Op-Ed: New Zealand, The Nation America Should Aspire To Be
As I took in the views of the Wellington suburbs from the top of the cable car outlet, the warm December breeze washed over me as I looked across Lambton Quay. A group of young people, probably my age, enjoyed a flat white at one of the cafe tables at the adjacent coffeehouse. At the bottom of the hill, a group of young children ran across the lush rugby pitch. A bird landed on the railing, chirping as another cable car arrived at the cafe.
This was New Zealand in the summertime, a far cry from the snow-covered streets and negative temperatures that usually plagued my hometown of Chicago during the last month of the year. I was ten thousand miles from the United States, and I realized just how different this country was. How much calmer this country was. How much friendlier this country was.
How much better this country was.
Now, I’m not going to attempt to say that there aren’t inherent advantages to living in the United States, because that isn’t true. There are numerous opportunities available in the US that aren’t available anywhere else. The United States has the world’s largest economy, and with that monetary strength can come great prosperity, at least for those who are able to afford the price of success.
America is rich with natural resources and great minds. On top of that, the United States has an arsenal of some of the world’s greatest colleges and universities. American culture is nearly ubiquitous, with Hollywood films, professional sports teams, and the culture of the United States’ melting pot widely known.
However, beyond the shining lights of their vast wealth, the might of their military, and the supposed opportunities in employment, it is easy to see that the United States of America may not be all that it’s cracked up to be. This can be assumed based purely on the current state of this nation, and the way that this country has been run for a long time has been less than sustainable.
The United States economy has been hemorrhaging jobs for a long time. The Wall Street Journal reported nearly 30 million layoffs by June 2020. Now, despite the given fact that part of this was due to the coronavirus pandemic, it still remains to be said that the US economy has not seen wide job prosperity since the mid-2010s, and with the current trend in virus cases across the country, it is possible that these layoffs could continue into the foreseeable future.
On the flip side, New Zealand, while dealing with the effects of a global pandemic, still managed to maintain the majority of their jobs. The unemployment rate in that country averaged only 4 percent in June 2020 and the percentage has been steadily declining over the past ten years. Now, unemployment percentages will never be at zero, in any country. That is just not realistic, as modern economies and today’s workplace culture ensure that there will always be a certain population that will be unable to hold jobs.
However, the fact would seem to be, and the data would seem to support, that it is simply easier to get a job in New Zealand than the United States. When looking on Indeed or Linkedin, many jobs have over 200 people send in applications. With the competitiveness of the job market in America, where there are so many people competing for so few jobs, it is easy to see why there are so many people still searching for their big break in career choice.
With unemployment comes a loss of health insurance benefits, and the rising cost of care has made some people have to choose between feeding their family and taking their medicine. Health insurance companies are notorious for jacking up the prices of prescription medications and routine procedures. A Consumer Reports study found that out-of-pocket costs for drugs in the United States could balloon to $67 billion by 2025.
Medical procedures in the United States also cost more than almost any other country, especially ones with socialized medicine. The cost of angioplasty in America was found to be almost three times as much as the cost in New Zealand. The Kiwis have found a way to provide universal medicine using a socialized system.
Healthcare in New Zealand is provided through public funding. Per the Commonwealth Fund, services covered include “inpatient, outpatient, mental health, and long term care, as well as prescription drugs.” The public funding for these services is collected mostly through tax dollars. Using this system of socialized medicine, New Zealand has attained universal health coverage for nearly every one of its citizens.
Similar healthcare systems can be found in many socialized countries. The UK, Australia, and Canada to name a few. These systems have worked for a long time in their respective countries. Could socialized medicine work here?
Well, of course, it could. Big pharma doesn’t want it to, though, so it doesn’t.
Pharmaceutical corporations control the minds and choices of Congressmen and socialized medicine would derail their never-ending quest to line their pockets. The United States vastly needs an overhaul of its healthcare system and looking to the Kiwis for inspiration may not be a bad place to start.
Healthcare is not the only area where New Zealand has vast advantages over the States. One of the most pressing issues in America today is student debt and the rising cost of going to college. While the United States has some of the best institutions of higher education, getting through one with a degree most often involves a hefty price tag.
CNBC reported in 2017 that the average debt amount for graduates of public universities was $26,900, and $32,600 for graduates of private universities. That number has only been increasing in the last three years, and will likely continue to climb. This price can also depend on the major. While communications majors usually hover around the $30,000 mark in debt, students graduating medical school can expect over $200,000 in loans by the time they’re done.
When endowments for major public universities are often in the hundreds of millions of dollars, why does this country insist on charging so much to get a proper education? There are likely many future doctors, lawyers, and astronauts who will never be able to fulfill their dreams because they are (rightly so) unwilling to take on vast amounts of debts in their early twenties.
New Zealand seems to have a different philosophy on getting its population educated. Like their healthcare, New Zealand has implemented a quasi form of socialized education. While most students do still have to take out some student loans, the price tags are usually nowhere near the US. In 2019, the majority of Kiwi students took out less than $15,000 in loans.
Another key indicator is the rate that these loans have to be paid back. Student loan repayment in New Zealand depends on income. Compare this to the United States. Although the US does offer an income-based repayment plan, when you have taken out over $200,000 and are on track to barely earn a livable wage, these plans don’t really make a difference. In addition, people that earn below a certain wage can possibly get loans written off, something that is a rarity in the United States.
So, healthcare and education are both handled much better in New Zealand than in the United States. Let’s see how the facts stack up when it comes to what seems to have become one of America’s favorite pastimes: shooting people.
The United States is a gun-obsessed nation. It always has been, and likely always will be. Axios notes that there are around 270 million firearms in America, accounting for nearly 40 percent of the world’s guns. Axios also pointed out that there are no other countries with nearly that many guns, with the next highest ownership statistic being 46 million.
Now, the right to bear arms is enshrined in the Second Amendment. I personally don’t see a problem with owning one handgun for personal protection, but when people begin to collect assault rifles like baseball cards, it must be said that there is an inherent problem in society.
Mass shooting events have become ubiquitous in America. Between 1966 and 2012, this country had 90 incidents categorized as mass shootings. After every one of these shootings, Congress seemingly does nothing. No real gun legislation has ever been passed in either chamber and the culture of guns has just increased.
Compare that to what happened in Christchurch, New Zealand after a deadly mass shooting at a mosque in 2019. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called for the banning of assault weapons almost immediately after the incident. The ban had bipartisan support in the New Zealand Parliament and passed soon after. The country saw a problem, and their leaders stepped up to the plate to deliver solutions. Keep in mind, this was only the second real mass shooting in the nation and the first since 1990.
Two shootings in New Zealand, and sweeping changes are implemented. 90 shootings in the United States, and nothing happens.
New Zealand also had a significant buyback event for gun owners in the aftermath of the Christchurch shooting. While these events have never been that successful in America, Kiwis turned in over 56,000 guns during the event. This shows the willingness of the masses to commit to change. This is something that has never happened here, and sadly probably never will.
During my trip to New Zealand, I also found a widespread truth: Kiwis are just nicer, friendlier, and more laid back than Americans. Perhaps it is the island lifestyle or their calm demeanor, but I have not one bad thing to say about any of the people I encountered on my travels.
New Zealanders are accomodating, welcoming, and willing to help with anything. Even major cities like Auckland have a small-town feel to them, and while globalization has brought in major chains, they aren’t on every single street corner like they are in America.
Life is more relaxed and slow-moving in New Zealand. It is also a beautiful country, filled with luscious hillsides, pristine bays and some of the most enchanting natural lands in the world:
Am I saying that I’m ungrateful to be an American? Absolutely not. I am well aware of the luckiness that being American brings. However, for those that still say that the United States is the best country in the world, I say, you haven’t looked around the world far enough.
New Zealand is a land of equal opportunity, equality, good cheers, and good people. If the United States strived to be more like our friends the Kiwis, perhaps some of the inherent societal problems we face would finally begin to change.
