Americans - Most Productive Workers in teh World

[AdamK47]

Go Nigeria!

 

[Martin]

Originally posted by: Special K

Originally posted by: miketheidiot
why do people always confuse laziness with having your priorities straight? 😕

Isn't that just a matter of opinion though? Everyone (or in this case, a nation) must decide for themselves what their priorities are.

Though I probably rambled a bit, my point in the first post was that as an individual you don't really get a choice. For example, in the US or Canada you'll never actually run across the vacation / pay raise choice because someone having 6 weeks of vacation is highly atypical and taking time off and "slacking off" are looked down upon.

 

[fiksi]

Originally posted by: Martin

Originally posted by: Special K

Originally posted by: miketheidiot
why do people always confuse laziness with having your priorities straight? 😕

Isn't that just a matter of opinion though? Everyone (or in this case, a nation) must decide for themselves what their priorities are.

Though I probably rambled a bit, my point in the first post was that as an individual you don't really get a choice. For example, in the US or Canada you'll never actually run across the vacation / pay raise choice because someone having 6 weeks of vacation is highly atypical and taking time off and "slacking off" are looked down upon.

YOu're right in a way...

But look at it this way- When parents work too much, children wander around streets and get into trouble. Or they eat and watch stupid TV shows(just look how fat US kids are!). Since parents are literally forced to work
as much as companies want them to- children have bad conditions.

This often produces dysfunctional families, ppl who go into drugs, crime etc.

You can see the results in US- highest per capita imprisonment of all! prison population of
2 000 000+ people. And yes, seems ppl in US often get ideas about shooting someone just for fun. Random shootings, drive by shootings etc.

What i am saying is that working too much destabilizes society, and family.

 

[foghorn67]

Originally posted by: fiksi

Originally posted by: freegeeks

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: Martin
I wish we could get the best of both worlds here. Let's face it, most people (especially true for those in large companies and/or uncompetitive industries) don't actually do much work, but they still have to be at the office and pretend they're doing crap. It would be much better if people in this position could have a more relaxed work culture where you can go for 1hr coffee breaks, 2hr lunches/siestas etc without raising an eyebrow. With large companies it wouldn't make much of a difference - large European companies are fairly competitive with their US counterparts (for example 163 Fortune 500 companies are in the EU and 162 in the US).

On the other hand, having a great work ethic is extremely important in smaller / more competitive companies (think startups) and these kinds of things really don't have much place there.

Unfortunately, I think the two are too mixed up. In the US you have people in large companies working hard but not getting much in return, while the relaxed work atmosphere in most of Europe seems to dampen the entrepreneurial spirit a bit. In an idea world, you could have both in the same place and you could choose between a nice relaxed work atmosphere with 8 weeks vacation, or a very demanding but rewarding job.

I think the way you should see it is to realize just how lazy European people are - I mean, like you said the avg office worker nefs his way through his day, yet still Americans, as a whole, are more productive than the average eurotrash.

The difference is marginal if you look at the hourly output

USA = $35,63
France=$35,13

I'll take the 30 days paid vacation and the good wine, thank you 😛

And you forgot France has one of best health systems... no matter how sick you get, you won't get poor or left dying because you don't have enough cash for medical services.

If you get sick, you won't end up on street... you HAVE sick days. As long as you are really sick, you will be cared for.

If you get a child, your wife can care for him/her, in US she'd get a few weeks, and back to work. Yes, it's free here... there, she'd spend 10s of thousands of $ for child care. The minute he/she is born, start saving for college etc. in US.

Look at it this way, you'll OUTLIVE your American friend, not only that- but you'll get to enjoy life MUCH more.

and you pay for it. It's not free.

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: Martin

Originally posted by: Special K

Originally posted by: miketheidiot
why do people always confuse laziness with having your priorities straight? 😕

Isn't that just a matter of opinion though? Everyone (or in this case, a nation) must decide for themselves what their priorities are.

Though I probably rambled a bit, my point in the first post was that as an individual you don't really get a choice. For example, in the US or Canada you'll never actually run across the vacation / pay raise choice because someone having 6 weeks of vacation is highly atypical and taking time off and "slacking off" are looked down upon.

If I can, I take either Novembre or Decembre off. It's slow time around here so it is not much of an impact to the business. Except I have been busy for the last 2 years so right now I am just taking every wednesday off. 2 Day work weeks FTW!

 

[fiksi]

Originally posted by: foghorn67

Originally posted by: fiksi

Originally posted by: freegeeks

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: Martin
I wish we could get the best of both worlds here. Let's face it, most people (especially true for those in large companies and/or uncompetitive industries) don't actually do much work, but they still have to be at the office and pretend they're doing crap. It would be much better if people in this position could have a more relaxed work culture where you can go for 1hr coffee breaks, 2hr lunches/siestas etc without raising an eyebrow. With large companies it wouldn't make much of a difference - large European companies are fairly competitive with their US counterparts (for example 163 Fortune 500 companies are in the EU and 162 in the US).

On the other hand, having a great work ethic is extremely important in smaller / more competitive companies (think startups) and these kinds of things really don't have much place there.

Unfortunately, I think the two are too mixed up. In the US you have people in large companies working hard but not getting much in return, while the relaxed work atmosphere in most of Europe seems to dampen the entrepreneurial spirit a bit. In an idea world, you could have both in the same place and you could choose between a nice relaxed work atmosphere with 8 weeks vacation, or a very demanding but rewarding job.

I think the way you should see it is to realize just how lazy European people are - I mean, like you said the avg office worker nefs his way through his day, yet still Americans, as a whole, are more productive than the average eurotrash.

The difference is marginal if you look at the hourly output

USA = $35,63
France=$35,13

I'll take the 30 days paid vacation and the good wine, thank you 😛

And you forgot France has one of best health systems... no matter how sick you get, you won't get poor or left dying because you don't have enough cash for medical services.

If you get sick, you won't end up on street... you HAVE sick days. As long as you are really sick, you will be cared for.

If you get a child, your wife can care for him/her, in US she'd get a few weeks, and back to work. Yes, it's free here... there, she'd spend 10s of thousands of $ for child care. The minute he/she is born, start saving for college etc. in US.

Look at it this way, you'll OUTLIVE your American friend, not only that- but you'll get to enjoy life MUCH more.

and you pay for it. It's not free.

Compare it with US system... this is universal coverage system, and noone has to sell their kindey to get medical attention.

"But the french system is much more generous to its entire population than the U.S. is to its seniors. Unlike with Medicare, there are no deductibles, just modest co- payments that are dismissed for the chronically ill.

In France, the sicker you get, the less you pay. Chronic diseases, such as diabetes, and critical surgeries, such as a coronary bypass, are reimbursed at 100%. Cancer patients are treated free of charge. Patients suffering from colon cancer, for instance, can receive Genentech Inc.'s (DNA ) Avastin without charge. In the U.S., a patient may pay $48,000 a year."

"French medicine is based on a widely held value that the healthy should pay for care of the sick. Everyone(!!!) has access to the same basic coverage through national insurance funds, to which every employer and employee contributes. The government picks up the tab for the unemployed who cannot gain coverage through a family member."

-EVERYONE has access to HC! In US, 40 million or what have NO insurance at all...

"The difference in deaths from respiratory disease, an often preventable form of mortality, is particularly striking: 31.2 per 100,000 people in France, vs. 61.5 per 100,000 in the U.S."

-although the US has by far the most expensive system, it has most infant deaths, and as we can see, even in respiratory diseases, it faires very poor...

 

[JS80]

Originally posted by: fiksi

Originally posted by: freegeeks

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: Martin
I wish we could get the best of both worlds here. Let's face it, most people (especially true for those in large companies and/or uncompetitive industries) don't actually do much work, but they still have to be at the office and pretend they're doing crap. It would be much better if people in this position could have a more relaxed work culture where you can go for 1hr coffee breaks, 2hr lunches/siestas etc without raising an eyebrow. With large companies it wouldn't make much of a difference - large European companies are fairly competitive with their US counterparts (for example 163 Fortune 500 companies are in the EU and 162 in the US).

On the other hand, having a great work ethic is extremely important in smaller / more competitive companies (think startups) and these kinds of things really don't have much place there.

Unfortunately, I think the two are too mixed up. In the US you have people in large companies working hard but not getting much in return, while the relaxed work atmosphere in most of Europe seems to dampen the entrepreneurial spirit a bit. In an idea world, you could have both in the same place and you could choose between a nice relaxed work atmosphere with 8 weeks vacation, or a very demanding but rewarding job.

I think the way you should see it is to realize just how lazy European people are - I mean, like you said the avg office worker nefs his way through his day, yet still Americans, as a whole, are more productive than the average eurotrash.

The difference is marginal if you look at the hourly output

USA = $35,63
France=$35,13

I'll take the 30 days paid vacation and the good wine, thank you 😛

And you forgot France has one of best health systems... no matter how sick you get, you won't get poor or left dying because you don't have enough cash for medical services.

If you get sick, you won't end up on street... you HAVE sick days. As long as you are really sick, you will be cared for.

If you get a child, your wife can care for him/her, in US she'd get a few weeks, and back to work. Yes, it's free here... there, she'd spend 10s of thousands of $ for child care. The minute he/she is born, start saving for college etc. in US.

Look at it this way, you'll OUTLIVE your American friend, not only that- but you'll get to enjoy life MUCH more.

You make it sound like we Americans are dying on the streets from exotic diseases. I will have millions in my 401k+IRA+savings with a McMansion+vacation home by the time I'm 65 while you are still in your 500 sq ft studio (unless you got lucky and you inherited your grandmother's flat in the city).

For the record my company pays 100% medical, dental, vision, gives 4 weeks vacation per year + 3 weeks sick days. However, not being a dumb European I would still rather take the cash value of what my company offers because 1) I know I can buy cheaper healthcare bc i don't fvcking have to see the doctor every month to get tested bc i went to a eurotrash orgy last weekend, 2) I consciously keep healthy so i rarely get sick, 3) I don't like to take vacations - I'd rather work and make money today so tomorrow I can relax.

 

[freegeeks]

You make it sound like we Americans are dying on the streets from exotic diseases. I will have millions in my 401k+IRA+savings with a McMansion+vacation home by the time I'm 65 while you are still in your 500 sq ft studio (unless you got lucky and you inherited your grandmother's flat in the city).

For the record my company pays 100% medical, dental, vision, gives 4 weeks vacation per year + 3 weeks sick days. However, not being a dumb European I would still rather take the cash value of what my company offers because 1) I know I can buy cheaper healthcare bc i don't fvcking have to see the doctor every month to get tested bc i went to a eurotrash orgy last weekend, 2) I consciously keep healthy so i rarely get sick, 3) I don't like to take vacations - I'd rather work and make money today so tomorrow I can relax.

so what you are really saying is that some day you hope to have the McMansion with the hot supermodel plus the millions but for the moment you are just living like me, the dumb Eurotrash in a cardboard box?

 

[imported_Tango]

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: fiksi

Originally posted by: freegeeks

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: Martin
I wish we could get the best of both worlds here. Let's face it, most people (especially true for those in large companies and/or uncompetitive industries) don't actually do much work, but they still have to be at the office and pretend they're doing crap. It would be much better if people in this position could have a more relaxed work culture where you can go for 1hr coffee breaks, 2hr lunches/siestas etc without raising an eyebrow. With large companies it wouldn't make much of a difference - large European companies are fairly competitive with their US counterparts (for example 163 Fortune 500 companies are in the EU and 162 in the US).

On the other hand, having a great work ethic is extremely important in smaller / more competitive companies (think startups) and these kinds of things really don't have much place there.

Unfortunately, I think the two are too mixed up. In the US you have people in large companies working hard but not getting much in return, while the relaxed work atmosphere in most of Europe seems to dampen the entrepreneurial spirit a bit. In an idea world, you could have both in the same place and you could choose between a nice relaxed work atmosphere with 8 weeks vacation, or a very demanding but rewarding job.

I think the way you should see it is to realize just how lazy European people are - I mean, like you said the avg office worker nefs his way through his day, yet still Americans, as a whole, are more productive than the average eurotrash.

The difference is marginal if you look at the hourly output

USA = $35,63
France=$35,13

I'll take the 30 days paid vacation and the good wine, thank you 😛

And you forgot France has one of best health systems... no matter how sick you get, you won't get poor or left dying because you don't have enough cash for medical services.

If you get sick, you won't end up on street... you HAVE sick days. As long as you are really sick, you will be cared for.

If you get a child, your wife can care for him/her, in US she'd get a few weeks, and back to work. Yes, it's free here... there, she'd spend 10s of thousands of $ for child care. The minute he/she is born, start saving for college etc. in US.

Look at it this way, you'll OUTLIVE your American friend, not only that- but you'll get to enjoy life MUCH more.

You make it sound like we Americans are dying on the streets from exotic diseases. I will have millions in my 401k+IRA+savings with a McMansion+vacation home by the time I'm 65 while you are still in your 500 sq ft studio (unless you got lucky and you inherited your grandmother's flat in the city).

For the record my company pays 100% medical, dental, vision, gives 4 weeks vacation per year + 3 weeks sick days. However, not being a dumb European I would still rather take the cash value of what my company offers because 1) I know I can buy cheaper healthcare bc i don't fvcking have to see the doctor every month to get tested bc i went to a eurotrash orgy last weekend, 2) I consciously keep healthy so i rarely get sick, 3) I don't like to take vacations - I'd rather work and make money today so tomorrow I can relax.

EU15 median accumulated wealth is higher than the US one.

 

[TheVrolok]

This is a surprise to me... oh wait.. FoxNews.

 

[fiksi]

Originally posted by: Tango

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: fiksi

Originally posted by: freegeeks

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: Martin
I wish we could get the best of both worlds here. Let's face it, most people (especially true for those in large companies and/or uncompetitive industries) don't actually do much work, but they still have to be at the office and pretend they're doing crap. It would be much better if people in this position could have a more relaxed work culture where you can go for 1hr coffee breaks, 2hr lunches/siestas etc without raising an eyebrow. With large companies it wouldn't make much of a difference - large European companies are fairly competitive with their US counterparts (for example 163 Fortune 500 companies are in the EU and 162 in the US).

On the other hand, having a great work ethic is extremely important in smaller / more competitive companies (think startups) and these kinds of things really don't have much place there.

Unfortunately, I think the two are too mixed up. In the US you have people in large companies working hard but not getting much in return, while the relaxed work atmosphere in most of Europe seems to dampen the entrepreneurial spirit a bit. In an idea world, you could have both in the same place and you could choose between a nice relaxed work atmosphere with 8 weeks vacation, or a very demanding but rewarding job.

I think the way you should see it is to realize just how lazy European people are - I mean, like you said the avg office worker nefs his way through his day, yet still Americans, as a whole, are more productive than the average eurotrash.

The difference is marginal if you look at the hourly output

USA = $35,63
France=$35,13

I'll take the 30 days paid vacation and the good wine, thank you 😛

And you forgot France has one of best health systems... no matter how sick you get, you won't get poor or left dying because you don't have enough cash for medical services.

If you get sick, you won't end up on street... you HAVE sick days. As long as you are really sick, you will be cared for.

If you get a child, your wife can care for him/her, in US she'd get a few weeks, and back to work. Yes, it's free here... there, she'd spend 10s of thousands of $ for child care. The minute he/she is born, start saving for college etc. in US.

Look at it this way, you'll OUTLIVE your American friend, not only that- but you'll get to enjoy life MUCH more.

You make it sound like we Americans are dying on the streets from exotic diseases. I will have millions in my 401k+IRA+savings with a McMansion+vacation home by the time I'm 65 while you are still in your 500 sq ft studio (unless you got lucky and you inherited your grandmother's flat in the city).

For the record my company pays 100% medical, dental, vision, gives 4 weeks vacation per year + 3 weeks sick days. However, not being a dumb European I would still rather take the cash value of what my company offers because 1) I know I can buy cheaper healthcare bc i don't fvcking have to see the doctor every month to get tested bc i went to a eurotrash orgy last weekend, 2) I consciously keep healthy so i rarely get sick, 3) I don't like to take vacations - I'd rather work and make money today so tomorrow I can relax.

EU15 median accumulated wealth is higher than the US one.

That's right... median salary in developed EU countries is higher than in US. If you add social benefits to that, you can easily see that Europeans live quite nicely. Better yet, i'd rather live on welfare in western Europe than in US with low salary.

And to the previous poster
->... I'm an "eurotrash" but just happen to live in a BIG house,
have more vacation than you, and maybe even more money, too. Here, ppl have PENSIONS, on top of public, you also can get private one.

Also, i don't worry every day if i'll be the witness to some gun feud, or eat a bullet while walking in the park.

If you still deny it, check UN and other sources- MOST richest countries in THE world are in EUROPE. Also, MOST countries with high quality of life are in EUROPE. Most cities WITH high quality of life- EUROPE.

 

[imported_Tango]

Originally posted by: fiksi

Originally posted by: Tango

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: fiksi

Originally posted by: freegeeks

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: Martin
I wish we could get the best of both worlds here. Let's face it, most people (especially true for those in large companies and/or uncompetitive industries) don't actually do much work, but they still have to be at the office and pretend they're doing crap. It would be much better if people in this position could have a more relaxed work culture where you can go for 1hr coffee breaks, 2hr lunches/siestas etc without raising an eyebrow. With large companies it wouldn't make much of a difference - large European companies are fairly competitive with their US counterparts (for example 163 Fortune 500 companies are in the EU and 162 in the US).

On the other hand, having a great work ethic is extremely important in smaller / more competitive companies (think startups) and these kinds of things really don't have much place there.

Unfortunately, I think the two are too mixed up. In the US you have people in large companies working hard but not getting much in return, while the relaxed work atmosphere in most of Europe seems to dampen the entrepreneurial spirit a bit. In an idea world, you could have both in the same place and you could choose between a nice relaxed work atmosphere with 8 weeks vacation, or a very demanding but rewarding job.

I think the way you should see it is to realize just how lazy European people are - I mean, like you said the avg office worker nefs his way through his day, yet still Americans, as a whole, are more productive than the average eurotrash.

The difference is marginal if you look at the hourly output

USA = $35,63
France=$35,13

I'll take the 30 days paid vacation and the good wine, thank you 😛

And you forgot France has one of best health systems... no matter how sick you get, you won't get poor or left dying because you don't have enough cash for medical services.

If you get sick, you won't end up on street... you HAVE sick days. As long as you are really sick, you will be cared for.

If you get a child, your wife can care for him/her, in US she'd get a few weeks, and back to work. Yes, it's free here... there, she'd spend 10s of thousands of $ for child care. The minute he/she is born, start saving for college etc. in US.

Look at it this way, you'll OUTLIVE your American friend, not only that- but you'll get to enjoy life MUCH more.

You make it sound like we Americans are dying on the streets from exotic diseases. I will have millions in my 401k+IRA+savings with a McMansion+vacation home by the time I'm 65 while you are still in your 500 sq ft studio (unless you got lucky and you inherited your grandmother's flat in the city).

For the record my company pays 100% medical, dental, vision, gives 4 weeks vacation per year + 3 weeks sick days. However, not being a dumb European I would still rather take the cash value of what my company offers because 1) I know I can buy cheaper healthcare bc i don't fvcking have to see the doctor every month to get tested bc i went to a eurotrash orgy last weekend, 2) I consciously keep healthy so i rarely get sick, 3) I don't like to take vacations - I'd rather work and make money today so tomorrow I can relax.

EU15 median accumulated wealth is higher than the US one.

That's right... median salary in developed EU countries is higher than in US. If you add social benefits to that, you can easily see that Europeans live quite nicely. Better yet, i'd rather live on welfare in western Europe than in US with low salary.

And to the previous poster
->... I'm an "eurotrash" but just happen to live in a BIG house,
have more vacation than you, and maybe even more money, too. Here, ppl have PENSIONS, on top of public, you also can get private one.

Also, i don't worry every day if i'll be the witness to some gun feud, or eat a bullet while walking in the park.

If you still deny it, check UN and other sources- MOST richest countries in THE world are in EUROPE. Also, MOST countries with high quality of life are in EUROPE. Most cities WITH high quality of life- EUROPE.

Accumulated wealth, not salaries. It doesn't make sense anyway to argue about these things, because they depends on a lot of variables.

Statistics like those posted by the OP have no sense. GDP/labor force doesn't consider the effect of exchange rates, for example. Serious statistics are available on the OECD website, for those interested.

I have been living each year 6 months in the US and 6 months in Europe, for the last 5 years, so I am quite familiar with both systems. People on both sides of the ocean think their one is the better one. Often they do not know the other, and just talk out of some kind of weird nationalistic instinct. The moment I read things like these...

Quote


You make it sound like we Americans are dying on the streets from exotic diseases. I will have millions in my 401k+IRA+savings with a McMansion+vacation home by the time I'm 65 while you are still in your 500 sq ft studio (unless you got lucky and you inherited your grandmother's flat in the city).

Endquote

... I know I am losing my time trying to have a serious debate about something on ATOT.

Both systems have their own good parts and bad parts, and what you should prefer also depends a lot on who you are and what your priorities are. Personally, I like living in New York a lot, because I am lucky. But I also know that a lot of Americans defending their economic system would actually be much better off living in Europe. Most people do not realize it, because they know things only one way, and do not know they could be different.
The average investment banker is better-off working in New York compared to his counterpart in Milan or Frankfurt (but not compared to London). But I am always puzzled by people struggling with 3 jobs who still defend the American system. Nobody works 3 jobs in Europe. The rest of the world doesn't consider it normal, and frankly I will never understand how one could.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: DangerAardvark

Originally posted by: Googer

Originally posted by: WingZero94
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295556,00.html

GENEVA ? American workers stay longer in the office, at the factory or on the farm than their counterparts in Europe and most other rich nations, and they produce more per person over the year.

They also get more done per hour than everyone but the Norwegians, according to a U.N. report released Monday, which said the United States "leads the world in labor productivity."

From the article
"In sub-Saharan Africa, workers are only about one-twelfth as productive as those in developed countries, the report said."

Damn lazy naggers are just like some of their cousins in America who don't want to work. Ban welfare!

The hell was that? Do your fingers have tourettes?

That was his way of calling them n!ggers while being able to play dumb when confronted with the obvious. The word "naggers" makes no sense in that context. :thumbsdown: Googer.

 

[fiksi]

Yes, this debate is just never ending...

I know how both systems work, but I like Euro system much more. Most average folk are much better in Euro system. I'm not talking about super rich.

Also, as a place for children, having a family and overall quality of life Europe is better. This is not ME saying, this is every research there is on this topic... including UN,
Mercer etc.

 

[EGGO]

We may have more work output, but you should see the life they're living over there in Europe. Especially vacation time.

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: fiksi

Originally posted by: freegeeks

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: Martin
I wish we could get the best of both worlds here. Let's face it, most people (especially true for those in large companies and/or uncompetitive industries) don't actually do much work, but they still have to be at the office and pretend they're doing crap. It would be much better if people in this position could have a more relaxed work culture where you can go for 1hr coffee breaks, 2hr lunches/siestas etc without raising an eyebrow. With large companies it wouldn't make much of a difference - large European companies are fairly competitive with their US counterparts (for example 163 Fortune 500 companies are in the EU and 162 in the US).

On the other hand, having a great work ethic is extremely important in smaller / more competitive companies (think startups) and these kinds of things really don't have much place there.

Unfortunately, I think the two are too mixed up. In the US you have people in large companies working hard but not getting much in return, while the relaxed work atmosphere in most of Europe seems to dampen the entrepreneurial spirit a bit. In an idea world, you could have both in the same place and you could choose between a nice relaxed work atmosphere with 8 weeks vacation, or a very demanding but rewarding job.

I think the way you should see it is to realize just how lazy European people are - I mean, like you said the avg office worker nefs his way through his day, yet still Americans, as a whole, are more productive than the average eurotrash.

The difference is marginal if you look at the hourly output

USA = $35,63
France=$35,13

I'll take the 30 days paid vacation and the good wine, thank you 😛

And you forgot France has one of best health systems... no matter how sick you get, you won't get poor or left dying because you don't have enough cash for medical services.

If you get sick, you won't end up on street... you HAVE sick days. As long as you are really sick, you will be cared for.

If you get a child, your wife can care for him/her, in US she'd get a few weeks, and back to work. Yes, it's free here... there, she'd spend 10s of thousands of $ for child care. The minute he/she is born, start saving for college etc. in US.

Look at it this way, you'll OUTLIVE your American friend, not only that- but you'll get to enjoy life MUCH more.

You make it sound like we Americans are dying on the streets from exotic diseases. I will have millions in my 401k+IRA+savings with a McMansion+vacation home by the time I'm 65 while you are still in your 500 sq ft studio (unless you got lucky and you inherited your grandmother's flat in the city).

For the record my company pays 100% medical, dental, vision, gives 4 weeks vacation per year + 3 weeks sick days. However, not being a dumb European I would still rather take the cash value of what my company offers because 1) I know I can buy cheaper healthcare bc i don't fvcking have to see the doctor every month to get tested bc i went to a eurotrash orgy last weekend, 2) I consciously keep healthy so i rarely get sick, 3) I don't like to take vacations - I'd rather work and make money today so tomorrow I can relax.

What's amazing is how the upper class in America thinks everyone, or even the majority is like them.

 

[foghorn67]

Originally posted by: fiksi
Yes, this debate is just never ending...

I know how both systems work, but I like Euro system much more. Most average folk are much better in Euro system. I'm not talking about super rich.

Also, as a place for children, having a family and overall quality of life Europe is better. This is not ME saying, this is every research there is on this topic... including UN,
Mercer etc.

since when is middle class super rich?

I would not to raise a child in europe. have fun looking for positive reinforcement.

 

[biostud]

I like recieving ~$350/week while I look for a job after I finished my can.scient