The Truth

[joelie]

There are no paved roads in my villa (but they are graded as often as necessary). Street lights are plentiful (one was even installed in front of my property last year at a cost to me of $150 pesos). No one around here looks like they are starving.


But there is no garbage delivery, thank God (just pickup for $8 pesos per month).

Haha, I'm pretty glad I don't have garbage delivery either! LOL!

 

[sesamosinsal]

Your in Oklahoma right, you should spend some time in Argentina or any country in Latin America, then you will see how good you've got it and will realize how silly your statements are.

I could take you to some places in Missouri (my home state) that resemble a villa. I've actually been in the villas (Ciudad Oculta, Villa Soldati), and they're not very different from a few trailer parks in the city where I grew up. As far as infrastructure goes, I'd say that half of my county lives on a gravel/dirt road. The roads that do exist are filled with potholes.

Regarding jobs, most of the people that graduated with me do not have full-time jobs. Some are working at Starbucks.

Healthcare is horrendous. I went to urgent care in Missouri with insurance. They told me to take some Ibuprofen and charged me $150 USD when I left. All in all, I spent 3 hours waiting in "urgent care". A similar experience here in Argentina a few weeks ago was completely different, however. I walked into a public hospital; they swabbed my throat for bacteria; and prescribed me an antibiotic when the results came back positive. I left my apartment and returned in less than 90 minutes. I only spent $60 pesos for the prescription.

Argentina is not perfect, and I'm usually the first to moan and groan. But I'm not sure if you can say that someone in the United States has it better than anyone here. In fact, I think it's quite an arrogant statement. Things are changing in the U.S., and I know a lot of people who are suffering because of it.

 

[Driftline]

Your in Oklahoma right, you should spend some time in Argentina or any country in Latin America, then you will see how good you've got it and will realize how silly your statements are.

Obviously you've never been to Oklahoma. What's so silly about my statements? I find it silly to say that people who live in a richer country are automatically much happier and much better off than a poorer one. How long have you been in Argentina and out of the States?

 

[Philsword]

I could take you to some places in Missouri (my home state) that resemble a villa. I've actually been in the villas (Ciudad Oculta, Villa Soldati), and they're not very different from a few trailer parks in the city where I grew up. As far as infrastructure goes, I'd say that half of my county lives on a gravel/dirt road. The roads that do exist are filled with potholes.

Regarding jobs, most of the people that graduated with me do not have full-time jobs. Some are working at Starbucks.

Healthcare is horrendous. I went to urgent care in Missouri with insurance. They told me to take some Ibuprofen and charged me $150 USD when I left. All in all, I spent 3 hours waiting in "urgent care". A similar experience here in Argentina a few weeks ago was completely different, however. I walked into a public hospital; they swabbed my throat for bacteria; and prescribed me an antibiotic when the results came back positive. I left my apartment and returned in less than 90 minutes. I only spent $60 pesos for the prescription.

Argentina is not perfect, and I'm usually the first to moan and groan. But I'm not sure if you can say that someone in the United States has it better than anyone here. In fact, I think it's quite an arrogant statement. Things are changing in the U.S., and I know a lot of people who are suffering because of it.

I think its ridiculous to compare living standards between the U.S. and Argentina. Perhaps you are living in the cloistered environment of expat-world in B.A., you need to get out and see how the real Argentinians live. Healthcare is quite good in the U.S. it just costs too much. Are you seriously saying the infrastructure in Argentina is better than the U.S.? The average person in the U.S. is far better off than the average person in Argentina and light years ahead of the average person in Latin America in general, that's why so many of them try to immigrate there. My guess is that the ranks of expats would thin to next to nothing overnight if they had to live like the average Argentine or support themselves on the local wages.

 

[Philsword]

Obviously you've never been to Oklahoma. What's so silly about my statements? I find it silly to say that people who live in a richer country are automatically much happier and much better off than a poorer one. How long have you been in Argentina and out of the States?

I've been in Oklahoma, and by the way the current unemployment rate is only 5.5%, and most people are working at jobs a lot better than minimum wage. Your statements are silly as you have never seen real poverty and the many related problems that exist in Latin America including Argentina. In comparison any problems you have in Oklahoma would seem trivial in comparison to the daily problems of people living here.

 

[Driftline]

I think its ridiculous to compare living standards between the U.S. and Argentina. Perhaps you are living in the cloistered environment of expat-world in B.A., you need to get out and see how the real Argentinians live. Healthcare is quite good in the U.S. it just costs too much. Are you seriously saying the infrastructure in Argentina is better than the U.S.? The average person in the U.S. is far better off than the average person in Argentina and light years ahead of the average person in Latin America in general, that's why so many of them try to immigrate there.

During the Cold War, when the Soviets invested in Cuba, the average Cuban had better education and healthcare than the average person in the States. Despite all that, Cubans still immigrated to the States. Hell, Europeans have better healthcare than people in the States yet they still move here. And their infrastructure is way better.

Your argument that the U.S. is way better off than Latin America simply because we're richer and people immigrate here is invalid.

 

[Philsword]

During the Cold War, when the Soviets invested in Cuba, the average Cuban had better education and healthcare than the average person in the States. Despite all that, Cubans still immigrated to the States. Hell, Europeans have better healthcare than people in the States yet they still move here. And their infrastructure is way better.

Your argument that the U.S. is way better off than Latin America simply because we're richer and people immigrate here is invalid.

Well if you believe that I think you should check it out first hand. You know what a doctor's salary is in Cuba? Its about $20 a month. Since its a workers paradise the state provides everything else. If an immigration is a vote on where people prefer to live (or a perception of the best place to live) than the U.S. won that election a long time ago.

 

[Driftline]

I've been in Oklahoma, and by the way the current unemployment rate is only 5.5%, and most people are working at jobs a lot better than minimum wage. Your statements are silly as you have never seen real poverty and the many related problems that exist in Latin America including Argentina. In comparison any problems you have in Oklahoma would seem trivial in comparison to the daily problems of people living here.

You've obviously never seen the poverty of the Native Americans on their reservations, for one thing. Some of those people on the reservations don't have running water and electricity. The United States is similar to Argentina in their treatments of the natives has turned them into an invisible minority who receives scorn whenever people do remember they still exist.

Secondly, the unemployment rate is a poor indicator of quality of life. Unemployment doesn't include:
1. Those people who have stopped looking for jobs. Many people I know are in this category.
2. Those who consider themselves underemployed. Recently, I was a temp at a job where I assembled medical parts for $11 an hour. It was so easy a trained monkey could do it and even a high school dropout felt this mind-numbingly boring job was beneath his skills. This job gave me employment, but made me underemployed as I have a bachelor's in economics more challenging.
3. A person's budget. I'm single with no kids and living in a cheap 1-bdroom apartment. But I also have to pay back student loans, pay money on car bills, food, etc. So even $400 a week was scraping by.

Seriously, you cannot equate employment to quality of life.

 

[Driftline]

One thing is people who have opportunities and who are just too lazy to do anything with it and another is with people who have NO opportunities and do what they need to do to survive.

This is the kind of stuff I've been reading on this forum. People say they have or they'd like to hire Argentines but then Argentines will try to steal, scam, or sue their employers instead of doing hard work. So, from what I can tell, Argentines DO have opportunities; they just choose to be lazy and go the easy way by stealing it.

Well if you believe that I think you should check it out first hand. You know what a doctor's salary is in Cuba? Its about $20 a month. Since its a workers paradise the state provides everything else. If an immigration is a vote on where people prefer to live (or a perception of the best place to live) than the U.S. won that election a long time ago.

I wasn't talking about doctors. I was talking about the average person. Doctors aren't doing so well in Florida, just so you know. Go to the citydata forums on Florida and you might be shocked to find even doctors are having a tough time paying their bills.

About immigration: I was using your argument that because people are immigrating to the U.S. then it's obviously got better healthcare, infrastructure, and education than the country they left to show you that Europeans have better all that stuff and are still immigrating to the States.