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This is so out of touch with reality. You have traded an insanely rich country for another super insanely rich country and called it a day. This in no way can e

This is so out of touch with reality. You have traded an insanely rich country for another super insanely rich country and called it a day. This in no way can even start a productive discussion.

matttproud 8y ago
We never “called it a day.” We remain active on social, justice, and political issues from abroad. In fact, we are beginning the process to incorporate a small 501c3 around civic engagement and betterment. We spent a decent fraction of our pretax income on the aforementioned effort alone in 2018. Nevertheless, when taking the whole risk and probability matrix into account, neither my spouse nor I feel confident that the U.S. will turn itself around successfully to warrant an all eggs in one basket approach. The United States would need to stop acting like a petulant family at war with itself and start taking better care of itself and its people.
m_fayer 8y ago
Huh? Why? I'm an American who had traded America for Germany. It's no panacea but it is a marked improvement along multiple axes. That's real and unambiguous. Which is, I think, worth discussing.
- theredbox 8y ago
  Because it's just not comparable. Different settings and different environment. You cant move around in Europe if you are an average folk like you can in the US. Moving around in Europe means almost a life time commitment to the language and the country and that does not always pay off.
  - raverbashing 8y ago
    Wow, "lifetime commitment" to a language or a country sounds harsh. I think you can achieve a working level of any (European) language in around one year. And today we have Google translation in our phones, the job is 10x easier. Nowhere is a "lifetime" commitment, but if you like a place, might just stay there.
    - theredbox 8y ago
      Have you ever tried to become fluent in a language ? I dont think you have even a clue about how hard european languages are and how hard it is to integrate.
      - raverbashing 8y ago
        I speak 3 languages non-natively, 2 at C1 level at least for oral comprehension. So yeah, I have done that.
        theredbox 8y ago
        Yea I have seen people claiming they speak C1 when in fact they dont. Do you work profesionally with those languages?
        sanedigital 8y ago
        I speak C2 Spanish and C1 French. I have certifications for both. I'm currently learning Italian, and expect to move from A2 to C1 within a year. Its really not that hard if your study correctly and you're able to spend significant time in a country that speaks the language.
  - pintxo 8y ago
    Why would you want to?
- rukittenme 8y ago
  What improved in your opinion?
  - m_fayer 8y ago
    Way more free time because of mandated holiday and a culture of taking it. Better maintenance of a rich social life post children because of a more handsoff attitude toward child rearing, and higher prioritization of "adults only" time. Less hassles in general because it's a less scammy and litigious society. The "default option" for many basics like health insurance and retirement just works, and is structurally simpler. Basically, more time, less hassles.
- hollerith 8y ago
  I'm interested in this topic because my father was a German citizen when I was born, which entitles me to German citizenship. (I've lived in the US all my life.) Over half of German GDP stems from exports, which is a huge fraction and which is only possible because of the Eurozone and because of the Bretton Woods system. The Bretton Woods system was created by the US to help fight the Cold War by encouraging free trade and the US particularly since the election of Trump is not interested in supporting the system anymore. The Eurozone and the European Central Bank's monetary policy have been preventing the economies of the countries on the periphery of Europe from developing, and those countries will either withdraw from the Eurozone or at least force changes to monetary policy that will be detrimental to Germany's exports. So it looks like Germany's exports will fall, maybe drastically. Taxes on the profit that German companies make on these exports is how Germany pays for its social programs. When the economy gets bad in Germany, young Germans cannot find jobs. (France is the same way.) This youth unemployment has gotten so bad once or twice during the postwar period that people start worrying about riots and other kinds of social upheaval, which makes things bad for everyone, not just people needing to find a job. Youth unemployment never gets that bad in the US. I don't see any challenges to the US similar to those 2 challenges facing Germany. Although I concede that I probably would have been better off if I had moved to Germany 30 years ago in my 20s, let's see if you still think Germany is markedly better than the US in 15 years.
  - stannol 8y ago
    Export is not "only possible" due to the Bretton Woods system, and the rest of your thoughts on exports are just pure unfounded speculation. Germany makes sought-after goods and will continue to do so for all of our lifetimes. They will export and sell them one way or another. Of course there will be ups and downs, but really drastic changes? I highly doubt it, even if the Euro(zone) were to implode, which is looking increasingly unlikely. Post war Germany has never had significant youth unemployment, and worries about "riots and social upheaval" because of that unemployment? That's a pretty outrageous claim.
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
benj111 8y ago
Why is it out of touch? The US is a rich country, Switzerland (where the parent now seems to be living) is richer on some measures, this isn't apples and oranges though.
- theredbox 8y ago
  Because you cant replicate the questionable success of Switzerland in a country like the US of A. You could try to converge and force others to foot the bill but sooner or later it would damage the industries that make you money. Switzerland is an anomaly not the norm in Europe and other countries are paying dearly for Switzerland's success.
  - benj111 8y ago
    But you couldn't replicate the 'questionable'?! Success of the US elsewhere. Most rich countries have some kind of USP. That isn't an argument that they shouldn't try to replicate the more successful elements of other nations. Germany is an anomaly in Europe, France also, along with Britain, Ireland, Italy, etc, etc.
    - theredbox 8y ago
      Can you ? USP is not a silver bullet and it is mediocre at best. I paid shitloads of money in austria for a mediocre healthcare. I pay far less for healthcare in Korea which is superior in every way.

This is so out of touch with reality. You have traded an insanely rich country for another super insanely rich country and called it a day. This in no way can even start a productive discussion.

matttproud 8y ago

We never “called it a day.” We remain active on social, justice, and political issues from abroad. In fact, we are beginning the process to incorporate a small 501c3 around civic engagement and betterment. We spent a decent fraction of our pretax income on the aforementioned effort alone in 2018. Nevertheless, when taking the whole risk and probability matrix into account, neither my spouse nor I feel confident that the U.S. will turn itself around successfully to warrant an all eggs in one basket approach. The United States would need to stop acting like a petulant family at war with itself and start taking better care of itself and its people.

m_fayer 8y ago

Huh? Why? I'm an American who had traded America for Germany. It's no panacea but it is a marked improvement along multiple axes. That's real and unambiguous. Which is, I think, worth discussing.

theredbox 8y ago
Because it's just not comparable. Different settings and different environment. You cant move around in Europe if you are an average folk like you can in the US. Moving around in Europe means almost a life time commitment to the language and the country and that does not always pay off.
- raverbashing 8y ago
  Wow, "lifetime commitment" to a language or a country sounds harsh. I think you can achieve a working level of any (European) language in around one year. And today we have Google translation in our phones, the job is 10x easier. Nowhere is a "lifetime" commitment, but if you like a place, might just stay there.
  - theredbox 8y ago
    Have you ever tried to become fluent in a language ? I dont think you have even a clue about how hard european languages are and how hard it is to integrate.
    - raverbashing 8y ago
      I speak 3 languages non-natively, 2 at C1 level at least for oral comprehension. So yeah, I have done that.
      - theredbox 8y ago
        Yea I have seen people claiming they speak C1 when in fact they dont. Do you work profesionally with those languages?
        sanedigital 8y ago
        I speak C2 Spanish and C1 French. I have certifications for both. I'm currently learning Italian, and expect to move from A2 to C1 within a year. Its really not that hard if your study correctly and you're able to spend significant time in a country that speaks the language.
- pintxo 8y ago
  Why would you want to?
rukittenme 8y ago
What improved in your opinion?
- m_fayer 8y ago
  Way more free time because of mandated holiday and a culture of taking it. Better maintenance of a rich social life post children because of a more handsoff attitude toward child rearing, and higher prioritization of "adults only" time. Less hassles in general because it's a less scammy and litigious society. The "default option" for many basics like health insurance and retirement just works, and is structurally simpler. Basically, more time, less hassles.
hollerith 8y ago
I'm interested in this topic because my father was a German citizen when I was born, which entitles me to German citizenship. (I've lived in the US all my life.) Over half of German GDP stems from exports, which is a huge fraction and which is only possible because of the Eurozone and because of the Bretton Woods system. The Bretton Woods system was created by the US to help fight the Cold War by encouraging free trade and the US particularly since the election of Trump is not interested in supporting the system anymore. The Eurozone and the European Central Bank's monetary policy have been preventing the economies of the countries on the periphery of Europe from developing, and those countries will either withdraw from the Eurozone or at least force changes to monetary policy that will be detrimental to Germany's exports. So it looks like Germany's exports will fall, maybe drastically. Taxes on the profit that German companies make on these exports is how Germany pays for its social programs. When the economy gets bad in Germany, young Germans cannot find jobs. (France is the same way.) This youth unemployment has gotten so bad once or twice during the postwar period that people start worrying about riots and other kinds of social upheaval, which makes things bad for everyone, not just people needing to find a job. Youth unemployment never gets that bad in the US. I don't see any challenges to the US similar to those 2 challenges facing Germany. Although I concede that I probably would have been better off if I had moved to Germany 30 years ago in my 20s, let's see if you still think Germany is markedly better than the US in 15 years.
- stannol 8y ago
  Export is not "only possible" due to the Bretton Woods system, and the rest of your thoughts on exports are just pure unfounded speculation. Germany makes sought-after goods and will continue to do so for all of our lifetimes. They will export and sell them one way or another. Of course there will be ups and downs, but really drastic changes? I highly doubt it, even if the Euro(zone) were to implode, which is looking increasingly unlikely. Post war Germany has never had significant youth unemployment, and worries about "riots and social upheaval" because of that unemployment? That's a pretty outrageous claim.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]

benj111 8y ago

Why is it out of touch? The US is a rich country, Switzerland (where the parent now seems to be living) is richer on some measures, this isn't apples and oranges though.

theredbox 8y ago
Because you cant replicate the questionable success of Switzerland in a country like the US of A. You could try to converge and force others to foot the bill but sooner or later it would damage the industries that make you money. Switzerland is an anomaly not the norm in Europe and other countries are paying dearly for Switzerland's success.
- benj111 8y ago
  But you couldn't replicate the 'questionable'?! Success of the US elsewhere. Most rich countries have some kind of USP. That isn't an argument that they shouldn't try to replicate the more successful elements of other nations. Germany is an anomaly in Europe, France also, along with Britain, Ireland, Italy, etc, etc.
  - theredbox 8y ago
    Can you ? USP is not a silver bullet and it is mediocre at best. I paid shitloads of money in austria for a mediocre healthcare. I pay far less for healthcare in Korea which is superior in every way.