The United States has all that power, and is so cumbersome in the world. It is a leader in science, technology, education, and medicine, yet many of its people are poorly educated and lack access to medical care.
Among the wonders of America is its consumerism. By the standards of other civilized countries, American houses are huge. Garages, basements, and spare rooms overflow with no longer used remnants of shopping sprees. Americans save at half the rates of Europeans and Japanese. http://www.brookings.edu/testimony/2006/0406macroeconomics_bosworth.aspx
Some calculations from the eve of the recent crisis showed the American rate of saving below zero. The entire population was spending more than it was earning.
Envy among some, and ridicule among others turned to worry with the rapid decent of the economy. Without the bloated shopping of Americans, the rest of the world was in trouble. China and other countries could not keep developing if Americans stopped buying all those clothes, shoes, and electronic gadgets. Europeans would buy less if they would be selling less of what they produce to the Americans. Sales dipped precipitously for Japanese, European, and Korean car manufacturers. Israelis are selling fewer diamonds, fruits and vegetables to Europe, Asia, and America, its systems analysts and programmers have less work for American and European firms, and its start-ups are attracting fewer investors.
The consumer spending of Americans has dipped with the economic crisis, unemployment, and insecurity among those still working. There is ambivalence among economists who follow the trends. A number of them welcome the possibility that Americans will be spending less and saving more. Others are concerned that if Americans do not get over their personal depression and return to the malls, then economies will continue to suffer.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/business/economy/10saving.html?hp
Explanation of the crisis begin with Americans' penchant to borrow and spend, and the actions of businesses to encourage them. What were the sub-prime mortgages, widely viewed as the start of the problem, if not the provision of homes and loans to people who could not afford them?
Extremes of wealth and poverty, and a lack of saving are only one cluster of the traits where Americans are different than others. They are more likely than others to be religious. Americans take pride in their tradition of personal freedom, which affects opposition to taxation for medical care and other services. Americans are more likely than other people to be incarcerated, which has something to do with personal freedom, firearms, and violence. Incarceration also has a connection with religiosity, via puritanical attitudes about drugs and long sentence mandates.
The United States is also less of a country than others. The condition begins with it name (united states), and the first sentence of the Constitution: "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union . . ." The union was not meant to be perfect, only more unified than 13 sovereign states. The autonomy of the states is still viable enough to work against the fullness of nation-wide rights and privileges. Variations appear in health and safety regulations, welfare benefits, the quality of education from pre-school to university, regulations about what must be included in health insurance policies, procedures permitted to physicians (such as abortion and assisted suicide), economic rights and marriage opportunities for gay couples.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/us/10safetynet.html?hp
American assertions of individual freedom and democracy have produced an excessive concern with choosing officeholders by election, and an annual blizzard of referenda. The results are amateurs who make decisions that are left to professionals in other democracies, demagogues who limit the capacity of state and local governments to raise taxes that would support services at levels enjoyed elsewhere, and limit education with their attitudes about religion, science, and sex.
There is much speculation, but no firm conclusions about why the United States is so different. The themes include the many sources of immigration and the lack of a common culture; the religious origin of early settlers; political and cultural rebellion against more regimented Europe; the wealth of natural resources plus the ethos of the frontier that emphasized something for nothing, low levels of taxation, regulation, and law enforcement; slavery and the treatment of the Indians that worked to lessen the humane element in the American spirit. The importance of the states began with 13 separate rebellions, reinforced by the insistence of the southern half to protect slavery.
Some of the Americans who see these letters will accuse me of blasphemy, or being a traitor to my roots. I spent my formative years as an American, but most of my adult years elsewhere. I view my former homeland as an intriguing and creative society that is also troubling. For those who see unbalanced criticism, I will claim the right of free expression. I perceive it is still available, despite what some of you have written about George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.
I welcome comments sent to my e-mail address, below.
Ira Sharkansky (Emeritus)
Department of Political Science
Hebrew University
Jerusalem, Israel
Tel: +972-2-532-2725
email: msira@mscc.huji.ac.il