I feel bad for Europeans

[Anonymous]

I was surprised to learn most Western Europeans makes well under 50k EUR per year even with high levels of education. Is it worth it to make 1/5 an American for the same job just for some free healthcare (which we get at our jobs anyway) and education?

How is Europe supposedly more egalitarian than the US when the only way to become well off is to inherit money? You can be full of drive and ambition over there and still live the same life as a cashier because everyone is forced into the same mediocre existence.

[Anonymous]

Flip side, even cashiers can have a nice life.

They have smaller houses, smaller cars, excellent weather compare to most of US. Cheap vacations across many countries and settings.

They don’t worry about being laid off at 50 and having to become a cashier who makes so little she is eligible for snap benefits.

[Anonymous]

People just aren't as materialistic as in the US though.

[Anonymous]

Sigh. Repeating for the people who think they are discovering something novel. The US is a terrible place to be poor but ok if you are rich (though that is getting to be debatable). Europe is a good place to be if you are middle income or poor. The rich try to shelter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Flip side, even cashiers can have a nice life.

They have smaller houses, smaller cars, excellent weather compare to most of US. Cheap vacations across many countries and settings.

They don’t worry about being laid off at 50 and having to become a cashier who makes so little she is eligible for snap benefits.

Rewarding mediocrity doesn’t lead to prosperity in the long term. To an extent, an effective government needs to light a fire under people’s asses to achieve things in life. Coddling and enablement makes everyone poorer eventually

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sigh. Repeating for the people who think they are discovering something novel. The US is a terrible place to be poor but ok if you are rich (though that is getting to be debatable). Europe is a good place to be if you are middle income or poor. The rich try to shelter.

The US is a pretty good place to be poor compared to 90% of the world

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sigh. Repeating for the people who think they are discovering something novel. The US is a terrible place to be poor but ok if you are rich (though that is getting to be debatable). Europe is a good place to be if you are middle income or poor. The rich try to shelter.

The US is a pretty good place to be poor compared to 90% of the world

OP was comparing to Europe.

[Anonymous]

LOL. That's a good one OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sigh. Repeating for the people who think they are discovering something novel. The US is a terrible place to be poor but ok if you are rich (though that is getting to be debatable). Europe is a good place to be if you are middle income or poor. The rich try to shelter.

Europe still sucks to be poor, it’s just that more people are poor so you don’t feel as bad because everyone else is in the same boat. And it’s harder to become not poor. Reduced class mobility, more entrenched aristocratic wealth over there. They tax labor like crazy but barely touch capital generated income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Flip side, even cashiers can have a nice life.

They have smaller houses, smaller cars, excellent weather compare to most of US. Cheap vacations across many countries and settings.

They don’t worry about being laid off at 50 and having to become a cashier who makes so little she is eligible for snap benefits.

Rewarding mediocrity doesn’t lead to prosperity in the long term. To an extent, an effective government needs to light a fire under people’s asses to achieve things in life. Coddling and enablement makes everyone poorer eventually

And yet Trump’s entire cabinet failed upward.

[Anonymous]

Europeans get significantly more vacation days and have better work life balance. France offers 7 weeks of paid vacation. The average 40-hour-per-week employee in the U.S. is working 400 more hours annually — the equivalent of 10 more weeks — than employees in Germany. But it is very American of you to feel bad for them because they don’t have a McMansion while you take your sad 3 weeks of vacation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Flip side, even cashiers can have a nice life.

They have smaller houses, smaller cars, excellent weather compare to most of US. Cheap vacations across many countries and settings.

They don’t worry about being laid off at 50 and having to become a cashier who makes so little she is eligible for snap benefits.

Rewarding mediocrity doesn’t lead to prosperity in the long term. To an extent, an effective government needs to light a fire under people’s asses to achieve things in life. Coddling and enablement makes everyone poorer eventually

Yeah health care and shelter is coddling. You sure have drank the GOP cool aid.

The US succeeded because we had 4 decades where Europe was rebuilding after WWII and we were top dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Europeans get significantly more vacation days and have better work life balance. France offers 7 weeks of paid vacation. The average 40-hour-per-week employee in the U.S. is working 400 more hours annually — the equivalent of 10 more weeks — than employees in Germany. But it is very American of you to feel bad for them because they don’t have a McMansion while you take your sad 3 weeks of vacation.

Hmm those extra 20% of working hours basically zeros out the differences in per capita GDP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sigh. Repeating for the people who think they are discovering something novel. The US is a terrible place to be poor but ok if you are rich (though that is getting to be debatable). Europe is a good place to be if you are middle income or poor. The rich try to shelter.

Europe still sucks to be poor, it’s just that more people are poor so you don’t feel as bad because everyone else is in the same boat. And it’s harder to become not poor. Reduced class mobility, more entrenched aristocratic wealth over there. They tax labor like crazy but barely touch capital generated income.

Estonia has more social mobility than the US.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/social-mobility-by-country

Some European countries are lower than the US, but most are well above it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Europeans get significantly more vacation days and have better work life balance. France offers 7 weeks of paid vacation. The average 40-hour-per-week employee in the U.S. is working 400 more hours annually — the equivalent of 10 more weeks — than employees in Germany. But it is very American of you to feel bad for them because they don’t have a McMansion while you take your sad 3 weeks of vacation.

But an American who earns well can retire way earlier because they don’t rely on a pension system where the age gets pushed further and further back. High earners can retire by their 30’s if they make the right moves and invest aggressively.