Check Out These Wasteful Items Americans Don't Purchase
Written by Kyle Mayers
August 03, 2018 |
Americans spend a lot of their income on many foolish, wasteful things. But when it comes to these items, Americans know better than to part with their hard earned cash.
Debt in America is a tragic epidemic. The ratio of debt to income in most states is high, such that residents have more debt that they have income. In Maryland, that ratio is 1.91 - giving that state the dubious distinction of leading the nation in debt. Getting into debt occurs for a variety of reasons, but in a generic sense, the root cause is spending. Americans make absurd purchases, and often don't even notice just how badly they are being ripped off. From harmful products like soda pop to products that are worse than their predecessor such as stainless steel appliances, Americans waste money at a fantastic rate. But when it comes to these items, even the most spendiculous Americans keep their wallets shut.
Pay Toilets
In many parts of Europe, the solution to unnecessary public toilet usage is to charge a fee. For those crossing their legs while not having exact change, the result is major inconvenience or in the worst case, an accident. Toilets do incur costs via filtration of water, power and maintenance costs. However, as public spaces, even Americans - who tend to resist taxes - pay sufficient taxes to cover the financial burden. In 1969, assemblywoman March Fong Eu smashed a toilet on the steps of the state Capitol building after successfully banning pay toilets in California.
Paying a fee to use a public toilet is a fantastic waste of money. Public toilets exist due to taxpayer dollars, and it is not as though the incremental costs of public toilets are sufficient to justify separate water filtration plants or maintenance staff. Taxpayers must pay for those things regardless of the usage of public toilets.
The idea, from a state perspective to make public toilets a self-funding initiative, seems fairly sound. However, even the implementation of such a plan incurs costs. Pay toilets must have secure boxes for coins and must be emptied daily by trustworthy staff. Even heavily used public toilets likely do not require daily maintenance. Both pay and pubic toilets require cleaning, so that cost does not go away. In fact, those who pay to use a toilet may feel more entitled to leave it in a more filthy state.
Bribery
It is not as though bribery is absent in America. Transparency of financial matters is a noble goal and the Securities and Exchange Commission does its best for its given resources to ensure a level playing field in American's public financial markets. However, behind the scenes there is certainly a strong likelihood that disproportionately successful stock traders use bribery as a tactic for insider information.
Bribery is a standard course of conduct for many nations outside of America. In 2010, Colin Steven facilitated a $1.5 million bribe to government officials in Saudi Arabia for assistance in getting an aircraft sales contract with favorable terms awarded to Embraer, a Brazilian-based manufacturer of aircraft. He later entered a guilty plea and was scheduled for sentencing on June 21, 2018.
In 2015, the Federal Bureau of Investigation formed International Corruption Squads with the intent of investigating and prosecuting large scale cases of bribery and government corruption. The far reaching nature of international bribery has affected Americans and the FBI reaction has been swift. Americans wisely resist the idea of bribery and that aversion sets them apart from many other nations.
International Studies
In Arizona, state residents can attend Arizona State University for an average tuition cost of $10,552.00. Non-resident American students can attend for an average tuition cost of $28,336.00. Students who attempt to get an education from Arizona State who are neither residents of Arizona nor American citizens will pay $30,522.00 in annual tuition costs. That 290% increase reflects the fact that no taxpayer funding is used to subsidize the education for foreign students. Instead, they must bear the entire cost themselves.
The United States offers some of the best institutions of higher learning anywhere on the planet, so it is no wonder students seek to obtain an education within its borders. Once educated with a bachelor's degree, American workers can command a 180% higher salary than workers without a college degree. International students with American educational credentials can boast a more broad educational base than their fellow countrymen and likely turn that into a higher salary as well.
Summary
Although Americans are prone to wasteful spending, at least they avoid these three spending areas like the plague. The American pursuit of freedom stands in the way of the introduction of pay toilets. A government mandated adherence to financial transparency helps eliminate bribery from being a commonplace transaction mechanism. And with American universities often boasting educational programs that are the envy of foreign schools, students flock to the United States in droves, paying extreme premiums to obtain an American education.
What other weird spending habits do people outside of America have that Americans tend to avoid? Have you ever experienced these spending challenges when travelling outside of the United States?