🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <rdavis.728008225@connie.de.convex.com> rdavis@convex.com (Ray Davis) writes:
>Adrian.Waterworth@newcastle.ac.uk (Adrian Waterworth) writes:
>
>>As for the availability of
>>different goods and services, I find it hard to believe that the range
>>of products available in the US is so much greater than those in any
>>other developed nation.
>
>Really it is.  You wouldn't believe how much more the selection
>and variety is in most areas of merchandise.  I know it's hard
>to believe, but if you grew up in the states and find yourself
>living elsewhere, you wonder how folks can put up with so little
>choice and such crap quality (in *some* cases - not all!).

	This argument ignores local variations in standards of
	living in the U.S.  I have visited California several
	times and the standard of living in the urban areas is
	very high.  I also lived in Iowa for some time and the
	standard of living was abyssmal in comparison to anywhere
	else I have lived.  The quality of produce was poor and the
	selection limited.  The cultural life of the area was moribund,
	we had to drive 45 miles to the nearest decent library.
	Columbus is a big improvement on Des Moines but still a
	long way behind urban areas of Europe that I have lived in.

	As far as quality is concerned, I think you have that mixed up.
	My impression of American consumer goods is that quality is not
	that great and it is frequently sacrificed to keep prices low
	while adding "features" that have no use.  Quality of U.S.
	products can be very good, but the range of quality is far
	greater than one could get away with in Europe.  Did you
	ever wonder why European products have been making so much
	headway in the U.S.?  Helpful hint: they're not cheaper.


>
>>From a personal point of view, I cannot think
>>of anything significant that I might want to obtain that I couldn't
>>obtain here in the UK.
>
>Well how could you if you don't know what you're missing, or you're
>not used to the selection?

	Ah yes, the wonderful Colby Longhorn cheese for example,
	chanterelles and edible boletes are available on every
	street corner in the U.S.  Spare parts for my De Vilbiss
	airbrushes are unobtainable over here, try finding Humbrol
	paints without having to offer up the first-born male child.
	Going back to food, the U.S. offers some of the worst sausage
	it has ever been my dubious privilege to taste.  Oscar Meyer
	would cause riots in the streets in Poland, never mind Germany.

	Alec