You say countries like Latvia, Georgia, Columbia, Thailand are more "free" than the US. In what respect?zacb wrote:That is kinda a predicament. We want talent, but many people's political beliefs are WAYYYY off. It is damned if you do (our kids are not necessarily the brightest either), or another (not all immigrants are that smart). I would say this is the greatest commerce country in the world, but to say the best in every regard now is kinda overdone. Yes we have freedom from scarcity, but that is about it. Foreigners want that, and we want freedom from government. Their need for want due to short term thinking screws with their political thoughts, and translated over here. And while our government is still far ahead of many governments, I would argue that at least for tiger economies (like Latvia, Gerogia, Colombia, Thailand , and such) are on average more free than the US. Other than that the US has a far way to go, but is still going down the wrong path.Halwick wrote:The flip side question is, if the "greatest country in the world" (I'm assuming you mean the U.S.) is so bad, why are people from Asia and Latin America emigrating to this country? The U.S is a net immigration country, meaning more people arrive to the U.S. than leaving it.Ghost wrote:I figure it works like this. If someone really did live in the greatest country in the world - as per the propaganda - why would they ever want to leave?
In Los Angeles where there is a high percentage of Asian and Latin American people, and nearly all of them I've talked to say they LIKE it here, like the freedom, see plenty of opportunities and plan to live here permanently. When asked why they left their countries, many said they HATE their country's government, the oppression and the lack of opportunities.
Is the influx of Third-World people to the U.S., thereby turning the U.S. into a Third-World country, the reason why these Expats hate the U.S.?
I find it interesting that these same Expats who also hate Third-World people and their culture choose to live abroad in Third-World countries like Mexico, Philippines, Thailand, etc.
I've had discussions with expats from Cuba, Vietnam, the former Soviet Union, China, Eastern Europe, and in terms of political freedom, freedom to live and work where they please, freedom of choice, freedom of speech and thought, freedom from oppression, etc., they all love the U.S. and are much happier in the U.S. than their former countries. And they are amazed that there are some Americans who hate and disrespect their own country.
According to the Heritage Foundation (www.heritage.org), using the criteria of Rule of Law (property rights, freedom from corruption); Limited Government (fiscal freedom, government spending); Regulatory Efficiency (business freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom); and Open Markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom), they rank the U.S much higher than the countries you stated.
In it's 2013 Economic Freedom Index, the U.S. ranks 10. Latvia 55, Georgia 21, Thailand 61. Countries ranking higher than the U.S. are Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Canada, Chile, Mauritius, Denmark.
Getting back to the OP's statement that "Do most Expats hate the U.S.": Do these particular expats hate the U.S. because of restrictions on their personal freedom to live a bohemian or anarchy life, from using narcotics, indulging in P4P and prostitution, and engaging in Ponzi/Pyramid-based businesses and other scams?