There are 3 countries that are doing better than us and we should be looking to them for solutions to problems we’re facing in the U.S. Especially when these countries have already successfully solved them.
How can we say America First when America consistently ranks last?
Finland solved homelessness by implementing a “Housing First” concept. The Netherlands built an entire town just for people with severe dementia by implementing a “Humanity First” concept. Norway overhauled their prison system by implementing a “Rehabilitation, not Punishment” concept.
These are just a few examples of how other countries are making progress, solving problems, and improving the lives of their citizens.
Norway’s crime and recidivism rates went way down following their prison overhaul. They started out with rates similar to ours.
How does our government see an obviously successful solution that would reduce crime as well as the number of people in U.S. prisons, and yet they do nothing?
🤫 Hint: Corruption and legalized bribes.
Let that sink in.
Our leaders forgo advancing and improving the country and society in order to continue to enrich themselves and/or hold onto power. Can we please vote out most of Congress and elect more people like Maxwell Frost, AOC, and yes, even Josh Hawley—politicians who don’t take corporate money (bribes)?
The countries that are doing better than us are improving the lives of the people, using the money citizens pay in taxes to improve their lives or some aspect of society as a whole.
That’s so different from the way the richest country in the world handles tax revenue. Our money is typically spent on everything but the people who pay the taxes.
The United States is full of politicians in Congress and the White House who are paid by corporations and special interest groups to increase the profits of corporations and the bank accounts of billionaires.
They aren’t working for the American people anymore. All thanks to the Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling that legalized bribery: Citizens United
Citizens United
The only way we can shift the focus of our elected members of Congress away from donors, corporations, and billionaires, and onto the American people is a multistep process:
- Get money out of politics
- Fire Senators and Representatives who aren’t working for us
- Elect people who care about the country and their fellow citizens
Another option would be to lower the salary for the position of U.S. Senator in order to attract candidates who want to serve and aren’t just running for the money.
It can then be increased after they’ve been in office for a few months and the people they represent think they’re doing a good job speaking on their behalf in Washington, D.C.
In case you’ve never heard a description of exactly how SCOTUS came to “legalize bribery”, here’s the gist of it: The Supreme Court determined that corporations are people, and those people use money to advocate for things from our politicians.
In that sense, money=speech, so if they were to make ‘bribery’ illegal, they would be violating the “free speech” rights of those corporations (people).
Ridiculous, isn’t it? I have no doubt Harlan Crow and the other billionaires who take Supreme Court justices on fancy trips were involved somehow.
Now let’s look at how the countries that are doing better than us are ranking at the top while the U.S. remains at the bottom.
What are countries that are doing better than us actually doing?
Finland: On Homelessness
From an article in thebetter.news, formerly The Scoop, the reporter explained how Finland was able to eliminate almost all homelessness by providing shelter for every citizen.
I would describe it as “they determined that shelter is a basic human right and then assisted anyone who wasn’t able to afford rent or a mortgage on their own.”
From reporting by then Scoop.me, now theBetter.news:
“In 2008 the Finnish government introduced a new policy for the homeless: It started implementing the “Housing First” concept. Since then the number of people affected has fallen sharply.
Finland has set itself a target: Nobody should have to live on the streets – every citizen should have a residence.
And the country is successful: It is the only EU-country where the number of homeless people is declining.”
So how exactly does it work?
“It is NGOs such as the “Y-Foundation” that provide housing for people in need. They take care of the construction themselves, buy flats on the private housing market and renovate existing flats.
The apartments have one to two rooms. In addition to that, former emergency shelters have been converted into apartments in order to offer long-term housing.
“It was clear to everyone that the old system wasn’t working; we needed radical change.”
Homeless people turn into tenants with a tenancy agreement. They also have to pay rent and operating costs.
Social workers, who have offices in the residential buildings, help with financial issues such as applications for social benefits.”
I get super excited about things like this. I’m constantly solving problems in my head and the solutions look similar to Finland’s Housing First concept.
To avoid feeling hopeless, I don’t think about whether or not the solutions I imagine will happen, because they won’t.
At least not until we take back control from the government.
They are our public servants, after all.
Norway: On Crime and Punishment
Norway was experiencing the same problems we have in the U.S. with crime and the rate of recidivism (number of people who commit a crime after being released from prison).
The way the criminal justice system in the U.S. functions isn’t about solving the crime problem, it’s about punishment, which has never been a successful deterrent.
From First Step Alliance:
In the 1990’s, Norway had a problem. Roughly 70% of all released prisoners recommitted crimes within two years of release. That rate is nearly equal to the recidivism rate in the United States today.
At that time, Norway’s prison system was structured similar to the prison system in the United States. It was built on the idea that punishment is a deterrent. Prisoners were often given lengthy sentences in harsh conditions to send a message to others.
However, Norwegian lawmakers realized that the existing system wasn’t working. Crime was high, as was recidivism. Prisons were plagued with assaults, riots, and escapes. The system needed reform.
Norway’s government acted boldly, completely overhauling the country’s prison system. Today, Norway’s prison system has become a model for the rest of the world, and some states in the U.S. are following Norway’s lead. Norway’s recidivism rate is much lower and prisons are now safer and more peaceful.
The key sentence in that excerpt is “Norwegian lawmakers realized that the existing system wasn’t working. In the U.S. ignorance is only part of the reason changes aren’t made to failing systems.
The other is MONEY. Private prisons make a lot of money for their CEOs and the CEOs donate to lawmakers in order to prevent them from making any changes that would improve the prison system.
Every Other High-Income Country: On Healthcare
The United States is the only one out of 12 other developed nations that doesn’t have Universal Healthcare. This is a policy that 70% of Americans approve of, yet there are a dozen countries that are doing better than us in taking care of their people.
The Netherlands was ranked number one in a study conducted in 2009 that compared the health care systems of the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany and New Zealand.
The U.S. has consistently ranked last. We’re also at or near the bottom of lists ranking countries on education, gun violence, happiness, and other topics.
It’s always been confusing to me that the patriotic politicians who claim to love our country, calling it “exceptional” or “the best,” never seem to care that the U.S. is ranked as—or close to being— “the worst.”
They seem to lack the desire to improve things so that we can be “number one” when compared to other countries.
Until we can get money out of politics and elect representatives and presidents who care (Zohran Mamdani), there will always be a list of other countries that are doing better than us.
