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Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its lousy work culture

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Re: Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its lousy work culture

#301

Post by jstuxx »

fab13n wrote: post #117
blfr wrote: post #41

"Driving Bentleys ruined me for BMWs and their poor make quality" Switzerland is one of... three maybe (Luxemburg, Norway) countries with higher standard of living than the US. Not even Switzerland's neighbours (Italy, France, Germany) with people coming from the same populations can reproduce it. All these great states are tiny (8M people) outliers. There are more people enjoying work-life balance in America than al…

Reading this as a European, it's fun and telling that you focused on salary differences, whereas what mattered to me were the other quality-of-life elements (I assume you're living in the US). To sum up, what matters to me, in what she described, were the consequences of the belief that one shouldn't be ashamed of having a life outside of work, and needing some time and peace of mind to actually enjoy it. More money…

I'm a European living in Europe, could you please stop spreading propaganda. Europe is a POOR place, it's not this egalitarian paradise the media makes it out to be. People here are poor and desperate, they are exploited daily and treated like slave labour not much different from the Chinese. What work life-balance are you talking about, sure you have a life after 6 pm when you get home from work, and on weekends but how is this any different from the US. I've seen people lose it in the work place as in start throwing things, breaking office equipment, overturning desks and threatening to kill their managers some have even tried and had to be dragged out by security, all because they have been pushed to their limits.

Holidays, week-ends and working without being chronically on the verge of a burn-out is considered socialism aka communism in Europe, if you want that you are considered lazy like the Greeks and Eastern Europeans (note that is not my view of them) i.e. wanting free money without hard work.

I don't know how its like in the US but please do not paint a false image of Europe.

Re: Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its lousy work culture

#303

Post by turar »

jfoutz wrote: post #234
agumonkey wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There was another long and widely exposed article about an American citizen going to Europe (France IIRC) to treat his father's cancer. He said that healthcare spirit only would have been worth it, more human and less a business than in the USofA. I guess we should all travel to get perspective on our local environments and see what's possible with different organizations and beliefs.

Eh, outside of the U.S. just watch the first 1/2 season of breaking bad. It's fiction, of course, but deciding to cook crystal meth to pay for cancer treatment is an idea that would only make sense in the U.S.

https://www.reddit.com/r/canada/comments/3eux61/if_breaking_...

Re: Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its lousy work culture

#304

Post by atmosx »

> Instead of taxing salaries at high percentages — a practice that puts most of the tax burden on the middle class, where most income comes from wages and not from capital gains — Switzerland immediately taxes dividends at a maximum of 35 percent and also has a wealth-based tax.

That's the secret. The Swiss are brave enough to tax the wealth. They are not afraid to do so. They also are extremely respectful of their electorate: They do referendums often and for any reason (building a bridge or allowing foreigners to work in their country). There is a sort of just distribution of social responsibility which unfortunately lacks elsewhere.

If you look for the city with highest living standard in the world though, it's not in Switzerland but right next to it, the beautiful Vienna :-)

Re: Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its lousy work culture

#305

Post by toephu2 »

alexashka wrote: post #43

"Currently an estimated 28 percent of all funds held outside the country of origin (sometimes called "offshore" funds) are kept in Switzerland." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Switzerland#Banking It's cute that she even provides numbers and leaves this out. This is the only number you need to know. Everything else is the direct result of this. You know who else does awesome? A closed community of multi-mill…

That was a long time ago...Since 2009 actually the U.S. started going after them, it was all over the media.. not sure if you saw it..http://www.irs.gov/uac/Offshore-Tax-Avoidance-and-IRS-Compli... and http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2014/10/25/73-0f-100-...

Re: Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its lousy work culture

#306

Post by atmosx »

staz wrote: post #101
blfr wrote: post #41

"Driving Bentleys ruined me for BMWs and their poor make quality" Switzerland is one of... three maybe (Luxemburg, Norway) countries with higher standard of living than the US. Not even Switzerland's neighbours (Italy, France, Germany) with people coming from the same populations can reproduce it. All these great states are tiny (8M people) outliers. There are more people enjoying work-life balance in America than al…

The three first Google results for 'Quality of Life index' put the USA at the 16, 12 and 10th place. While salary in Italy, France and Germany may not be as high as in Switzerland, they all have longer maternity leave, bigger number of vacation, better public transportation and better benefits than in the USA

Oh, those communists!!! :-P

Re: Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its lousy work culture

#307

Post by jstuxx »

fab13n wrote: post #117
blfr wrote: post #41

"Driving Bentleys ruined me for BMWs and their poor make quality" Switzerland is one of... three maybe (Luxemburg, Norway) countries with higher standard of living than the US. Not even Switzerland's neighbours (Italy, France, Germany) with people coming from the same populations can reproduce it. All these great states are tiny (8M people) outliers. There are more people enjoying work-life balance in America than al…

Reading this as a European, it's fun and telling that you focused on salary differences, whereas what mattered to me were the other quality-of-life elements (I assume you're living in the US). To sum up, what matters to me, in what she described, were the consequences of the belief that one shouldn't be ashamed of having a life outside of work, and needing some time and peace of mind to actually enjoy it. More money…

P.S. Most Europeans don't own a home because homes here cost at least half a million Euros out of reach for average Joe. Owning your own home is common sense in the US, even if it's a crappy home it's still your own place. Europeans live their entire life under the extortion of renting, they live on the property of landlords who will charge them for the oxygen they breath.

Also there is NO difference between West Europe and East Europe, the only difference is the rent prices otherwise the poor quality of life is the same. Stop spreading mis-information.

Re: Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its lousy work culture

#308

Post by darkmighty »

rsync wrote: post #89
seibelj wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's one theory that is easy to believe, but it's not true and is a gross simplification of how the European welfare system came about.

Here's an even more gross simplification: All that great free stuff you want ? You will pay for it. Probably in ways you didn't imagine. Go look at the economic flows (not the details, just the gross flows of resources) between master and servant in pre-revolutionary france ... now compare those resource flows to those proposed in a utopian "minimum basic income" society. Those resource flows are the same. EDIT: to b…

Does that imply Europe is more oligarch than America?

Those days, money is more or less a direct measure of power. Inequality of power and social immobility are marks of servitude. In this regard the US doesn't fare well (and has been getting worse): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_eq...

Re: Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its lousy work culture

#309

Post by [deleted] »

rsync wrote: post #89
seibelj wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's one theory that is easy to believe, but it's not true and is a gross simplification of how the European welfare system came about.

Here's an even more gross simplification: All that great free stuff you want ? You will pay for it. Probably in ways you didn't imagine. Go look at the economic flows (not the details, just the gross flows of resources) between master and servant in pre-revolutionary france ... now compare those resource flows to those proposed in a utopian "minimum basic income" society. Those resource flows are the same. EDIT: to b…

[deleted]

Re: Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its lousy work culture

#310

Post by brewdad »

roflmyeggo wrote: post #211
hans0l074 wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since 2001 I've lived and worked in Finland, Denmark & Sweden. Achieving a healthy & meaningful work-life balance is emphasized in the Nordic countries (I do not know about Luxembourg) The authors experience in Switzerland strikes a familiar chord with me. I have close friends in the Valley who envy me because I get 6 weeks a year off. I don't think this article is necessarily about high salaries and the luxuries you…

I almost can't even believe that commercial is real. I would love to see how it affected Cadillac's sales.

Oh it's real alright. I'm pretty sure that was a Super Bowl ad recently.
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