Why Is America Considered a Land of Opportunities?

I arrived in Texas, a large state in America, two months ago as a consultant for a company based in Istanbul. Before this, I lived in Boston for close to two years while studying for a Master’s [degree] in financial management.

I would love to tell you about America in order to acquaint oppressed Turkish citizens who are toiling aimlessly, despite their suffering under the pressure of government institutions over the course of the past two years. Because of this, you have come under pressure and been subjected to injustices, discrimination and legal violations. This [oppression] is much more than just the property tax law that was applied to non-Muslims in 1945 and afterwards, as well as the events of Sept. 6 and 7, 1955, which resulted in the looting of houses and workshops in Istanbul belonging to minority groups. These events occurred during the chaos of the Feb. 28 coup near Aden. It is certainly true that these events, particularly those that are Muslim-on-Muslim, are continuing to increase in Turkey.

I want to recall for you some of the information that I learned during the period I resided in America:

1. There are eight democratic processes here in America. The first is a strict application of the separation of powers that prevent autocracy, one party rule, and dictatorship. There is also freedom of the press here, as well as respect for individual human thought and dignity, which is the essence of respect. In America, there are also many ethnicities and belief systems, but people do not adhere to them when they are running their country.

2. The American economy is around $17 trillion,* and is 20 times larger than the Turkish economy, which is estimated to be around $800 billion. This means that America constitutes a giant market. In fact, the state of Texas — with about 27 million residents and roughly the size of Turkey — has an economy nearly double that of Turkey’s, at $1.6 trillion. Texas, therefore, possesses an income and exchange market that is quadruple what Turkey has. Its transportation system for its 27 million residents is larger than that of Turkey’s as well.

3. Americans care about data. All the professional fields use data that is both free and paid for. Although there are many types of diverse data sources, they can preclude making mistakes or being deceptive. For example, if you wanted to purchase or rent a house you are able to use a mobile application that will instantly show the different rents and prices for all available homes.

4. There are many professionals and businessmen, with experience in all sectors, who have gone before us to come [to America]. They have studied at Turkish schools such as Yamanlar, Usaman Yalu, Ufath and Ujuskun. Many of our friends have completed their higher education here and engage in business.

Also, there are businessmen from different sectors such as hotels, cotton, real estate, construction, automotive, electronic commerce and restaurants, among others. They are ready to tell you all the realities about the various sectors based on the experiences that they gained after going through various hardships and exchanging a lot of money, through how they have come up in the service industry. They will tell you about the need to distribute your accounting offices when you establish your company, and the need to track your accounts. They will talk about how real estate companies help you in buying or renting homes and offices. There are also those of our friends and colleagues who run law firms. These are the people who can acquire your entry visas and track your legal paperwork. They invite you to visit them and they are always waiting for you to come.

5. There is also no limit to [the number of] credit, finance and employment methods in America. If there are 50 banks in Turkey, then this would mean that 50 credit companies or individuals monopolize each credit card. However, in America, there are around 10,000 banks — both national and local. In Texas alone, there are 275 banks.

Certainly, the size and the diversity here passes on the benefits to you because you are guaranteed not to be subjected to financial or credit problems in the event you had ideas for a business or were ambitious.

On one of our visits to a local bank an official working on various banking projects told us, “Here, banks have financed projects that they believe in up to 90 percent.” However, in Turkey, we are not able to fund the projects of companies that have not operated previously, or were not able to acquire loans that covered more than 70 percent of their project. It worth noting that a bank financing a project is seen as an investor confirming that the project is headed in the right direction. Investor confidence is possible because banks conduct a detailed assessment and prepare environmental reports before they grant funding. This report you submit to them remains incomplete unless they acknowledge that the possibility of you paying the loan back in 30 years is very usual here.

*Editor’s Note: All figures are stated in U.S. dollars.