Comment on Anon questions our energy sector
wolframhydroxide@sh.itjust.works 15 hours agoAgain, a fair point. Assuming that anyone with an idea of the meaning of “potential energy” survives the next ten years, I’d still like to see it more fully explored in the american west, but it is, unfortunately, rather a moot point for at least five years.
iii@mander.xyz 15 hours ago
Ah that’s politics.
I’m fine with talking polite politics. So far you seem to me like a polite and educated person.
My point of view is from EU, not US. To me US always looked like higher highs, and lower lows, in terms to a person’s achievements.
To me, EU always seemed like: wear the uniform, don’t stand out. No new ideas please.
I envy living in US.
wolframhydroxide@sh.itjust.works 11 hours ago
That’s interesting. For me, I guess it’s a “grass is greener” scenario. I look at the headway various countries in the eurozone have made on topics from socialized medicine, to universal basic income, to free postsecondary education, to the protection of personal data, and even to forcing Apple to change its charging cable to the standard USB-C. That change of policy forced them to change it here, as well. The EU’s stodginess helps people even beyond its borders. My students ALL have iPhones, and It’s unbelievable to witness the ease with which they can access their devices now, vs. when they were all forced to use a specialized cable for connection and charge. America hasn’t even figured out high-speed rail yet. As an american who teaches secondary science to a bunch of naturalized citizens under the age of 18, I don’t think I can stay through the next 4 years. I fear the pogroms, if not for myself, then for my students and their families. I can’t have my tax dollars go towards a repeat of the mistakes of 90 years ago. I’m thinking New Zealand is looking comparatively nice (though apparently there’s a growing nationalist movement there as well).
In general, I do sense that there is a significantly greater sense of “rugged individualism” in the US, compared to many other countries, but I see the costs of that individualism more acutely because of its proximity. People seem to be largely incapable of consideration here, from anti-vaxx and anti-mask movements to the hesitance to tax the wealthiest individuals due to the thought that “maybe that’ll be me one day”. It’s really quite distressing.
iii@mander.xyz 8 hours ago
I think the socialized medicine and socialized postsecondary education are the biggest advantages indeed.
This comes at the cost of way lower middle class wages. An educated engineer’s take home pay is maybe 1.2 times that of a factory working. Resulting in very little people actually persuing STEM.
Combine that with the deindustrialization that’s going on in the EU, we will have to see how long it lasts.
It’s a trade-off, on which I can understand your point of view, as to how it benefits individuals in the short and mid-long term.
Universal basic income does, to my knowledge, not exist in the EU.
Those were/are popular here, too.
There’s likely a “grass is greener” going on, for the both of us :)