Indian kid describes America

[MRT144]

I love little excuses like these. Other countries are rich because they're lucky enough to have resources. America is rich because Americans are more awesomer, not because of its tremendous abundance of good land and natural resources.

Yeah, we never benefited one bit from our vast lands of abundant natural resources. Ever.

[SlowwHand]

Is this an example of Lorizael wit or is he serious?

[Ben Kenobi]

Kentucky is a pretty horrible place

I bet they say the same thing about Chicago.

[Lorizael]

Is this an example of Lorizael wit or is he serious?

Yes, I'm that witty. It's other people who are serious.

[Imran Siddiqui]

I love little excuses like these. Other countries are rich because they're lucky enough to have resources. America is rich because Americans are more awesomer, not because of its tremendous abundance of good land and natural resources.

The US has no oil revenue at all, after all .

[Hauldren Collider]

I love little excuses like these. Other countries are rich because they're lucky enough to have resources. America is rich because Americans are more awesomer, not because of its tremendous abundance of good land and natural resources.

You're completely retarded if you think our mineral extraction is anywhere near the percentage of our productivity as Norway's.

[Lorizael]

You're completely retarded if you think our mineral extraction is anywhere near the percentage of our productivity as Norway's.

Indeed. America has a very diversified economy, in part because of the great variety of natural resources we possess, and in part because our great wealth allows for industries other than resource extraction.

[Hauldren Collider]

Mineral resources did not fund our diversified economy. In fact, our economy has essentially never been based on mining. America's economy boomed in the 1800s and early 1900s from the manufacturing sector and since the 80s the economy has been dominated by the service and intellectual property sectors. Agriculture was at first a large component but is now only a small fraction of our output. However, every country at that time had agriculture as a primary industry, since farming was so labor-intensive.

Your notion of how America came to be a giant economy is simply ahistorical.

[Lorizael]

I did not claim that our economic strength was based on mining. I claimed it was based on an abundance of good land and natural resources. When farming was the primary output of our country, we had an absolutely gigantic country compared to many other countries in the rest of the world. This helped get us where we are today.

[regexcellent]

US wealth hasn't been based on resource extraction for more than 100 years. Probably more like 150.

[Imran Siddiqui]

I think his point was that the resources & land allowed for a substantial base for the US economy to become rapidly industrialized. The US simply had more coal, oil, etc. in the late 1800s early 1900s than the nations competing with the US - it allowed for a great position to advance into other areas. The resources and land of the US are still extremely important for economic growth to this day, of course.

[MRT144]

US wealth hasn't been based on resource extraction for more than 100 years. Probably more like 150.

How is electricity generated circa 1880 Reg?

[MRT144]

How is steel made circa 1880?

[MRT144]

How were we able to hold the germans and japanese at bay before we developed the atom bomb?

[MRT144]

To say that our wealth and capability to industrialize rapidly (and lead the charge on that) is left to some other factor wholly outside of natural resources like coal, iron, rivers, arable land, a variety of geographic areas suited for both food staples and cash crops, land for animals, seems either obtuse or intellectually dishonest. Yes, America's wealth is owed to exceptionalism apparently.