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I work in the technology sector in the US and my experience is exactly the same as yours. > However, given the American exceptionalism showing up in the thread
by umanwizard 8y ago
I work in the technology sector in the US and my experience is exactly the same as yours.
> However, given the American exceptionalism showing up in the thread, I'm going to wager that this probably going to see some vitriolic response.
I actually don't believe in American exceptionalism at all. Nor European exceptionalism. But I am fed up with people from the most developed part of the world acting shocked and morally outraged when life isn't as amazing everywhere else.
You probably didn't intend it that way, but it comes off as extremely smug.
- newen 8y agoYou are implying Europe is more developed than America? America has per capita GDP comparable to Europe's top countries. If not what's wrong with comparing your country's labor laws to a similar country's labor laws?
- ddebernardy 8y agoYeah, but that's usually comparing a mean income per capita. Personally I'd be curious to see a comparison of what's left of the median income after factoring in the cost of taxes, education, and health care.
- newen 8y agoBut mean income per capita is what should be compared when talking about social services such as healthcare, etc. If you take a developed country, add a bunch of wealth inequality to it, and then say that you can't compare that country to other developed countries because wealth inequality is part of equalition of being developed, you are just going around in circles.
- DangitBobby 8y agoAny comparison should take other effects of work culture into account as well, such as how much time per week we can devote to living once you subtract work and commute times.
- umanwizard 8y agoGDP per capita is not the same thing as development. Yes, from personal experience France at least is more developed than the US.
- rayiner 8y agoIt's not all that comparable. U.S. GDP per capita is $60,000. France is $43,500 (PPP). (In terms of GDP per capita, the U.S. is richer than France by about the same ratio as France is richer than Lithuania or Estonia.) Average net financial wealth per household is almost 3x higher in the U.S. than in France, and 2x higher than the OECD average.
- Tepix 8y agoWhat's net financial wealth? 40% of U.S. adults don't have enough savings to cover a mere $400 emergency. See also https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/budget-and-spending/2018/09/26/how-much-average-household-has-savings/37917401/ https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/budget-a...
- paulddraper 8y agoHere we go again, using means for extremely skewed distributions :/ OECD reports median household disposable income as $31,100 in France and as $30,600 in the U.S. [1] That's far more relevant than per capita GDP, if you're looking at the typical experience for the typical person. [1] http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/france/ http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/france/
- likpok 8y agoThe number you’re quoting as the US is actually the average across the oecd. The US is 50% higher “In the United States, the average household net-adjusted disposable income per capita is USD 44 049 a year” In addition the website says average, and doesn’t describe whether it means a mean or a median.
- umanwizard 8y agoWestern and Northern Europe are the most developed part of the world. I didn't say they were the richest in absolute dollar terms.