Started by Linda Morales · · 👁 13 views · 142 replies
Anthony Rodriguez58 said:She’s even looking at a gig at another firm for lower pay, thinking she'll escape the overtime.
But give it a few months; once those people cut the overtime too, she'll be stuck in the exact same boat, just with a smaller paycheck.
goldengull3 said:Give me something concrete. In what way isn't America capitalist here? And why call it "hard-core"?
mistyhound2 said:As for the rest of the post—why even complain if you already have everything you need?
goldengull3 said:It’s the same thing, honestly. It was identical under the old system too. If someone actually stood up at a workers' council meeting to ask why the CEO just bought a brand-new luxury SUV—since, you know, it was a state-owned firm—they’d be labeled "troublemaker" pretty quickly. Because, let’s face it, most people just kept their mouths shut. And to be fair, if you didn't go rambling about politics, you could talk shop all day; getting fired was basically impossible back then.
True, there weren't mortgages on houses, but there was that endless waiting list for public housing...
mistyhound2 said:Look, goldengull3, with all due respect, stop playing dumb or being willfully ignorant—it’s getting old. Just look at one obvious example: in which supposed capitalist nation does a pregnant woman get placed on medical leave to "conserve" the pregnancy for nine months during a standard term, followed by twelve months of paid leave after delivery? And if she gets pregnant again in the meantime, the cycle just keeps going 😁.
mistyhound2 said:I'm telling you, my colleagues and I worked right up until our due dates. It never even crossed my mind to ask a gynecologist for "medical leave" just to be sent home by 3:00 PM. After giving birth, you only get four months of paid leave, and then you either go back to work or you're out of luck. Look at how things work in reality, but in true, hardcore capitalism like in the USA, this issue is already settled. As a lawyer, you surely have an answer for this.
Gary Cox72 said:This whole thread started because people were talking about loans in America and how life here isn't actually that bad.
Whenever anyone mentions the rising standard of living for Americans, people living abroad immediately start complaining. I guess they think since they live in "real capitalism" full of prosperity, we have no clue what's going on or that we're just clueless because of our lifestyle. They act like America is some backwater corner of the world.
And now, suddenly, everyone’s flipping the script to claim that life in their version of "true capitalism" is actually incredibly hard... At this rate, they'll soon be telling us that we don't even realize how lucky we have it here in the States...
What a ridiculous thread... 😁 😁
Gary Cox72 said:And now the crowd starts spinning the narrative about how life under "real capitalism" is such a struggle for them... Pretty soon they'll be claiming people in America don't even realize how lucky they actually have it...
What a delusional thread... 😁 😁
goldengull3 said:The law can be written however the citizens want, through their representatives in Congress...
Anthony Rodriguez58 said:🤣 🤣 🤣 Good grief, goldengull3...🙂
Anthony Rodriguez58 said:Actually, Gary Cox72, the exact same thing happens in America—it’s just that the paychecks are significantly smaller.
Some people actually want a nuanced, full picture of what life looks like both here in the States and abroad, rather than this black-and-white view you seem to prefer.
goldengull3 said:Look, if some party wins an election in the US wanting to turn the whole country into a welfare state like Sweden, then fine. No problem. But those kinds of parties just don't win elections over there. I think they even exist, though.
The length of maternity leave really just comes down to how much a society actually cares about it.
Gary Cox72 said:If you actually bother to read my posts, you'll see I talk about the pros and cons of life both here in America and over in Italy. It just seems like anyone trying to say anything positive about America is immediately treated like a problem.
Are we looking at longer vacations just because we’re scrambling to meet ISO standards? Faster property registration? A more competent judiciary? More efficient local government? Or perhaps simply trading in our old domestic relics for more Fords?
Anthony Rodriguez58 As specified by goldengull3:
It isn’t even a prediction at this point; we have already witnessed the future unfolding right before our eyes, and we know exactly what lies ahead for America.😲
If you managed to survive the chaotic dawn of American capitalism back in the early nineties—when nearly a third of the retail workforce was working under the table just to stay afloat—you’ve seen it all. I remember those days vividly: employers withholding paychecks for months on end until people finally stood their ground, labor disputes that dragged on for over a decade, and unemployment rates that hit 20%, soaring even higher in certain parts of the country. If you weathered that kind of instability, you can survive just about anything.
People will find a way to stomach higher wages eventually; it’s just a matter of how much they can be conditioned to accept before the reality sets in.
Gary Cox72 said:Anthony Rodriguez58, this kind of sudden jump into capitalism isn't just an American thing—it’s seen in every former socialist nation, from Ukraine and Romania to Bulgaria and even the Czech Republic.
Personally, I think a capitalist system with a decent social safety net, like what you see in the more developed parts of the European Union, is the most viable path. But it looks like we aren't anywhere near that stage yet.
It’s a long-term process. First and foremost, the economy needs to actually reach a certain level before anything can be distributed effectively.
Gary Cox72 said:Anthony Rodriguez58, this kind of sudden jump into capitalism isn't just an American thing—it’s seen across all former socialist states, from Ukraine and Romania to Bulgaria and even the Czech Republic.
Personally, I think the most viable model is capitalism with a decent social safety net, similar to what you see in the more developed nations of the European Union. But honestly? We aren't there yet. Those countries have much stronger economies and a way longer history of democracy than we do.
It's a slow process. First, the economy needs to actually get up to speed before you can talk about better distribution or cutting out corruption. Not that we haven't made any progress at all, I guess.
Anthony Rodriguez58 said:Look, Gary Cox72.
As a nation in transition, America had a theoretical choice regarding its direction.
We could have adopted the Swedish model—which, in my estimation, is the true blueprint for the 21st century—but instead, we pivoted toward the American model, which feels more like something out of the 19th century.
Anthony Rodriguez58 said:Launching such a sudden pivot toward capitalism is essentially an experiment—one where nobody actually knows how things will pan out...😲
All we can do is speculate.😕
Joey said:And let's talk about capitalism—it’s honestly fantastic. You put in the work, you stack your cash, and then you spend it. If you think you've made it big and want to live the high life, you start your own company, and if things go well, you're out there cruising on a yacht, flying private, and rolling in a Lincoln limousine. If capitalism wasn't working, socialism wouldn't have failed so spectacularly. Besides, people would be fleeing the US for Cuba, not the other way around!