Why Don't Americans Understand How Poor Their Lives Are?

Post by robenkleene » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 1:00 PM UTC

imustbeevil wrote: post #56

robenkleene wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you think those people write poetry instead of creating side project businesses?

It doesn't require capital. You can do it without involving other people. You don't need profit motivation. You can complete projects without the requirement that they produce enough income for you to survive off of. No deadlines. Less responsibilities. Quitting doesn't hurt other people. If you enjoy writing poetry you're also saving the money you would have spent paying for dopamine. Edit: It's very difficult to mo…

Post by ekianjo » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 1:00 PM UTC

0xDEFC0DE wrote: post #69

seibelj wrote: post #20

> In London, Paris, Berlin, I hop on the train, head to the cafe — it’s the afternoon, and nobody’s gotten to work until 9am, and even then, maybe not until 10 — order a carefully made coffee and a newly baked croissant, do some writing, pick up some fresh groceries, maybe a meal or two, head home — now it’s 6 or 7, and everyone else has already gone home around 5 — and watch something interesting, maybe a documentar…

Yeah, we convince people if they kill themselves for corporate, they'll get a minuscule slice of money from the top. American dream and all that. At least people in Europe have hobbies.

Post by rorykoehler » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 1:01 PM UTC

wozniacki wrote: post #88

cribbles wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> One reason that Europe has very few innovative new companies created in the last 25 years is that everyone is at the coffee shop writing poetry. This does not dispute the central point of the quoted piece, which is that the quality of life of most Americans is very poor contrast to that of the average person in some subset of European countries. I would wager that most coffee shop employees are more concerned with…

It may be that Europeans are deincentivized from creating enormously overvalued startups because their quality of life is much better Come on you didn't even have a ride-hailing service like Uber and relied on those stodgy black cabs. Ireland still doesn't have Uber or Lyft.[1] [1] Does Uber or Lyft exist in Dublin?? https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g186591-i88-k11258020-...

Post by kodt » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 1:01 PM UTC

robenkleene wrote: post #50

lupire wrote: post #19

This is the blathering of spoiled rich kid on vacation. > In London, Paris, Berlin, I hop on the train, head to the cafe — it’s the afternoon, and nobody’s gotten to work until 9am, and even then, maybe not until 10 — order a carefully made coffee and a newly baked croissant, do some writing, pick up some fresh groceries, maybe a meal or two, head home — now it’s 6 or 7, and everyone else has already gone home around…

Why does this sounds farcical? I’ve spent some time in Europe, lived a couple of different countries for a year or so each, and this comparison seems generally fair to me. And wouldn’t that be the expected outcome of more socialist economic policies?

Post by lesdeuxmagots » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 1:02 PM UTC

jlawson wrote: post #71

exelius wrote: post #28

Americans don’t travel. If we did, we wouldn’t buy the myth of American exceptionalism. But then, we are largely becoming a country controlled by global financial interests rather than the population. Money is the deciding factor in our elections, and the most concentrated forms of wealth out there are sovereign wealth funds and large multinational corporations whose executives are largely above the law. Which means…

Money is not the deciding factor in American elections. Hillary Clinton spent twice as much as Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign.