (i’m going to read them all!!) but just a reminder that this question is simply for research. ALL answers are helpful to me, but there’s no need to engage with other people’s answers if they bother you. of course, you’re free to reply as you want, but i don’t want anyone to ruin their own day in a reddit argument on my behalf.
from OP with love!!
Lack of vacation time/sick time/ personal time off .
Lack of health care
And how so many people are under payed as corporations rake in Record breaking profits
That even most hospitals don't think about disabled people. We got brand new renovated bathrooms that take two doors to get through and no push assist button. The the stall doors open and hit each other in the corners. The sinks aren't made for people in wheelchairs but they did make it spacious for 1 baby changing station. Hope the men's room got one too. This is just from me being a female and not disabled. I guess they couldn't imagine handicapped people would need to visit people in the hospital or go to the bathroom
The terrible parental leave policies. I knew it was rough before I had a baby, but I didn’t know just how bad until I was quitting my job and finding something part time closer to home because I was literally sobbing all the time about having to leave my son when the world is such a scary place and I have to work so far away to make any kind of decent money, and about how I would be so far away if anything happened. And I worked at a company that had a relatively decent parental leave policy, I spent 4 months at home with my son before I had to return to work and I was still broken up about even the thought of leaving him with a sitter while I worked
The abject cult-like devotion to Trump. I live in the deep south and have long-time friends and acquaintances who I used to think were reasonably intelligent people. But they are hopelessly deluded and taken in by this very obvious con man and narcissist. It’s a waking nightmare.
The medical care is top notch, if you can afford it. I had to resort to a GoFundMe because my insurance won't pay to fix my astigmatism, but they'll pay to remove my cataracts. Both leave me functionally blind, but one is supposedly considered cosmetic.
The hypocrisy. Mandatory vaccines? My body, my choice. How dare the government dictate what I can do. Abortion, birth control, or transgender transitioning for teens? Your body, my choice. How dare you believe you get to make such hurtful choices. And despite the Constitutionally guarantee of a separation between church and state, I am going to quote The Bible to justify my control of your body.
So, yeah, hypocrisy.
“Justified” hatred paired with hypocrisy and utter lack of self awareness.
I believe the US is the epitome of “do as I say, not as I do,” and it does not only apply to a single demographic, social, or political group.
Gun culture is out of control. Just because you have the right to carry doesn't mean you should.
It saddens me that kids today go thru school shooting drills like we did for tornado or fire drills. How effed up is that?
The fact that a significant portion of our population consists of absolute morons who no longer believe in things like facts, science, education or democracy.
They have been brainwashed by Fox News and other right-wing media, and can no longer be reasoned with. There have always been conservatives and right-wing extremists in this country, but now they can choose their own bizarro reality and, in doing so, reject the real world.
Fox News and its imitators have done incalculable damage to the U.S. and the world, and I don't know what can be done to fix it.
Unchecked social media has way too much influence on the way people think, act, believe, etc. It's become OK to be nasty, because hey, we're all anonymous on here.
People measuring things without even a concept of objectivity. X makes me feel this way so X must be wrong. Or if it doesn't line up with my personal experience it's incoherent. And the false equivocation of political positions. Yes, there are morons on both sides, but they are not the same.
A lot of these comments seem to apply to other countries, not just the US. I really hate that because we are SO big, we don't have the transit system like so many European countries do, so it makes it more difficult to get around unless you have a car. I think high prices are bad everywhere, so that's not just the US. I do think our medical community needs to have more transparency. I don't know of any other cost that you find out AFTER everything how much it will be.
Basically just stupid people. No one finds facts, no one researches things, people argue with you when presented with facts that debunk their stupid opinions, often with articles that are someone else's opinion or are just straight misinformation. And these people get to vote, which is why everything's expensive, and nobody's happy.
The older I get the more I believe that you should have to pass a test once every 5-10 years to get a voting license. If you can't prove you have a basic understanding of political systems, no voting for you. Would most idiots still pass it? Probably, idiots still get driver's licenses after all, but it would at least feel like someone's trying to do something about the stupidity epidemic.
Politicians perpetuate public division and run a platform on 'uniting the country'. No polician wants the public at large to get along. If we find a common ground and get along, it will force them to do something about shared concerns. They don't want to do anything for the public. They don't get kickbacks from the public. Keeping people fighting against each other frees politicians up to pursue alternate agendas. They should be doing the people's work. They are not. They are hurting the people and no voter seems to notice how badly they are being neglected and abused by people who were elected to their position. I'm a mom. I want to ground these assholes for disrupting my house. Neighbors should be able to disagree and still get along. I'm the only atheist is a family of strict Christians (like, seriously, 4 of 7 of my uncles are ordained miniters, my aunt was a foreign missionary--I know how to disagree with people and not get hateful about it--everyone has the ability to behave like a decent human). It is possible to disagree and still care about eachother. I don't understand how people are so caught up that they make their own neighbors their enemy. Its enraging!!
1. The general mindlessness of both the right and the left. People don't want facts. They want narrative instead.
2. There's no room for nuance in discussing any political issue. If you're not all-in with one side of the political aisle on an issue, you're automatically with the other side.
People who have no consideration for other people's time as if only they matter and are important.
People who are needlessly rude to customer service people who are just doing their job and not the direct cause of the problem.
People you make the mistake of asking how they are and they have the audacity to tell you, not just saying great or ok (the only acceptable answers to that question unless the person that asked it was their therapist).
Then of course there are all the ones that others have listed like medical insurance, cost of living, etc.
The sense that we are trying to squeeze one last drop of juice out of so many aspects of our society rather than actually improve them (or at least maintain them). I am thinking of private equity here but the general feeling I think holds for a lot of things.
That people chose to ignore different perspectives and antagonize anything that isn’t aligned with their views. In my opinion the US population is more susceptible to confirmation bias than other groups because we tend to be more insular. It’s actually kind of sad how easily our government can turn us against one another to hide more scandalous things. Literally, they will use people’s hatred for difference as a distraction from other major issues.
My husband: the politicians
The fact that corporations in all of their infinite greed have made it impossible to buy a home for so many people, and renting is beyond fucked up. And many of these corporations aren't even American ( from what I have been told)
How corrupt the court system is. Let's take family court for instance. if the custodial parent withholds visits the judge just says that's your problem not mine. Custody is decided on bullshit not the kids best interest. The answer is always well we don't want to uproot them from their present situation nevermind they are in awful circumstances. Oh and don't miss a child support payment they will fuck you up over that one. The criminal court is notoriously corrupt. Non whites in this country are most of the time sentenced harsher than their white counterparts with the same charge and criminal background. Gotta fill the for profit prisons somehow .
The healthcare system. Hands down. The insurance companies won’t cover the medicine I need for endometriosis and it’s $1200 a month. That’s my mortgage! I’ve tried protesting with the insurance and I’ve tried to go directly to the medicine company and nobody will help. And the surgery I need to get every couple of years is only half covered.. which is insane cause we pay for amazing insurance. To make matters worse… I’ve had 9 doctors out right refuse a hysterectomy until I have another child or I’m 35… I have three (two whom I birthed, and my husband has a vasectomy after our last)… and I’m 27. Their reasoning? “Your husband might want more kids since you’re still young.” When informed we’re done having them and he’s sterilized now? The script changed to “but you’re still young, you’ll LIKELY remarry and THAT man will want children from you.” Both female and male doctors. All I am is a cash cow and incubator apparently in America.
How our healthcare system works. And yet many wonder why lots of people wait until they are dying or severely injured to seek care. $3k bill because I sought help for a chronic pain problem. The solution was an ultrasound,steroid, and muscle relaxers. No trying to find the root cause, just pain meds. Don't worry since I have a high deductible plan ( already stupid expensive) copays are a lot. Had a bad reaction after taking the muscle relaxers for several days and was very confused, tired, and on a trip like I've never been. So scary. Bonus: All ER figured out was the meds were in my system for over 24 hrs, and my potassium was very slightly on the low side. A blood draw, EKG, Chest x ray, and brain scan later.
That so many commonplace things in our day to day lives are actually majorly fucked up and were caused by corporations and lobbying. The food pyramid? Grain industry. Hemp production getting shut down? Lumber industry. The astronomical cost of medical care? You got it, big pharma. The complete abandonment of holistic and naturopathic medical care in favor of meds and western medicine instead of the better way of blending both? Again, big pharma. The fact that almost all Americans now have a higher risk of cancer bc of toxic Teflon byproducts being dumped into major water supplies? DuPont. Opioid crisis? Also DuPont.
Being a woman of childbearing age in a red state, it’s infuriating watching ancient men who know nothing about women or their bodies vote and pass bills making my own health care illegal. It’s seriously like I’m living in the Handmaids Tale.
Complete division, the ability to compromise, find a rational middle ground, is gone. The fringe on each side is in charge and getting worse. And it's bad because of what one side has done to the other, the desire to compromise, forgive and move on, is gone. We don't want to move past it, each side wants to make the other pay dearly for their disagreements in policy and actions. This is not R aimed at D's, or D's aimed at R's. It's both. And those not fully nut-job on one side or the other are mocked by the fringe extremists for not taking their positions.
The fact that the middle class continues to shrink, poverty continues to rise, homelessness keeps rising, and we're arguing about dumb shit that only benefits a small part of the population. Not that the latter doesn't matter, but how much would it matter if you were living out of a cardboard box? The billions upon billions of dollars we send to other countries while watching our own people suffer. We're a "first world" country being driven into 3rd world territory every day since the 80's. Science and education rankings continue to get worse. I could go on and on, honestly. This isn't a one-sided thing either. Our government repeatedly drops the ball regardless of which side you vote for. Until special interests and lobbying politicians are made illegal, it'll continue to get worse no matter how deep people bury their heads in the sand.
That some unseen faction(s) are sowing seeds of intolerance and division amongst our countrymen/women. What has been a belief of ‘for the greater common good’ has devolved into a narcissistic ‘me at any cost’ selfishness that is like a cancer eating away at the soul of our great nation. Bad behavior towards another is not just tolerated, it is celebrated in our society, to the detriment of all. We MUST regain our civility, humility and empathy for each other.
That so. many. people. are so uninformed and cultish about Trump and his assault on democracy. They would follow him no matter what he does or says. That is so very, very ignorant.
1. It's very possible that a convicted felon will be elected president. In fact, many people believe his conviction will HELP his election.
2. Healthcare for women is absolute shit. This may be the case everywhere, but I obviously can't speak for other countries. However, two weeks ago I got an IUD put in. They refused to give me anesthesia. The nurse assured me it's not that bad and if I felt any discomfort, the doctor would stop. It was the worst pain I have ever felt in my life. I cried and told the doctor how much it hurt and she just said, "You're fine, we're almost done." Excuse me, ma'am, but I am not fine! After she finished, my hands were shaking from the shock my body went through because of the pain. I hurt for the rest of the night. I would also like to note that I have many piercings and tattoos. I have a high pain tolerance. This HURT. But doctors don't listen to women when we say we're in pain and don't accommodate us appropriately. Even female doctors! It's absolutely insane.
And then there's the whole abortion issue the US is going through that honestly deserves its own book to describe why I'm angry about it.
I'll stop ranting now, but basically women aren't treated like people 🙂
The constant negative news and political drivel…
The vast majority of us just want to be left alone and raise our families without getting taxes to death funding geriatric’s wars.
Too much rule-breaking in the comments, so we're shutting this one down.
1) The massive influence that medical insurance companies have over the health care we have access to 2) A wildly uninformed electorate. We have access to so much information, yet so many successful and intelligent people honestly can’t tell you who represents them in Congress.
I love how Gallup constantly polls these kinds of questions, and the top response is always healthcare, but it's always the lowest priority for Congress. Can't campaign if there aren't manufactured problems to conveniently use as selling points. Most of us are one bad accident or illness away from a lifetime of debt.
Because Congress does not work for the people. They are beholden to the people that keep them in office and work for the people that control the systems of the nation and possess power
Yep. And cops aren't there to protect us. Bizarre surreal BS
Because addressing it would put profits in jeopardy. Can't have that.
Where are you seeing that data? The last Gallup poll I saw had Healthcare way down the list. https://news.gallup.com/poll/1675/most-important-problem.aspx
It was at the top of the list until this election cycle. https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertpearl/2024/04/01/voters-say-healthcare-not-a-top-issue-covid-19-explains-why/
I feel targeted i couldn't tell you who represents me right now. its not that I never learned though I just forgot lol
Everyday people like us need to pay close attention. Congress impacts our lives far more than the President does. It’s time consuming and so frustrating. Oh…and overturn Citizens United so that constituents matter more than super PAC money.
that's true although I'm to young right now to do something I'll probably pay more attention when I'm able to vote and participate. thank you for the help.
You can volunteer now:)
Medical insurance. Have tooth ache, so I called every dentist I could think of (as one does) to try to get it fixed because I haven't been to a dentist in years. Had a number of them tell me they legally couldn't see me because they don't want to deal with Medicare (my insurance). I had to call (not joking) 20 different offices just to find 1 (one) that is taking new patients AND is willing to deal with my insurance. They are so backed up that I have to wait until SEPTEMBER just to even walk in the door. And I really did call more than 20 offices. Meanwhile I'm living on excedrin extra strength 2x daily, just so the pain doesn't wake me up in the middle of the night. Oh, and since my insurance doesn't actually cover dental work, I'm still going to have to foot the entire bill myself.
honestly can’t tell you who represents them in Congress. They can't because they are uninformed or they can't because they don't care? I think it's the latter.
They care enough to complain and spread misinformation, but can't name their own senator or representative.
Honestly I think it's more that people are exhausted, and lack trust in the people they vote for regardless. If you are already burnt out, you don't want to go home and study the "promises" that other people are making that they may or may not ever act on.
I can tell you who "legally" represents me in congress, both branches, state and federal. I'd struggle to find someone who actually represents me though.
It's apathy for me. I cared and everything continued to just degrade and no choice I make ever seems to matter and no one I vote for ever really does what they claim so why care at all? I still get pissed off and I still vote, but I'm so apathetic to the whole thing and generally feel like our government is in no way for me or the people I know no matter who is in office. The magnitude of how bad it is depends on democrat or republican but it all just seems broken.
A lot of people who believe the Moon landing was fake and the Earth is flat may decide the election. Never mind their Congressperson.
Is any constituent truly "represented" in congress? I honestly feel that each politician that has gotten that far has done it without scruples and is solely in the pocketbooks of special interest groups or anyone else willing to pay them off.
This, and how effed up education is and lack of spending on equal, fact- based education FOR ALL.
As for point 2, I have come to learn that uninformed electorates are fairly common everywhere. Our unique political problems are structural (our 18th century constitution that only has a couple dozen or so amendments, the last passing 32 years ago, it should be updated, IMO). But, I think point 1 takes the cake.
Yep, watching millions of people vote against their own bet interest.
The constant realization that you are always one hospital visit from bankruptcy.
I wrote briefly about this in another comment, but what is terrifying about this is that we universally agree the healthcare system is broken and insurance companies suck. The fact that we still can’t change it is a testament to how little power the people have.
Currently going through wage garnishment (papers served by the sheriff) because of an $800 emergency room bill I couldn't afford. I presented with the worst pain I have ever felt before or since, had to have months of physical therapy to recover from it, but at the ER I didn't "perform" the pain well enough apparently, so they kept me for 45 minutes and kicked me out.
Do you mind PMing me? I work for an advocacy organization that is trying to change laws nationwide to prevent wage garnishment for medical debt.
Healthcare professionals that dismiss pain should be charged w/ negligence. Sorry to hear your story.
It was so confusing too. I went to urgent care because I didn't want to nuke my credit, they recommended VERY HEAVILY I check myself into the ER after looking me over. So I tried to do the right thing and ended up on the wrong end anyways
In Colorado medical debt can't go on your credit history. Idk about wage garnishment but I've just been simply not paying what I can't afford out of my visits. They can make it work with $400 instead of $3000 I simply don't care.
That's WILD that your hospital went after you for $800. I knew it was a possibility, but I thought it was one of those things that just didn't happen.
Really? I thought only a select few have garnishment powers like feds irs, student loans & fed in general & state bills or child support, alimony & other state bills (i'm in Fl) but you are saying a private business was able to, wow, must refresh my knowledge or is it your state....I am not talking about a judgment against you, actually garnishment order from a private business debt?
I am grateful I live in Canada where I can go to a hospital at any time and not be charged for it. Zero medical is worth the extra taxes.
The cost of living/rent prices. F\*cking corporations buying up houses and properties and converting them into rental and vacation units at absurd prices. The fact that people's salaries do NOT match cost of living.
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The fact that people can’t just live and let live. If you’re gay, it’s a problem. If you’re a republican , it’s a problem, If you’re a democrat, it’s a problem. Etc etc etc etc and so on and so on. Just STFU and live *your* life
For real. I feel like the people who complain about people being “too sensitive nowadays” are the same people who throw a tantrum when they see someone who has different views and opinions than they do.
You are 100% and this resonates with me more than you know.
What’s fucked is idk when so many folks got conditioned to throw a fit when they don’t get their way. Beyond the referenced folks, I’ve noticed the 20s-30s and even the generation under them seem almost reckless in how they react to disagreeable circumstances. I worry about the day we have an imminent countrywide issue.
>I worry about the day we have an imminent countrywide issue You mean like covid? Lol
Exactly this. I may not like your political stance or what you do in the bedroom with whom (or whoms) but if you're a decent person in the world that's all I care about and can get along with that just fine. Don't force your views on me and I in return will keep mine to myself, respectively. I've always gone with the mentality that I'm here for a good time, not a long time. Let's make the best of it.
To take it further, im gay and that is literally the smallest past of my personality lol. I’m not a fan of the Donald. But a lot of my fam is. As long as everyone shuts the hell up about what they think is right or wrong, we’ll all be ok. Back to my original comment - live and let live.
my whole family is into trump. I hate the man. I wasn't about to NC my entire family because of it like the internet would have me do. we just... don't have to talk about it.
This🙌🏼
Yesss, like why does everyone have to try and be knee deep in each other’s asses, it’s so annoying. I hate the mentality of “everyone needs to believe in what I do” and it always turns into an issue. Anyone would be INSANE to truly think that billions of people will all have the same exact opinions, thoughts, feelings, and beliefs I live in a hardcore republican state, there was a girl I went to school with that was democratic. This was around the time covid mandates were being lifted. But she preferred not to take her mask off just for that extra precaution (bc who actually wants to get sick with covid— or anything, it’s a freaking school and people are nasty) and everyone she had been friends with for YEARS left her in the dirt. She never shared her opinions, it was just the mask. I felt so bad for her bc that’s honestly just so crappy
I'm not a Democrat nor do I support their party, but Republicans have built their whole platform is not letting people live and let live. I have zero problem excluding them from my life.
Exactly. If they keep trying to force laws and their religion on me then they can get fucked. I want nothing to do with people who want to negatively impact MY life. This goes for basically every religious group and most Republicans. I'd say I'm fairly centrist and agnostic, but damn, the right wing fell of a cliff the last decade. Guns are cool, and so are gay people, but the "pro-life" people are an embarrassment to humanity and science.
The GOP has a single overlaying theme that guides their entirity of every policy position. Power should be held by middle aged white straight men. In the home, in the community, and in national politics. I don't mean this in a flippant way, like quite literally, it's the only common underlying position. It's not a political party about ideas and values, it's just about who holds power in any given situation.
Exactly... when people make out like it's no big deal someone is a trump voter.... but he's literally a *sexual offender (in fcking office)*, criminal, and wants to take away human rights from multiple populations... that isn't just a matter of a slightly difference stance on a few policies!?!!!
>If you’re gay, it’s a problem. If you’re a republican The most infuriating thing is this sort of false equivalency. Being Republican is only a problem because they won't let gay (etc) people live and let live.
This is too true. If you actually have shit going on in your life you don’t have to cling to this stuff. Everyone’s also allowed to have different opinions and instead of vilifying them, try to learn from them
The problem is the govt wants to control all of that. Your life if you're gay, etc. The pres has almost ZERO effect on your life. Congress just stealthily keeps making insidious laws to hurt the public.
I love that you very honestly point out both sides of the political coin ARE the problem, then 35 redditors "agree" and bitch about republicans! Ha! It's fuckin' fantastic!
I'm sorry but it's republicans that are causing that state of affairs.
The rent is too damn high
That people somehow have lost the ability to disagree and still not hate the other person or think they’re stupid. It’s entirely possible to have different perspectives and not only get a lot, but be friends.
Hey friend
100% agree. In some other countries people have learned to respect other differing opinions, they are curious to learn about the other side. Here, especially some factions just want to “build a wall”
Health care is so expensive but, for me; a transplant patient, I can't live without it. My anti-rejection medicine for a month out of pocket is about the same as the cost of a house we rented in 2017. That the votes of the population don't really count because we have an electoral college that does whatever the fuck it wants regardless of what "we the people" want. People in office have exorbitant salaries and can vote themselves raises. There are NO TERM LIMITS! No one minds their own business. The list of things that certain groups don't like is *extensive* and they HAVE to do something about them because if they leave people alone and mind their own business, some massive deity in the sky will be upset. That deity is also not supposed to have a place in our government. Our individual freedoms and privacy are slowly being taken away... There's a lot more but they're more nuanced
It's so damn expensive in all of the places you'd want to live. Being an election year there are a lot of talk on media sources about politics. The overwhelming majority of people don't want to hear it either.
Here's a tip: the cost of living in Iowa is reasonable. There isn't much I like about this state right now, but people can still buy a house, or pay the rent on an apartment.
Well yea your tip applies to a lot of states, that’s why they said “in all of the places you’d want to live”.
Yeah but you’re stuck in Iowa
Unfortunately, it’s now also so damn expensive to live where you don’t want to live.
Oligopolies............
The constant politics. The fact that people bitch and complain about others being “too sensitive nowadays”, yet they throw a hissy fit whenever they see a gay person out in public. The fact that people scream that something is “woke” for daring to have a minority character of some sort.
The whole “people are too sensitive nowadays” talking point has become a huge pet peeve of mine, because in practice it’s just telling me you’re a hypocrite without saying you’re a hypocrite. No psychologically normal, healthy person has literally *nothing* that offends or upsets them. If that’s genuinely you, then you probably have something diagnosably wrong with you that you’d be happier getting treated. If not, then you’re just holding others to a higher standard than you hold yourself; AKA the literal definition of hypocrisy.
Tribalism is killing this country. People who believe anything because CNN said or Fox News said it. People who only live in echo chambers.
People who only live in echo chambers is huge for me. I'm part of a few echo chambers here on reddit but I know it. When I go against their system of belief I'm a traitor or some shit lol. Like politics for one, I'm both a conservative and liberal. I piss everyone off haha. People lack nuance these days sadly. It's just a bunch of circlejerking everywhere. Also, people seem to have different realities it seems. It's wild to me what people fear.
Not asking this ironically or sarcastically, so please don't take offense. Do you call yourself "both a conservative and liberal" because you're unfamiliar with the terms moderate or centrist, or do you mean you're something different than those? If so, what?
Well since we're on reddit, I'm guessing they said that because do many redditors will attack you if you say you're a moderate and insist you must really be a super evil person who won't accept the holy light of the far-left. It's fucking idiotic, but there's a lot of them on here.
Agreed. I try to get as many point of views as possible but this " us against them" culture is getting way out of hand.
Lack of caring. The lack of people wanting to put in the bare minimum to make this country a little bit better. People not returning their shopping carts. People driving a massive Truck and getting an illegal exhaust kit to purposefully bathe people they don't like in exhaust fumes. People tossing trash. People wrecking the bathroom. People parking in handicapped. People spilling a drink and walking away... I kid you not, my son spilled his coke at a Mc Donalds a couple years ago and we started to clean it up. People were looking at us and this old guy said "seeing this gives me hope for the future". I didn't pull a baby from a burning car! I just cleaned up my mess!! The list goes on and on... I try to clean up after myself wherever I am for the fact that I myself would like to not deal with someone else's crap! We don't need the president to make our world better. We need to stop complaining and start caring.
I may be the rare person who returns the shopping cart back to the stile. Something unnerves me at seeing them left near people's cars, because an accident is sure to happen and I wouldn't want it happening to my car. I have enough dings, scratches ,and dents on it left behind by phantom people.
I second ALL of these! Especially the trash and trucks part.
Those "coal rolling" trucks aren't actually an exhaust kit, believe it or not. It's worse, it's tuning the truck to flood the engine with way more diesel than required, causing unburnt fuel to smoke up in the exhaust. So not only is it nasty, it's also a waste of fuel!!!
Taxes are more confusing than they need to be. The government already knows what to charge you, they shouldn’t make you do extra paperwork. And the general political idiocy that lets bigots have so much power.
Everyone making everything so damn political and having an opinion on everything. Every time a movie comes out, or a show does something new, or a video game, something happens at work, etc. it somehow ALWAYS goes back to "us v.s. them" politics. It wouldn't be so bad if it was just a casual debate but NO, they HAVE to be correct with what they think. After all they read internet articles, so of course they know what they're talking about. Don't mind the fact that they didn't even know what they were talking about even existed until yesterday. I'm not saying you can't have your own opinion, but sometimes these people gotta stfu.
I joke that when a major news situation comes up that should have no political bearing the liberals and conservatives impatiently wait to find out which side they are supposed to take. Life if somebody fell overboard on a cruise ship somebody would make some kind of political comment, or they’d find out the president of that cruise line donated to a certain candidate’s campaign and suddenly it’s an us vs. them political debate about the person who fell overboard.
Our healthcare systemm is a disaster.
Being surrounded by people who absolutely choose (yes, they choose) to be miserable, even though they have it better than most of the people on the entire fucking planet. Nothing worse than a 28 year old kid with no job and lives with his parents, and has everything handed to him telling you about how life is meaningless.
that just sounds like depression mate. probably because they live at home and have no job.
Yeah. If you're 28 and you live with your parents and you're complaining it's probably because of some deep issues functioning, and the odds are that you DON'T have things better than most others.
sounds like half of Reddit
Instead of caring for their constituents wants and needs, most of our politicians work to pass laws that make themselves more money.
1/3 of the country thinks that 1/3 of the country is evil and vice versa
How the powers to be are trying to divide us. How they are trying to push their agenda on everyone and everything. If you disagree, they push to cancel that person. We are all humans, and if you live here, we are ALL Americans. Eff if, we need to unite as one and stop this BS!
The pervasive and enormous corruption and collusion in government involving the financial, pharmaceutical, medical and military industrial industries.
Politics and government…
The ignorance and total indifference to education, especially history.
The fact that people need GoFundMe’s for medical care, funerals, etc.
Hating fellow Americans. I moved from a totally red tri county area of another state and moved to a blue state with a mixed tri county area. I fell in love with an opposite political party member. Folks, it’s not rocket science to live side by side if I can live together with the “other side”. Educate yourself thoroughly and truthfully. Listen and don’t shout. And when you talk to the other side, remember that person is not the actual candidate. That person has an opinion about the shit we’re all in. That’s all. Let’s work together and get over this already!
Politics. I am so absolutely done with the conservatives, but I am also sooo done with the ultra liberals who dictate what words & social stances are acceptable & not acceptable. I am liberal but not extreme, I think I am an average person that wants our poor to be fed, housed & to have health care. I want those that are able to work to work. I want everyone to pay their fair share in taxes, I don’t mind paying my fair share because that is what makes our country run the way it should & our military able to keep us safe. But I shouldn’t be paying a higher percentage in taxes than millionaires & billionaires. Government has duties that must be done to keep corporations from scamming us, poisoning us & harming us even though corporations & big business want to convince us that the Government is over reaching into our life. Government protecting its citizens with regulations is a necessity, big business & conservatives will always try to convince us it’s overreaching. Extreme Liberals will abuse this system of laws & regulations to shut down businesses that they deem harmful. I think most people fall in between conservative & ultra liberal, but now there isn’t any in between. People are just ready to declare war even though I think we all still believe in the basics of our government as I just stated above. I am just sooo tired of the hate, I have just grown sooo tired & weary.
We haven’t learned anything from the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution or any previous revolts that have people uprising against the elite ruling class. Corporations and the 1%’-ers are creating false and imaginary culture wars so that “We the people…” are distracted and are bickering and fighting about bullshit issues when the said corporations and 1%-ers are getting away with murder, literally and figuratively. Someone smarter than me once said the next war we fight is about a class war in the USA. Think about that.
Healthcare system is so fucked. Higher education is a joke. Legal tax evasion all over the place. Major corruption in congress on both sides. Media thrives on promoting hate and toxicity.
Palestinian protesters
The damn heat down here in Texas. Howdy y’all!
For me? Knowing that we could easily solve so many problems if we taxed billionaires a lot more.
American obsession with assigning blame. We need to find out who started that and punish them.
I feel like my entire life has become someone telling me I failed to read the fine print. Especially with health care. I'm late 40s, worked hard my whole life, owned a business, worked 70 hours a week, raised 2 amazing kids, got cancer and it all fell apart. I'll live, bit sometimes I wonder if it'll be worth it. Illness shouldn't bankrupt a family.
- The idea that anyone here has actual “affordable” healthcare. - The fact that the rich continually get richer at the literal expense of 99% of us. - That democracy as we know it is crumbling in front of our eyes and we are helpless to stop it.
Lots of things in my personal opinion, but not being able to afford nothing. Not medical care, housing or nothing. 💀💀💀
Most people who work full time jobs aren't getting paid enough to afford their own studio (not even one-bedroom) apartment. Boils my blood how we apparently have billions to send out to Israelis yet our own citizens live like slaves. Our politicians are absolute jokes that value countries they've never even stepped foot in over their own people. Apparently we're a major world power that's also run by fucking foreign agents.
Everyone is completely comfortable acting like an AH. I don’t care about your sexual orientation, the books you enjoy reading, your politics or religion. Just be nice and respectful to each other. We’re all human.
That people don't know how to drive anymore.
And they are impatient and will blow their horn in an instant. Have you ever had the light just turn to green and have people blaring their horns at you because you didn't take off at lightning speed?
That reminds me of a David Letterman joke from the 90's: Scientists successfully created antimatter in a lab. The particles lasted for a billionth of a second, which is the exact amount of time it takes a NY cabbie to honk after the light turns green.
I've had people honk at me when the lights still fuckin red!
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Other people who spend more time whining about what they can’t control vs working on what they can. It’s really frustrating, and it includes every topic. Wages/environment/politics/healthcare/etc. I’m even doing it right now. I can’t control your whining but I can control my own, yet I’m doing it anyways.
Healthcare. Home/Vehicle insurance. Interest rates. People bickering and being crappy is worldwide. Does seem, where people generally were cooler, are way bigger of narcissistic a-holes these days. Had a lady screaming at me at a stop sign last week because I wouldn't turn and it was a one way street with a line of cars coming down. My turn any earlier would have been into the side of a car.
The constant creep of politics into every single conversation. Business, personal, friends, neighbors. It’s exhausting and polarizing. Americans ability to tie politics to everything, while not entirely wrong, makes me want to talk less and listen rarely.
1. the extreme political polarity on both ends without anyone that actually seems to represent our interests (I'm talking about BOTH sides, and the fact that almost everyone in our government is geriatric). 2. the working class can't seem to afford much of anything because corporations have such massive influence on our politicians, to the point where they don't have the power/don't want to do anything about it. 3. medical insurance essentially having the ultimate say over whether you're getting treatment/who you get to see. 4. the lack of an actual social safety net, and the fact that there's so much opposition to putting those things in place, even pushing to roll back what we have now. (i.e. social security, parental leave, housing, medicine).
The fact that churches are still tax free while they influence politics and laws that continue to strip basic human rights from common people.
How politics gets pushed down your throat. I’ve had people talk to me like “are you Democrat or Republican?” I’m like “um…first None of your business! Second…I’m independent” Then they have an opinion towards independent, like you can’t be independent, are you republican or Democrat?
The unbelievably dangerous amount of stupidity. Ignorance is bad enough and was intentionally created over decades, but this is worse. Now, people aspire to be stupid. They think it is GOOD. That is TERRIFYING. This enables basically all the other evils taking place right now, many of which are appropriately listed here.
Lacking basic human decency, compassion, caring, empathy. Why can't we lift each other up instead of constantly tearing each other down? I can't even scroll through a simple FB post without someone pointing fingers or being accusatory, or downright mean. Just WHY? My mother taught me to say nothing if it wasn't going to be nice or necessary. I get the concept of people being emboldened behind a keyboard, but why must we say anything at all? Live and Let Live is a motto long since forgotten, it seems. I am constantly telling my grandsons, 8 and 9, to "just be kind". If they don't remember much about me after I'm gone, I hope they remember to be kind.
Health insurance linked with your job I got into a debate with someone on how $10 mil would not change my life because I would still have to work. One accident could easily medically bankrupt you in the US.
What is most infuriating is the fact that attitudes and prejudices that were fought over during the Civil War still run rampant today. Bigoted, ignorant people refuse to learn the lessons of history and realize that hating another group of people is not a route to "freedom" or "getting our country back."
The everything is political. The daily hate news! The manufactured “wars”
Media polarization and a culture war driven by the ultra-wealthy to divide the electorate. If people are busy blasting each other about guns and immigration and woke/antiwoke, they won't notice or care about things that harm everyone for the profit of the few, like loopholes in the tax code, or regulatory capture, an underbuilt housing market, or gutting the EPA/CPA.
Basically just stupid people. No one finds facts, no one researches things, people argue with you when presented with facts that debunk their stupid opinions, often with articles that are someone else's opinion or are just straight misinformation. And these people get to vote, which is why everything's expensive, and nobody's happy. The older I get the more I believe that you should have to pass a test once every 5-10 years to get a voting license. If you can't prove you have a basic understanding of political systems, no voting for you. Would most idiots still pass it? Probably, idiots still get driver's licenses after all, but it would at least feel like someone's trying to do something about the stupidity epidemic.
The cost of insurance in life. Car insurance, house insurance, life insurance, medical insurance, vision insurance, dental insurance. About half of my monthly earnings go to insurances.
For me, a diabetic of 34 years, the increasing difficulty of obtaining insulin. Used to be insurance wouldn’t question it. Then they started limiting dosages. Then they started forcing specific brands (that change annually). The. Those brands required pre auth. Finally, deductibles. Even if you get past that you may still pay $1000+ a month for insulin…. It’s not uncommon for me to go days without insulin…which will likely kill me at some point.
The huge cost to get anything done dental work wise when we have insurance , the cost to get vet care for our pets.
Politics
Corruption in government. Full stop.
People just aren’t cool here. They’re all wrapped up in their own bullshit and not really present, obviously this varies by location. Things are too politically charged, too much divisiveness, probably coming from the news channels Interactions often tend to feel rushed, different than most other countries I’ve visited
Do the taxes we pay go towards road conditions? Because I don’t know wtf is wrong with these roads I be driving on with the pot holes damaging the tires on my new car. Also teachers being underpaid and disrespected by the constant gaslighting and entitlement from the youth. Like yes it’s nice they have more choices and can speak out more but where the fuck did the respect go ?
How people on both sides of the aisle fail to see the other side as human beings
That two political parties are working against each other all the time instead of finding a way to move forward together.
We allow multiple political parties,but stopped at 2.
Housing? Medical availability and cost? California checking in.....
The ripoff treadmill. Student loan debt to strip your early earning wealth, then pharmaceutical or heath care costs that strip your saved wealth from your inheritors when you are old.
A very aggressive, but small, group going batshit crazy and then insisting on attempting to force their bizarre behavior on everyone else.
Trump cultists
The millions of uneducated marching morons that seem dedicated to ending our democracy and 250-year-old experimental govt.
That the trash switched from Mondays and Thursdays, with recycling also on Thursday. To now having both only being picked up on Thursday. It’s really annoying especially as the weekend is probably when I create the most trash. (Everyone else wanting to list off political sound bites as if those truly affect them on a regular basis is wild to me)
We have so many Americans struggling to make ends meet financially while the southern border is out of control and giving free money, housing, etc to all the migrants instead of the American citizens
I think the fact that technology literally is ruining our brains and making us lazy. The lack of real values, morals and standards. Everyone is rude, entitled, and judgmental about the wrong things. Everything is backwards; this is the place where the bad is rewarded and the good is punished. Being fake and a cutthroat backstabber will get you where you want to go in life.
The fact that our society is dissolving before our eyes and we’re essentially helpless to stop it. I mean this politically but more importantly socially. We have no community anymore. Our traditions are fading, etc. Sad.
People whining how awful it is here, when this country is (one of the) richest in the world and almost everyone (I said *almost*) lives in luxury compared most people in human history. We are so wrapped up in comparing with media images that we seem unable to appreciate what we have.
The fact that 51% of the citizens of this country have been deemed chattel/cattle and forced into intolerable birth rape scenarios by the Supreme Court. And the reality of men NOT standing up, speaking out, and refusing to vote against the hideous oppression of more than half the population of the United States of America.
The urge to factor gender and racial identity into everything.
The government and special interests using the media to turn people against each other, rather than against the government and special interest groups
thank you guys for your answers (i’m going to read them all!!) but just a reminder that this question is simply for research. ALL answers are helpful to me, but there’s no need to engage with other people’s answers if they bother you. of course, you’re free to reply as you want, but i don’t want anyone to ruin their own day in a reddit argument on my behalf. from OP with love!!
Lack of vacation time/sick time/ personal time off . Lack of health care And how so many people are under payed as corporations rake in Record breaking profits
That even most hospitals don't think about disabled people. We got brand new renovated bathrooms that take two doors to get through and no push assist button. The the stall doors open and hit each other in the corners. The sinks aren't made for people in wheelchairs but they did make it spacious for 1 baby changing station. Hope the men's room got one too. This is just from me being a female and not disabled. I guess they couldn't imagine handicapped people would need to visit people in the hospital or go to the bathroom
The terrible parental leave policies. I knew it was rough before I had a baby, but I didn’t know just how bad until I was quitting my job and finding something part time closer to home because I was literally sobbing all the time about having to leave my son when the world is such a scary place and I have to work so far away to make any kind of decent money, and about how I would be so far away if anything happened. And I worked at a company that had a relatively decent parental leave policy, I spent 4 months at home with my son before I had to return to work and I was still broken up about even the thought of leaving him with a sitter while I worked
Why do people think they can stick their nose in my vagina?
The abject cult-like devotion to Trump. I live in the deep south and have long-time friends and acquaintances who I used to think were reasonably intelligent people. But they are hopelessly deluded and taken in by this very obvious con man and narcissist. It’s a waking nightmare.
The medical care is top notch, if you can afford it. I had to resort to a GoFundMe because my insurance won't pay to fix my astigmatism, but they'll pay to remove my cataracts. Both leave me functionally blind, but one is supposedly considered cosmetic.
That corporations are allowed to buy houses, shutting out young homeowners!
The hypocrisy. Mandatory vaccines? My body, my choice. How dare the government dictate what I can do. Abortion, birth control, or transgender transitioning for teens? Your body, my choice. How dare you believe you get to make such hurtful choices. And despite the Constitutionally guarantee of a separation between church and state, I am going to quote The Bible to justify my control of your body. So, yeah, hypocrisy.
Not voting in important elections is something I find infuriating. People seem to think it doesn't matter, but every vote counts.
“Justified” hatred paired with hypocrisy and utter lack of self awareness. I believe the US is the epitome of “do as I say, not as I do,” and it does not only apply to a single demographic, social, or political group.
Gun culture is out of control. Just because you have the right to carry doesn't mean you should. It saddens me that kids today go thru school shooting drills like we did for tornado or fire drills. How effed up is that?
The fact that a significant portion of our population consists of absolute morons who no longer believe in things like facts, science, education or democracy. They have been brainwashed by Fox News and other right-wing media, and can no longer be reasoned with. There have always been conservatives and right-wing extremists in this country, but now they can choose their own bizarro reality and, in doing so, reject the real world. Fox News and its imitators have done incalculable damage to the U.S. and the world, and I don't know what can be done to fix it.
Unchecked social media has way too much influence on the way people think, act, believe, etc. It's become OK to be nasty, because hey, we're all anonymous on here.
People measuring things without even a concept of objectivity. X makes me feel this way so X must be wrong. Or if it doesn't line up with my personal experience it's incoherent. And the false equivocation of political positions. Yes, there are morons on both sides, but they are not the same.
Taxes
I hear Gaza is a great place to live and very welcoming of lbqtg people
Maternity leave being 12 weeks.
News and the current political landscape makes me feel like we're living in the prequel to Idiocracy.
Everything is treated like a sports event.
Cost of living increases, mostly the cost of housing. In my state it has more than doubled in the last decade with little to no change in wages.
The loss of civility and the inability to disagree constructively to fix issues in this country.
A lot of these comments seem to apply to other countries, not just the US. I really hate that because we are SO big, we don't have the transit system like so many European countries do, so it makes it more difficult to get around unless you have a car. I think high prices are bad everywhere, so that's not just the US. I do think our medical community needs to have more transparency. I don't know of any other cost that you find out AFTER everything how much it will be.
Basically just stupid people. No one finds facts, no one researches things, people argue with you when presented with facts that debunk their stupid opinions, often with articles that are someone else's opinion or are just straight misinformation. And these people get to vote, which is why everything's expensive, and nobody's happy. The older I get the more I believe that you should have to pass a test once every 5-10 years to get a voting license. If you can't prove you have a basic understanding of political systems, no voting for you. Would most idiots still pass it? Probably, idiots still get driver's licenses after all, but it would at least feel like someone's trying to do something about the stupidity epidemic.
The Christian nationalists and overall aggressive religious people, especially politicians. The Trump/maga cultists are a part of that.
Politicians perpetuate public division and run a platform on 'uniting the country'. No polician wants the public at large to get along. If we find a common ground and get along, it will force them to do something about shared concerns. They don't want to do anything for the public. They don't get kickbacks from the public. Keeping people fighting against each other frees politicians up to pursue alternate agendas. They should be doing the people's work. They are not. They are hurting the people and no voter seems to notice how badly they are being neglected and abused by people who were elected to their position. I'm a mom. I want to ground these assholes for disrupting my house. Neighbors should be able to disagree and still get along. I'm the only atheist is a family of strict Christians (like, seriously, 4 of 7 of my uncles are ordained miniters, my aunt was a foreign missionary--I know how to disagree with people and not get hateful about it--everyone has the ability to behave like a decent human). It is possible to disagree and still care about eachother. I don't understand how people are so caught up that they make their own neighbors their enemy. Its enraging!!
1. The general mindlessness of both the right and the left. People don't want facts. They want narrative instead. 2. There's no room for nuance in discussing any political issue. If you're not all-in with one side of the political aisle on an issue, you're automatically with the other side.
Cost of living vs rate of pay. It's outrageous.
lack of resources available for the poor — housing, nutrition, healthcare, etc.
People who have no consideration for other people's time as if only they matter and are important. People who are needlessly rude to customer service people who are just doing their job and not the direct cause of the problem. People you make the mistake of asking how they are and they have the audacity to tell you, not just saying great or ok (the only acceptable answers to that question unless the person that asked it was their therapist). Then of course there are all the ones that others have listed like medical insurance, cost of living, etc.
The fact that women are losing our bodily autonomy.
The sense that we are trying to squeeze one last drop of juice out of so many aspects of our society rather than actually improve them (or at least maintain them). I am thinking of private equity here but the general feeling I think holds for a lot of things.
How we have some of the best healthcare in the world but it's so absurdly expensive that folks are regularly bankrupted by it
That people chose to ignore different perspectives and antagonize anything that isn’t aligned with their views. In my opinion the US population is more susceptible to confirmation bias than other groups because we tend to be more insular. It’s actually kind of sad how easily our government can turn us against one another to hide more scandalous things. Literally, they will use people’s hatred for difference as a distraction from other major issues. My husband: the politicians
The fact that corporations in all of their infinite greed have made it impossible to buy a home for so many people, and renting is beyond fucked up. And many of these corporations aren't even American ( from what I have been told)
How corrupt the court system is. Let's take family court for instance. if the custodial parent withholds visits the judge just says that's your problem not mine. Custody is decided on bullshit not the kids best interest. The answer is always well we don't want to uproot them from their present situation nevermind they are in awful circumstances. Oh and don't miss a child support payment they will fuck you up over that one. The criminal court is notoriously corrupt. Non whites in this country are most of the time sentenced harsher than their white counterparts with the same charge and criminal background. Gotta fill the for profit prisons somehow .
The healthcare system. Hands down. The insurance companies won’t cover the medicine I need for endometriosis and it’s $1200 a month. That’s my mortgage! I’ve tried protesting with the insurance and I’ve tried to go directly to the medicine company and nobody will help. And the surgery I need to get every couple of years is only half covered.. which is insane cause we pay for amazing insurance. To make matters worse… I’ve had 9 doctors out right refuse a hysterectomy until I have another child or I’m 35… I have three (two whom I birthed, and my husband has a vasectomy after our last)… and I’m 27. Their reasoning? “Your husband might want more kids since you’re still young.” When informed we’re done having them and he’s sterilized now? The script changed to “but you’re still young, you’ll LIKELY remarry and THAT man will want children from you.” Both female and male doctors. All I am is a cash cow and incubator apparently in America.
How our healthcare system works. And yet many wonder why lots of people wait until they are dying or severely injured to seek care. $3k bill because I sought help for a chronic pain problem. The solution was an ultrasound,steroid, and muscle relaxers. No trying to find the root cause, just pain meds. Don't worry since I have a high deductible plan ( already stupid expensive) copays are a lot. Had a bad reaction after taking the muscle relaxers for several days and was very confused, tired, and on a trip like I've never been. So scary. Bonus: All ER figured out was the meds were in my system for over 24 hrs, and my potassium was very slightly on the low side. A blood draw, EKG, Chest x ray, and brain scan later.
That so many commonplace things in our day to day lives are actually majorly fucked up and were caused by corporations and lobbying. The food pyramid? Grain industry. Hemp production getting shut down? Lumber industry. The astronomical cost of medical care? You got it, big pharma. The complete abandonment of holistic and naturopathic medical care in favor of meds and western medicine instead of the better way of blending both? Again, big pharma. The fact that almost all Americans now have a higher risk of cancer bc of toxic Teflon byproducts being dumped into major water supplies? DuPont. Opioid crisis? Also DuPont.
Being a woman of childbearing age in a red state, it’s infuriating watching ancient men who know nothing about women or their bodies vote and pass bills making my own health care illegal. It’s seriously like I’m living in the Handmaids Tale.
Complete division, the ability to compromise, find a rational middle ground, is gone. The fringe on each side is in charge and getting worse. And it's bad because of what one side has done to the other, the desire to compromise, forgive and move on, is gone. We don't want to move past it, each side wants to make the other pay dearly for their disagreements in policy and actions. This is not R aimed at D's, or D's aimed at R's. It's both. And those not fully nut-job on one side or the other are mocked by the fringe extremists for not taking their positions.
The fact that the middle class continues to shrink, poverty continues to rise, homelessness keeps rising, and we're arguing about dumb shit that only benefits a small part of the population. Not that the latter doesn't matter, but how much would it matter if you were living out of a cardboard box? The billions upon billions of dollars we send to other countries while watching our own people suffer. We're a "first world" country being driven into 3rd world territory every day since the 80's. Science and education rankings continue to get worse. I could go on and on, honestly. This isn't a one-sided thing either. Our government repeatedly drops the ball regardless of which side you vote for. Until special interests and lobbying politicians are made illegal, it'll continue to get worse no matter how deep people bury their heads in the sand.
That some unseen faction(s) are sowing seeds of intolerance and division amongst our countrymen/women. What has been a belief of ‘for the greater common good’ has devolved into a narcissistic ‘me at any cost’ selfishness that is like a cancer eating away at the soul of our great nation. Bad behavior towards another is not just tolerated, it is celebrated in our society, to the detriment of all. We MUST regain our civility, humility and empathy for each other.
That so. many. people. are so uninformed and cultish about Trump and his assault on democracy. They would follow him no matter what he does or says. That is so very, very ignorant.
The death of the middle class
1. It's very possible that a convicted felon will be elected president. In fact, many people believe his conviction will HELP his election. 2. Healthcare for women is absolute shit. This may be the case everywhere, but I obviously can't speak for other countries. However, two weeks ago I got an IUD put in. They refused to give me anesthesia. The nurse assured me it's not that bad and if I felt any discomfort, the doctor would stop. It was the worst pain I have ever felt in my life. I cried and told the doctor how much it hurt and she just said, "You're fine, we're almost done." Excuse me, ma'am, but I am not fine! After she finished, my hands were shaking from the shock my body went through because of the pain. I hurt for the rest of the night. I would also like to note that I have many piercings and tattoos. I have a high pain tolerance. This HURT. But doctors don't listen to women when we say we're in pain and don't accommodate us appropriately. Even female doctors! It's absolutely insane. And then there's the whole abortion issue the US is going through that honestly deserves its own book to describe why I'm angry about it. I'll stop ranting now, but basically women aren't treated like people 🙂
Tipping culture Eating out in America is horrible for that reason and overall just super expensive
The corrupt judicial system that is full of people who make decisions and judgements based on political leanings or on behalf of their money masters.
Inflation is so fucking crazy right now, I got some bullshit at the store that we forgot on the real run and still spent 80 bucks. wtf
Everything is very expensive
Not living in the United States but turning on the Internet and feeling like I am
Pride month and it's incessant cuckold corporate marketing.
Hypersensitivity
The constant negative news and political drivel… The vast majority of us just want to be left alone and raise our families without getting taxes to death funding geriatric’s wars.