5 ms·

Huh! With all that vitriol, I would sure hope the unparalleled salary for software people is not the reason why you migrated (and continue to stay) here.

by vogt 5y ago

mikepurvis 5y ago
This is the "if you don't like having money, you be the first to give it all away, lol" strawman. It's not that me or anyone else wants higher taxes. We're willing to accept higher taxes for the benefits of living in a higher-taxes-for-the-wealthy society, specifically: a) enjoying high quality infrastructure, particularly around education, healthcare, and transportation, and b) getting to live in a place where the poorest are being properly cared for and have a path to reintegration, rather than being stuck on the street reminding you every day that society has failed them, and might fail you or your kids one day too. You can't get either of these by giving away your own money, especially if you're only upper middle class.
- vogt 5y ago
  You referring to it as a strawman is the only strawman in this argument now, if we're being technical about the definition of strawman. People migrate from countries like Australia, or sit in their armchairs in Sweden and expect the US be on par with X or Y social infrastructure and rage perpetually at the citizens (like the GP, which prompted my response) when they find this isn't the case. Why is it reasonable for the US to align social policy to every European or South Pacific developed nation when the scale of the US is not even remotely comparable? What is the philosophy 101 term for that level of delusion? And why is OP justified in spitting venom at the citizens? Get real.
AnotherGoodName 5y ago
It's not some "haha i got you!" for me to move to the USA to be in the top 1% of wage earners in the USA (high level within FAANG). I'm in a very privileged position and I'm happy to take advantage of it. It's weird that the existence of ultra privileged positions somehow gives you the thought that therefore America is fine the way it is. It's clear for the remainder of America they'd be better off elsewhere in the western world. They'd be better off fighting for their situation.
- JohnWhigham 5y ago
  The sad fact is that many Americans just aren't educated enough to care, nor do they want to care. You have to remember: the country was founded by the conspiracy theorist farmers of the day that believed the government was out to fuck them, when in reality they were just mad that they had to pay taxes. This mentality persists today that people don't want the government helping them in any way, even if it means they get fucked over by their employers.
  - vogt 5y ago
    If you grew up in the US I'd like to demand the resignation of whatever American history professor you had growing up. "Mad they had to pay taxes" completely obfuscates (probably in bad faith) the fact that colonists had no say in what that taxation went toward, and the people who _did_ lived thousands of miles away before any real communication infra even existed. It's right there in the name. The way you speak about "conspiracy theory farmers" reveals your real agenda, which is to push narrative-snark bemoaning the origins of our country (even if it's at the expense of the historical truth).
- pb7 5y ago
  No, it is a "haha i got you!". You want the US to be like the rest of the world (or specifically Australia) and yet you came to the US because the US is unique in providing extremely high paying comfortable and interesting jobs. This type of environment is possible because that's what the US optimizes for, at the detriment of class equality. You're a hypocrite, specifically one that calls out people's alleged wealth when you came here to amass your own. Poetic given the thread we are in.
  - lordnacho 5y ago
    Let me remind you that being a hypocrite does not make one wrong. If I smoke and I tell you smoking causes cancer, will you disbelieve me? It's actually a strange form of argument from authority: you don't follow your own rule, and I believe your honest self that I think you're showing by not following it. If anything it should tell you something that a guy who is milking the system says the system is broken. That at least is a first hand witness.
nemothekid 5y ago
>I would sure hope the unparalleled salary for software people is not the reason why you migrated (and continue to stay) here. This has nothing to do with taxes. It's not even true in America. If high taxes are such a massive depressor of wages, why are all the highest paying jobs concentrated in the states with the highest taxes?
- lordnacho 5y ago
  That's not so simple. A lot of the jobs around the beltway are high paying because they depend on taxes in some way, eg defense.

Huh! With all that vitriol, I would sure hope the unparalleled salary for software people is not the reason why you migrated (and continue to stay) here.

by vogt 5y ago

Huh! With all that vitriol, I would sure hope the unparalleled salary for software people is not the reason why you migrated (and continue to stay) here.

mikepurvis 5y ago

This is the "if you don't like having money, you be the first to give it all away, lol" strawman. It's not that me or anyone else wants higher taxes. We're willing to accept higher taxes for the benefits of living in a higher-taxes-for-the-wealthy society, specifically: a) enjoying high quality infrastructure, particularly around education, healthcare, and transportation, and b) getting to live in a place where the poorest are being properly cared for and have a path to reintegration, rather than being stuck on the street reminding you every day that society has failed them, and might fail you or your kids one day too. You can't get either of these by giving away your own money, especially if you're only upper middle class.

vogt 5y ago
You referring to it as a strawman is the only strawman in this argument now, if we're being technical about the definition of strawman. People migrate from countries like Australia, or sit in their armchairs in Sweden and expect the US be on par with X or Y social infrastructure and rage perpetually at the citizens (like the GP, which prompted my response) when they find this isn't the case. Why is it reasonable for the US to align social policy to every European or South Pacific developed nation when the scale of the US is not even remotely comparable? What is the philosophy 101 term for that level of delusion? And why is OP justified in spitting venom at the citizens? Get real.

AnotherGoodName 5y ago

It's not some "haha i got you!" for me to move to the USA to be in the top 1% of wage earners in the USA (high level within FAANG). I'm in a very privileged position and I'm happy to take advantage of it. It's weird that the existence of ultra privileged positions somehow gives you the thought that therefore America is fine the way it is. It's clear for the remainder of America they'd be better off elsewhere in the western world. They'd be better off fighting for their situation.

JohnWhigham 5y ago
The sad fact is that many Americans just aren't educated enough to care, nor do they want to care. You have to remember: the country was founded by the conspiracy theorist farmers of the day that believed the government was out to fuck them, when in reality they were just mad that they had to pay taxes. This mentality persists today that people don't want the government helping them in any way, even if it means they get fucked over by their employers.
- vogt 5y ago
  If you grew up in the US I'd like to demand the resignation of whatever American history professor you had growing up. "Mad they had to pay taxes" completely obfuscates (probably in bad faith) the fact that colonists had no say in what that taxation went toward, and the people who _did_ lived thousands of miles away before any real communication infra even existed. It's right there in the name. The way you speak about "conspiracy theory farmers" reveals your real agenda, which is to push narrative-snark bemoaning the origins of our country (even if it's at the expense of the historical truth).
pb7 5y ago
No, it is a "haha i got you!". You want the US to be like the rest of the world (or specifically Australia) and yet you came to the US because the US is unique in providing extremely high paying comfortable and interesting jobs. This type of environment is possible because that's what the US optimizes for, at the detriment of class equality. You're a hypocrite, specifically one that calls out people's alleged wealth when you came here to amass your own. Poetic given the thread we are in.
- lordnacho 5y ago
  Let me remind you that being a hypocrite does not make one wrong. If I smoke and I tell you smoking causes cancer, will you disbelieve me? It's actually a strange form of argument from authority: you don't follow your own rule, and I believe your honest self that I think you're showing by not following it. If anything it should tell you something that a guy who is milking the system says the system is broken. That at least is a first hand witness.

nemothekid 5y ago

>I would sure hope the unparalleled salary for software people is not the reason why you migrated (and continue to stay) here. This has nothing to do with taxes. It's not even true in America. If high taxes are such a massive depressor of wages, why are all the highest paying jobs concentrated in the states with the highest taxes?

lordnacho 5y ago
That's not so simple. A lot of the jobs around the beltway are high paying because they depend on taxes in some way, eg defense.