Mastodawn

Europeans here may know this, but many Europeans on the streets seem not to: Yes Americans are rolling in discretionary dollars. Their salaries are stratospheric compared to ours, sometimes triple for the same jobs. BUT please note that in that pay there's no healthcare, no college tuition, no retirement, no job security day to day, little vacation and few benefits. Add car insurance that can run over 200/mo, and most are in debt (average mortgages are 30 years!) Those big bucks are an illusion.

Show thread

NilaJones 1d ago

@Tarnport

I had no idea people in Europe thought we were rolling in the dough

In the US of course, the misinformation is the opposite -- 'super high taxes' with no acknowledgment that all the money goes back to you, in the form of real benefit

It's not like taxes in the US, which all go to the military

In the US, we are used to taxes being a unidirectional transfer of funds

And then of course there is the propaganda, that pretends the money isn't going to the military, but instead it is going to People Who Are Not Like You, and therefore you should hate them

Show thread

Tarnport

@NilaJones it's a mess. I sympathize. I know all that's true and I hear you loud and clear. In Europe alot of those seemingly high taxes are split with the employer so as a percentage it actually feels about the same, except of course for the employer (that's a whole different story) and for the fact that you get all those benefits.