First of all, it is a TV show.
But assuming for the sake of argument, it is reality, and you being the inquisitive soul you are, ask yourself, "Why?"
"We’re 7th in literacy, 27th in math, 22nd in science, 49th in life expectancy, 178th in infant mortality, 3rd in median household income, number 4 in labor force and number 4 in exports. We lead the world in only three categories: number of incarcerated citizens per capita, number of adults who believe angels are real and defense spending, where we spend more than the next 26 countries combined, 25 of whom are allies.”"
We're spending more money than ever on education -- but instead of the spending being controlled at the local level, it is now controlled in substantial part at the federal level. Instead of being controlled by local school boards, it is dictated largely by public-sector unions.
We've discussed life expectancy and infant mortality before, and neither of these are meaningful comparative statistics, so there isn't much to say about that. But it does make for good television.
We do incarcerate way too many people. Predominantly due to two factors --
(a) the drug war, which politicians of all stripes refuse to do anything about; and
(b) a total disrespect of law an order out of some elements of our society, particularly those who see themselves as having some "entitlement" to other peoples' property. Wonder what caused people to grow up thinking like this?
And why would not the world's only "superpower" spend the most on military?
Liberals everywhere have cited this TV show clip as though it reflected some kind of meaningful reality. It is a fucking TV script and practically all of the points made in this passage are either flat wrong or at least subject to debate.
Most of the complaints about where the US now stands in the world are directly traceable to failed liberal policies from the last 75 years. |
