Is the USA actually the best country in the world?

@smileylovesgaming When it's about help for others, that's certainly true. 🌷
Regarding quality of life, France isn't too bad either 🍷

@helenS around here electricity and natural gas isn't that expensive. But we only have gas heaters in the bathrooms. So u can't be naked 24/7. We do have wood burning fireplace but that can only do so much.

@smileylovesgaming I have an open fire and a wood stove in my house, that's all. I can't be naked 24/7 either 🥶

@helenS yea I rather have a wood fireplace then anything else. The bedroom if it is a little to cold in there I just start a fire. I all was keep the bathroom heater on low. If u are planning to take a bath or shower 30 or 40 mins before u take a shower turn the heater up a little then turn it down afterwards

@smileylovesgaming Oh I forgot I have an electric water heater in the bathroom. Takes quite some time to heat the water in the tank up.

@smileylovesgaming Thats just not so. Education is better in Finland and Norway, Even American students can study in norway for free in Norwegian Univerisities. (Learn to Speak Norwegian of course) Modern Health care is Universal. Crime is low, Social services are high and the people are happy. Of course, no one wants to be Kim Kardashian or Kanye West and very few people have guns..😷

@whowasthatmaskedman why would I want to move to Finland or Norway for college. I don't even speak Norwegian also I don't know if anyone that speaks it. I could have went to college for free here.

@smileylovesgaming Your reply was either very humorous, or a lot funnier than you know. Either way, you made my point. Thank you...😷

@smileylovesgaming You should have 'went.'

@Graylight really for me it was a waste of time and money. At the time I had no idea what I wanted.

@smileylovesgaming Education. That's all you have to want. To learn to become a citizen of the world, to learn how to learn, to form social bonds and practice adulthood. You don't have to have your PhD career in astrodynamics all figured out.

Education also shows on a person. In the way they speak, the words they choose, the manners they display and the way in which they carry themselves. Not to mention you can expect to make a lot more money over the course of a lifetime.

@Graylight I guess that is true. But I make more money now then my husband and my parent's.

@smileylovesgaming Yes, that's everyone's response. "But I make a great living doing HVAC." "I support my whole family."

And if you're comfortable with settling, then great. But a person with a degree tends to land jobs that lead to increasing responsibilities and far higher earning potential. You and an attorney might be making the same wage now, but that attorney will have lapped you several times over in a few years. New doctors start as slave wages but they all end up wealthy.

Not everyone's going to be a doctor or a lawyer, but an office manager will never be a regional Vice President, either. Not to mention the learning and astonishing information that's out there waiting for you to discover it.

@Graylight I never would want to be a attorney or lawyer or doctor. Sure they make good money. But I imagine they miss out on a lot with friends and family. I never miss out on anything with my friends and family and I make a good living

@Graylight While not everyone is cut out to be a high flyer or leader (which is really just as well. Willie Wonka wouldn have been nothing without his Oompah Loompahs) An education offers you options. Even entry level jobs now require a Bachelors degree just to get your CV read.😷

@whowasthatmaskedman college isn't everything. Gee I can't tell u how many degrees my cousin has. He has sold cars and worked for the ambulance service. He is doing computer programming now and still doing Opera part time. I can't tell u how many jobs he has had. I do know he has over a million in college loans

@smileylovesgaming OK.. But now we are talking about the cost of the US system. Not the education itself. And his very shift from career to career makes my point. He can CHOOSE to be a Walmart Greeter. But it will be his choice. Not his only option..😷

@whowasthatmaskedman sounds like he is happy with that. But who knows how long it will last for for him. His wife is the same as him going to job to job.

@smileylovesgaming It would be a boring old world if we were all the same..I chose to be educated. And to me the greatest benefit was the example I set to my own kids, who followed that path and now have the options as well. Now our grandkids accept an education as just what you do.. And I read that as a "difference" we made.😷

@whowasthatmaskedman my husband he never went to college and he is doing pretty good for a living. He cuts wood and sells it to people. He cuts people grass for them. He even does roofing and sewer work.

@smileylovesgaming I am not knocking good honest labor.. (done it myself from time to time) Education just opens more options. Mine allowed me a lot of travel on other peoples dime.. Thats something I value...😷

@whowasthatmaskedman we are both very lucky. I work my own set of hour's and work when I want. My husband does the same.

@smileylovesgaming Never underestimate the value of luck. Right place and right time got us both good careers and both kids married settled and secure. And some miraculous grandkids..😷

@smileylovesgaming So much of America right there - " I make more money now then my husband and my parent's" Money and things seem to matter most.

@snofan "What do you do?" "Who do you work for?" "What's their vacation package like?" We literally identify ourselves throughout our lives by the tasks we perform for others. And here in the US, the man with the most toys wins ('cause it'll never be a woman). Quads, bikes, boats, trucks, RV's, tickets to Nascar - anything but a sense of giving and compassion over compensation.