As children, when we asked why something was done in a certain way, the answer was usually along the lines of "...because that's just the way it's done". When people visit America from around the world they are usually fairly quick to point out that that is not how "things are done" where they come from. In fact, there are different aspects of life in America that non-Americans look at as outrageous. There are an endless amount of things that can be brought up about the American way of life, and how greatly it differs from most other places, but sadly, I've narrowed it down to just 40. Here's a look at just a few of the things about America that non-Americans think are scams.
1. "Service With A Smile"
Tipping for service is one of the main things that non-Americans can't quite wrap their minds around. It's hard for them to understand why someone should earn an extra 10-15% of the bill simply for doing their job.
The minimum wage in most Australian cities is close to $20. Their employers pay them to do their job, and the customers only tip if they receive exceptional service. If hospitality workers in Australia were to rely as heavily on their tips as the ones in America, they'd be broke.
2. "Maybe I'll Walk"
A common misconception about ambulances in America is that in case of an emergency, they are free of charge, but in reality, it costs almost as much to take an ambulance to the hospital as it does for one month's rent in a one-bedroom apartment.
In countries with universal healthcare, there is only an ambulance fee if it is deemed that the ambulance was not needed. In some places, there might be a charge of around $50. In the United States, due to the fee and convenience, a lot of people opt to take an Uber, instead of an ambulance to the hospital.
3. "Well, That Can't Be Right..."
The cost of college tuition in America has been rising every year, however, the average American's annual wage has stayed pretty much the same.
College in most developed nations is either free or close to free. When non-Americans hear about how much Americans pay for college, most are shocked when told the truth.
4. "New Beginnings"
The success of a marriage is dependant on many things, but contrary to popular beliefs, amongst those things are not how big of a wedding there is or how much money is spent on the wedding dress.
Marriage is supposed to be the start of a new life together and thanks to everything involved in planning most weddings, the bride and groom's savings are the first thing that has the opportunity to begin anew.
5. "Working Hard Or Hardly Working?"
The way that people define hard work in America can be a shock to the system for anyone who has ever actually had a hard day's work in their lives.
There is a common misconception that the hardest workers in America are those who spend most of their day at the golf course or at business lunches. In reality, the hardest workers are the ones who work 3 minimum wage jobs in order to put food on the table for their families.
6. "It's For The Rest Of Us"
The holiday season should be about bringing family and friends together in order to spend time with one another and share stories about the times spent apart.
It's important to remember why we do things, not just that we do them. As more and more holidays and events become commercialized, the true meanings behind them are left in the dust.
7. "Just Sign On The Dotted Line"
Rent-to-own products sound great in theory. If someone doesn't have enough money to afford a new house, car, or even blender, there are stores in America that offer customers the chance to rent the product for a few years, until they eventually pay enough to purchase the product.
Again, this is one of those "brilliant ideas" that is great for the customer in theory, but in reality, benefits the seller much more so than it does the buyer.
8. "What If The Tables Were Turned?"
Punctuality at work is important, after all, we are paid to be at work and do a job. What we are not paid for, however, is showing up early and doing extra work.
Arriving at work 10 minutes early, 5 days a week, adds up to 43.3 hours of work that employees are expected to work for free every year. Wouldn't it be great if it worked the other way and employees were allowed to show up 10 minutes late every day, and still, be paid in full?
9. "War, What Is It Good For?"
On June 18th, it will be 50 years since America first began the war that it has, almost constantly, been on the losing side of "The War on Drugs".
Millions of Americans have been incarcerated over the past 50 years for drug-related charges. It would be amazing to see even half of the money that has gone into incarcerating these offenders go into rehabilitating them instead.
10. "Burning The Midnight Oil Again"
There is a belief in America that the only way to get ahead in life is to work 8-10 hour days, 5 days a week with at least 1 additional day of overtime. Burning out from working too much is not found much outside of North America.
In Spain, they take a mid-day nap, or "siesta". It has become a great way for people to recharge and work harder in the second half of the day, and in Australia, most restaurants close between 2-4, because there's not enough afternoon business to justify staying during the afternoon. There is plenty of proof that a relaxed employee is a productive employee.
11. "The Price Of Relaxation"
A vacation is a time to unwind and not think about the stresses of everyday life, in fact, there are few things better about work than the annual vacation that each of us is entitled to take.
Without a few weeks or even a few days to unwind, people tend to burn out. In the United States, there are some businesses that incentivize their employees not to take their holidays. That means that if employees are willing to give up their 2 weeks of holidays for the year, they might be given a slight raise or a new vending machine for the break room.
12. "Can't Put A Price On Experience"
An intern is usually an unpaid employee who does most or all of the grunt work around an office, where they have a slight chance of landing full-time employment in the future.
In America, it is quite common for companies to employ a team of interns who are more than happy just for the opportunity to work, free of charge, right out of college. It's a good thing college tuition isn't outrageously expensive, oh, wait...
13. "Congrats On The New Shoe Laces"
Greeting cards are right up there with commercialized holidays as far as scams go. Some greeting cards can cost as much as $10. Is it so hard for someone to write their own short message on a piece of paper that they are willing to pay $10 to have someone else do it?
There are cards for everything these days. It's someone's birthday...get a card. A wedding...get a card. Funeral...get a card. There is no better way to let someone know how we feel than with a greeting card that someone else wrote.
14. "Quality Time"
New parents tend to want to spend as much time with their newborn child as possible, and understandably so. There are many countries around the world that understand how important it is for newborns to have, at least, one of their parents around during those first few months.
America is not one of those countries. In America, in order for parents to spend time with their newborn children, they either need to use their vacation days or be unemployed. There are some places that allow new mothers to take a 2-4 week unpaid holiday...so, there's that.
15. "The Taxman"
At the same time every year, millions of Americans struggle through endless paperwork in order to file their taxes. But what if all this effort wasn't necessary?
Unless someone is self-employed, there are few reasons why the need to file one's taxes should arise. When people work (legally) the government should have records of all the money that one has earned and taxes that they have paid throughout the year. During tax season, instead of stressing about doing one's taxes, everyone should just wait for their letter from the government telling them how much they owe or are owed.
16. "Everything Is For Profit Of Some Kind"
It is difficult for most non-Americans to look at "for-profit" prisons and hospitals as anything other than scams. There is no incentive for prisons to rehabilitate their prisoners when they receive funding based on the number of prisoners they're housing.
It is known that if one goes to a "for-profit" or private hospital, then they should expect to pay much higher fees than can be expected at the hospital. Why? Because private doctors can charge whatever they want. There have also been reports of non-government-run psychiatric wards that have kept their patience longer than necessary because of the outrageous costs of care.
17. "Nothing Is Free In This World"
A free trial is a great way to help a customer decide if a product is right for them. The only problem is, not all free trials are free...
A lot of places now ask for a credit card to be put on file for the "free" trial in question. The majority of businesses do so in hopes that the customer will forget to cancel the subscription on time, thus being charged accordingly. In the fine print, at the bottom of the page, other companies add a "transaction fee", so although the trial might be free, a fee of $1.99 is still taken from the credit card that's been put on file.
18. "Free Refills"
North America has more than one-fifth of the world's fresh water, which is why it is shocking to find out that the average American drinks almost 45 gallons of bottled water every year.
There is no shortage of fresh water in America, yet time and time again, Americans can be seen stocking their cars with case after case of bottled water. It costs about $1.25 to buy a bottle of water and $0.00001 to fill up a bottle with water from a tap.
19. "A Special Price For A Special Customer"
Car dealerships have gotten a bad rap over the years as a place that rips off unsuspecting customers who don't know much, or anything, about cars.
It's not just a stereotype. Car dealerships or more specifically, the used car salespeople who work within the dealerships, are the biggest scam artists of them all. They buy used cars for next to nothing. Slap on some paint. Mark up the price. Then sell the same used car as "vintage" for 10 times what they paid for it.
20. "Scraping By"
If someone is earning minimum wage, they should theoretically be earning the minimum amount needed in order to live their lives without being in need of assistance for basic things like food and shelter. The reality of the matter is that most minimum wage workers tend to work more than one job in order to make ends meet.
The average minimum wage in America is about $7.25/hour, $290/40 hour week, or $1160/month, before taxes. The average rent for a 1 bedroom apartment in the United States, prior to the pandemic, was $1098/month. The myth that a minimum wage job in America is enough to get by has been busted.
21. "Defined By A Number"
In America, one's credit score could be what either makes or breaks them. According to banks and creditors, someone is directly defined by their credit score.
It makes sense that if someone has a poor track record for good credit that they should be denied certain loans, however, in America it's possible to pay off creditors in order to improve one's credit rating. Bad credit? No worries, that's nothing that a little bit of bribery can't fix.
22. "They Put A Little Beer In This Water"
American beer is considered, by non-Americans, to be one of the biggest scams of all, and sadly, most Americans are none the wiser.
Regular strength beer in America is what most other countries consider to be "light" beer. Not convinced? Take a look at "Coors" in America, and "Coors Light" everywhere else, it's the same beer.
23. "Tooth Decay Is No Laughing Matter. Always Brush & Floss"
Dental work is another item on our list of medical needs that Americans pay way too much for. On average, a trip to the dentist costs an American almost double what it would cost the rest of us.
The basic dental plan that's included in most country's universal healthcare system includes a free cleaning once a year and the knowledge that the dentist is not going to do any unnecessary root canals in order to earn themselves one extra week of holidays.
24. "Not A Lot Of Options"
The two-party system of government in the United States is another thing that people from most other countries just can't seem to wrap their minds around. There are, of course, other political parties that run for government in America, but we all know that there are only two that actually matter.
Most other democratic countries have, at least, 3 or 4 major political parties that run in each federal election; there were actually 5 that had representatives elected to Canada's latest parliament in 2019. More political parties equate to more political views and a wider range of voices being heard. The two-party system ensures that either the "left" or the "right" will win, and backs up the notion that there can be no middle ground.
25. "Always On-The-Clock"
There are many benefits to being a salaried employee, or so most people are told when signing the contract for their new position.
Salaried employees are paid for a regular workweek, yet are expected to work a "reasonable" amount of overtime hours because...they're on a salary. The "reasonable" amount of extra hours is usually determined by the employer and most likely will include evenings and/or weekends.
26. "The Cost of Higher Education"
Post-secondary school is meant to act as a gateway to the future. Theoretically, the more educated someone is, the better occupation they should be able to get. The problem is, the longer someone is in school, the larger debt they tend to accumulate.
The average 4-year college program costs just shy of $50,000, and that's just for tuition. Take the books, food, and occasional party into account, and most Americans are already close to $75,000 in debt before they even graduate from college. Elsewhere, in order to make education more affordable, college and university are subsidized by the government. There are a couple of dozen countries around the world that even offer free college or university educations.
27. "No Substitutions"
The amount of money that restaurants charge their customers for some items is just ridiculous. It costs a dollar for a slice of cheese or $2 bucks for one extra strip of bacon. That better be the freshest cheese and most flavourful bacon on this side of the Mississippi.
Restaurants have turned quite a profit over the years by significantly overcharging their customers for extras and side dishes. Why don't we save money if we ask for things taken away from the meal? No onions or lettuce on the burger should save a buck or two, so how about just switching the veggies for extra cheese instead?
28. "Can You Hear Me Now?"
There are some places in the world where a $13/month phone plan consists of 200 GB of data, 300 international minutes, and unlimited in-country calls and texts.
The United States is not one of the places with affordable mobile phone plans. The average American spends approximately $100/month for their plans and that's with half the data and none of the international minutes.
29. "Loyalty For Loyalty"
In most American schools, children stand every morning, face the American flag and recite the "Pledge of Allegiance". Pledging one's allegiance to the flag of a country that does not support all of its citizens equally, is simply ridiculous.
There are certain types of countries that deem it necessary for their citizens to pledge allegiance. To put things into perspective a bit, in the 1930s Mussolini forced the professors at Italian universities to make a pledge of allegiance to the fascist regime that would later join forces with Nazi Germany in World War 2.
30. "Used & Abused"
For college students in America, it's not just the cost of college tuition that's beyond unreasonable. Campus bookstores are running one hell of a book exchange scam, not to mention the prices of a student's textbooks alone are enough to break the bank.
Students pay hundreds of dollars per textbook at the start of the school year and then sell them back to the school's bookstore for less than 10% of the initial cost. The school then slaps a "used" sticker in the book and sells it for more than half of the original price.
31. "Business Is Business"
Non-Americans look at the American medical system as one giant money-making scam. Advertising for medications, in any way, is prohibited in most countries, but not in the United States...
While watching one's favorite sitcom it would not be uncommon to see ads promoting the use of prescription medication that could end up leading to dependence and/or addiction.
32. "Nothing Comes Easy"
Part of "The American Dream" is the belief that if someone works hard enough they could become a millionaire or better yet a billionaire.
Although there are some very inspirational stories of people who came from nothing but ended up building multi-billion dollar empires, most of the wealthiest people in the world were either born into money or given a big break. If hard work were enough to make anyone a millionaire, there would be a lot more millionaires out there.
33. "Health...Because We Care"
As far as most non-Americans, who come from places with universal healthcare, are concerned, there are few things more unjust than the American healthcare system.
Not only is healthcare extremely expensive in America, but there are hidden clauses everywhere that help to get the insurance provider out of paying for important medical needs.
34. "The Rich Got Richer"
It is absolutely absurd to non-Americans that American lawmakers are allowed to trade on the stock market in the same ways as any other American.
It is widely believed that those who were in charge of shutting down the economy at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, made millions of dollars on the stock market by buying and selling shares, in the days prior to the decision being made, based on the discussions that occurred behind closed doors. FYI, most people refer to that as insider trading.
35. "The Cost Of Living"
Non-Americans who are visiting America are usually rather terrified about the possibility of needing medical treatment while stateside. As terrible of a prospect as it might be to consider being injured while overseas, it's not the injury that most people are concerned about, it's the cost of treatment.
The fact that almost 20% of American households have medical debt is mind-blowing to non-Americans because the majority of one's medical costs are usually offset in countries that have universal healthcare. The idea of going bankrupt from medical fees is not something that most non-Americans have to be concerned about.
36. "We're Number 1!"
Visitors to America would be blind not to see the patriotism that exists in the country. Americans truly believe that despite the obvious issues that plague the nation, they still live in the greatest country in the world.
The rest of the world does not quite see things in the same light. Although America used to be a nation that others strived to emulate, those days are long gone and there is a lot of rebuilding that must be done to salvage what's left of the once-great empire.
37. "If It Sounds Too good To Be True, It Usually Is"
When banks offer their clients the option of overdraft on their accounts, they usually make it sound like something that will be of great benefit to the client. The reality of it all is that the banks know that these people don't have much money, and they end up charging an interest fee to people who don't have money, on funds that they don't have.
For those who do not know what overdraft is, it's an agreed-upon amount of money that a client's bank account is allowed to go into the negative. Then, at the end of the month, the client pays an interest fee on the amount of money, below zero, that their account is in.
38. "The Circle Of Life"
The funeral business takes advantage of extremely vulnerable people who are usually not thinking very clearly and are in no condition to be making important decisions. Making a successful living off of the pain and woe of others is a dirty thing to do, but when opportunity knocks someone will usually answer.
People have made very successful livings off of the pain and woe of others. On average, it costs about $10,000 to hold a funeral in America. The casket alone could cost anywhere from 2-5 thousand dollars. All things considered, a Viking funeral isn't looking too bad.
39. "Uncle Sam Always Gets Who He's After"
If all of the debts that one has accumulated throughout college turn out to be too much to handle, don't worry, Uncle Sam will gladly help.
For just 3 short years of service, the Army will gladly pay up to 33.33% or $65,000 off of a recruit's student loans. So, just to clarify, the only way for some Americans to be able to afford to go to college is for them to serve 3 years in the military, and then still have 2/3s of their debt left to pay.
40. "Everything Is Mega-Size In America"
It's no secret that Sundays are an important day in America. People come together from all corners of their cities and towns, in order to scream and cheer for what matters most to them.
No, I'm not talking about American football and this is not an NFL stadium. A "mega" church is a stadium-sized church that seats 10s of thousands of churchgoers. It's hard to imagine the amount of tax-exempt donations that these churches earn with such large congregations, but the mansions that the congregation leaders usually live in are a good indication.