It has long been clear to me that the whole American society and economy is designed to increase corporate wealth, very often to the detriment of the population's well-being. That's why Americans work much longer hours than other Westerners, have much less holidays, much less workers rights, hardly any social security... The whole system is made to encourage consumption and even overconsumption.
The reason why 90% of American homes are poorly insulated an American car so exceedingly big and fuel hungry is because it is good for the fossil fuel industry.
Over 70% of Americans have some sort of credit card debt — many times more than in European countries. In fact I've never heard of credit card debt in Belgium. I've had several visa and master carts over the years in my adult life. The default here is that 100% of the amount due at the end of the month is withdrawn from your bank account, so you never have to pay interest. In fact I didn't even know it was possible to spread credit card payment over several months and until I lived in Japan where the system is more American. Japanese shops typically ask if we want to pay everything in one time or spread it over a number of months — something I've never heard once in Europe. Even when applying for a credit card, the bank must make its due diligence and verify that the customer has sufficient revenues to pay for the maximum limit of the credit card. Even after you have your credit card you cannot just increase the limit whenever you want. For example many years ago my card was originally limited at €2,000 per month and I asked to increase the limit to €5,000 per month. I had to feel several forms at the bank and demonstrate that I earned enough to pay €5,000 in expenses in addition to my accommodation, food, etc. the law protects customers so that they do not get into debt. In the US it's the other way around; the system encourages people to get into debt.
All this made me wonder to whom the American system actually benefits. It's easy to say corporations, but companies do not own themselves. People do. Many Americans assume that American companies are owned by the top 1% richest Americans. But it's not entirely true. The top 1% owns about 54% of all US stocks. What they don't realise is that about 40% of US stocks are on by foreigners such as Europeans (who own about 15% of US stocks), Canadians (5-10%), East Asians (10-12%), or Middle Easterners (3-5%), among others.
So in total approximately 94% of US companies belong to the American elite and to foreigners. This is who the American people work for. 99% of the US population owns only about 6% of US companies listed at the stock exchange. It's actually shocking that Canadians (39 million people) own more US stocks than 99% of the US population (330 million people). If I was an American that would make me reconsider a lot of things about my life.
The reason why 90% of American homes are poorly insulated an American car so exceedingly big and fuel hungry is because it is good for the fossil fuel industry.
Over 70% of Americans have some sort of credit card debt — many times more than in European countries. In fact I've never heard of credit card debt in Belgium. I've had several visa and master carts over the years in my adult life. The default here is that 100% of the amount due at the end of the month is withdrawn from your bank account, so you never have to pay interest. In fact I didn't even know it was possible to spread credit card payment over several months and until I lived in Japan where the system is more American. Japanese shops typically ask if we want to pay everything in one time or spread it over a number of months — something I've never heard once in Europe. Even when applying for a credit card, the bank must make its due diligence and verify that the customer has sufficient revenues to pay for the maximum limit of the credit card. Even after you have your credit card you cannot just increase the limit whenever you want. For example many years ago my card was originally limited at €2,000 per month and I asked to increase the limit to €5,000 per month. I had to feel several forms at the bank and demonstrate that I earned enough to pay €5,000 in expenses in addition to my accommodation, food, etc. the law protects customers so that they do not get into debt. In the US it's the other way around; the system encourages people to get into debt.
All this made me wonder to whom the American system actually benefits. It's easy to say corporations, but companies do not own themselves. People do. Many Americans assume that American companies are owned by the top 1% richest Americans. But it's not entirely true. The top 1% owns about 54% of all US stocks. What they don't realise is that about 40% of US stocks are on by foreigners such as Europeans (who own about 15% of US stocks), Canadians (5-10%), East Asians (10-12%), or Middle Easterners (3-5%), among others.
So in total approximately 94% of US companies belong to the American elite and to foreigners. This is who the American people work for. 99% of the US population owns only about 6% of US companies listed at the stock exchange. It's actually shocking that Canadians (39 million people) own more US stocks than 99% of the US population (330 million people). If I was an American that would make me reconsider a lot of things about my life.
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