Posts by Carl Cox

Casey Cook10 said:—as if all these private doctors just dropped out of the sky! Most of them are top-tier specialists who spent years grinding within the public system, scraping together whatever meager scraps they were paid to fund their own offices and equipment. Yeah, right...
Or better yet—they just graduated from med school and jumped straight into private practice. I’m dying to know what these "top experts" actually left behind in the public system. Who did they teach? What legacy did they leave?...
...
The real issue is this inherited, old-school perception of healthcare. Americans have gotten used to all the perks of capitalism, except when it comes to medicine—then suddenly everyone expects it to be free. And while they want everything handed to them for nothing, they barely lift a finger to actually take care of their own health. So the moment things get difficult, they scream, "I want everything, I want it now, and I want it for free!"

Okay, if I’m following your logic correctly, in the first paragraph you’re arguing that a doctor working "in the system" can't just open a private clinic because their tiny government paycheck isn't enough to jumpstart a business?
And then, in the second part, you claim Americans have this "communist perception" of healthcare because they want everything for free?
Look, I actually think it’s the *doctors* who inherited that "communist perception." Capitalism gave you the freedom to open private practices, yet you’re complaining that "it’s not that simple." Of course it isn't! You have to take risks; you have to take out a loan to get started—just like any other business. If you don't want to take the risk, then stay in public service for a lower wage. What’s the problem? It’s the same for almost every profession. I work for a large private corporation where my boss watches every single cent he pays me—but because of that, my salary is significantly better than if I were working for the Federal Government or some state agency. A friend of mine recently calculated that she’d much rather work for a government entity for $1333 and stick to an 8-hour workday, than keep working for a private firm making $4,500 with zero chance for advancement or training and pulling 10-hour days.
Anyway, back to healthcare: I am perfectly fine with not having a single cent of my paycheck diverted toward healthcare, provided I pay a premium at a private clinic when I actually need it. But I’d love to see how many doctors would step up and say, "Fine, stop taking our salaries of xxxx dollars, we'll all just go private." And no, I don't want free healthcare. But let's see who's the first one to "return to communism" under those conditions: the patients or the doctors?

goldengull3 said:... but let’s be real: nobody is going to convince me that some average Joe in Austria lives the same life as an average Joe here in America. Just look at the cars they drive and where they go for vacation...

Exactly—I was specifically referring to the "average" worker. The "average" worker you're picturing in Austria isn't actually average. And just like him, my "average" worker isn't average for America either. Look, I'm glancing out at my parking lot right now—it filled up six hours ago (since the engineers don't roll in until after 8:00, it's easy to spot the blue-collar rides 😁): two Mazdas, two Mercedes C-Class models, and generally speaking—mid-range cars. Now, the engineering section (actually, the college-grad lot): a handful of Renaults, Chevrolets, Hyundais, and Fords. Looking at that spread, you'd think we all skipped school entirely—but the reality is that I'll pull those $1667 salaries at plenty of firms, whereas these workers will have a hell of a time finding anything anywhere else that pays what they make here. Even in Austria, they won't see this kind of standard.

goldengull3 said:And I believe having a few years of experience working abroad benefits everyone—from mastering a language to broadening one's professional horizons...

I couldn't agree more. Like I mentioned back on the first page, that would be my main priority if I were to leave.

Look, goldengull3, you take two outliers earning way above average in Austria and try to turn that into a universal rule—it just doesn't work that way.
I work for a company where the employees are protected like an endangered species. The lowest-paid worker on my shop floor makes $1500. The highest earner this month pulled in $2833. Now, if some guy—let’s say a Moldovan—tries to have a chat with me about it, I tell him that even our top assembly line worker makes $2833 (for an 8-hour shift across four rotations), and he’ll immediately declare: "Wow, life in America is amazing! Look at that, a worker makes 8,500—imagine what an engineer earns!"
Now, I realize my company is an outlier (and I would never claim that 'average wages in America are $2000' based solely on my firm's data), but the entire value system in the US is so skewed that, as an engineer, I actually pull the average down—mine is $1667, as I already mentioned on the first page. Oh, and sure, we have Christmas bonuses ($200) and reimbursement allowances ($400). When our last laborer retired, he received a severance package of $46667, and now pulls in a monthly pension of $1433, which is absolutely extraordinary—not exactly the standard American situation, right?
So, I would be veeeeeery careful about calculating "how great my life would be in Austria" just because some acquaintances of mine over there happen to earn xxx euros a month.

Ronald Castillo5 said:I really wonder—do young people today actually have any real "need" to leave America?

Why on earth would they leave?

Hey, if I’m 30 years old—do I still qualify as "young"? 😁
So, look—I’m an engineer by trade and I’ve been working at a manufacturing firm for three years now. My salary is decent enough for American standards (around $1.75) and I live on my own. Every now and then, I catch myself daydreaming about moving abroad, and honestly, here is why:
1. Career Growth: The pay here is just... stuck. It fluctuates by maybe $50 or so. I’ve handled enough projects to bring this company millions of dollars, yet my paycheck stays exactly the same. When I asked my boss, "Hey, you want me to get a raise?" his answer was basically: "If you want more money, go find another job." And frankly, he was right—it would be incredibly hard to find another manufacturing gig with a high salary because there are only a handful of companies in the whole country where I could actually work. If there were only ten viable options in America, versus maybe a hundred in Germany, for example, that would be a massive difference.
2. Equipment and Tech: Manufacturing is one of those fields where you constantly need to sink money into new gear. Nowadays, you just call up a vendor, give them some basic specs (dimensions, speeds, etc.), and boom—everything is installed within a week. That’s nice, sure, but then you have to spend forever tweaking it to fit your specific setup. My "moving abroad" fantasy involves this: imagine being part of a team that actually *develops* that kind of cutting-edge equipment!
3. Job Security and Ethics: They hired me three years ago. After my internship, they gave me a permanent contract—but they let my mentor (a woman in her 50s) go. Why? Because they claimed she was "too old" and might start taking sick leave or causing "problems." Beyond the total lack of ethics, the real issue is the lack of experience available. I’m essentially teaching myself everything through trial and error. And the "error" part? That usually gets caught by customer complaints. And every single complaint results in a pay cut. I won't dwell on it, but it circles back to point number one.
4. The Money: My current pay isn't terrible. It covers my cost of living, barely. But I don't have a car, and buying a house feels completely impossible. Plus, I’m pulling 10-hour days. I wouldn't necessarily see a massive jump in standard of living elsewhere—let's say we look at Germany as a comparison. I might start out making around $2,200 gross. After taxes, I'm looking at maybe $1,300, which in German terms is pretty much the same as what I make here $1.75. However—and this is the kicker—in a developed Western economy, I assume my salary would actually grow with seniority, and not just keep pace with inflation. When I look at my colleagues, an engineer with 25 years under their belt is making maybe $2.00. I suspect that gap is much wider in other countries.
To wrap this up: I’d move for better career mobility, access to more advanced technology, and the hope that when I hit 50, a company won't discard me as "old and problematic," but will instead value me as an engineer with deep expertise.
Sounds totally unrealistic, doesn't it?
👋

Between the ages of 14 and 24, foreplay undergoes this massive shift—it goes from being something guys are dying to do while girls just aren't interested, to something women actually crave while men can't even be bothered with it.

If you really want to find the perfect match—and if you ask me—you’re looking at a Cosmo girl paired with a 14-year-old boy.

I completely lost the plot for a while there. Honestly, I lost the subplot, the script, the entire soundtrack, the intermission, my popcorn, the credits, and even the exit sign.

Look, this isn't a task for anyone who's wildly ambitious.

(end of quote—I should probably list half the book here!)
The book is absolutely incredible, and the movie is pretty charming too—John Cusack rules! 👍
Go ahead and read a book now 🙂 and make sure you read About a Boy as well.
When I finally grow up, I want to write as well as Nick Hornby.🙏

Look, I’m dealing with a pretty similar situation than yours.
I used to be someone who only drank socially—just the occasional beer or glass of wine, never hard liquor because I can't stand the stuff. But lately, "occasionally" has turned into "frequently," and suddenly I'm drinking whenever I'm out, and even starting to do it at home too. At first, my conscience was absolutely screaming at me ("Admit it, Jessica Ramos42, you're becoming an alcoholic"), but I just kept going anyway.
On top of that, I've been feeling this pain in my liver area recently—though, honestly, I interpret it as my brain (not my liver!) trying to warn me that I've pushed things a little too far. I've been wondering what else it could be—assuming it isn't actually my liver. Given the stress levels at work, I thought maybe it's an ulcer or just some irritation in the lining of my stomach? Because, just like you: I haven't been drinking nearly enough over the last couple of years to develop actual cirrhosis.
There's another part to this story: my mother passed away from liver cirrhosis, and she was an alcoholic. She had been drinking for as long as I can remember—starting with just a glass of wine or beer after lunch, then moving to more frequent drinks; eventually, she was constantly buying booze (or sending me to the corner store to grab it). Besides the beer and wine, there was always some kind of hard liquor sitting around the house. Sometimes a bottle of spirits would last a month, and then I'd notice they were buying them more and more frequently. My dad wasn't an alcoholic—he'd have maybe two beers a day for about 30 years. I don't call him an alcoholic because he rarely went overboard; he just genuinely loved his beer and never drank specifically to get hammered. Mom, though... her doses kept climbing, and then she started mixing it with hard liquor—I think that's when she shifted toward drinking just to get drunk. It took about ten years for her to go from one glass of wine a day to a whole bottle, and another ten years where she started combining everything.
During her final year, she started losing weight at a terrifying rate.
Then one day, we noticed she had turned completely yellow. I asked if her liver was hurting, and she said no. To make a long story short: she ended up in the hospital and died within a month and a half.
So, from what I've seen, cirrhosis doesn't just happen out of nowhere—her doctor explained that the liver first swells due to the alcohol and fatty foods before it finally transitions into cirrhosis.

My decision is simple: I'm cutting out all alcohol entirely and avoiding greasy foods. I'm going to monitor how I feel for a month—by then, both my "liver" pain and my conscience should hopefully settle down.
If the pain persists—then I'm heading straight to the doctor.

I wouldn't recommend experimenting with anything other than quitting the booze (that certainly won't hurt). I might be talking nonsense here, but I figure it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on your stool color too—if something is wrong in the digestive tract, it usually shows up there. You want to make sure it isn't black or bloody (which isn't necessarily a sign of cirrhosis, but it definitely indicates something is off).
Also, stick to lighter foods—maybe something just really irritated your system, who knows.
I don't think you need to panic, but I'm genuinely curious to hear what a medical professional would say about this!