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Comment by partiallypro | Hacker News Reader

Socially the US is far more liberal than basically every country in Europe (even ignoring Eastern Europe.) Only people who have not lived in both places say otherwise. The US also -by far- spent more per capita during the COVID economic recovery than any country on earth (even excluding the retainment loans.) No country comes even close. That doesn't really fit the "right" wing dogma.

There's a myth around American politics largely pepetuated by people that have only had political experience in one place or only uses the media as a means to know the politics of countries. Even on abortion, the US has among the least restrictive in the entire world, looser than Germany, France, etc.

The big thing America really lacks is universal healthcare, which is the main axe people wield over the head of American politics to claim it's only corporatist right leaning. Government outlays really tell a different story than the narrative.

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Within Europe, Germany and Italy eclipsed the spending of the USA in terms of %GDP, and globally, Japan eclipsed them - see https://www.statista.com/statistics/1107572/covid-19-value-g...

It's more than healthcare, the entire social security net is far more extensive in Germany than in the US. This also affects the part about COVID, one really important measure here was to essentially have the government continue to pay people in jobs that would otherwise have been lost during the pandemic. That was an already existing measure that was expanded during the pandemic.

> Socially the US is far more liberal than basically every country in Europe

You're telling me that rural Alabama is more liberal than Sweden? I think your viewpoint is leaning on definitions of "social" and "liberal" and "US" that are not universally understood.

New York City alone has a similar population to all of Sweden, and is twice that of Alabama. I'm sure you can find 1.5% of the Swedish population that is just as conservative.

The problem here in the US is that Alabama has much representation in the Senate as NY state.

That's how the Senate is supposed to work.

That doesn't mean it isn't a problem.

If California wanted more representation in both the Senate and the House, it could divide. Instantaneously the population of California would get 2 Senators and probably a large number of House Seats. Further, it would help with the political divide in California: coast is left, farmers are right. You don't see California, as a political entity, chomping at the bit to subdivide.

As to the particulars of your comment, States should have far more autonomy than they do under FDR's federalist system. States should be able to tax more, but with the Feds already eating 20-50% of the populations income, States have a hard time raising funds. If we weakened the feds, but first paying down the debt, Alabama might have a far more interesting economy.

California would likely divide itself in a way to advantage the current politicians that govern the state. Not really Gerrymandering as we know it, but a similar principle.

Republicans would obviously not accept this. We would likely replay the decades leading up to the Civil War, where adding states was a contentious and at times violent process.

The feds would also have to approve it. If Republicans can stop it, they will. If Democratic politicians can push it through, they would likely get blowback from moderates. Republicans would get power and seek to balance or even advantage themselves. We could end up with eight Dakotas (just kidding on this specific example; other Republican states might want to split too).

This is not a fight either party wants to start because it could be a disaster for them. The intended outcome (increase relative Senate representation) has slim odds and a high cost.

Extreme disagree. The United States does not have a party that represents the interests of working people, and has done almost nothing to stem the consolidation of corporate power for decades.

It’s not even a close contest. There’s literally not a labor party here.

There isn’t one in Europe either.

> The big thing America really lacks is universal healthcare

Throw in employee protections and reasonable amounts of vacation time, and I'm with you 100%.

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