Top 12 Things Britain Does Better than America… that just make sense

The house of lords isn't really a check on the power of the house of commons. They rubber stamp almost everything, they don't have any power over many bills, and the only power they have over other bills is the power to delay it coming into effect for a short period of time. Britain is nearly unicameral these days.
 
What’s amazing about this rather boring sounding event is that Parliament passes the budget the very same day.
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A result of extremely strict party discipline (if a party member voted against the budget, I'm pretty sure they'd be thrown out of the party), an electoral system that virtually guarantees a majority for one party, and the near-unicameral nature of the British government. In the US, on the other hand, the wheels of government are so clogged that it's impossible to make decisions.

By law, UK workers get 28 days of paid vacation time. BY LAW. There is no law in the USA mandating vacation.
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I'd argue for a similar law in the US. But the people in the US practically oppress themselves, so it will never pass.

Limited Sunday Retail Hours
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Dumb.

Britain has successfully gotten rid of the £1 paper note and replaced it with a £1 coin. This just makes complete sense especially in this day in age where the dollar isn’t worth as much as it’s used to.
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I'd agree that we need this in the US.

It’s a minor thing – but it rather makes sense, all plugs in the wall have a switch. When you’re not using it, you turn it off. Such a simple way to save energy.
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When something's not plugged into the wall, it's not using energy. There's no need to have a separate switch when you can just unplug. It's redundant.

I always wondered by a washer and dryer had to be separate machines and now I realize the reason: corporate America simply wants us to buy two machines instead of one so they can make more money.
Most households in Europe have one washer and dryer combo unit – they’re compact and are often located in the kitchen (this also makes more sense). It works for an entire continent!
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You can buy these in the US. They don't dry as fast or efficiently as a dedicated drying unit. The reason they're so popular in Europe is probably because of the fact that Europe is so much more densely populated, and they need the space.
 
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I can say, "M'eh"...

Seriously, that's their list? That's almost as bad as the, "Don't be comfortable or they'll know you aren't British"...

Who cares if they know I'm not a Brit? Certainly not me and especially not enough to be uncomfortable to avoid them thinking I'm not Brit. I'll wear sandals and shorts, thank you.
 
The three branches of government is considered so key to American political theory. Americans are brainwashed from the time of childhood into believing that it's utterly necessary, and that without it we would soon descend into tyranny. However, experience with parliamentary systems in the 20th century has shown these fears to be largely unfounded. Countries using parliamentary democracy have been just as, if not more, successful as those using presidential systems. If anything, presidential systems have shown a worrying tendency to be susceptible to coups and dictatorships in latin America (which is the main other place in the world where such systems are popular).

"Tyranny has perhaps oftener grown out of the assumptions of power, called for, on pressing exigencies, by a defective constitution, than out of the full exercise of the largest constitutional authorities." - James Madison

As a side note, although the judiciary in the UK is theoretically submissive to the parliament, there is a tradition in the UK of respecting judicial independence. The UK is weird in that the de facto restraints on power are a larger part of the system than in the US, where we like to make everything de facto (although there are some exceptions, such as the supreme courts assumption of the powers of being the final arbiter in constitutional disputs, which is not clearly written out in the constitution but has long been respected as the de facto state of affairs).
 
A couple of things missing from the list:

1. We don't do hugs. My goodness the thought of a barely known fat person wrapping you in his odious, odourous and purulent flesh is just too much. And then you do it in groups for chrissakes!!!
2. We do not impose 'have a nice day' demands on people who might have other plans.
 
Lowaicue said:
A couple of things missing from the list:

1. We don't do hugs. My goodness the thought of a barely known fat person wrapping you in his odious, odourous and purulent flesh is just too much. And then you do it in groups for chrissakes!!!
2. We do not impose 'have a nice day' demands on people who might have other plans.
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Yeah, you're not polite. We gathered that long ago.
 
Lowaicue said:
Sorry pal. We're talking of the UK here. Had that little snippet of information passed you by?
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Whats with all the WE speak then? You're in HK.

England is lovely and I hope to visit it again. If nothing else, they have good beer. Not as good as Ireland, but nothing is ever as good as the Irish.
 
FN FS2000 said:
Whats with all the WE speak then? You're in HK.

England is lovely and I hope to visit it again. If nothing else, they have good beer. Not as good as Ireland, but nothing is ever as good as the Irish.
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Keep up at the back. There'll be a test tomorrow.
 
Lowaicue said:
Keep up at the back. There'll be a test tomorrow.
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Waterfart said:
The house of lords isn't really a check on the power of the house of commons. They rubber stamp almost everything, they don't have any power over many bills, and the only power they have over other bills is the power to delay it coming into effect for a short period of time. Britain is nearly unicameral these days.
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The point of the House of Lords is that there are large number of people who are not just career politicians but come from all walks of life and have actually worked in the real world.
 
Waterfart said:
The three branches of government is considered so key to American political theory. Americans are brainwashed from the time of childhood into believing that it's utterly necessary, and that without it we would soon descend into tyranny. However, experience with parliamentary systems in the 20th century has shown these fears to be largely unfounded. Countries using parliamentary democracy have been just as, if not more, successful as those using presidential systems. If anything, presidential systems have shown a worrying tendency to be susceptible to coups and dictatorships in latin America (which is the main other place in the world where such systems are popular).

"Tyranny has perhaps oftener grown out of the assumptions of power, called for, on pressing exigencies, by a defective constitution, than out of the full exercise of the largest constitutional authorities." - James Madison

As a side note, although the judiciary in the UK is theoretically submissive to the parliament, there is a tradition in the UK of respecting judicial independence. The UK is weird in that the de facto restraints on power are a larger part of the system than in the US, where we like to make everything de facto (although there are some exceptions, such as the supreme courts assumption of the powers of being the final arbiter in constitutional disputs, which is not clearly written out in the constitution but has long been respected as the de facto state of affairs).
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I should point that the UK now has a Supreme Court which was largely copied from the US system.
 
Waterfart said:
The house of lords isn't really a check on the power of the house of commons. They rubber stamp almost everything, they don't have any power over many bills, and the only power they have over other bills is the power to delay it coming into effect for a short period of time. Britain is nearly unicameral these days.
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I suggest that you read about the Parliament Act and New Labour's abuse of it!
 
Damocles said:
I can say, "M'eh"...

Seriously, that's their list? That's almost as bad as the, "Don't be comfortable or they'll know you aren't British"...

Who cares if they know I'm not a Brit? Certainly not me and especially not enough to be uncomfortable to avoid them thinking I'm not Brit. I'll wear sandals and shorts, thank you.
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Man, you have a real bee in your bonnet about this it seems. If you want to walk around in sandals and shorts then go ahead, just don't wear socks that is considered to be the very height of naffness.
 
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