Comments on: Why Are Americans So Greedy?

By: Truth

Truth — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 07:29:32 +0000

I believe that greed has been since we’ve been living in caves, and it’s part of fauna survival. Lions from time to time don’t eat all of the meal from the animals they hunt. There’s always plenty for bird and other to eat a lot of remaining meat.

Genetic engineering will make a greed-free world. You just need a way to alter the human brain to have the “greed” part not function, and there you go….

And socialist countries have greed too, but all the greed is transferred to the government, not to normal people…

By: kerry

kerry — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 22:29:23 +0000

I am Canadian. I think Canadians are very much like Americans. We have different history and attitudes in genearal with many overlapping similarities. I do think I am spoiled. Compared to some other people ( in any country including many in canada) My family is not greedy but cant say we help others a lot. My wife and I give 52.00 a month to plan canada. We are sponsoring our second african child this way. We sponsored the first child from the age of 13 to 18 years old. We will give to other causes. This year 150.00 to cancer research. My family is not rich but is of the middle class in canada. I do realize that compared to two thirds of the worlds population my family is rich and yes its always nice to be able to attain a little more. Millions of Americans and Canadians do not understand what it is like to be poor. Most of us have never been really poor. The oldest seniors are most likely to have experienced it. The world has such severe problems. If everyone who could comfortably give would give it would help immensely. It would never be enough though. Power and greed in the poorest of countries sees their governments stealing from the people. There are also governments and peoples nearly completely controlled by religion. In my opinion this is very fucked up. This is especially true when the religious laws are repressive and cruel. I think the USA is more controlled by big business than Canada. This is a huge problem for the average American I think. There is constant pressure for the same to happen in Canada. Canada is very well on its way and is falling more and more into corporate control of our Government. We have been loosing to the Global corporate agenda. The global corporate agenda doesnt care if people starve or die. There are millions of poor in Canada and the USA. How people on a cruise fill their plates does not tell us that their countrymen are greedy. Ideas like that are simple. The more we explore the idea the more complicated the subject becomes.
ps. I like plan canada because it is non religious and is very effective at putting maximum donations into results for the poor. They help people and towns to become self sufficient.
kerry

By: nick

nick — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 08:04:32 +0000

Alright some stereotypes are true… Why are blacks such great athletes? Why are Jews so smart?? I mean historically we can see that greed is something that definitely has consumed mankind and from a king to a peasant we are all motivated by greed to an extent. Lets just say that Americans probably reached high levels on the needs and wants hierarchy and are now just circulating greed… You know speaking as an American… I would say that we are 100% people. We do everything at 100%… Its all about optimizing experiences… Get the fullest and greatest out of everything. The kid in the candy shop is a good analogy.. Maybe someone who has not trained their compulsions will have discipline issues. We want it all and we want it now. Very bad. Anyway all I am saying is that if a human is not trained properly or is just a boat in the middle of the pacific ocean anchored to nothing.. then maybe we will allow compulsions to take over… Americans are also more spread out than europeans and the proximity of humans in europe is relieving to the soul. Humans need kinetic energy and maybe Americans entertain themselves with food.

By: European Bigot

European Bigot — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 01:34:24 +0000

Everything Jacqueline S. Homan has stated is correct, instead of trying to look cool and act like a stuck up snob, you Europeans should get a clue, instead of stereotyping every american because of a couple that acted like they did. And really? None of your countries are money grubbing? None of your countries have obese people who gouge on food? Really?

By: andrew

andrew — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 21:59:46 +0000

I was in the british army and went to train with the american forces for 6 weeks in Seattle , I didnt complain about there breakfast on the camp, id never experienced coke and lemonade in gallon containers, hash browns, bacon, sausages, scrambled egg, fried bread by the bucket load. makes me feel hungry.

Back in the camp they had a guy come round in the evenings to take pizza orders, a large in the uk is 14″ , this must have been 20″.

One thing we couldnt understand was you go to a pub/bar to drink and socialise and the americans were there with a cold beer and a burger the size of a beef roast, we went out and on the table were 1 x 4 pint jug of lager per person for starters.

By: Jonas

Jonas — Wed, 04 May 2011 02:11:58 +0000

20 years ago I visited USA. I was in Iowa and a US American guy around my age came to me and asked if I was alright because I had no US Dollars to buy my bus ticket at Greyhound station, but I did have German money. So he kindly exchanged my German money to US dollars so I could buy a bus ticket. I thanked him and he brought me a huge sandwich and we ate and talked. Then he went away to his bus. I found MidWestern USA people extremely helpful and friendly. My first impression about USA was extremely great. Everyone was so friendly and helpful that I felt selfish myself accepting all the help. Also like a magic wand every time my car broke down there was a guy or a girl to ask me and to help me very nicely in USA. Like a Guardian Angel! Or perhaps I got myself lucky. There were a few times I was on my own or having to spend huge cash to get my car fixed, but there always was help anyway. And a Black guy fixed my engine by asking if he could help before I even started looking for help. Sometimes they would start fixing my car before I even got out of my car! That is very nice. I think US Americans are very helpful on the road as the least. Now car agarages are another story, but the people on the road are superb with help and friendliness. Not in Spain, not in France so much, but UK and USA quite a lot of helpful people. P.S. I am from Lithuania.

By: andrew

andrew — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 16:57:33 +0000

you duch bag have you looked around or do you have your head up your ass. jobs are going away while upper management are making record profits because of the lay offs. go to your local mall and see those young punks how they act in public. in europe they do not wear pjs in public. get your facts straight

By: Nexus

Nexus — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 06:19:20 +0000

I agree it is a bit of a generalization and inappropriate to class all Americans has having their snouts in the food trough. I would suggest that the class of people that go on cruises are typical of people that want to take their ‘culture’ with them, have food on tap 24 hours a day, no need to meet the locals, etc.

As for Homan’s comments. You have a one sided and highly distorted view of history. Somehow illogically intertwining internal US domestic politics and social issues with ‘things’ that happened in Europe.

Even before WW2 Roosevelt was pushing the ‘Second New Deal’ but this was resisted by ‘big business’. A portent to what has happened to many socially directed policy initiatives in the US from the end of WW2 to now – the ‘elites’ in the US have impoverished their own people.

The US used WW2 to disassemble the remaining elements of the European empires to become the new empire. The Marshall Aid plan was put in place to prevent Western Europe falling into the hands of the Soviets. It also had the benefit of creating new consumers for US products and industrial capacity. The plan constituted a small percentage of total wealth that the US had returned many times over in terms of trade. As for saving our ‘ass’ I would suggest the death of over 20million Russians is the real measure of who broke the back of the Nazi war machine.

After WW2 the US was the richest country in the world and had the opportunity to put in place universal health care which is a cheaper delivery model than the current US system. The US could have the same single delivery model as Europe, Canada, Australia, NZ, etc, but you are not will to challenge big business. Investment is social programs has been resisted by big business in the US and the population had been brain washed (land of opportunity, ‘trickle down’, supply side economic, Monetarism, etc) believing that ‘crude capitalism’ via massive tax cuts, would deliver wealth for all. It has proved to a disastrous illusion as the middle and working classes in the US have experienced declining incomes and opportunity and gini coefficient analysis now suggests that in a few years the US will have a wealth distribution similar to a developing country.

The societal, economic, business, etc, problems in the US are all self inflicted.

By: random

random — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 02:11:16 +0000

im american and one thing i know is we are not greedy. I hear all these outsiders talking about how we are. Shut the hell up already… you pry been to one city in one state. dont base us off of one spot, and we are civilized people, if we wernt we wouldnt have what we have now, thats the dumbest thing i have ever heard… not civilized? were not some 1st world country? plus were one of the youngest and look how much we’ve grown…..idiot!

By: drew

drew — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 23:04:34 +0000

there are many reasons why americans are greedy americans were never civilized like the Europeans . americans will take advantage of any situation for there own benefit. americans are spoiled and it show