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Location: Kowaniec, Nowy Targ, Podhale. 666 m n.p.m.
355 posts, read 977,127 times
Reputation: 497
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Quote:
Originally Posted by animatedmartian
Actually, if I understand this right, in Georgia, if it's a small business with less than several employees, there's no minimum. Also employees who work at restaurants and get tips get paid $2.13 and hour. (tips are usually $3 to $4 per customer depending on how big the meal is)
That's why the American south is like godd*mn third world and not like any civilized place. On people that actually think that this is good is wish nothing more than that they might get homeless and have to live of off these sub-subsistance wages for a good chunk of their lives themselves. Bloody scumbags...
The minimum wage here in Poland is higher than $2.13/hour and whatever you get for tips are yours, not your bosses' excuse to lower your wage. Still, we are in terms of GDP per capita three times poorer than the USA. The fact that people in the USA can actually advocate these policies is shameful. With a GDP per capita exceeding $50K you should be like Scandinavia, not like an anglophone version of bloody Brazil.
In my opinion, if one looks at the US GDP, minimum wage should be more like $12-13/hour with free medical care and free education. And if that sounds too "socialist" for you, f*ck off to Somalia. There you can have your free enterprise paradise with no government intervention whatsoever. Having a capitalist economy with some sort of safeguards preventing the least fortunate from falling below subsistence level is called "civilized" in my opinion. Not socialist or communist or anything whatsoever. For all I care the richest can still make >1M/year and not pay over 40-50% taxes. Just take care of your entire society and not just of your corporate buddies.
Location: In a Galaxy far, far away called Germany
4,300 posts, read 4,407,670 times
Reputation: 2394
Quote:
Originally Posted by Proterra
That's why the American south is like godd*mn third world and not like any civilized place. On people that actually think that this is good is wish nothing more than that they might get homeless and have to live of off these sub-subsistance wages for a good chunk of their lives themselves. Bloody scumbags...
The minimum wage here in Poland is higher than $2.13/hour and whatever you get for tips are yours, not your bosses' excuse to lower your wage. Still, we are in terms of GDP per capita three times poorer than the USA. The fact that people in the USA can actually advocate these policies is shameful. With a GDP per capita exceeding $50K you should be like Scandinavia, not like an anglophone version of bloody Brazil.
In my opinion, if one looks at the US GDP, minimum wage should be more like $12-13/hour with free medical care and free education. And if that sounds too "socialist" for you, f*ck off to Somalia. There you can have your free enterprise paradise with no government intervention whatsoever. Having a capitalist economy with some sort of safeguards preventing the least fortunate from falling below subsistence level is called "civilized" in my opinion. Not socialist or communist or anything whatsoever. For all I care the richest can still make >1M/year and not pay over 40-50% taxes. Just take care of your entire society and not just of your corporate buddies.
Wow! So much anger. It isn't that bad. Georgia has a lower cost of living so it isn't as bad as it would seem. Having said that - things can always be better. But using Somalia as an example of free enterprise is as extreme as using the Soviet Union or China as an example of free medicine/education. Things need to get better in the USA (that is for sure). But, that can be said for the rest of the world as well. It's all what those particular people (of that nation) are willing to live with and live without.
most resorted to "intellectual" come-back in the US culture seems to be "but not everybody's like that!!"; strong penchant to scream "stereotype/generalization!!"
Good observations. I do that myself.
Proud American. Feel free to stereotype. I take pride in the fact that through God's grace I'm a citizen of a country that is so strong and diverse people flock here just to tell us we're doing it all wrong. Even though we obviously aren't as is evidenced by the fact that people still come to our golden shores in vast numbers. "Give me your tired, your poor..." and all that.
But "intellectual" is not only a rather over-obvious dig it's also the wrong word. It's more a gut reaction because we take great pride in pointing out that we value individualism in the United States. (We all secretly love weird Aunt Wanda who sleeps with Grandpa Jethro's Civil War sword under her bed in case the government revenuers come in the middle of the night. )
Wow! So much anger. It isn't that bad. Georgia has a lower cost of living so it isn't as bad as it would seem. Having said that - things can always be better. But using Somalia as an example of free enterprise is as extreme as using the Soviet Union or China as an example of free medicine/education. Things need to get better in the USA (that is for sure). But, that can be said for the rest of the world as well. It's all what those particular people (of that nation) are willing to live with and live without.
The minimum wage in Santa Fe, NM is $10. In Seattle, WA, it's $9.50. Anything in the $2 range sounds pretty bad, even if the cost of living is significantly lower. The fact is that the US can no longer afford to pay its own workers. That's why so many businesses hire illegal aliens, and outsource work that requires skilled labor. How the US got into this bizarre position, I don't know. Germany can afford to pay its workers, so what's the US' problem?
My experience has reinforced pretty much all stereotypes about the US (have lived in the US for the past 13 years, with welcome 2 months breaks over the summer in the past five years or so). What first comes to mind:
- superficial
- self-absorbed
- weak family/friendship bonds/emotionally sterile
- ADD
- an almost morbid need for psychological reductionism: incapable of seeing the forest because of a very strong obsession with specific trees; most resorted to "intellectual" come-back in the US culture seems to be "but not everybody's like that!!"; strong penchant to scream "stereotype/generalization!!" maybe exactly because the apparent diversity of the US hides an enormous mass of homogeneity.
I do appreciate Americans' sense of efficiency, organization and planning. These abilities can come in handy at times, particularly in the kind of society Americans created in the first place. Such abilities would not be as crucial in a slower-paced society though. Still useful, but not crucial.
Where are you from, Syracusa? Have you noticed that emotional reserve is fairly typical of Germanic peoples in general? Just wondering...
It may be only the Quebecois, but I spend a lot of time on the Maine coast and you can always tell the Canadians by how poorly they dress and by the banana hammocks the men wear on the beach, heck they even wear them when they are not on the beach. Parents almost have to shield their children's eyes. Can you say mons pubis?
josef stiglitz was on cnbc refuting the idea that anyone born poor can become rich if they simply try hard enough , he claimed the evidence is clear that the top 10% are getting much wealthier
Yes, the dream is in its death throes. I hope we can turn that around.
For Russians Americans are fat, stupid (or VERY stupid), and megalomaniac. Two of those stereotypes seem to apply to most Americans, although I haven't seen them all, of course.
I don't find Americans more stupid than Russians, but they sure look silly a lot more often
Many also believe that Americans and other westerners are quite rich. That's not true.
Oh, and Russian immigrants in America are fraudsters and just plain scum. This stereotype is often true
In Soviet Union Russians believed that all Americans wear expensive designer clothing. This stereotype died soon after the U.S. lifted the embargo.
Whoa!! Do you truly think that Europeans feel Americans are Fat and Stupid?? Maybe fat but certainly not stupid. We do have an obesity epidemic here in the States but it certainly does not mean that all overweight people are stupid..I was one of those overweight people and was not then nor am I now stupid. Good grief!! I feel that Europeans think we are uncultured and spoiled.
Whoa!! Do you truly think that Europeans feel Americans are Fat and Stupid?? Maybe fat but certainly not stupid. We do have an obesity epidemic here in the States but it certainly does not mean that all overweight people are stupid..I was one of those overweight people and was not then nor am I now stupid. Good grief!! I feel that Europeans think we are uncultured and spoiled.
I think it's an accurate stereotype, I've heard that often from Europeans.
Politically, we definitely come across that way internationally. Our education system isn't that great either.
Where we excel is within our specializations. Educated Americans get to know their specialty exceptionally well, but not so broadly aware of many topics though, like Europeans might.
That being said, I don't find Europeans to be across the board all that much more intelligent either. Just collectively have a better sense of the interconnectedness of the world.
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