Why Don't Americans Understand How Poor Their Lives Are? • Hacker News Board

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

#191

Post by kodt » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 1:22 PM UTC

robenkleene wrote: post #151

kodt wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may be true in some broad sense but does he expect me to believe he is unable to find a quality croissant or coffee in New York? And just has to watch mindless reality television, instead of documentaries while in the states?

Did he say you can’t find those things in New York? I read his point as generally Europeans value things like fresh bread and leisurely spending time in a cafe more than Americans. This is backed up by my own personal observations from the time I’ve spent in Europe.

He says everything he consumes in the US is of lower quality than in Europe. If high quality goods are available in the US then he is simply choosing to consume low quality goods.

Again, you may be right about what people broadly value, but he makes it personal as if he has no choice but to consume low quality garbage while in the US. I think he was being a bit hyperbolic. Perhaps he could have said it is more work for him to consume quality food/TV in the US because of what is easily available, popular, marketed etc..

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

#192

Post by UpperBodyEimi » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 1:22 PM UTC

ekianjo wrote: post #123

0xDEFC0DE wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Most Americans enjoy a level of live that Most Europeans can only dream of. Large cars, very large houses, every product they buy is at least 20 to 30% cheaper, they have access to the latest technologies... the list goes on and on. Hobbies do not make up for the lack of opportunities.

I don't think many Europeans dream of unnecessarily large pick up trucks, McMansions, and spending surplus income on an cache of AR-15s.

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

#193

Post by LeftTurnSignal » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 1:22 PM UTC

jfk13 wrote: post #159

bepotts wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Americans don't believe the onus is on the whole to make sure the individual lives a happy life. We just don't have the collectivist culture the Europeans have. I think this is a great thing, and is why America is where most of the innovation, cultural, and political power is. I personally have lower taxes, high quality healthcare, and live in an awesome location, and I got all of that through an education and traini…

> I personally have lower taxes, high quality healthcare, and live in an awesome location, and I got all of that through an education and training. That is available to almost every American if they just put in the work. I'm sure that's nice for you personally. From what I've observed, this simply isn't true for many in America, who face desperate struggles despite hard work.

Yeah. The healthcare part made me lol.

I put in the "work," live in an awesome location, and I have to fight insurance damn near every time the Dr puts me through any procedures. That's not counting the awful healthcare I actually get. I guess I just need to drive 3-4 hours to get it instead of 1? Then I can't put in the "work" because I'm spending days traveling to get all this stuff done.

I guess the answer is to move. Well then that means i get to start over fighting insurance to get them to cover everything, again. I'm not doing that a third time.

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

#194

Post by huffmsa » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 1:23 PM UTC

rat9988 wrote: post #120

huffmsa wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regulations. Plain and simple. Your employees aren't allowed to work their asses off. They're going to expect to be able to get to work at 10, and be home by 5.

Huh? You can be an employee and have a side project independent of your boss.

I'm more talking about the difficulty associated with going from side project to fledgling company.

In the US you just slap up a Delaware Corp, use basically standard documents for it's structure and ownership and you're off to the races.

Is it that easy in Europe?

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

#195

Post by exelius » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 1:24 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.

I’ll agree it didn’t matter in the most recent presidential cycle, though I would argue the real damage is done further down the ballot in the house and senate. People just don’t do as much homework on those candidates and are more responsive to messaging.

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

#196

Post by UpperBodyEimi » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 1:25 PM UTC

jki275 wrote: post #170

UpperBodyEimi wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm confused by this, how do you avoid commercials. From watching the off NFL game there's even like pre-commercial commercials. "Brought to you by and the official drink of and McDonalds - I'm loving it".

tivo, netflix, amazon prime, hulu, etc. I don't watch network tv anymore. Well, I don't actually watch TV at all, but you get the picture.

I don't know about Tivo, but are all of the rest of these not available in Europe...?

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

#197

Post by jki275 » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 1:26 PM UTC

antidaily wrote: post #62

djanogo wrote: post #18

One constant thing in every country is there is always a narrative among certain percentage of population about how shitty their country is, America is no different, usually the people who feel this way are not nationalists. If you immigrated to US from third world country you would know how amazing this country is. It always be your choice to live how happily you want to live, you can quit wanting to climb the ladde…

I love the US but we're rich enough to have all the amazing things they have in Europe and more (infrastructure, transportation, free healthcare, better schools). But we choose a bloated $1T defense budget, endless wars, and billionaire tax relief.

If the US did not spend what we do on defense, the EU would have to.

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

#198

Post by chrismeller » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 1:27 PM UTC

goalieca wrote: post #126

chrismeller wrote: post #37

> There is a myth of exceptionalism in America that prevents it from looking outward Which is frankly such a common sentiment from every European I’ve ever met that it’s become almost a cliche. Perhaps we are a bit arrogant but at some point don’t you have to realize that maybe you’re doing the exact same thing in reverse? All the things he listed out as being of lower quality are completely subjective. The food is w…

I do think quality of food and dairy is a problem in the USA and it has been a difficult thing for me everytime i have travelled there. When i've been to europe i've found the quality and preparation to be very good and consistent everywhere (big cities and small towns) but not always a lot of variety.

Like I said, quality of food varies. No matter where you are that is true, not every restaurant is the same.

I’m not sure what you mean about the quality of dairy? US milk, eggs, and cheese are no different than any of the milk, eggs, and cheese of the same variety anywhere else in the world I’ve been.

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

#199

Post by exelius » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 1:27 PM UTC

JackFr wrote: post #143

ihaveajob wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's one exception to the rule. A big one, being the most important election that happens every 4 year, but that doesn't negate the importance of money in campaigning.

Beto O’Rourke outspent Ted Cruz $79MM to $45MM. Another exception?

There are always exceptions that prove the rule — Texas is in a weird place in that the shifting demographics (higher birthdate among non-whites) will eventually flip the state blue in the late 2020s, so I think the DNC was optimistic they could steal a senate seat on a wave of popular support.

One could also argue the DNC was investing in raising the national profile of one of its rising stars in advance of the 2020 campaign even knowing his chances were slim.

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

#200

Post by ab71e5 » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 1:27 PM UTC

JaceLightning wrote: post #187

Are they really? I can own a 6000 square foot house for $2,500/ month in most of the country. Try doing that in Europe.

I mean you totally can, in eastern Europe. But you're missing the point of the article, which is that Europeans supposedly enjoy a more 'rich' life in other ways than material goods. Although I do not fully agree, most of Europe is not that different.