Article:Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its work culture (quality, Europeans)
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It is not like America won the the American Revolutionary War alone. France played a key role in the victory.
You do not tolerate losing? The US lost the Vietnam war and the second Iraq war.
The so-called Protestant work ethic actually originated in Northern Europe.
Do most Americans really make a ton of money?
* I deeply admire France of that time period. The French were bad arses.
* And there was hell to pay for those War losses...but that's on a macro basis. In everyday life, Americans are rewarded for their success. We hold the winners in high esteem. Winning is what we aspire to. Losers or people who aren't trying, are looked down upon.
* The Protestant work ethic is awesome, and I'm proud of its Northern European roots. Eff yea! Many modern Americans are made to feel guilty about being successful and hard working. This this is a defeatist attitude, and shames our great forefathers who worked from sun-up to sun-down.
* Do most Americans really make a ton of money? The one's who work hard, are honest, and don't have some kind a crippling disease better be making a ton of money....or at least they better have tried. Failure happens...but you better have effing tried really hard. There is a sea of money out there---just waiting to be plucked. Just ask recent Asian immigrants how easy it is to make money in America. IMO, you have to try pretty hard to not make a good living.
Again we're talking about a country of 8 million people, who have built a beautiful country since 900 years ago, which has not seen a war almost since two centuries ago. A country which is the money vault of the world's riches.
LOL - I said it was a good country and would be a hard act to follow.
When you "Work for change" posting to Vox is kind of "Low Brow" journalism.....If she'd posted to other papers, again, that's not 'Working for change" What she needs to do, is to start writing to congress, having others write having people vote FOR who WILL change the way it's done in Congress. Writing a hack piece? Been done, no one remembers who did them....
When you consider how many people read it and how many people pass it around on social media I would say she is doing a good job of raising awareness. Much better than writing to some politician in Congress who really only cares about getting elected and will promise to do this and that and then not do it once in office.
Vox is "low brow" journalism? That's an understatement!! Vox is lower than a snake's belly. Everything they publish is one sided, and they love liberals.
You do not understand the point of Vox. Think of what "vox" is as part of "vox populi" and you will understand a little bit better.
I realize most Americans have an average reading level of 7th grade and are the victim of mediocre education so you might need to go and look that up. I'll wait.
I realize most Americans have an average reading level of 7th grade and are the victim of mediocre education so you might need to go and look that up. I'll wait.
Says the poster who thinks internet hyperbole is worse than actually slitting throats and raping children.
Says the poster who thinks internet hyperbole is worse than actually slitting throats and raping children.
This is nonsense. ^^^
If you are talking about that other thread about Munich and the garbage-mouths who are posting on that thread, they are espousing violence and talking about drowning children in the sea. That is not hyperbole. That is sickness to even think it much less type it out and post it for the world to see. They have warped minds. Now keep your comments on the correct thread please and aim your silliness at the people who have hatred, which would not be me.
Although many here on this thread have this mirage of Switzerland as a bucolic, utopian, altar boy, reality is much different from Bernie Sanders' bumper stickers:
"Richard Murphy, director of Tax Research LLP says: "The idea that Switzerland has a clean economy is a joke; it is a dirt-driven economy". Her economy is dirt-driven because her financial institutions (a vital sector of her economy) have been implicated in a number of corruption scandals involving corrupt third world leaders and their associates. In fact Switzerland can best be described as economic vampire, parasite and predator feeding on the economies of poor African and third world countries. The Swiss Bankers Association claims that four-fifths of the nation supports banking secrecy laws. This law is the foundation of all the corruption, embezzlement, tax evasions and all the criminal enterprises that we see in the world."
Just take a job like working in Microsoft, google , facebook in the USA and then compare it to working for the same companies in the EU. The EU version of the same job works less hours, has vastly better employee protection, vacation and rights , and still earn a good wage....
I know because we have done it, and were involved in setting up packages for a large number of peoples over a number of years and countries and companies....
That's probably why there is no European equivalent of Google, Microsoft, or Facebook. If you take the 14 largest technology firms 9 are American, 4 are Japanese, and one is Korean.... none are European.
Europe is getting it's clock cleaned on high technology by the US and Asia.
That's probably why there is no European equivalent of Google, Microsoft, or Facebook. If you take the 14 largest technology firms 9 are American, 4 are Japanese, and one is Korean.... none are European.
Yes, probably. Because Europeans are NOT preoccupied with "globalization" ( read the money streaming in certain pockets) and "quality of life" for those with money. They are ( well, WERE until recent times) preoccupied with the well-being of their society AS A WHOLE, as much as a quality of life for ALL members of their society.
Quote:
Europe is getting it's clock cleaned on high technology by the US and Asia.
Europe was probably not even in NEED of such technology to begin with...
In 2015 public debt in the EU was 85.2% (down from 86.8% in 2014).
In 2015 public debt in the Euro area was 90.8% (down from 92.2% in 2014).
That's quite a good achievement. This year the debt to GDP ratio will fall again.
Public debt in the U.S. rose from 103.0% in 2014 to 104.2% in 2015.
In 2007 public debt in the U.S. as a percentage of GDP was 5%-points higher than in the EU. In 2015 it was 19%-points higher.
The main reason why economic growth in Europe is weak are the efforts to reduce the debt. One reason why the economic growth in the U.S. is relatively weak compared to former times is that the household have tighten their belts.
It was not a misinformation. I was refering to consumer debt, excluding mortgages.
I wrote:
This statement is surely correct. A much higher percentage of the household debt in the EU is due to mortgages. But I guess there are huge differences between different Europen countries. At least here in Germany credit cards are still a curiosity and consumer debt (excluding mortgages) is extremely low. It's surely completely different in the UK.
Overall the whole world seems to be in economic trouble. As a German I think it's basically expedient to reduce the debt to GDP ratio. And here the EU has achieved some progress (but it hampered growth).
I think a major reason for weak economic growth is also that corporations use their profits for share buybacks. Especially American companies. It would be helpful if they would invest the profits into the real economy. I'm afraid that we will see another crash. What's going on on the financial and real estate markets isn't beneficial for the real economy.
Overall debt is growing faster in Europe, from a larger base, in a slower-growing economy.
Public debt is low in Scandinavia and Switzerland, but private debt is among the highest on earth. Scandinavia now has a huge housing bubble and corresponding private debt load. When the bubble pops this debt load will likely be "transferred" to the public sector as happened in Ireland.
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