As A Taiwanese American…
As an immigrant to the United States, I have no problem dissecting the differences between America and my country of birth, Taiwan. Of course, I enjoy being an American. This is why I spent most of my adult life in the United States. America embodies a certain sense of ‘freedom’ and the tolerance of individuals with different backgrounds. But for the longest time, America does not take kindly to those who dare to criticize, especially coming from an immigrant. That seems to be particularly the case after September 11th, 2001.
There is a common proverb in Chinese that is attributed to Benjamin Franklin: Love well, whip well (愛之深責之切). So, I will stick my neck out and share my thoughts about America from an outsider's point of view. Though I am sure to offend some of my fellow Americans, I dare to declare that most immigrants share similar opinions as mine.
American Healthcare System
This should not surprise anyone: the American healthcare system is beyond comprehension. Among all the Republican policy priorities, the conservative vision of healthcare is the one that troubled me the most. They often made no basic distinction between healthcare technology and the healthcare system. This country indeed has the fanciest equipment and the most advanced technology. Just watch Gray’s Anatomy. But as far as the public health system is concerned, American healthcare is like a mind field. Not only do we have to check whether a certain doctor or specialist is within our specific insurance network, but Americans must also be mentally prepared for the sticker shock when we eventually get the medical bill in the mail.
Republicans love to talk about consumer choices. But for those of us who came from places with socialized healthcare (like the rest of the industrialized world), the so-called consumer choices here are a mirage. Back in Taiwan, going to a doctor requires little planning or worry. There is no insurance network, out-of-pocket cost, or sky-high prescription drug bills. The national insurance agency fixed the only co-pay per doctor visit, which is between $1.75 to $5.50 USD. Rather than waiting a week for an open appointment for a routine procedure like a colonoscopy, Taiwanese could drop by any major hospital to take care of these things on the spot. Let’s don’t even get me started about the wait time. Back home. People could go berserk if the ER wait time exceeds five minutes. After all, they are called "emergency” rooms.
From my vantage point, American doctors chit-chat a bit too much. American patients are accustomed to nice and small talks with their doctors and nurses. Back in college, I remember going to a doctor one time to remove a little piece of cotton from my ear canal (silly, I know). An otherwise 3-minute procedure dragged out to be a 45-minute affair. To this day, I still don’t understand why they must take my weight, height, and blood pressure., even after I told them the reason for my visit. Of course, the longer the visit, the more expensive it costs to the healthcare system. Fundamentally, the fee-for-service (FSS) model of American healthcare provides no check on the cost of services.
While I have plenty of other issues with American healthcare, one of my biggest pet peeves is all those ads you see of prescription drugs on TV and radio. America is just one of the very few industrialized countries that permit the advertising of prescription drugs. It demonstrates how perverted the healthcare economy is. Because of the insurance system, all of us are inadvertently paying for these over-the-top cheesy commercials.
Americans Got the Worst Version of America
As silly as it may sound, the biggest cultural shock was my first visit to a local McDonald’s in the United States. Silly, right? As a Taiwanese, I was dumbfounded by how limited the menu is in the land of fast food. Most importantly, there is no fried chicken on the menu. Sure, there are McNuggets and fried chicken sandwiches, but where is McDonald’s famous fried chicken? Years later, I was traveling with Brian in Thailand. As I often do, I would drop in at a local McDonald’s to see what kind of local items they offer. Aside from a delicious-looking McKao Nam Tok Fried Chicken Rice, they also have Chicken McCrispy, my childhood favorite. Thailand took things up a notch by serving them on branded porcelain plates with proper silverware.
The local McDonald’s near my apartment, which is hardly a place where you think of a ‘happy’ meal.
Whether Kentucky Fried Chicken, Lay’s potato chips, Krispy Kreme, or Dunkin Donuts, the quality of products abroad is superior. There is a reason why Mexican Coke is one demand and why Americans will go to Japanese supermarkets to score boutique-flavor Kit Kats. Despite all the cultural diversity, American consumer products are surprisingly one-note. The more Americans traveled abroad, the more we realized we were being shortchanged by many of our iconic businesses. I have heard the Japanese often reserve their highest-quality product for domestic consumption. Why couldn’t we do that here in America?
Reagan Won! American Government Is Not Here To Help!
Since the 2008 financial crash, populism has swept through the conservative movement here in America. Although I could appreciate Republicans’ concerns over frivolous spending, the party has embraced the idea that those without experience in governmental affairs best-run government. Since then, it has evolved into the current open hostility toward those with governmental expertise. I always attribute Donald Trump's rise and today's political impasse to President Reagan's election. Just like Trump, the actor-turned-politician was great with branding and appealed to the worst of American psychics. Among the toxic ideologies was the distrust in government. Government is no longer considered ineffective but a cause of all societal ills.
“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help.”
The aversion to the administrative state by conservatives and libertarians is understandable. But what is inexcusable is that they are good at tearing things down but not building on anything. Rather than creating a smart and efficient government, they are only interested in dismantling programs and driving experts away from public services. Yes, the federal bureaucracy could use some streamlining. But sometimes, it could feel like their goal is to make all interactions with the government so unpalatable that people would demand its demise. Looking back on our interaction with the government over the past few years, it is more than likely that they were far from customer-friendly experiences. From calling the police to file noise complaints to paying parking tickets, dealing with the government is never pleasant. I could think of only one time when I was genuinely impressed by the efficiency of FEMA’s mass vaccination site.
As an immigrant, the most obvious absurdity of American politics is the way elections are conducted. Why are we still voting on a Tuesday? Why are politicians allowed to pick their own voters? Why is voter registration even a thing? Why does it take the government days to tally the vote? I always wonder why Americans could idly accept these onerous rules. If these rules are in place in Taiwan or any other healthy democracy, there may be an insurrection.
The United States may have one of the oldest democracies in the world, but it is not the most sophisticated or rational. The Constitution of the United States is intentionally broad and vague. Even by today’s standards, it is still a remarkable document. It is important to point out that the Constitution does not mention all the political nonsense we despise today. In other words, these problems are all fixable with just modest political will. I could only hope that they may be changed within our lifetime. I think the main reason America is in such a political quagmire today is the lack of civic education and the romanticization of political traditions that have no roots in democratic values.
American Taxes
A major headache for new immigrants to the United States came every year on April 15th, the tax filing day. Unlike almost every other country, filing taxes alone is not for the fainthearted. Unless you are a certified public account, chances are that tax filing is done via an accountant or an online tax filing software, with either option easily running somewhere between $100 to $200 per household. As an immigrant, the idea that we must pay somebody extra to give away our money to the government is just ludicrous.
The headquarter building of Federal Reserve, the de facto central bank of the United States.
For all the problems with the ineffective government I mentioned earlier, the Internal Revenue Service, the tax collection agency for the federal government, seems to be the exception. American tax code is nothing but complicated. In addition to the seven tax brackets for federal income tax, there is a laundry list of tax deductions and credits that one could take advantage of. As is often the case, the rich and well-connected usually know how to take advantage of these tax credits and loopholes. As a result, America’s ultra-rich individuals and corporations pay little or no federal income tax. It is not fair or equitable.
Because it is a federalized form of government, Americans are also responsible for filing separate taxes for each state in which they may own taxes. So, depending on your profession, one may be responsible for filing taxes to a dozen states. Of course, each filing costs additional money, and we just hope that the tax amount owed does not exceed the filing cost.
What About National Security?
Have you ever walked down the concourse of a major American airport and seen two gates side by side: one for a domestic flight to Boston and the other for a long-haul international flight to Tokyo? Why does America have no exit passport control? I still could not get over the fact that the American government does not actively prosecute those who enter its border illegally or those who purposefully overstay their visa. Coming from an island nation, the lack of immigration enforcement is jarring. As somebody who once applied for an American visa, I could attest that the number of hoops my family had to jump through was astonishing. So it was inconceivable that the government would not apply the same standard for exit control.
The iconic TWA Terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
American Airlines warehouse (since demolished) at La Guardia Airport.
I once remember a principle that “government should never make a law that it doesn’t plan to enforce because it simply erodes people’s trust in government.” In the whole debate of immigration reform, I am always quite surprised that my fellow progressives often” openly defend visa overstay and crossing the border illegally. Breaking the law is only justifiable in the case of civil rights. I am unsure how overstaying a tourist visa is a civil right cause. The so-called ‘border crisis’ that seems to surface over the years is just a sign that the current policies aren’t working. The government should increase the quota for both economic migrants and legal asylum. This is a nation of immigrants, after all.
How About A National ID?
For a country obsessed with elections and border security, the United States fails to provide its citizens with a free and authoritative national identification card. Even after more than a dozen years living in the United States, I still could not think of any legitimate reason why the implementation of a federal ID card is somehow an affront to American federalism and a dangerous “erosion of personal privacy.” We must be content with a patchwork of locally issued IDs without a common identification card. To identify yourself, many governmental agencies may ask you to bring multiple IDs to verify your identity.
On a more practical level, the lack of national ID often creates confusion, especially for the ethnic minority or immigrants like myself. As a Taiwanese American, my legal first name was hyphenated like most Chinese names. The hyphen was sometimes dropped because different state and federal agencies have separate databases and computer entry requirements. Sometimes, an agency will decide to convert the second part of my first name into a middle name. One state then decides to omit that second part altogether. At some point, I took stock of all my government-issued IDs and realized I had five versions of legal names in the United States. Most absurdly, even the names on my social security card and American passport do not match.
So back in 2018, I decided to bite the bullet and get rid of my Chinese name altogether, not out of disrespect for my heritage but to escape from the messy, tangled mess of legal names that I found myself in. But unlike Taiwan, legally changing my name was a six-month process. Changing my name here involves court appearances, hundreds of dollars, and publishing legal notices in a local newspaper. Even after receiving my name change court document, it took me a few more months to update my name in all the jurisdictions. It is an ode to American bureaucracy!
