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European Alternatives

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Re: European Alternatives

#381

Post by hermanzegerman »

0xDEAFBEAD wrote: post #374
kergonath wrote: post #358

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The EU had such a good deal with the US. There are regulations. Both Visa and Mastercard were happy with those and made quite a lot of money from their business in the EU. They absorbed and merged with local alternatives and competitors. It’s a bit rich to complain after the game has been going on for a while that the rules are as they are: they’ve always been that way and if they were not happy, they could just ha…

I'm not complaining about Visa or Mastercard fees in the US. I am pointing out the absurdity of the original European claim that such fees are "protection money" to the US, when the EU is getting a sweetheart deal relative to the US. It's typical disingenuous European rhetoric.

Europe is not getting a "sweetheart deal".

I know it's difficult for you to comprehend, but Governments are supposed to act in the interest of the general population of their country, not for companies and the 1%.

And that includes making sure that markets are working and regulating (near) monopolies

Re: European Alternatives

#382

Post by hermanzegerman »

0xDEAFBEAD wrote: post #380
hermanzegerman wrote: post #377

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They correctly point out that useless parasites like the Pharmacy Benefit Managers that I also mentioned to you, are a quite big part of your drug price problem. Yet you seem to refuse to acknowledge it The system is packed with opaque middlemen such as pharmacy benefit managers, many of which are making big rents

Certainly the US healthcare system needs reform. But I believe a big reason why we have paid such high drug prices for so long is because congresspeople in the US believed that it was good for us to subsidize drug innovation for the entire world. That era is over. Like I said, you Europeans had a good thing going, but you just couldn't let well enough alone.

If you really believe that Congressmen in the US thought they were subsidizing foreign nations while their own citizens suffer out of their goodness of their hearts, and not because some Lobbyists donated huge sums to their campaigns and "convinced" them in some meetings, Boy I do have a Bridge to sell you.

American Politicians are really famous worldwide for being selfless, defending other nations interests to the detriment of their own nation

Especially the Republican ones, which have blocked and still trying to block all efforts to bring drug prices down by negotiation.

They are known for being very caring people. Especially for the poor and disadvantaged

Re: European Alternatives

#383

Post by whackernews »

PlatoIsADisease wrote: post #55

Ugh, back to nationalism. I think there is some sort of Darwinistic reason for this. Maybe its inevitable. Not to say that the US didn't help spur this, but its just sad to see. When I was younger, I was such an idealist. Anarchy, open borders, free market open trade, pacifism. Even as Trump started getting aggressive, I kept trying to tell myself: "Well, these other countries surly know that most of the population d…

> Ugh, back to nationalism.

That’s a bit of a negative way to think about things. We’ve tried globalism, I don’t think it works. It’s utopian.

Small and distributed, this is the way. Not large and centralised. Stop over complicating things. If people just looked after themselves, their family, and their neighbours (in that order) the rest would figure itself out. This is how love works, it’s personal and intimate. I wish people would just stop trying to meddle with the world and let people be.

Re: European Alternatives

#384

Post by 0xDEAFBEAD »

hermanzegerman wrote: post #382
0xDEAFBEAD wrote: post #380

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Certainly the US healthcare system needs reform. But I believe a big reason why we have paid such high drug prices for so long is because congresspeople in the US believed that it was good for us to subsidize drug innovation for the entire world. That era is over. Like I said, you Europeans had a good thing going, but you just couldn't let well enough alone.

If you really believe that Congressmen in the US thought they were subsidizing foreign nations while their own citizens suffer out of their goodness of their hearts, and not because some Lobbyists donated huge sums to their campaigns and "convinced" them in some meetings, Boy I do have a Bridge to sell you. American Politicians are really famous worldwide for being selfless, defending other nations interests to the d…

The lobbyists probably said something like "it is good for drug companies to make profits so they can innovate new drugs for global benefit".

Same way the defense companies probably said something like "it is good to deter Russia so that Europe can remain free and democratic".

Hilarious, isn't it?

Anyways shouldn't you get back to work so you can afford all the new weapons you're going to have to buy?

"American Politicians are really famous worldwide for being selfless, defending other nations interests to the detriment of their own nation." Well yes, we did that for you guys for 80 years after WW2, a very peaceful and prosperous period for Europe by historical standards. We got nothing but hate and laughter for it. Now we're done.

Re: European Alternatives

#385

Post by [deleted] »

0xDEAFBEAD wrote: post #384
hermanzegerman wrote: post #382

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you really believe that Congressmen in the US thought they were subsidizing foreign nations while their own citizens suffer out of their goodness of their hearts, and not because some Lobbyists donated huge sums to their campaigns and "convinced" them in some meetings, Boy I do have a Bridge to sell you. American Politicians are really famous worldwide for being selfless, defending other nations interests to the d…

The lobbyists probably said something like "it is good for drug companies to make profits so they can innovate new drugs for global benefit". Same way the defense companies probably said something like "it is good to deter Russia so that Europe can remain free and democratic". Hilarious, isn't it? Anyways shouldn't you get back to work so you can afford all the new weapons you're going to have to buy? "American Polit…

[deleted]

Re: European Alternatives

#386

Post by rconti »

tene80i wrote: post #29
drnick1 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The irony is that European alternatives are still in English, when no European country (since the departure of the U.K. from Europe) actually uses that language.

The UK did not leave Europe. Just the EU. But also English fluency is widespread, so it’s not a bad starting point.

I do find it funny that Brits colloquially describe "Europe" as being foreign, as in, "in Britain" vs "in Europe", or "in Europe" vs "on the continent. Of course, I guess the "the continent" is a loaded term, too.

I'm not saying it doesn't make sense to me, I get it, and it's easier to refer to Europe as "the other" rather than having to use a longer phrase to describe traveling from the British isles to the mainland of continental Europe.

But still, it amuses me.

Re: European Alternatives

#387

Post by 0xDEAFBEAD »

hermanzegerman wrote: post #372
0xDEAFBEAD wrote: post #370

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So initially MasterCard/Visa profits in Europe are "protection money". Then it comes out that MasterCard/Visa fees in Europe are actually far lower than in the US. Now the Europeans are laughing at the Americans for being suckers. This interaction basically sums up the entire EU/US relationship and the absurdity of Europe's rhetoric around it. Copy/paste this template, change a few words, and it applies pretty much e…

We don't laugh at Americans for being suckers, we feel sorry for them that they have to live with all this nonsense, and their current horrible administration. And we also look with horror because most of the bullshit in the US is coming to Europe with a 20 year delay

I'll feel very sorry for you and your country's horrible administration when the Russians are invading your country.

Re: European Alternatives

#389

Post by _bent »

mpol wrote: post #224
202508042147 wrote: post #174

One obvious thing missing from any of those lists: Visa and Mastercard alternatives. This is the protection money that is never brought up by the US officials when they say that America was paying for our security.

Wero is coming. Currently it is only available in a few countries.

Wero is a land grab by the banks who fumbled building a PayPal alternative for 20 years, now desperately trying to stop the digital Euro.

Sure I'd rather use Wero than PayPal -if it was decent- and building it on top of SEPA instant transactions is neat. But the lack of buyers protection is a deal breaker for me! And quite frankly I'd rather use a digital Euro governed by the ECB than some rent seeking hobby project by a bunch of private banks. Especially because they will inevitably enshittify it with ads and hostile BNPL like PayPal.

Re: European Alternatives

#390

Post by lostmsu »

ragall wrote: post #274
lostmsu wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?cou... says Zurich is 33% more expensive and I remember it that way.

Numbeo shows averages, and the basket of goods that it considers is not what a well-off person would buy. I Zurich I could live perfectly well without having a car, just with public transportation, and French and Italian cheeses and wine are a cheaper than in Seattle.

As a well off person your most significant purchase is going to be a house, and in Seattle they are 3x cheaper.

I just left Seattle Greater Area and my 350sqm admittedly old house + a small ADU with an outdoor pool went for $2M (at the moment it was a downturn, so maybe $2.5M tops now). What can you get for that money in Greater Zurich Area? A 100sqm flat?

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