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Definitely. There are some cool badass things in EU. There is also the French military industrial complex, a mini version of US. That said, I was shocked to lea

Definitely. There are some cool badass things in EU. There is also the French military industrial complex, a mini version of US. That said, I was shocked to learn about average software engineering salaries in Europe. Why can't Europe build amazing high margin software businesses or any hyper growth companies? And pay their engineers like kings? That'd be cool and give a strong reality check for California. For now, I'll honestly take 2.5x salary in US over pretty much any other place. And I love guns (own several).

arcticbull 3y ago
> Why can't Europe build amazing high margin software businesses or any hyper growth companies? It's a good question, my guess is network effects. The people who would want to do this want to be near other people who would want to do this - and the biggest extant pool is in California. > For now, I'll honestly take 2.5x salary in US over pretty much any other place. Yeah, that's basically my situation too. Honestly probably closer to 4-5X annually what I'd make back home. Nominally, not adjusted for PPP of course. > And I love guns (own several). Haha, we don't have to agree on this one - although I will say they are super fun to shoot.
- systemvoltage 3y ago
  > Haha, we don't have to agree on this one - although I will say they are super fun to shoot. I am the opposite. I own them for the philosophy of autonomy, freedom and individualism that guns imbibe. Target shooting isn't that much fun in cities (indoor ranges), only if you go out to the country. This tweet describes it all: --- The Bill of Rights feels intense today, but try reading it in the mindset of someone in 1791. A few years removed from Louis XVI selling Divine Right of Kings. Then suddenly “Hell no, also we’re gonna say and print whatever we want, you can’t search us, and everyone gets guns.” --- Quoting, source: https://twitter.com/Austen/status/1525640468129673216 https://twitter.com/Austen/status/1525640468129673216
  - arcticbull 3y ago
    lol, 1791 was a long-ass time ago, and the flintlock era is long past. Also they all had slaves and didn't believe women had the right to vote, and that black people were people. Franklin likely lost his mind to syphilis. There's no sense putting on a hat that doesn't fit. I prefer to evaluate the role of guns from first principles in the current world not the age of dysentery and cholera. Times change and laws evolve. It's a good thing. I've never understood the elevation of the founding fathers to infallible deities. They had some good ideas, and some terrible ideas, and that doesn't detract from what they accomplished. The wedding is over, the priest can go home now.
    - systemvoltage 3y ago
      More relavant now than ever I'd argue.
      - arcticbull 3y ago
        Like I said we can agree to disagree. My question would be why stop with this analytical framework on the 2nd amendment? How would the founding fathers feel about the 14th? Not great, I wager, given, you know. How does that mesh with the modern world? It feels disingenuous to only harken back to them on things we think they'd like and ignore their opinion on things we're pretty sure they'd take issue with. I guess my point is, in your hypothetical question about imagining life in 1791... you mean as a straight, white, male right? Because if I'm anything other than that particular combo, dude, I can't tell you I'd arrive at the conclusion you want me to. 14th wasn’t until 1866. Women couldn’t vote until the 19th in 1920. That's not an argument for guns so much as it's an argument for 'being top dog is pretty good.'
      - marci 3y ago
        Do you think Aliens would (if they wanted to) rather make first contact in a place where it's relevant now more than ever to own guns, or in a place where it's less so?
    - wyager 3y ago
      The 1st amendment was written in the era of printing presses - should we scrap that too? After all, there's no way they could have predicted the internet.
wyager 3y ago
> Why can't Europe build amazing high margin software businesses or any hyper growth companies? The regulations are onerous and the taxes are high. Why would anyone take the extreme risks associated with building a high-risk high-reward business when everyone gets in your way and most of the reward upside would just get taken from you anyway?
- arcticbull 3y ago
  Because if you fail, you're not destitute and without healthcare - while success still leads to a materially better lifestyle. Specifically because the risks aren't nearly as extreme and the rewards are still very good. You really don’t get materially more of your yield taken from you in France than you do in California where top marginal tax rate is over 50%. And that rate clearly doesn’t stop anyone in California. Imagine Steve Jobs going hmmm, I would start Apple but the top tax rate is like 5% higher than it could be, I’m just going back to bed then.
  - p1necone 3y ago
    Comparing top marginal tax rates is kinda silly - makes much more sense to pick some "normal" ish salary or salary range (or just your current salary or expected future salary) and compare total percentage taken at that level. The top federal and (California) state tax brackets both start at over 500k, and you'd have to be earning significantly more than that even for it to start affecting your overall tax percentage very much.
  - wyager 3y ago
    > if you fail, you're not destitute and without healthcare If an American businessman fails, they just get another job and life goes on. They still make 3-10x as much as they would in europe.
- p1necone 3y ago
  Why would anyone take the extreme risk of starting any business at all in the United States unless they were already financially independent? Also this idea that taxes are lower in the US is mostly bullshit - once you add together state income + sales + federal + healthcare insurance costs it's not meaningfully different from many European/Australasian nations.

arcticbull 3y ago

> Why can't Europe build amazing high margin software businesses or any hyper growth companies? It's a good question, my guess is network effects. The people who would want to do this want to be near other people who would want to do this - and the biggest extant pool is in California. > For now, I'll honestly take 2.5x salary in US over pretty much any other place. Yeah, that's basically my situation too. Honestly probably closer to 4-5X annually what I'd make back home. Nominally, not adjusted for PPP of course. > And I love guns (own several). Haha, we don't have to agree on this one - although I will say they are super fun to shoot.

systemvoltage 3y ago
> Haha, we don't have to agree on this one - although I will say they are super fun to shoot. I am the opposite. I own them for the philosophy of autonomy, freedom and individualism that guns imbibe. Target shooting isn't that much fun in cities (indoor ranges), only if you go out to the country. This tweet describes it all: --- The Bill of Rights feels intense today, but try reading it in the mindset of someone in 1791. A few years removed from Louis XVI selling Divine Right of Kings. Then suddenly “Hell no, also we’re gonna say and print whatever we want, you can’t search us, and everyone gets guns.” --- Quoting, source: https://twitter.com/Austen/status/1525640468129673216 https://twitter.com/Austen/status/1525640468129673216
- arcticbull 3y ago
  lol, 1791 was a long-ass time ago, and the flintlock era is long past. Also they all had slaves and didn't believe women had the right to vote, and that black people were people. Franklin likely lost his mind to syphilis. There's no sense putting on a hat that doesn't fit. I prefer to evaluate the role of guns from first principles in the current world not the age of dysentery and cholera. Times change and laws evolve. It's a good thing. I've never understood the elevation of the founding fathers to infallible deities. They had some good ideas, and some terrible ideas, and that doesn't detract from what they accomplished. The wedding is over, the priest can go home now.
  - systemvoltage 3y ago
    More relavant now than ever I'd argue.
    - arcticbull 3y ago
      Like I said we can agree to disagree. My question would be why stop with this analytical framework on the 2nd amendment? How would the founding fathers feel about the 14th? Not great, I wager, given, you know. How does that mesh with the modern world? It feels disingenuous to only harken back to them on things we think they'd like and ignore their opinion on things we're pretty sure they'd take issue with. I guess my point is, in your hypothetical question about imagining life in 1791... you mean as a straight, white, male right? Because if I'm anything other than that particular combo, dude, I can't tell you I'd arrive at the conclusion you want me to. 14th wasn’t until 1866. Women couldn’t vote until the 19th in 1920. That's not an argument for guns so much as it's an argument for 'being top dog is pretty good.'
    - marci 3y ago
      Do you think Aliens would (if they wanted to) rather make first contact in a place where it's relevant now more than ever to own guns, or in a place where it's less so?
  - wyager 3y ago
    The 1st amendment was written in the era of printing presses - should we scrap that too? After all, there's no way they could have predicted the internet.

wyager 3y ago

> Why can't Europe build amazing high margin software businesses or any hyper growth companies? The regulations are onerous and the taxes are high. Why would anyone take the extreme risks associated with building a high-risk high-reward business when everyone gets in your way and most of the reward upside would just get taken from you anyway?

arcticbull 3y ago
Because if you fail, you're not destitute and without healthcare - while success still leads to a materially better lifestyle. Specifically because the risks aren't nearly as extreme and the rewards are still very good. You really don’t get materially more of your yield taken from you in France than you do in California where top marginal tax rate is over 50%. And that rate clearly doesn’t stop anyone in California. Imagine Steve Jobs going hmmm, I would start Apple but the top tax rate is like 5% higher than it could be, I’m just going back to bed then.
- p1necone 3y ago
  Comparing top marginal tax rates is kinda silly - makes much more sense to pick some "normal" ish salary or salary range (or just your current salary or expected future salary) and compare total percentage taken at that level. The top federal and (California) state tax brackets both start at over 500k, and you'd have to be earning significantly more than that even for it to start affecting your overall tax percentage very much.
- wyager 3y ago
  > if you fail, you're not destitute and without healthcare If an American businessman fails, they just get another job and life goes on. They still make 3-10x as much as they would in europe.
p1necone 3y ago
Why would anyone take the extreme risk of starting any business at all in the United States unless they were already financially independent? Also this idea that taxes are lower in the US is mostly bullshit - once you add together state income + sales + federal + healthcare insurance costs it's not meaningfully different from many European/Australasian nations.