Earlier quoted context omitted.
he says he doesn't want people who don't contribute how is this racist?
probably because he's implying immigrants (except some) wouldn't want to contribute?
Check the comment that he's replying to
Europe is now a corporate also-ran. Can it recover its footing?
891–900 of 905 posts
Re: Europe is now a corporate also-ran. Can it recover its footing?
#892Earlier quoted context omitted.
So US social mobility is only slightly better (insignificantly) than the two worst countries in Europe. I think that article rather supports my claim. Italy is also rather a troublesome example, because northern and southern Italy are vastly different. Regional differences account for much of the inequality and the persistence of it there. Looking at the mean in Europe vs the US there is no contest. Other metrics in…
> US social mobility is only slightly better (insignificantly) than the two worst countries in Europe. I think that article rather supports my claim. Compared with the cohort of European countries, America fairs poorly (though not excessively so). The original claim, however, was that it fares "among the worst in the world." This is incorrect; it's roughly middle of the pack [1][2]. On the measure of the "number of g…
> In summary, America is good at allowing the poor to become middle class. It is less good at letting the middle class become exorbitantly rich, though not terribly so.
The common view is the opposite though: higher tax rates and lower entrepreneurship in Europe are assumed to put a damper on the middle class from amassing significant wealth. On the other hand, the US has significantly more billionaires per capita than most countries in Europe [1], and many of those are "self-made" (i.e. not generational wealth). What am I missing here?
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of...
Re: Europe is now a corporate also-ran. Can it recover its footing?
#893Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wouldn't seek "ridiculous levels of pay" if I could maintain a decent quality of life. Fact is, my rent at a one bedroom flat is more expensive than my parents mortgage for a full house. Of course people are looking for ways to get ahead.
But isn't the concentration of high-income tech workers in certain areas the reason for those high rents, together with little regulation of the rental market? So isn't that kind of self-inflicted?
Nah, this is an issue everywhere. Where I live there are few technology companies.
Re: Europe is now a corporate also-ran. Can it recover its footing?
#894Earlier quoted context omitted.
I assume you’re not in a violent criminal gang in your country. If you were in America and continue to not be in a violent criminal gang then your numbers don’t hold up nearly as well. Its even smaller chances if you’re not related to a gang member, and smaller yet if you don’t live in gang neighborhoods, which I assure you are not hard to determine. It’s easy to overblow the concerns if you don’t factor that in your…
> I assure you are not hard to determine. It’s easy to overblow the concerns if you don't See? this is exactly what I am talking about: when you talk about quality of life in Europe "living in a gang neighborhood" is not a concern, there is no "gang neighborhood" the like you can find in many US cities. There are of course bad neighborhoods but the chances of being killed are still very low. I am from a bad neighborh…
I don’t disagree there are worse places in the US, just that talking like that averages out throughout the US is t an accurate portrayal. It’s fairly isolated. Most Americans don’t experience what you’re afraid of
Re: Europe is now a corporate also-ran. Can it recover its footing?
#895Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not sure what you’re saying here — most PCs have the hardware but they don’t use it?
Or in some cases implement it so poorly you'd be better off not having it. But hey, let's just check that box anyway.
Reverse perspective: Outside the "Walled Garden", perhaps "Solitary Confinement" isn't seen as all that much of a selling point.
Re: Europe is now a corporate also-ran. Can it recover its footing?
#896Earlier quoted context omitted.
... Just Eat Takaway. Booking.com are from the Netherlands too. Spotify is Swedish. As is Klarna and Mojang. SoundCloud is German. Mixcloud British. Several of the covid vaccines were develeoped in europe (albeit under the umbrella of US companies such as J&J). Volkwagen and Volvo are beating Tesla in sales numbers and in getting self driving to market hands down. There is lots of high tech in Europe. Just Because th…
Nothing you mentioned is high tech. Car companies haven't innovated anything in decades. Spotify is a perfect example of a company with lots of revenue that doesn't do anything interesting with it.
> Spotify is a perfect example of a company with lots of revenue that doesn't do anything interesting with it.
As an investor, I'm very reluctant of those typical SV companies who use debt to finance growth. Not for nothing that the investing world is jitterish lately, with an interest-rate increase looming: it's very bad for tech stocks.
I see those as unhealthy or at least very risky (though I have one or two of those in my portfolio: spread)
Spotify is still growing at mad pace; even compared to the COVID/lockdown boom, they are doing well. Spending loads of cash to landgrab the podcast market. Spending loads of cash to move into the audiobook market.
I can understand the grudge some US people feel over a company like Spotify: why not a US-company? Why are they attacking our tech-pride AAPL? Why are they taking hold of our US-media (podcasts) and our entertainment (music)? But Spotify really is what it is: a tech success. Albeit a more typical European one: less debt, slower, more organic growth and less horn-tooting.
(this is not investment advise)
Re: Europe is now a corporate also-ran. Can it recover its footing?
#897Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ramp up of electric car production isn't innovation?
I'm as big a fan of the European businesses that succeed as anyone, but the car industry would still have been dragging its feet if Tesla hadn't provided a credible threat to eat most of their market share.
Toyota was way ahead of the curve and selling more EVs and hybrids than Tesla untill something like 2018-2019. Only last few years Tesla is ramping up their output and becoming this "threat".
Toyota is not a European company. But it certainly is "the car industry" and it has moved that industry towards EV for years before Tesla produced anything close to significant numbers.
And when it comes to e.g. self-driving, Volvo is far ahead of Tesla too. When it comes to safety and duress Tesla is far from leader too.
I don't like fanboyism and a lot of "Tesla Praise" is driven by mostly this. They make great cars, I presume far above average (which also includes all the low-end cheap cars). But above all Tesla seems to be a great marketing machine, yet when it comes to building cars, they are not up there yet between the BMWs, Volvo or maybe even Toyota, Nissan or Volkswagen.
Re: Europe is now a corporate also-ran. Can it recover its footing?
#898Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hahahahahaha! It really really isn’t, it’s a national treasure and it’s amazing how well it runs given how numerous governments have underfunded it. Every study on international healthcare shows the NHS is near the top in every category and once you factor in the cost per person it’s the top in the world. If you have a life threatening issue you will be seen and treated as well on the NHS as anywhere in the US, EXCEP…
> If you have a life threatening issue you will be seen and treated as well on the NHS as anywhere in the US That's just wrong. Try actually talking with a UK doctor about their experience instead of blindly following Labour dogma. They don't have the equipment to provide the level of care an American or Swiss hospital can.
I have 5 friends who are doctors as I lived with medics at uni and it’s not “just wrong”.
It’s not labour dogma it’s a fact that the NHS is excellent and there are numerous international studies that prove that. The pinnacle of medical care in the US is better but only if you can afford it through your insurance or being rich, in the uk it is available for all
Re: Europe is now a corporate also-ran. Can it recover its footing?
#899Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's strange but true. I live in the UK and I think I could get paid 3-5x more in the US. But even though I'm annoyed by that pay gap, I will never work without healthcare and only two weeks of PTO. At least job satisfaction doesn't change, I work with startups that interest me and I get to hack on a stimulating open source project. I'm just healthy while I do it.
Your understanding of tech work in the US is basically wrong in every way, and sounds like you're parroting BBC propaganda on why everywhere is terrible but the UK. I suggest living in the US for a year or two to see if it's the dystopian hellscape you think it is - you can always fly home to the glorious NHS if you stub your toe.
My passport and US immigration laws mean that I have to enter a lottery in order to get a job. No thanks.
The other aspect I forgot to mention is the way work days are treated. I work 7.5-8 hour days and then I get to hack on my own stuff. I'm sceptical of US attitudes to overtime.
Re: Europe is now a corporate also-ran. Can it recover its footing?
#900Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah but the people writing the articles I read do.
Really? I could have sworn you mentioned school shootings. Which are rare, which is why they make the headlines. In Chicago there are mass shootings every weekend that get no press coverage. The inner city gang warfare and similar makes up the vast majority of mass shootings in the U.S. Mass shootings have basically nothing to do with small town and rural NRA members. Did you already know all that?
"Rare"? Matter of definition. Most other coutries have had at most one per country; I think Germany may be among the worst hit, and it has had something like six, total. The USA has, AFAIK, at least one per year.
Idunno, I don't think I'd call that particularly rare.