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[–] 283 points 3 years ago (2 children)

I prefer co-op games like the James Webb telescope. Thanks ESA for a perfect launch.

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    [–] 277 points 3 years ago (11 children)

    I love how in every topic about WFH there's some dudebro going on about the economy suffering due to supposed lessened productivity and I'm like... Why should I care?

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  • [–] 98 points 3 years ago (4 children)

    I love the abstract “productivity”.

    Like yo, cancer is incredibly productive.

    Demolishing subsistence farms and replacing them with cash crop slave plantations is mad profitable.

    I could make thousands of dollars in a day if I just sold everything I own.

    Our metrics of economic growth revolve around basically doing all of the above, to varying degrees of figurative vs. literal-ness.

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  • [–] 49 points 3 years ago* (last edited 3 years ago) (2 children)

    This reminded me of an old joke:

    Two economists are walking down the street with their friend when they come across a fresh, streaming pile of dog shit. The first economist jokingly tells the other "I'll give you a million dollars if you eat that pile of dog shit". To his surprise, the second economist grabs it off the ground and eats it without hesitation. A deal is a deal so the first economist hands over a million dollars.

    A few minutes later they come across a second pile of shit. The second economist, wanting to give his peer a taste of his own medicine, says he'll give the first economist a million dollars if he eats it. The first economist agrees and does so, winning him a million dollars.

    Their friend, rather confused, asks what the point of all this was, the first economist gave the second economist a million dollars, and then the second economist gave it right back. All they've accomplished is to eat two piles of shit.

    The two economists look rather taken aback. "Well sure," they say, "but we've grown the economy by two million dollars!"

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  • [–] 56 points 3 years ago* (3 children)

    People have been told their entire lives that the GDP of their nation matters without ever considering what it actually represents, or how it actually went up.

    Great, number go up, but why and who actually benefitted.

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    [–] 148 points 3 years ago (4 children)

    There's no Americans bragging about that. Corporations and the government, sure. The rest of us are to busy living in pain

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  • [–] 62 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    Some years ago I were in US on vacation and a Cadillac commercial said you shouldn't buy cars made by lazy people wo have 4 weeks vacation every year, instead you should buy an American car.

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  • [–] 42 points 3 years ago (4 children)

    Most Americans have no clue what the rest of the world is like.

    Most Americans don't even understand the progressive income tax system we have, they will go so far as to decline raises because it'll put them in a higher bracket and they think that will mean less take home pay. It doesn't! You should always take a raise!

    I believe I'll someday move to a country that has good policies for everything from healthcare, to work life balance, and social safety nets, and I'll never have to deal with the American nightmare again.

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    [–] 128 points 3 years ago (9 children)

    God please let me move to Europe I don't even care what language I have to learn I just wanna be able to live without worrying about affording a doctor appointment.

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  • [+] 48 points 3 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (32 children)
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    [–] 122 points 3 years ago (12 children)

    lower unemployment

    Doesn't matter, I can only have two, maybe three jobs at once so any more than that is irrelevant to me

    higher growth

    I get the same $8/hr whether the GDP goes up, stays the same or goes down. You can't leave workers out of the distribution of wealth and then pretend that more wealth is good for workers

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    [–] 77 points 3 years ago (43 children)

    Don't want to brag, but I took my compulsory 2-week vacation in July. I'm having another week of vacation in the middle of August and I'm taking a whole month off in the middle of October when my second child is born (dad-vacation, in addition to the 18 months that the mom has as paid maternity leave). Oh and all of this is fully paid.

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    [–] 76 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    I recall going to the UK after brexit, to a house party with family friends. I was hounded with how do you function with only a 2 week holiday. I then shared i had 4 weeks after 5 years. They were so confused that we could function with less than 6 weeks of vacation.

    Burn out in the USA is a real thing. Our politicians will never vote for a mandatory vacation for anyone other than them selves

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    [–] 60 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    It took me way too long to realize chasing a high pay, high stress career wasn't worth it. I envied my friends and family for being able to enjoy weekends, evenings, and holidays when I couldn't. I missed my best friends bachelor party, I missed Christmas and New Years parties. If i didnt miss them entirely i would show up late or leave early from every occasion. I realized I was going to reach the end of life never having lived it.

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  • [–] 51 points 3 years ago (6 children)

    Does everyone have healthcare?

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    [–] 46 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    As an american, who gives a shit about all that stuff when your family savings can be wiped out, home foreclosed upon, and bankrupted just because you get sick or suffer an injury!? Even if you plan and do everything right, it could still happen to you, through no fault of your own.

    So, IMO until we have universal healthcare like every other modern nation, they all beat us...

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    [–] 46 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    I usually just take a week over summer then the other 6 weeks at other times of the year. Hotels, fights and stuff pretty much double their prices over the summer.

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    [–] 37 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    Sorry, didn't see your email cos it's actually fuckin illegal to send me it if I'm not working

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  • [–] 63 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    It can't be illegal to send you an email outside working hours, that's just silly. Now if it's illegal to demand that you read it and respond outside working hours, I would understand.

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  • [–] 36 points 3 years ago (4 children)

    I used to work for a French company. My colleagues in France would take the whole damn month of August off, and then complain that North Americans never worked.

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  • [–] 60 points 3 years ago* (2 children)

    TBF my experience with Japanese and American workers is that you spend a lot of time in the office, but aren't particularly productive. Hardly surprising, given there's loads of evidence that suggests a strict enforcement of leisure time, actually increases productivity.

    No one works at 100% if they work 70 hours a week and check their emails during the weekend.

    Or as I once put it to a boss, when he asked me why I was leaving the office at 1700 on the dot, I finish my work in 8 hours, my colleagues need 9.

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    [–] 27 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    I'm definitely cutting off my nipples this summer

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