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Honestly, no. People bitch a lot but I've lived here a lot of years, my healthcare is fine, despite owning several guns I've never seen one fired at anyone, and I can pretty much do whatever I want.
From Canada it seems like this: poverty down there is a trap from which escape is almost impossible and it's a trap that's constantly threatening everyone except the richest 5% of the population. Very high risk and very high reward and success seems to depend much more on luck than hard work and intention.
The only thing saving us from the bureaucracy is its inefficiency
No. it's not that bad.
I grew up poor, without many opportunities. No free ride, college etc. I grew up in a small town, without much going on.
I was able to work hard, put myself through college, buy a house, and raise a family on my single income, and live comfortably. I have medical coverage, we have new-ish vehicles.
That being said, the opportunity is there. But, it is NOT given to you. You do have to work for it.
But, again, nothing has been "given" to me. I didn't have the advantage of having rich parents, or large inheritances (or- well, ANY inheritances). I didn't have a family member give me a 4,000sq-ft house they purchased in 1952, for 1,200$.
Every single thing I own, I have worked for.
Now, there are a few sides to this argument-
There are a lot of people who don't want to work. They see someone who is doing financially well, and believe they have some claim to someone else's fortune. I do not agree with this.
On the other side, we don't have universal healthcare. This is a touchy subject.
I do believe we need it, but, HOW we get that, is a different story.
Our government has proven time and time again, if you give them a simple task, they will fuck it up, royally, and hemorrhage money. Our medical system as a whole, is completely fucked. It's not the doctors getting rich. Its the damn insurance companies, and all of the bureaucracy and bullshit involved. Granted, doctors aren't living on sticks. But, do remember- they literally spent OVER two decades of their life in school, to learn how to be a doctor. Its expected they should have a salary greater then someone who works at your local fast food place.
I realize, lots of people will disagree with my post. And- for that, I don't give a shit. If you don't want to be poor, then take control over your life. Identify an in-demand profession, which has good compensation, and work for it. Quit blaming everyone else due to you working at McDonalds because your liberal arts degree, isn't marketable.
Also- OP- lots of the people you talk to on social media, are statistically younger, in the 20s, and still trying to figure out how to live life.
Edit- Also, one more thing. Drama sells news. News outlets are only going to show news, which people want to watch. People don't tune into the news to watch good things happening. They want to see the bad. As such, news and social media can give inaccurate vision of how things actually are. (Unless you live in Chicago or NYC. Then- it's actually even worse than the news shows)
Short answer, no. Longer answer, not even close. America has its problems, but it's a wonderful place to live. Those of us who are older remember a time when it felt more free, and had a less intrusive government, but it's still the land of opportunity.
I was born poor and grew up on welfare. I worked my ass off my entire life, starting as a paperboy at the age of 12. I've literally bled and cried working my way out of poverty, but I did it. I'm now pretty well-to-do. There are thousands of countries in the world where that's not possible.
I know a political refugee who fled to America 40 years ago with nothing. He had literally nothing when he arrived. He is a multi-millionaire doctor now, with a huge house on 10 acres of land, and he drives a brand new top of the line Mercedes Benz. All of his kids are either college graduates, or in college.
We're free to criticize our government without reprisal. We're free to express ourselves and be who we want. We have protections against discrimination, and we have workers rights. Yes, all of that could be improved still, but that's always been a battle and always will be.
Most Americans will never experience anything you read in the news. Their lives are comfortable and safe. Food is plentiful, as is entertainment.
There are still a lot of things to fix in our country, and some things are sliding backwards, but we can and will continue to fight for progress. Don't believe everything you read on the Internet. Yes there are truths to it, but you have to remember that we're a country of 320 million people. Texas and California, just 2 of the 50 states, are large enough to cover the entirety of Europe. So you read a lot of bad news online, but it's a concentration of all the bad stuff from across an enormous country. There are bad parts of America, and some places you'd rather not live, but most of the country is a pretty great place.
It's not bad at all (for me), as the other person said it cavaries from person to person. Social media likes to take shots at it but the reality is it's quite enjoyable. Mass shootings are overblown by the media (they happen, they suck, but they effect like .000001 percent of the population per year, your more likely to be killed by a deer than I vlolved in a mass shooting). Gun crime exists but is mainly in specific poor or inner city areas. The other 99% is pretty safe.
Healthcare is expensive but if you have a decent job the company pays most of it. The care provided is really good in an emergency response way, but poor for general care.
Everyone everywhere is very nice, it's extremely rare to find an exception to this. If you are brown or Muslim then you may find descrimination more often outside the city, but again that's rare unless you go to a few areas that no one goes to anyway. My friend is Muslim and doesn't have many issues unless he goes to the airport.
Stuff is cheap (relatively) compared to elsewhere. You can get a cheap 65" TV for like 350 bucks. Housing is expensive though unless you go to places that are cheap.
It is corrupt politically. That is going downhill, but day to day it doesn't effect us much.
You have to drive everywhere which kind of sucks. Public transport sucks and it's hard to find places where you can just walk around.
The air is pretty clean, the food and water is safe to eat and drink, there are plenty of jobs available, there are lots of massive beautiful outdoor spaces, etc.