> Can I really use cash for every medical emergency, like cancer or getting shot? Feels crazy but I guess I'll take your word for it.

Depends but it you get shot for example you don't have to use cash, you can just ignore the bill and take on bad credit (if you gave them your ssn+name). Cancer, i know people whose job was to take care of cancer patients so once you are admitted they won't kick you out until you are in remission, you may not get the best care possible but they will treat you for free (at a public hospital not private) some treatment options will cost money and there are many options for those who can't pay right away but worse case you have another debt to your name which goes away after 7 years so long as you don't pay a cent!

> Interested in how old you are? None of my friends even in the far suburbs get by with 1k rent, it's around 2k these days.

More than 27 less than 47 :). I live in a major US city, my current neighborhood is safe-ish (no issues) but my rent actually went down to less than 1k this year. I don't know if I live in the suburbs, but I am not in downtown or inner city for sure. I have paid more and less in the past.

> Anyways, my anecdote is that I've been overseas for extended periods and folks are far happier there than the USA. The food is better, the events are more plentiful, and folks are kinder.

Living and visiting are different. California is a good example in the US lol. You can be very happy in the US, the one thing no one beats the US on is opportunity. You have native born people living in tents in california and immigrants with nothing working their butt off and living like kings. Just in the US there are many cultures and subcultures everyone trying to be happy like any other country except in the US you can get food, culuture and interaction from any country in the world. You can live in any climate and you have 50+ states to pick from. And our national parks, just the sheer number and diversity of them you can never get bored with outdoor stuff. Just in the US the way people are kind and rude differs wildly, compare california and new york for example, and throw in how wildly rude and hostile texas and othee southern states are (unless they think you are one of them from there) and take your pick of who you wanna live near. And food? Are you kidding? I eat food from like 5 countries without thinking about it within a span of a week. You can get actual authentic cuisine from just about any country over 50M people in it in any major US metropolitan area!

I got news for you, everyone is kinder to foreigners that look wealthy in most countries. Look at how they treat poor immigrant africans and indians to see how genuine their kindess is.

> If you don't think you are, I'd be interested in your net worth at the moment.

I don't feel comfortable being that specific on HN but maybe I can get close: I have enough in my savings to pay rent+light+food (one meal a day <$10) for 1.52-2y and nothing more. I can decimate that and afford a downpayment on a cheap house (<250k). I have a good job in tech but I am constantly worried about being out of work for prolonged period of time due to instability in economy/tech. When I was ~19 i remember wearing cloth with holes in it to a job paying 8.50 because i couldn't afford anything. My family has gotten evicted multiple times when I was a teen and earlier than that too and seen a lot of poverty struggles (mentioning to say I don't come from any sort of wealth). I had a 2003 car that must have seen like 10 accidents i got rid of to save money/hassle a couple of years back(none now).

> It's interesting that you can see the system is rigged, but somehow also think folks can avoid it. America is setup this way, and I don't fault folks for struggling.

Every system has rules. If it is rigged, find a way to aboid the consequence of breaking the rules. Blackjack and card counting come to mind. If you so what everyone does you will lose. You seem to think that because the system is rigged, it is without fault, that's not correct. Ask yourself how illegal immigrants cross the border and end up raising several children in a decent house. Look at how much we depend on immigrants with skills in tech! Look at how many people complain about student debt when they could have bear it with the GI bill, forget that, I know many people that did community college and transfered and at most they paid like 15k for a degree all included! No debt, some even worked two jobs while getting a degree!

> you have to change the system.

Yes but everyone says that and then proceeds to play by the rules. Do you know that the US spends by a huge margin more than any country on health care per-capita? Do you know why healthcare is still crappy? Because even obama/obamacare couldn't imagine a world without insurances! (Hate them with passion! The cancer cells of america!) do you know why insulin costs $30 in canada and 700 in the US across the border? Because in the US, the patient is the middle man, the customer is the insurance company and everything costs what the customer is willing to pay for it. The dependency on insurance is so ingrained into ameicans minds that we think our employers should have something to do with it as if the unemployed don't get sick! See, that is the system and even the most liberal folks think about taking money from billionaires and giving it to the billionaires who own insurance companies, that's what I mean by playing by the rules. And do you know why americans live longer but with more chronic issues? Because they make you a repear customer one way or the other because you are not the person the doctor is being paid by, you are just a middleman getting in the way. When I say stop paying hospital bills, I mean let the insurance companies lose money, make premiums unaffordable so the government pays hospitals directly and regulates their prices because now it is the government paying and they have to answer to voters both for rising taxes and insane bills!

Complaining won't fix anything, neither will downvoting me when I suggest solutions hoping my fellow voters would engange in discourse (you excluded since you actually decided to talk to me instead of downvote and walk away). This right here is how things change!