Posts by Jessica Gonzalez

I guess if you had jumped on the Bitcoin bandwagon early enough, you could have just picked up some GPUs at any local Best Buy and started mining. It seems like anyone who doesn't want to put in the work can always find a million excuses as to why they can't.

ruggedjackal46 said:Look, there’s a massive difference between discussing business and entrepreneurship and tackling the unemployment crisis in America. They aren't even in the same zip code. Just because a bunch of people hitting up the local unemployment office can't find work outside of a major hub like New York City doesn't mean they lack entrepreneurial spirit or that the economy is failing them personally. I mean, really, what is someone in rural Wyoming supposed to do—start a taxi service? Or launch a high-tech Silicon Valley startup from a farmhouse in West Virginia? With what seed money, and more importantly, with what kind of market? I get it. Some of you are obsessed with corporate ladders, work ethic, and market dynamics because that’s the world you live in. You’re frustrated by low wages for college grads, the lack of hustle, and all those people getting cushy government jobs without lifting a finger. But can we be self-aware enough to look at the bigger picture? Most of the people struggling out there aren't even on your radar. If you don't personally know anyone who’s unemployed, maybe it’s just because you, as a degree-holder living in Manhattan, don't exactly hang out with the jobless folks in rural Montana.

People are starting businesses and making money. In the small town where my late grandmother lived, they're turning old houses into luxury villas with pools to rent out, and it seems to be doing quite well. I guess it doesn't matter much where you live if you're working in something like IT. You probably just need a laptop and a decent internet connection.

I'm not quite sure where you're pulling your data from, since different sources can show pretty different things. For instance, if you look at France and the US, they seem almost identical here:
https://knoema.com/atlas/France/topi...percent-of-GDP
https://knoema.com/atlas/USA/top...percent-of-GDP

But I guess that's not really the point. If we have the chance to bring in billions of dollars through tourism, why wouldn't we? It doesn't really impact other industries, and I'm not sure who exactly tourism is supposed to bother. How could millions of international visitors coming here to spend money be a bad thing? It's one of the most profitable businesses globally, which is probably why it's booming everywhere. You even see stories on this forum from people who skipped formal education and jumped straight into tourism trades—making money renting out boats or running excursions—earning kind of money most people can only dream about. It shouldn't be an issue regarding the workforce either, because if there's a labor shortage, you just bring people in. The UAE doesn't even use its own local workforce; everything is done by expats. I think it's all fairly simple: wherever there are jobs and competitive wages, workers will follow. People here are only just starting to grasp the economic realities that govern major, serious markets—things like capital flow, labor mobility, and movement over staying stationary. It might have been a shame if we hadn't joined the global mainstream earlier, as we might have navigated this transition sooner.

Just one question, though: that group of people who moved to Germany, Ireland, Canada, or wherever else—if a war broke out tomorrow, would they really pick up a rifle and head to the borders to defend those places? Probably not. I spent three years living in Sweden, but that country doesn't mean much to me. Not really. It has its qualities and it's economically stable, but it isn't my home or my culture. I was a foreigner from day one and I never tried to become anything more. These are all just economic migrations, and that's just how trends work today. Any trend can shift. Personally, I support people moving away to work, seeing how things are done in other countries, learning something new, and hopefully making some money if they can. I also support bringing in a large number of foreign workers; I think the more, the better. I feel like we could actually use a bit more exposure to different cultures to help push our society toward a more realistic worldview.

Just one more thought regarding hotels. In Las Vegas, room rates fluctuate dynamically based on demand—they can actually shift up or down throughout the day. Generally, prices stay pretty low because the main goal is just to keep rooms filled so people show up to gamble, shop, eat, drink, and hit the clubs. Here in the States, we're seeing similar shifts now that sites like Expedia or Airbnb have become so mainstream. We're still catching up in some areas, especially since not every hotel chain is fully privatized yet. I guess our path to growth is pretty straightforward: we need to focus on exports, particularly to international markets, while ramping up tourism. Tourism isn't a bad thing at all; look at how much wealth places like France or Switzerland pull in from visitors. We should definitely lean into it, but we also need to bolster our industrial sector, making sure it's heavily export-oriented. Personally, I think it might even be better if small and medium-sized businesses lead the way. If you look at those old-school massive state-run corporations and their issues with unions and bureaucracy, they don't really represent what serious modern business looks like.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy A31

brightpilot6 said:The American economic structure is fundamentally dysfunctional, and frankly, there’s no reason to strive for its perfection.

Furthermore, they operate with a level of organization that makes this backwater territory look like complete chaos by comparison.

There’s no doubt that American society is much cleaner than what you see in Europe. I don't mean that crime doesn't exist—there's actually so much of it it's hard to wrap your head around—but life just moves much more practically and efficiently there. For starters, people get paid by the hour because employers want to know exactly what they're paying for.

Just one small difference, though, to show you what real business looks like. It might seem minor, but I guess it reveals a completely different worldview.

On one hand: I used to work at a hostel in Chicago, which was the only one in the city back then and, naturally, it was state-run. It was a crazy operation, but I didn't stay long. Basically, for every single guest, I had to manually write their info on three different forms. Name, last name, DOB, home state, ID number, check-in/out dates, etc. Those papers were supposedly sent to the police, the hostel archives, and the local tourism board, but in reality, they probably just went straight into the trash. I mean, does anyone honestly think anyone ever reads or checks those? 🤣 Also, if you were a resident of Chicago, you weren't allowed to stay at that hostel, even if your house had just burned down. That's just how the rules worked; people would bring their girlfriends there. 🤣 So, you show up with cash, you want a room, you want to pay upfront to fill the place during the off-season, and you still can't?

On the other hand: In America, when you check into any kind of lodging—whether it’s a roadside motel, a hostel, a boutique hotel, or a massive place like the Bellagio where you might see celebrities gambling at 3 AM—nobody ever asks you for ID or thinks to scribble down your personal details. They just ask for a credit card, swipe it quickly through the machine, hand you the key, and say, "Have a nice day, sir."

I suppose anyone who understands this simple comparison sees the whole picture. We are maybe a hundred years away from even grasping the concept of "business," let alone actually practicing it.

When I was sixteen, I spent a summer living near Chicago with a family that had relocated from Ottawa. It was your quintessential American suburb—rows of houses with attached garages, plenty of larger folks everywhere, and everything sold in massive bulk sizes. That family was quite driven; both the father and his oldest son were engineers. The younger son was still in high school, and I actually attended summer school at a local public school, which felt like stepping right into one of those classic movie clichés. All four of them worked incredibly hard. The younger son managed to juggle two summer jobs, the father worked for a decent firm, the mother was at a department store, and the older son earned a pretty solid salary as an engineer. Despite having four incomes, they all lived under one roof. Eventually, the older son decided to start a small taxi service with just one car to run on top of his regular job and weekends. At the time, I couldn't quite wrap my head around why he would take on more work. Now, I think I understand. They made it clear to me that bills don't pay themselves and that life is a constant hustle. You might have a steady job today, but there's no guarantee about tomorrow. You might own a home, but if you miss a single mortgage payment, you could find yourself out on the street.

What I really took away from that summer is that you should never expect anything from anyone. And you certainly shouldn't expect much from the government.

ruggedjackal46 said:Fair point, but let's be real: people don't work because they're deeply in love with their jobs; they work because they need an income—to cover the basics, to treat themselves to something nice, you name it. At its core, it’s just a transaction. A worker trades their time, energy, and skills for a paycheck. It isn't about loving or hating labor; it's simply about whether the trade is viable and if the worker can actually secure that income.

The fact that there's high unemployment and a massive exodus of workers moving to other states in America doesn't have anything to do with some supposed cultural "hatred of work." It's much simpler: the transaction isn't happening. Either there aren't enough jobs, the wages are insulting, or the pay for that same work just a few hundred miles away is ten times higher. In these cases, you can't blame a few "bad" employers, and you certainly can't blame "lazy" employees either.

Believe it or not, I think there are actually people who truly love what they do and go above and beyond.

And as for that idea that there's a place just a couple hundred miles away where average salaries are ten times higher... maybe show me where that is on a map.

ruggedjackal46 said:So, does earning a decent paycheck for yourself and helping out a family member somehow qualify you as "middle class" now?

Not everyone moves overseas just to wash dishes.

It's definitely true that a huge chunk of the population doesn't want to work because they simply can't be bothered—whether it's due to the social vibe, cronyism, or just plain old laziness—but the fact remains that they run from work like it's a plague.

People don't work because they feel like it; they work because they have to.

I'm not so sure about that. I guess some people work simply to cover their basic needs, no matter what those might be. Like, a hunter-gatherer in the Amazon might hunt just to stay alive, but most Americans work because they want to afford more and live better. Believe it or not, even in places where the government might offer things like universal basic income, I suspect many people would still choose to work so they can earn more. Maybe certain groups might rely on social safety nets, but it seems like some cultures just aren't big fans of hard work.

Justin James10 said:Based on some of the comments here, you'd think janitors should be considered middle management and getting paid top dollar!

Cleaning could actually be a pretty profitable business, I guess. The first thing you'd need to tackle is what everyone in America has been debating lately—outsourcing. It seems like every single government office or institution here keeps its own dedicated staff of cleaners on the payroll. In a more streamlined economy, maybe you'd just have a solid private firm that employs the cleaning crews and then sends them out to various locations whenever they land a contract. That way, the companies needing service pay less because they aren't carrying those positions on their own books, while the specialized firm can leverage all those different contracts to bring in enough revenue to function well and perhaps even offer higher wages. I know folks in Florida complain about not finding enough help, but then again, in some parts of Europe, guests at ski resorts end up cleaning their own apartments. I suppose it isn't really a labor shortage issue, but more a matter of how we approach solving the problem.

Justin James10 said:Honestly, I can't say I know too much about the unemployment situation, but from what I've seen, it seems like most people looking for work are actually praying they don't find anything at all!

But then again, what kind of unemployment are we talking about? I guess it varies. My cousin, who spent five years in rehab after some pretty heavy drug use, is actually juggling three different jobs right now. He might not have any specialized skills, but he’s definitely willing to put in the work.

ruggedjackal46 said:It’s not some deep moral crisis or a lack of willpower. People aren't abandoning their homes and moving to Germany just because they're fed up with the local political cronyism or the way the system is rigged for insiders. They aren't running away from home out of spite. They're doing it because they have to. In Germany, washing dishes earns you a paycheck that actually means something—money you can actually send back to support your family. Back here? You can barely make enough to cover your own groceries. At the end of the day, it isn't philosophy; it's just simple math.

I suppose dishwashers are pretty much seen as middle class in any society. It’s a tough grind, and maybe it just isn't worth it for most people.

Who is anyone even looking at? Honestly, who cares about the bureaucrats in federal agencies or those massive state-owned corporations? What does any of that have to do with me? Everything you’re mentioning happens all over the world, and frankly, often in much worse ways. In places like Sri Lanka, half the country is still essentially a no-go zone, and the government practically hides the statistics regarding the hundreds of thousands lost during their twenty-five-year civil war, yet people still find ways to earn a living and drive for Uber at 4 in the morning. I remember being on a main avenue in Mexico City and seeing a tent set up by families of students who were killed in a mass slaughter involving local gangs and corrupt police—just imagine dealing with that kind of government and political system. And yet, I think I saw ten times more optimism and joy in people's daily lives there. Even if they are living behind barbed wire in many neighborhoods. Before the war, Syria was such a mess; it wasn't just a police state, it felt like a paranoid, surreal town straight out of a "1984" novel. Still, I feel like I saw more happiness in those people than among our own "hardworking martyrs." Americans can be pretty lazy, I guess.

I guess we could really use a massive influx of foreign workers here in the States to fill all these gaps. It might actually be a good thing for people to head abroad for work, too. Maybe that's the only way the system stays flexible and people pick up some new skills. I spent about three years working overseas myself, so I didn't stay put. Either way, I learned that life's basic truths are pretty much the same everywhere; if you want to make something of yourself, it doesn't really matter if you're working here, in Norway, or even in Sri Lanka. I suppose anyone willing to put in the work can find success anywhere.

Justin James10 said:It’s one of those classic American paradoxes, isn't it? I’ve seen it firsthand more times than I can count: we face chronic labor shortages across the board—from hospitality and farming to heavy industry—yet unemployment numbers somehow stay stubbornly high. A huge part of the issue boils down to mobility. And while statistics might show that wages are technically ticking upward, let’s be real—they still feel like peanuts, largely because our tax burden is absolutely astronomical.

We really are experts at this, aren't we? Only we could manage to juggle high unemployment and a massive shortage of workers across multiple sectors all at once.

I don't think this is really a paradox or anything strange at all. Determining unemployment numbers is tricky because it isn't such a straightforward category. Some people are genuinely looking for work and just can't find anything, while others could start working right now but choose not to because the pay is too low or the commute is too long. Then you have people working under the table who are technically counted as unemployed, and so on. To be honest, I don't actually know anyone who is unemployed—not even among my relatives or friends. My mom was out of work for a bit, but she didn't really want to work anyway, so she probably would have preferred to just retire early. I think one friend of mine is still unemployed, but that’s mostly because he got passed over at every single job he applied for. I think an influential member on this forum even tried to set up an interview for him once, but he showed up to the meeting wearing a tracksuit, haha. I guess it's only people like that who stay unemployed. Most other people could probably find a job in a different industry by tomorrow if they had to. It feels like around here, there's a certain stigma against working construction or in hospitality; people would rather go work abroad or juggle five different side hustles just to make ends meet. In the States, during the recession, we saw managers who used to handle millions of dollars delivering pizzas, and nobody thought twice about it. Or look at how Uber drivers in places like Sri Lanka might be competing for passengers at 5:00 AM. It's not even a formal company, just freelance driving in older cars, and while the earnings might seem low by our standards, they're out there doing it and making progress. Even in Mexico, people often spend an hour or two after their office jobs driving people around for a little extra cash just to provide for their kids. In Dubai, taxi drivers work from 4:00 AM until 11:00 PM, and there are thousands of them. But I suppose some people just think they're too good for certain types of work.

I guess salary levels aren't actually the main issue here. Even though our GDP per capita is much lower than somewhere like the Czech Republic, wages seem to be right around the same level. If you look at productivity, they might actually be a bit too high. Personally, I earn a pretty great salary by international standards, even though I'm not in management or some high-level specialist role. The real problem seems to be the cost of living. There isn't enough competition, and maybe because of general consumer habits, we end up overpaying for basic necessities. It reminds me of how things work in Poland; their wages might be slightly lower, but their retail prices are about 20-30% cheaper, so you can actually buy more with the same amount of money. It was interesting to see how quickly retailers started running massive sales once a major player like Walmart faced a sudden slump. Also, people in cities like New York or San Francisco paying $3,000 or $4,000 a month for an apartment and acting like that's perfectly normal—it’s wild, I guess. 🤣

I guess people around here tend to talk a big game but don't always follow through with the work. Honestly, there's not much drive for it. At my company, people are practically begging for field assignments in some of the wealthiest US suburbs, and I think it's a missed opportunity. You could easily tuck away an extra $2,000 in a month, yet nobody seems to want to go. These trips only last a week or two, maybe a couple of months at most. Personally, I think it sounds like a great deal—you get to see the world and make some solid cash at the same time.

Honestly, what else can I say? He's just being an idiot, I guess.

Rollitza

The tournament organization and the way they split up the host cities is pretty smart. The arenas are packed, and I remember when this level of competition used to have much thinner crowds. I have to say, I’m genuinely impressed; even with these ticket prices, I don't think we'll see any empty seats.

urbanhawk17 said:Exactly. The first one is top-tier.

When it comes to drama, I guess the first season of The Wire is pretty much top-tier. Everything after that? Not worth mentioning.

I'll be damned if that genius didn't have more tattoos on him than Lionel Messi.

If we’re being totally realistic, I guess women aren't really much of a factor either.