YouGov Survey: What foreign ways of doing things would Americans embrace?

[bigfield]

Saw this on Reddit the other day: a survey of (a mere) 1000 US citizens asking them if they would like to adopt some foreign ways of doing things:

What foreign ways of doing things would Americans embrace? | YouGov

Who wants to keep having to tip, fill in tax returns, or make eye contact with people in toilet stalls?

today.yougov.com

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I found some of the questions more surprising than the answers:

1. I had no idea that the US electricity grid prevented people from having efficient electric kettles!
2. The sales tax thing is an absolute scam. Who benefits from this arrangement?
3. I have seen a couple of prescription drug ads from US TV, and they are something else. Firstly I can't imagine asking my doctor to prescribe me a medication; he would just laugh it off and tell me to leave the prescribing to the doctor. Secondly, it's a only time I've ever seen a disclaimer use up as much ad time as the pitch itself.
4. The toilet stall door thing just made me laugh. There is no way I would want anyone peeking at me while I am wiping my backside.
5. I can't figure out why roundabouts wouldn't be the obvious default option when looking to reduce congestion at an intersection.

 

[Politesse]

The sales tax thing is an absolute scam. Who benefits from this arrangement?

I mean, our political and economic structure supports a surprising number of scams. "Service" or "materials" fees charged on top of the service you're already paying for, sometimes multiply for the same service. Non-negotiable workplace binding arbitration "agreements". Actually, non-negotiable work contracts in general. Informed consent laws that guarantee neither accurate information nor personal consent. Medical and home insurance companies that pick and choose whatever they do or do not feel like covering, with no oversight and limited appeal. "The News". Mandatory medical and driving insurance. Corporations having legal personhood. Most of copyright and trademark law. The entire "credit rating" system that controls most significant purchases with an iron fist despite being a triopoly, openly corrupt, and again more or less unregulated. Handshakes as contracts. The cost of most college textbooks. "Unpaid internships". Police being allowed to steal and auction off property from any citizen, under the dubious legal justification that property in question is a "material witness" to a crime, even no one has actually been charged with one yet. Owing money to ambulance and other emergency services you never consented to use. Every treaty our government has ever signed with anyone. The name "United States of America", applied to a country that has a strong centralized government, whose states have been at war with one another on mutiple occassions, agree on basically nothing the federal government hasn't bullied them into at gunpoint, and which maintains extensive colonial territories that are not in fact states, united, or American. Reservations that are either property of the states, or of the federal government, or sovereign nations depending on the current mood of the courts.

We are an incredibly gullible people, and money rules our life from cream to cremation.

Traffic circles are becoming a much more common sight, though, even in rural areas where they used to be unheard of.

 

[Tharmas]

I had no idea that the US electricity grid prevented people from having efficient electric kettles!

I don't understand this one. We've used electric kettles for years. They don't take too long to boil water either - they're faster than stove top, and much more convenient..

 

[thebeave]

I had no idea that the US electricity grid prevented people from having efficient electric kettles!

I don't understand this one. We've used electric kettles for years. They don't take too long to boil water either - they're faster than stove top, and much more convenient..

Yeah, that made no sense to me either. I'm sure its quicker to boil water from a 240 volt (the voltage standard in many/most? countries) electric kettle than a 120 volt kettle like what's used in the US. If you want quick hot water here, get yourself an "Instahot" tank/faucet system installed in your sink cabinet. No waiting at all. The only downside is they eventually leak and might cause thousands in property damage, but other that...

 

[Worldtraveller]

Our entire city zoning and city design.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0intLFzLaudFG-xAvUEO-A

 

[bilby]

Outside the US, every effort is made by governments to make taxation as simple and as unobtrusive as possible.

In the US, every effort is apparently made by governments to make taxation as complex and in-your-face as possible.

It's bizarre. Most of the developed world pays slightly more tax, but has citizens who are less annoyed about paying it.

 

[Tigers!]

If is not stamped "Made in the USA" you lot would not accept it.

There are only 2 (two) foreign things the septics need adopt
1. A new electoral system
2. Guns laws based in the current space-time continuum

 

[southernhybrid]

I actually have something positive to say about our local sales tax which is voted on every few years. My county pays an extra one cent sales tax as long as it's approved by the voters. It's used for parks, schools, and our beautiful senior center, as well as other infrastructure projects. It's a very popular tax.

I would certainly like to know where the state sales tax goes. It's something I've never give much thought to, but it's probably meant to pay for infrastructure projects as well. Real estate taxes are supposedly going to help pay for the public school system, which is why my county gives us old people a big discount on our real estate taxes. I'm not saying that's fair, but it does help. those of us who are living in retirement on a limited income, compared to when we were working.

We pay FICA taxes to support SS and M'care, although those two programs are currently not getting enough income to keep them adequately financed. One problem is that the tax is only paid on income up to around 160K and there is no tax on investment income.

Imo, the biggest problem with income taxes is that the ultra wealthy have so many deductions that enable to them to pay a lot lower rate of taxes compared to the average middle class person. The corporate tax rate is very low and some corporations pay little or no tax at all. That's another problem imo.

I've never been crazy about round about and I started using them when I was a teenager. When the traffic is very heavy, people often get confused or aggressive. There is only one that I know of in my small city. It's in an area where there isn't much traffic. They are okay but not anything that really concerns me. They are probably better than 4 way stops, but the few I'm familiar with in the Northeast

I agree that the tea kettle thing makes no sense at all.

I don't know anyone who even pays attention to the stupid drug ads, but I have asked my doctors to put me on a drug that I felt would help me. They were old generic drugs and I asked to use them after doing a lot of reading about how they helped others who had the same problems as me. Perhaps because I was a nurse, the doctors respected my request, but it's not that unusual for patients to suggest doctors use certain drugs or treatments for them. I think that's a good thing as we should all have some say in our medical care. If a doctor or NP doesn't agree, they should explain why not. My requests have always been very reasonable and there have been times when I knew a lot more about a certain condition compared to the doctor I was seeing at the time.

The toilet door thing made me laugh too. In fact, when I used the rest room at the senior center this morning, I noticed that there weren't any cracks that anyone could see through, but then again, I've never used a public rest room for anything but peeing. I've always wished that everyone could do their other business at home, but I guess not everyone can. I think I have seen a few rest room doors that did have fairly large cracks that a sneaky person might try and view the person inside, but who are these creepy people and why would anyone want to watch someone else poop!

The US is probably not much more fucked up than most other countries, especially considering the size and how different states are almost like small countries in some ways. Well, at least not until the crazies took over the Republican Party. No government is perfect and no government will ever be perfect.

One thing I really hate is when people don't want apartments or smaller homes built in their neighborhoods. That's one thing I like about my little town. There are streets that have what could be called mansions just a few doors down from smaller modest homes, as well as nicely kept apartment buildings. I like it when people of different income levels are living near each other. You don't find that very often in the US, and liberals can be just as bad as any other group when it comes to the "Not in my backyard" attitude. The area in my town that is made up of mixed income housing is very popular and the homes have been increasing in value a lot over the past few years.

 

[Tigers!]

Traffic circles are becoming a much more common sight, though, even in rural areas where they used to be unheard of.

Oh you mean roundabouts.
My sister and her hubby just returned from visiting their daughter in New Jersey. They drove to San Francisco and counted 6 (six) roundabouts on the trip. Hardly common.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

One thing I really hate is when people don't want apartments or smaller homes built in their neighborhoods. That's one thing I like about my little town. There are streets that have what could be called mansions just a few doors down from smaller modest homes, as well as nicely kept apartment buildings. I like it when people of different income levels are living near each other. You don't find that very often in the US, and liberals can be just as bad as any other group when it comes to the "Not in my backyard" attitude. The area in my town that is made up of mixed income housing is very popular and the homes have been increasing in value a lot over the past few years.

You don't find it very often because it makes the wealthier houses crime targets.

 

[ZiprHead]

  Where to Invade Next

 

[crazyfingers]

Traffic circles are becoming a much more common sight, though, even in rural areas where they used to be unheard of.

Oh you mean roundabouts.
My sister and her hubby just returned from visiting their daughter in New Jersey. They drove to San Francisco and counted 6 (six) roundabouts on the trip. Hardly common.

Traffic Circles, Roundabouts, Rotaries.

People usually call them rotaries around here but rotaries are larger than roundabouts. The often have multiple one way lanes such as at a major highway intersection.

I can count 5 large and small ones that I'd go around at least a few times a year. I don't go very far very often.

 

[Tigers!]

Traffic circles are becoming a much more common sight, though, even in rural areas where they used to be unheard of.

Oh you mean roundabouts.
My sister and her hubby just returned from visiting their daughter in New Jersey. They drove to San Francisco and counted 6 (six) roundabouts on the trip. Hardly common.

Traffic Circles, Roundabouts, Rotaries.

People usually call them rotaries around here but rotaries are larger than roundabouts. The often have multiple one way lanes such as at a major highway intersection.

I can count 5 large and small ones that I'd go around at least a few times a year. I don't go very far very often.

An impressive roundabout in Swindon, UK

 

[crazyfingers]

Traffic circles are becoming a much more common sight, though, even in rural areas where they used to be unheard of.

Oh you mean roundabouts.
My sister and her hubby just returned from visiting their daughter in New Jersey. They drove to San Francisco and counted 6 (six) roundabouts on the trip. Hardly common.

Traffic Circles, Roundabouts, Rotaries.

People usually call them rotaries around here but rotaries are larger than roundabouts. The often have multiple one way lanes such as at a major highway intersection.

I can count 5 large and small ones that I'd go around at least a few times a year. I don't go very far very often.

An impressive roundabout in Swindon, UK

I don't think that Americans could handle that one.

 

[bilby]

Traffic circles are becoming a much more common sight, though, even in rural areas where they used to be unheard of.

Oh you mean roundabouts.
My sister and her hubby just returned from visiting their daughter in New Jersey. They drove to San Francisco and counted 6 (six) roundabouts on the trip. Hardly common.

Traffic Circles, Roundabouts, Rotaries.

People usually call them rotaries around here but rotaries are larger than roundabouts. The often have multiple one way lanes such as at a major highway intersection.

I can count 5 large and small ones that I'd go around at least a few times a year. I don't go very far very often.

An impressive roundabout in Swindon, UK

That's not a roundabout, it's five roundabouts on a very small ring road.

Traffic circulates in both directions around the centre, and traffic closest to the centre is going anti-clockwise, while traffic circling a true roundabout only gies clockwise (in countries where driving is on the left, as in this example).

 

[southernhybrid]

One thing I really hate is when people don't want apartments or smaller homes built in their neighborhoods. That's one thing I like about my little town. There are streets that have what could be called mansions just a few doors down from smaller modest homes, as well as nicely kept apartment buildings. I like it when people of different income levels are living near each other. You don't find that very often in the US, and liberals can be just as bad as any other group when it comes to the "Not in my backyard" attitude. The area in my town that is made up of mixed income housing is very popular and the homes have been increasing in value a lot over the past few years.

You don't find it very often because it makes the wealthier houses crime targets.

Seriously? That hasn't been the case where I live. The crime, sadly, is almost all in the poverty stricken parts of town. The areas that are a mix of apartments, small homes and very expensive homes are located in one of the lowest crime areas in the city. Can you back up your claim with some evidence because I've lived in other areas that had apartment complexes located near nice, single family homes and crime was minimal. That was a long time ago, so I don't know if things have changed these days.

 

[Toni]

Traffic circles are becoming a much more common sight, though, even in rural areas where they used to be unheard of.

Oh you mean roundabouts.
My sister and her hubby just returned from visiting their daughter in New Jersey. They drove to San Francisco and counted 6 (six) roundabouts on the trip. Hardly common.

My town of about 25K has six roundabouts, four in such quick succession that it is more like stacked figure 8’s. A friend from Australia has told us that roundabouts are being torn out in Australia in favor of stop lights. The series of roundabouts i mentioned as being stacked figure 8’s are on a road with mixed usage of commercial, hospital/medical clinic/pharmacy and public elementary school all within a couple of miles stretch of road. It is a route frequently used by semi trucks. It is not unusual for all traffic to be stopped because of mechanical issues by one of the semis. Oh, and there is a heavily used rail road line about a quarter mile from the stacked 8’s. And this is in good weather! The stacked 8’s have been open for about 5-6 months. It’s been a mild winter here.

I avoid that part of town as much as possible.

 

[Toni]

One thing I really hate is when people don't want apartments or smaller homes built in their neighborhoods. That's one thing I like about my little town. There are streets that have what could be called mansions just a few doors down from smaller modest homes, as well as nicely kept apartment buildings. I like it when people of different income levels are living near each other. You don't find that very often in the US, and liberals can be just as bad as any other group when it comes to the "Not in my backyard" attitude. The area in my town that is made up of mixed income housing is very popular and the homes have been increasing in value a lot over the past few years.

You don't find it very often because it makes the wealthier houses crime targets.

Bullshit. People in fancy expensive homes generally have more wealth and hence more influence and use that influence to do what they think will protect their home’s value by keeping out renters and more modest homes. They like their little wealthy enclaves.

I confess that I worked hard to keep more larger Victorian homes from being converted to more apartments because it would make my neighborhood less desirable. Not because of re terms per se but because such conversions are for student re talks which cram as many students as possible int formerly lovely homes which then are poorly maintained with yards converted to park in g lots, adding to congestion and changing former family friendly neighborhoods with great walkability into slums. My objections would be far less if they were family rentals. Our town desperately needs more family friendly rental properties.

 

[Jarhyn]

One thing I really hate is when people don't want apartments or smaller homes built in their neighborhoods. That's one thing I like about my little town. There are streets that have what could be called mansions just a few doors down from smaller modest homes, as well as nicely kept apartment buildings. I like it when people of different income levels are living near each other. You don't find that very often in the US, and liberals can be just as bad as any other group when it comes to the "Not in my backyard" attitude. The area in my town that is made up of mixed income housing is very popular and the homes have been increasing in value a lot over the past few years.

You don't find it very often because it makes the wealthier houses crime targets.

Bullshit. People in fancy expensive homes generally have more wealth and hence more influence and use that influence to do what they think will protect their home’s value by keeping out renters and more modest homes. They like their little wealthy enclaves.

I confess that I worked hard to keep more larger Victorian homes from being converted to more apartments because it would make my neighborhood less desirable. Not because of re terms per se but because such conversions are for student re talks which cram as many students as possible int formerly lovely homes which then are poorly maintained with yards converted to park in g lots, adding to congestion and changing former family friendly neighborhoods with great walkability into slums. My objections would be far less if they were family rentals. Our town desperately needs more family friendly rental properties.

There is nothing rich people tend to hate more than poor people.

 

[Tigers!]

Traffic circles are becoming a much more common sight, though, even in rural areas where they used to be unheard of.

Oh you mean roundabouts.
My sister and her hubby just returned from visiting their daughter in New Jersey. They drove to San Francisco and counted 6 (six) roundabouts on the trip. Hardly common.

My town of about 25K has six roundabouts, four in such quick succession that it is more like stacked figure 8’s. A friend from Australia has told us that roundabouts are being torn out in Australia in favor of stop lights. T

Not quite accurate. Some roundabouts are being removed and replaced with traffic lights. We installed roundabouts everywhere just because we could without always considering the traffic flows.
That is because the roundabouts are not been used correctly. Roundabouts are best used as traffic flow management, not traffic flow control.
For example putting a roundabout on an intersection where 75% of the traffic is in a particular direction will not help the other 25% much as they are still held up. Lights in that situation are the best response. Where the traffic is about 50% any direction or maybe 40-60% they will work.
Roundabouts work best when used to slow traffic down or to guide traffic into certain streets or roads.
In Australia now we have the perverse situation where road money is being used to put roundabouts on too many intersections and not being used to maintain roads. We will have a big beautiful roundabouts built and the roads up to it are full of holes. The councils point to the roundabouts and say "Look what we built last year. Don't worry about the damage to your cars from the potholes". And the punters are stupid enough to fall for it.