Quote (Samir_Slayer @ Feb 24 2021 10:52am)
That's a good point, but I suppose we'll never know, because the Danes lack the testicular fortitude to take their education to the next level. You have to put your money where your mouth is.
You are thinking about the bold the entirely wrong way around. Progressive tax schemes don't create poverty, they alleviate it, albeit at the expense of general wealth. The United States should probably do a bit more, Denmark should probably do a bit less, but I don't see what this has to do with whether or not the United States is a "first world" country. It is the richest non-tax haven in the world (PPP) outside of 5 million Norwegians living large on a trillion dollar oil fund. For a country that is a continent unto itself, I think that's impressive. We compare the United States only to the richest European nations, in highly developed enclaves far better off than their poorer European neighbors. If we were to compare like for like (Norway = Massachusetts, Denmark = Connecticut), this wouldn't even be a conversation.
But in all seriousness, unless we are willing to designate Austria, France, and others as impoverished, underdeveloped states, there is really no intellectual basis for claiming that the United States is not first world.