I feel like the American technology is falling far behind other countries, not in terms of research necessarily, but in our daily lives (public transit, vending machines, even toilets). Why?

I'm not really a tech person, but this has been bothering me since I was a kid; even before I was out of middle school it wasn't hard to tell that even the way we handle our homeless population and basic recycling paled in comparison to other countries, but as an adult it's growing irksome. Looking at Japanese train stations and financial infrastructure—even their toilet seats, for goodness sake—makes me wonder where we went wrong, how we fell so far behind. Are the 1% to blame for hoarding the wealth, or is it our willingness to settle for less as a whole??I'd love to hear a few thoughtful takes on the matter! via /r/tech https://ift.tt/2SCPFtm