[nomadicdude]

Look at it this way. You basically have no chance of moving up in society unless you are born with a silver spoon. Statistics back this up. The very rich have been allowed to accumulate too much wealth.

Everyone else is a brainwashed peon IMHO, working more hours for less pay than ever before, in order to purchase more material possessions to justify their existence. America has become a braindead consumption society: your existence is tied to eating too much, spending too much, working too much, and obtaining too much in material possessions.

Worse is that people have been brainwashed to believe this is all okay. This is American. What a sad thought process. The idea that you have no security for basic things like healthcare, education, or retirement is insane. Every other rich country on Earth provides these things in a sensible and cost-effective way but in America they throw us all to the corporate dogs so they can make more money.

Anyway, I'll stop. Oh yeah I didn't even get to the obesity issue, third tier women, feminism, or the inane stupidity of the average American about the outside world, including people who have graduate degrees or higher who often think the rest of the world is unsafe and crazy.

So whatever. Anyway...

[Baphomet]

Those "statistics" didn't stop me. But, no worries. So, you're moving then?

[j r]

Dude, this reads like one of those crazy ranty Facebook statuses that I see obviously bipolar chicks on Facebook posting.

Get a grip. Take some agency in your own life. self improvement is the answer to being less angry.

[Suits]

This would be a defeatist attitude....




...and that's coming from that guy who lives rent free with his parents in a -20C pussy paradise and still manages to hate his life.



What's going on bud? Tough week?

[BiggNastee]

People don't move up in society in America not, because of lack of opportunity but because, they're lazy as fuck and somehow think they're entitled to everything.

[Sombro]

[Cr33pin]

I pretty much agree. Its a fat sinking ship and I got my floaties on ready to abandon it.

[lskdfjldsf]

Bahhh, another one of these rants.

Income potential is more important than income equality. Good luck finding a better system in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, or the Middle East. Trust me, I got tired of bitching about it and moved. Planning a return to the US because Europe is loaded with its own problems and my standard of living in the US was substantially higher.

Think you need a silver spoon to move upwards? I grew up in a Pennsylvania trailer park and joined the military to pay for college. Volunteered for a deployment overseas to eliminate my remaining student loan debt. I got a degree in a language (German) allowing me to transition into high-paying business development roles in technology and medicine. I now have flats in two countries and can buy pretty much whatever the fuck I want.

In response to another point you mentioned, the rich aren't necessarily getting richer because they're cheating the system, the rich are getting richer because technology, information, and the internet have made it possible to market and sell goods/services across the entire world rather than an isolated region. I really wish people would stop comparing statistics from today with statistics from the 1950's. Hell, you can't even compare the economy of the 1990's with today. Our economy has transitioned from one based on agriculture, to manufacturing, to services, and now to information.

The game has changed, adapt or move on.

[deathtofatties]

You're somewhat right, but what's the point of dwelling on it? Focus 100% of your mind and energy on moving up in the world, and not on anger or hatred of the current state of our shit society.

[Handsome Creepy Eel]

While USA certainly has huge problems, it is still far from the countries where your claim is really true (think Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Afghanistan or Albania). Heck, even in Croatia which is tremendously corrupt I don't feel that way. Lighten up and do something about it.

[cardguy]

@Blick Mang - To add to what you wrote:

[KorbenDallas]

I agree with the women being subpar and the majority of the people being stupid. Having said that, there is a lot of money flying around in America and a lot of opportunity for a smart, determined, guy. Plus, money goes a little farther in countries with better women/lower cost of living, so, as an American, your advantage of relatively visa free travel for the majority of the countries in the world makes being a US citizen not the worst deal in the world if you play your cards right.

It's how you look at the glass. Is it half full or half empty. I used to kind of think like the op, but it doesn't lead anywhere you want to go/be. Being positive, enthusiastic, determined, and happy is much better than the attitude you have now. Having said that, it is hard to be those things when you are not getting laid, but having said that, just makes it that much greater when you're fucking the brains out of sweet foreign pussy while so many Americans are pounding their head against the wall in the corporate grind.

[nomadicdude]

(03-05-2014 02:02 PM)Blick Mang Wrote:  

Bahhh, another one of these rants.

Income potential is more important than income equality. Good luck finding a better system in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, or the Middle East. Trust me, I got tired of bitching about it and moved. Planning a return to the US because Europe is loaded with its own problems and my standard of living in the US was substantially higher.

Think you need a silver spoon to move upwards? I grew up in a Pennsylvania trailer park and joined the military to pay for college. Volunteered for a deployment overseas to eliminate my remaining student loan debt. I got a degree in a language (German) allowing me to transition into high-paying business development roles in technology and medicine. I now have flats in two countries and can buy pretty much whatever the fuck I want.

In response to another point you mentioned, the rich aren't necessarily getting richer because they're cheating the system, the rich are getting richer because technology, information, and the internet have made it possible to market and sell goods/services across the entire world rather than an isolated region. I really wish people would stop comparing statistics from today with statistics from the 1950's. Hell, you can't even compare the economy of the 1990's with today. Our economy has transitioned from one based on agriculture, to manufacturing, to services, and now to information.

The game has changed, adapt or move on.

The rich in America have gotten richer because of inane tax laws that tax wages higher than dividends or capital gains. There are other reasons of course such as the destruction of labor unions in the US over the last 30 years which allowed the top classes to consolidate more income and power, but it generally is just tax policy. That is the exact reason people like Mitt Romney accumulated so much wealth.

And it depends on what you mean by "standard of living". The average European has a much higher standard of living if you are talking about security i.e. affordable healthcare and education, secure employment and retirement, and time off to actually take a vacation. If by standard of living you instead mean accumulating possessions and having the biggest house, car, net worth, then yes some Americans have a higher standard of living than Euros.

And your silver spoon argument is just one example. Hell, I was born to immigrant parents and have had years where I'm in the top 5% of income earners. That doesn't negate the statistics that show that freaking socialist Sweden has higher income mobility than the US.

[nomadicdude]

(03-05-2014 01:41 PM)Baphomet Wrote:  

Those "statistics" didn't stop me. But, no worries. So, you're moving then?

Yeah, sorry for being a whiny bitch. I am getting out of the US for good eventually. I actually left for a couple years then came back and learned my lesson. Anyways, I'll admit it's a great place to make money if you are educated or not risk-adverse and customer service is outstanding but that is about it.

[KorbenDallas]

No the very rich have gotten insanely wealthy not because of the tax code, but corporate and bank welfare via the Federal Reserve and federal government bailouts. All those banks that went bust in 2008? They got bailed out with their corporate officers being paid millions.

The progressive income tax is meant to cull the billionaires closest rivals. Professionals, small business, and doctors who make 500,000 - 10,000,000 a year. These people pretty much pay all the taxes in America while receiving no welfare via government. Government funds go to the very very rich and the poor. This is to squeeze the middle class and create an environment that has more in common with Brazil than the America of the 1950s-90s.

[nomadicdude]

@ KorbenDallas: The rich in America were getting richer way before the bank bailouts. That sounds like a cop out for the real problems causing income inequality.

Agree about the tax system screwing lawyers, doctors, and other professionals who have earned income while letting corporations, hedge fund owners and other finance types pay very little. America is totally becoming Latin America. In Brazil if I meet someone who is a doctor or lawyer I am 99% sure there father was a educated person. America use to not be like that but it basically is now.

[Suits]

On the plus side, it should be fairly easy to live elsewhere in the world where the hand you drew is skewed to your advantage.

[Christian McQueen]

Starting a thread complaining about Murica sure isn't a way to become rich either.

There's been a high level of threads lately with cats just complaining.

We can chalk it up to winter blues, but I'd hate to see this place become a haven for complainers and 'the sky is falling' types.

[MrLemon]

America Sucks Less

[lskdfjldsf]

"And your silver spoon argument is just one example. Hell, I was born to immigrant parents and have had years where I'm in the top 5% of income earners. That doesn't negate the statistics that show that freaking socialist Sweden has higher income mobility than the US. "

Yeah, moving from poor to middle class where everyone else in society is. Working the same BS jobs for the same BS money, no variation or possibility to accomplish better things, half your income is taken away, but damn that health insurance makes it totally worth it!

Moving upwards beyond the middle class is next to impossible in Europe and I say that from personal experience. Most people are content with living lives of mediocrity, complacent and content enjoying the state benefits they give over half of their paychecks to (barely) afford. If mediocrity and feeling safe are what floats your boat, Europe is probably the place for you.

[cardguy]

There is a very simple way to tell how good or bad a country is.

Count the number of people that want to leave, and count the number of people that want to enter.

A hell of alot more people want to enter America than want to leave.

That means America is doing okay.

[Hotwheels]

(03-05-2014 02:17 PM)nomadicdude Wrote:  

(03-05-2014 01:41 PM)Baphomet Wrote:  

Those "statistics" didn't stop me. But, no worries. So, you're moving then?

Yeah, sorry for being a whiny bitch. I am getting out of the US for good eventually. I actually left for a couple years then came back and learned my lesson. Anyways, I'll admit it's a great place to make money if you are educated or not risk-adverse and customer service is outstanding but that is about it.

So you are going to go to some other country where you will have a much better chance to succeed than the US?

[nomadicdude]

(03-05-2014 02:45 PM)cardguy Wrote:  

There is a very simple way to tell how good or bad a country is.

Count the number of people that want to leave, and count the number of people that want to enter.

A hell of alot more people want to enter America than want to leave.

That means America is doing okay.

That is too simplistic and sorta mediocre as you are basically saying any rich nation should ignore it's problems because, obviously, there always will be people from developing countries who want to move to the US, Canada, Australia/NZ and the EU.

And it's ironic that alot of conservatives in America love to pretend that rich people are RUNNING out of the country to avoid taxes, and others are renouncing their US citizenship.

[nomadicdude]

@hotwheels: Yes, though I am not moving abroad to make money. I already have a good nest egg to survive while I figure stuff out.

[cardguy]

It is simplistic. But - you gotta' live somewhere. And you are limited to a country somewhere on Earth.

Not many options better than America.

Anyway - it is a funny thing to remember. I always use it as an easy shorthand to explain to liberals why Africa is shit and Europe (or America) is good.

"You can't say that - that's raaacccciiiisssst", they complain.

"Well - how come more people from over there wanna' live here, than people over here wanna' live over there?"

Simples.