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I too am an Aussie in NYC, having moved last November for work (in my case, Google). NYC is an amazing city, particularly if you're willing and able to pay the
by cletus 16y ago
I too am an Aussie in NYC, having moved last November for work (in my case, Google).
NYC is an amazing city, particularly if you're willing and able to pay the exorbitant Manhattans rents. Or you're sufficiently socially skilled and/or lucky to partake in the great private welfare system that is rent stabilization (and rent control but that's mostly irrelevant these days).
To me NYC exemplifies Western capitalism, both the good and bad parts. There'd is incredible commerce--and wealth--here. But there's also poverty and homelessness for those tha have fallen through the cracks in the system.
One thing America excels at is service, whether it be retail, restaurants, businesses or whatever. Ther are of course exceptions but for those Americans who complain about service: compare it to most other Western countries and you'll appreciate it that much more.
Despite all that the American experiment seems broken--eve dying. Health care is a disaster (not that I'm necessarily advocating public health care). Social security is a ticking time bomb. Most governments are in serious debt, even to crisis levels. Once you see cities and possibly states default (or just require a bailout) you'll see a fresh eave of financial scandals.
Wall Street seems addicted to debt, to the point of being the engine of financial collapse. Most Americans live beyond their means. America has a number of engineering marvels from the 20th century that look like not being repeated any time soon. They're simply not economical anymore. Think the Moon landings, the Golden Gate bridge, the Hoover Dam, etc.
A lot of the country seems to be in decay. The culture seems increasingly fractured. Honestly it reminds me of the dying days of the Roman Empire. I'm sure there was incredible wealth in Rome the day before it was sacked.
Still, it's hard to argue with a fresh mozzarella slice from Bleecker Street Pizza.
Oh as far as tipping goes, I agree it's strange and I often have to check tipping etiquette in various situations but remember it isn't mandatory (built in service charges in restaurant bills notwithstanding). Example: last week I took a cab from SFO to Mountain View (expensive!) and the driver had no clue. He kept going the wrong way, asking for directions from my phone, ignoring me telling him which exits to take, etc. I didn't feel bad stiffing him on the tip although he still felt entitled to it.
- pacemkr 16y agoYour use of the phrase "the American experiment" is pretentious, especially when you call it broken. We're a country and people with fundamental, albeit continually debated, beliefs. We have a governance system with which people can engage directly and peacefully to affect almost any aspect of their lives. Hence, the saying "thing's are broken" is entirely empty. The magic of America is that you can shape the system; it's a matter of persistence. Things are not perfect, but we're riding on a solid foundation and I wouldn't bet against that.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- pacemkr 16y ago"the American experiment seems broken--eve dying" That's the exact way it was used and it is pretentious, because it dismisses our culture and country as something fleeting. The phrase "the American experiment" may be a common phrase, but it doesn't say "we are fundamentally unique compared to other democracies;" it simply says "our exact experience is unique." Same can be said, with meaning, for any country.
- mconnors 16y agoForget manhattan, outer boroughs are much better.
- weeksie 16y agoThe outer boroughs are different, not better or worse (except Staten Island, that's worse). I love Brooklyn and Queens, but I am very happy living in Manhattan. It doesn't have to be a pissing contest, NYC is a big place with a whole fuckload of awesome going on; it'd be silly to limit yourself either way.
- weeksie 16y agoMate, I think you're making too many generalizations based on things that feel true, you know, 'cause that's what everybody says. Statements like "social security is a time bomb" belay a misunderstanding of what you're talking about. SS is just fine, there are many other, more real issues—but I don't want to get into a policy debate. My point is that you've been here 4 months and should give it a few years before making such sweeping, half-informed judgements. Anyway, drop a line sometime if you want to grab a beer. I live in the WV as well and I can point you toward much better pizza than anything you'll find on Bleecker.
- podperson 16y agoHow is SS not a time bomb? In Australia you are required to deposit your retirement money in a super acct. But that acct is yours. It earns interest like an ordinary investment. In the US you give it to the government as part of your tax and the government spends it on wars in Iraq, interest payments to China, and tax cuts for the rich. When it comes time to collect ... good luck with that. I certainly agree there are many more issues (healthcare!). I'd suggest Sydney->NY is not nearly the culture shock that Sydney->almost-anywhere-else in the US would be. I think whoever said Sydney is to LA as Melbourne is to NY was from Melbourne. (Although they do share awful weather in common.)
- stevenbedrick 16y agoNot that I disagree about SS being a time bomb, but I think you're slightly mistaken about where SS revenue comes from (or I could be mistaken; anybody out there who knows for sure should please correct me). What most Americans think of as "federal tax" is actually several separate taxes, and which ones any given individual actually pays varies depending on their employment situation. There's a specific tax that workers (either self-employed or otherwise) pay that goes to social security (as opposed to the general federal income tax), and as far as I know, those specific funds go to the central social security trust fund rather than the federal government's general fund. Funds used for invading other countries, paying off interest payments, etc. etc. comes from other revenue streams. As I understand it, the reason SS is potentially in trouble is that, the baby boomers are beginning to retire and draw on the system. This represents a simultaneous large decrease in the number of people paying into the fund and increase in the number of people extracting money from the fund. The precise financial implications of this seem to be up for debate- some people say that there will be sufficient money to cover everybody, while others say that there won't be. I personally don't see how it can possibly work, but I'm certainly not an economist so what do I know? At any rate, I don't expect to see a dime of it when my time comes. At this point, I view the whole thing as basically a charity for baby boomers, and from that perspective it kind of makes sense- unless we want to let them die/starve in the streets, we're going to end up paying for them one way or another; we may as well make use of the existing infrastructure for helping to support elders.
- steauengeglase 16y agoAs far as decay, this has been a long term thing. Outside of major urban centers where people rely on public transit, most of America is based around car culture. To sum it up, Main Street USA didn't die because of big box retailers, it died because the parking sucked and the affluent went where their cars took them. If the buildings are ratty, we build newer, cheaper ones and drive to them. This is nothing recent, it started in the 50s and 60s with white flight and has been on a slow, slide downhill ever since because of cheaper constructions methods and cheap gas. Take those two things away and Americans just might go back to monolith building, if for no other reason that the need to work.