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Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

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Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#901

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For California residents, the top state schools are ~$57k in tuition for all 4 years (total). Yes, American private universities would cost more, but that's a choice to pay more if you think it's worth it.

That's a choice you don't have to make if you go to a top university in the EU though.

Sure, but for the vast majority of students they can get a quality education in-state.

Plus schools like Cal, UCLA, Michigan, UVA and UW are among the best in the world

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#902

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're referring to specifically the tech industry. Which is, most assuredly, higher paid in California than anywhere else around the globe (in the mean, there are obvious exceptions). This comes from a person with EU citizenship who has shopped jobs/interviewed in multiple major cities in Europe; including Munich, Berlin, Amsterdam, London, Dublin and Prague. It's not insignificant. We're talking 150-220k USD/yr in…

> AMS Apartments: 930-3500EUR Wait what?! What kind of apartments are we talking about here? > $38/mo where I opted to work in LA What does the medical insurance cover? How much did your car & car insurance cost in LA and did you need one in Amsterdam (probably not)?

> Wait what?! What kind of apartments are we talking about here?

All of them, that was the range from the cheapest to the priciest. Idk why that seems unbelievable, I literally just looked at apartments in AMS now and the range appears the same.

> What does the medical insurance cover?

It’s full medical coverage via a PPO plan. $40 copay, $250 deductible, $1500 max out-of-pocket per year.

> How much did your car & car insurance cost in LA and did you need one in Amsterdam (probably not)?

I already owned a car, and would have sold it if I moved. Insurance is paid semi-annually but isn’t a major expense. Additionally, I included public transit as a benefit for Amsterdam in my original post, so I’m not sure what your point is.

It really seems like you’re grasping at straws to justify the difference. The reasoning is obvious: the tech industry is massive, highly competitive and California is currently the global leader in that industry.

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#903

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But your healthcare would be very cheap, if not free, wouldn't be tied to your employment; education cost would be minuscule compared to US; kids would benefit from the first two factors too; minimum annual vacation would be 4 weeks, mandated by law. Sticker price doesn't tell the whole story. I'm not saying that the total benefit is lower, but the cost of earning that $175k is definitely much higher than the cost of…

Health care is about $500 a month for someone in their 30s in the USA who is healthy. That doesn’t make up $125k.

But you won’t be 30 and healthy forever. Medical costs skyrocket with old age, at a scale that can easily make your 100k/year savings irrelevant.

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#904

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But your healthcare would be very cheap, if not free, wouldn't be tied to your employment; education cost would be minuscule compared to US; kids would benefit from the first two factors too; minimum annual vacation would be 4 weeks, mandated by law. Sticker price doesn't tell the whole story. I'm not saying that the total benefit is lower, but the cost of earning that $175k is definitely much higher than the cost of…

Health care is >$800/month in Germany. I don't get why we get away with the notation that health care is free. It's not free, health insurance is simply compulsory here.

800$ is the nominal price. Real price is the fact that it is not tied to your employer, particularly your employers’ negotiation power with the insurance company. Which in turn increases your negotiation power as an employee. Not only for pay, but also other non-priced issues like quality coworkers, meaningful job etc.

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#905

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a choice you don't have to make if you go to a top university in the EU though.

Sure, but for the vast majority of students they can get a quality education in-state. Plus schools like Cal, UCLA, Michigan, UVA and UW are among the best in the world

As the pandemic demonstrated, quality of education is hardly relevant. It is all about the credentialism. 16 yo kids in Palo Alto didn’t threw themselves in front of the caltrain because they so desired a quality education. It is because there is so much competition in labor market that even their multi-millionaire parents could do so much. Why do you think we had an Operation Varsity Blues? If hyper-affluent is under this much pressure to cheat, what chance does the $175k/year software laborer’s kid have?

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#906

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well for one you might but it will be incredibly expensive and probably still cover less than in the Netherlands. Also, the cost means that it is something you can only afford while you are still working. So if you do get hurt and can't work or get fired you lose that privilege. That is also a cost of opportunity that you lose by living in the US and that is not factored into the price of the insurance directly.

This US healthcare meme is tiring and uninformed. A small minority have financial hardships due to medical emergencies here, and they for the most part aren’t poor, who get healthcare for free.

[deleted]

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#907

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Loans with no collateral ... right.

Sometimes. Or you give up equity. Or secure it some other way. What's your point? That it's hard to do?

That you can't get a loan when you don't have collateral which is the case when you are not already wealthy.

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#908

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So that's a minority. And "small businesses" with fewer than 500 employees represent 99.7% of all businesses and yet they represent less than half the total workforce.

That's 10s of millions of small companies hiring half the people. The point being there's plenty of people in America becoming "owners of the factory".

Your small companies hire up to 500 people which is nowhere small.

Also, it's not because a company is small that the owners are small time business people. The owners might be independently wealthy.

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#909

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes but these companies also largely exist because you have a deregulated market whereas the European Union is a much more regulated market. These regulations provide for worker rights, productions and consumption safety, product quality and much more. Something America is lacking in completely. You also have a government and department of defense that helps a lot of your big multinationals grow and kill it's foreign…

Well that's the point. US has lower regulations and more fluid employment which leads to bigger and more innovative companies. America isn't as nationally protectionist as China though, although that will now change with this pandemic.

America is very protectionist actually.

And what you call fluid employment I call bad jobs.

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#910

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s worth making 4x in the states and paying less taxes to boot. Forget cost of living, only rent is more expensive so tack on an extra $2k a month if you don’t want to live with roommates.

Cars are also vastly more expensive and so is medical insurance.

Cars are NOT more expensive, especially not after you factor in the obscene cost of fuel in the EU.

Healthcare is free at the vast majority of tech companies in the US.

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