Yea, the quote from Jesus is "He who is without sin can throw the first stone" which doesn't help your case. He was saying that HE was the only one there that should start throwing rocks. Then as the story continues, he refuses to throw a rock or condemn the woman caught in adultery, though stoning was the prescribed punishment in the law.
The Bible also says "Turn the other cheek" when someone strikes you and that we should forgive "70*7 times" a day which again isn't going in your favor...
Shall I continue with the Bible quotes? I don't think you really care so no...
If some business won't serve me, I'll just say goodbye and go to a business that will take my money. I wouldn't want to deal with them anyway... I consider THAT tolerance in action.
I see your point, but that's not how this gaming company thing works. To do what you want you need to have multiple games and concepts in work all the time. Development of 2-3 games at the same time takes major capital outlay, and because gaming companies are HUGE risks unless they have one or two games like COD that can sustain the cash flow, it's unlikely that they have resources for more than one shot at getting the game out.
If you only have one game concept going, it's going to be boom and bust for development staff. It's going to be boom and bust for marketing staff too. So if you work in the industry, you need to know this and be ready to make the jump before the layoffs hit.... It's just how it is.
Who's the MOST intolerant? is perhaps the best question to ask...
I'm saying that the person who attempts to force someone else to violate their religious views, through intimidation, force of law or otherwise to comply with their wishes is being the most intolerant, especially when it's easy to find another way. Just walk up the street or ask your smartphone for another baker and pizzeria that WILL serve you and use them instead. How hard is that?
Refusing to deliver food for the reception isn't forcing the couple to not get married and only makes them take their business elsewhere. Nobody's religious views get violated and the couple can still get their cake and pizza, just go someplace else...
I say, be tolerant, walk out of the business refusing to serve you and into one that will and just forget about it. No need to be rude, no need to get mad, no need to sue or get offended by people with stupid views... Because as Slashdot so aptly proves, stupid and disagreeable people are everywhere and letting yourself get upset by them is pointless.
Intolerant is baking a cake for a person that's on their fourth marriage while refusing to bake one for a lesbian couple that is finally able to marry after twenty years together.
"Intolerant" is defining "intolerant" as: "Intolerant is baking a cake for a person that's on their fourth marriage while refusing to bake one for a lesbian couple that is finally able to marry after twenty years together"...
No,it's not. It is intolerant to say to someone that you are not as important, not worthy of the same consideration as anyone else. How else would you define intolerant?
Forcing someone to act in violation of their personal convictions just because YOU think you are right is intolerance. Not accepting that somebody's views may differ from yours and deciding to make an issue about it to force them into submission to your view (no matter how right) is intolerance.
Tolerance is recognizing that others can be wrong and it's not your job to correct them; that you can choose to just walk away and let them be as wrong as they like, even if it's inconvenient for you. That's tolerance...
Intolerant is baking a cake for a person that's on their fourth marriage while refusing to bake one for a lesbian couple that is finally able to marry after twenty years together.
Actually, intolerance is refusing to let people hold their own views and forcing them to act in violation of these views. Intolerance is forcing others to accept YOUR views over theirs.
Not baking a cake doesn't prevent anybody from getting married... Not delivering pizza to the reception prevent people from getting married either. Yet both are seen as intolerance that must be stamped out for the good of all.
So who's really being intolerant? The people who can still get married like they say they wanted, but have to find another place to get their cake and pizza or the baker and pizzeria owner that is being forced into doing something they think is wrong? Tolerance says, OK, I don't agree with you, but I can take my business elsewhere so I will.
Don't be cynical, it's not helpful... There are people who have managed to make it in this system you claim is rigged so you cannot use this as an excuse.
Look, I grew up with some VERY poor people and I can tell you that the problem isn't about the system being rigged, but it's more about people's attitudes towards the system. Many are stuck in the cycle of dependence by their own actions, not because the "system is rigged" or "the man won't let them" succeed. I know they THINK that's the reason, but if you look closely and hear what they really say and observe what they actually do, it's clear that's not true.
Out of the 200+ in my senior class, only 4 went to any kind of college and 2 that I know of graduated. I hope that's changed in the decades since then, but I doubt it has by much. Not that it was beyond their reach or ability, but because they choose to stay where they where, to not try, though the resources existed for scholarships and they would have qualified for grants both on need and demonstrated ability.
So, in my limited experience, in that poor county, it's not the system that's rigged, but the mindset and cycle of dependency that says that it's not worth the trouble to try. Oh they want to believe that the system is rigged and THAT'S why they are where they are, but in reality it's more that they didn't try and the excuse is that the system is rigged so there's no need to try.
I'm not going to tell you that there isn't issues with the "system" but you don't fix the problem by throwing up your hands and refusing to try. You keep trying, keep after getting a better situation a better job, better education. You tell yourself that the obstacles you face may slow you down at times, but they cannot KEEP you down, that hard work and persistence are qualities that make successful people what they are. So even if the system is rigged at times, it's not an excuse for refusing to try...
Not exactly.. Where there IS some luck involved when some win big, hard work can also pay off. You see it's not about everybody being rich, it's about everybody being better off. It's about being able to chart your own course and make your own way as YOU see fit, working hard for your own benefit.
You see, in general, EVERYBODY from the poor on up are better off in capitalistic economies. More wealth is created and even the poor live better. Yes, you will have some that get very rich, and some that don't do well, but on average it's better.
To be fair, many times the marketing folk pull dates out of actual requirements and not just out of the air. What's really happened is the requirements and the schedule to do them was too optimistic for the resources and time allowed. You see, release dates usually are VERY important for marketing and if you miss marketing's date it can mean the difference between success and failure for the game and the company.
What the REAL problem happens to be is NOT what you claim, but the fact that management didn't recognize the schedule slippage when it was really happening and when they could do something about it, so in order to "make it" it turns into a orgy of late nights, pizza and caffeine energy drinks for that last development phase. When really what should have happened is the requirements should have been shaved back or more resources acquired a year ago. But that kind of management is rare in any of the engineering disciplines as is the processes necessary to collect the metrics and plan the work well enough to know when you are falling behind.
Blame the management, not marketing for what ails you in this case. More than likely the deliver date was fixed a long time before anybody started coding...
Not really, the companies that develop the popular games will survive. That means marketing is at least as important as development, that having good art work and a good story are as important as having a good development staff, that getting onto the right platforms and released at the right time is as important as developers...
Catching what I'm saying yet.... Development staff is literally NOT as important as it seems up front. Successful game releases require a lot more than just development...
There are better ways of making positive loops which are cheaper and more effective for the resources used. A blanket - hey kids, keep going to school, learn what you want - starts a cycle of dependency. You don't want that.... To quote Ben Franklin..."I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth I travelled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer. "
There are safety nets here, they are just lower than the other side of the pond.
BTW, ObamaCare is anything but universal heath care, despite how it was sold. What it really does is mandate a minimum and maximum set of acceptable health insurance policy coverage, then force employers to provide that level of insurance to all their "full time" employees or pay a fine. Individuals who don't get insurance from working now MUST buy coverage, or they too pay a fine.
What it has really done is to incentivize employers to hire only "Part time" (less than 30 hours/week) employees and cut the bulk of their work force down to less than 30 hours. Now these lower skilled workers are working multiple jobs to make ends meet, then they get forced into buying health insurance with HUGE deductibles. Many times there total out of pocket costs for premiums alone exceed half their income, then when they have to see the doctor, they are basically paying out of pocket because of the large deductibles.
We still have millions of people who are uninsured, and millions more who cannot afford to see the doctor.... Many of whom are now trying to hold down multiple jobs because their hours got cut...
Which do you prefer? Freedom, Higher risks and higher reward? No risk, less freedom, but a lower standard of living?
Socialism has made many promises it cannot keep. Capitalism promises nothing, but can generate much more wealth.
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. And to in my experience end up giving up liberty AND security.
Joining the EU wasn't the problem... joining the Euro was.
Sorry for confusing the two. In my mind they are the same event when talking about Greece, however they where two distinctly different events.
However, the Euro isn't the source of Greece's problems right now, it's actually what's holding the country together right now. If they withdraw or get ejected from the Euro, really bad things will happen. At this point, I don't see how they stay in unless countries like Germany agree to forgive their debt, but without some kind of iron clad assurance they won't do it again, I don't see Germans wanting to do that. So we kick the can down the road, forgive a little, turn the thumb screws a little, and hope Greece elects reasonable leadership, full knowing we just bought ourselves another quarter at the most.
This unpleasant cycle will continue until somebody gets tired and lances the boil ejecting them from the Euro, the whole thing blows up in violence, or both....
I went there for work but left because of weather, and because leaving Austin meant hicks in sticks. Also PDs in texas are fucking insane.
I don't like the weather and didn't care for Austin when I lived there either, but it's not hicks in sticks really, it's something hard to describe unless you've been there However, Cars and houses come with A/C, so the heat isn't a problem if you stay indoors. Most younger folks love Austin and it's unique night life and although I didn't like the town and traffic, there is LOTS of interesting stuff to do there. You might try Dallas, or big cities are not your thing Tyler (although it's hard to find work there).
I have no idea what you mean PDs are insane in Texas. I never had an issue in Austin or where I live now outside of Dallas. But I'm not out looking for trouble on my hog with the rest of my biker buds, it's too darn hot to want to ride much in the summer anyway, so I stick with my car mostly.
Everybody starts out in the same boat. The smart, however, learn from their mistakes and keep trying until they find the way to make it work. So.. Go out there and know that your experience makes you less naÃve, just don't make the same idiotic mistakes again, and this time you will have a better chance at success.
Or they realize this is not for them. I couldn't be an artist or athlete or salesman or race car driver. Ok technically I could be a better one, but only because I'm so abysmally poor the only way is up.
He can be taught! You see, you learned by making mistakes and determined where you are NOT likely to be successful. Remember, the young and foolish risk takers are in a different season of life, so if you are going to do the high risk startup gig, do it young. Once you get married, buy a house and have kids different things become important. Knowing where that next mortgage payment is coming from starts to overshadow the lure of taking risks, and being home with the family is more important than working 40 hour days. Once the kids are gone, then you might get one more shot if you want it, just remember you want to retire someday so it's got to be quick.....
However, if you decided that the corporate life is for you, great. Don't feel bad, it's a stable low risk option (or at least it was at one time). Many have done it before, you are in good company (with me for now.)
Oh I got that, go to Germany and get free college at the expense of the German people... I was rejecting the idea that this somehow was a good idea for Germany, or any other country for that matter.. I'm arguing that it would be stupid for any other countries to do the same thing, including the USA.
How's that? In the USA the top marginal tax rate is like 39.6%. You pay this rate for every dollar over $413K you make. At $100K you are going to pay a marginal rate of 28%, at $250K it jumps to 33%. In Germany literally EVERYBODY pays 42% (from 50K Euros which if poverty on up) and that jumps to the top marginal rate of 45% once you reach 250K Euros.
If you assume that a euro is a dollar (not quite but close) then just about every upper middle class family is going to pay just about 15% more for the same income in Germany. Some less, some more.
I live in a state with no income tax, we pay 8.25% in sales tax. Germans pay 18% VAT which works out to 10% increase over what I spend... Property taxes, fuel taxes are all similar...
All this works out to AT LEAST 15% more tax liability for Germans over what I pay.... Sorry, but that's the truth.
Part of it is not eating your planting seed. Germany sees what lack of education has done in the US, and isn't going to make that mistake.
It's like we don't spend anything on education in this country... Could it be that we spend ineffectively? Yet listen to the howling when somebody talks about shifting things around in the department of education.....
We don't lack education opportunities here in the USA, it's here and what we have is very good if you look in the right places. It's also not that expensive if you are careful about where you go and don't get caught up in the student loans are easy trap and borrow more than you needed too.
Here's hoping Germany does better in their attempts to invest in their work force's future, but I'm not holding my breath. Nationalizing all of the education institutions in a country is generally not effective at producing good educations and if you have the government paying the bills, they will own the schools eventually.
They can afford it off the backs of the Greeks and the other unfortunates in the Eurozone that they utterly dominate.
Hold that phone.. OFF THE BACKS OF THE GREEKS? Not even close..
The Greeks have made their OWN problems here and it's Germany that keeps propping them up thank you. (And this from a largely disinterested third party over here in the USA). Greece's problem is the government made the mistake of joining the EU yet making promises to their countrymen that the government couldn't afford to fulfill. They piled on national debt providing services and benefits to their citizens with no possible way to repay, and they've been doing it for decades.
Now the debt is due and they cannot even make the INTEREST payments on it to keep kicking the can down the road like they've done so many times in the past. Now the interest on their debt is more than what they can repay and the creditors (like Germany) are going to be left holding the bad debt and paying for what Greece spent on themselves.
This is not a problem with Germany taking advantage of Greece, in fact, quite the opposite is happening. Germany (and the rest of the EU) is going to pay for the excesses of Greece. To be sure, the people Greece will suffer the most, but it was their choice, their votes for the leaders they elected that is the cause. Yet there will be people in Germany and the rest of the EU which will also suffer due to Greece's failures, though they themselves never had the chance to voice their opinions like the people of Greece did.
Try to tell me that's fair, because it's not. Nor is it Germany's fault when Greece fails.
Your terrible argument assumes a simple "dollars out, dollars in" model.
In theory, it's possible that educating everyone increases the wealth of everyone involved by an amount greater than the taxes paid out to cover education over the course of their working lifetime.
Ah yes, the "investment in the future" argument. This would be a fine thing if it actually worked out this way, but if there is one thing you can count on when the government starts dishing out money for things, nobody will be there to complain about the falling standards and rising costs of the program.
Where I agree that investing in education of your citizens is a worthy goal that can pay future dividends, one must be VERY careful with how the program works and you must be very careful about what sorts of education you fund. Having a country full of music majors and basket weavers might be interesting, it doesn't help much in the modern world. But if you say "free education for all" you are going to invite a bunch of young kids to get useless degrees from overpaid universities and end up adding to your debt load (not that Germany has all that much debt load at this point compared to the rest of the EU). What you really want to do is encourage the kinds of education that will reap you benefits. You want engineers, scientists, linguist and capable managers of businesses and finance, not basket weavers, musicians, artists in abundance.
So you are saying someone in Germany that goes to college will owe more because of higher taxes vs someone in the US that goes to college and owes back student loans plus pays taxes? Yeah, I don't think so.
I've not run the numbers, but I believe you are not taking everything into account here. Yes, Germans pay much higher tax rates than we do in the USA and where paying back student loans my be onerous for the people who choose to take on more debt than they can expect to be able to repay, I believe that the extra tax burden for life in Germany far exceeds the costs or paying your own way. Of curse, it all depends on where you end up on the income scale, because Germany has a progressive taxation structure with nearly 19% VAT (think sales tax on every thing you buy, though it's sometime hidden from you), plus a top income tax rate of 45% with all the same property taxes and such you have in the USA. It's more, much more, for most upper middle class.
So, sacrificing say 15% of your earnings for life sure seems like a bad trade for any reasonable amount of student loans. Using a community college for 2 years then 2 years at a state school would run you under 20K in tuition, books and fees (more like 15K). If you are careful, work summers, you should get though your STEM degree and into the work force with say $25K in debt (or less if you try or manage to get some scholarships/grants etc.) $25K is a whole lot less than 15% of your lifetime earnings...
Let's say you manage to average 100K/year for 25 years of work, if the increase in taxes is even 5%, you will pay $125,000 for that "free" education. Of course you will pay more than $25K back on your loans, but again, if you just pay the 5% of your income, with starting salaries starting above $60K and quickly rising to $80K, you are going to pay back that loan at 3-4K/year and be done with the debt in 10 years or less.
I love Germany, but I don't know of any German beers that are all that good. They certainly have the reputation but the reality has always been disappointing.
They are not that good, they are just served in larger portions, which makes all the difference... (Well, that and they generally have more alcohol than what Americans are used to). Once you are buzzed, everything tastes good..... Well, at least to the college student.
BTW... I'm partially kidding. The Germans are generally better at brewing beer than the bulk of what's consumed on this side of the pond. Although with the micro-brewery thing here in the states, we have some really good stuff here too, it just doesn't usually come from the big nation wide commercial brewers..
Everybody starts out in the same boat. The smart, however, learn from their mistakes and keep trying until they find the way to make it work.
So.. Go out there and know that your experience makes you less naïve, just don't make the same idiotic mistakes again, and this time you will have a better chance at success.
Slashdot Mirror
Yea, the quote from Jesus is "He who is without sin can throw the first stone" which doesn't help your case. He was saying that HE was the only one there that should start throwing rocks. Then as the story continues, he refuses to throw a rock or condemn the woman caught in adultery, though stoning was the prescribed punishment in the law.
The Bible also says "Turn the other cheek" when someone strikes you and that we should forgive "70*7 times" a day which again isn't going in your favor...
Shall I continue with the Bible quotes? I don't think you really care so no...
If some business won't serve me, I'll just say goodbye and go to a business that will take my money. I wouldn't want to deal with them anyway... I consider THAT tolerance in action.
I see your point, but that's not how this gaming company thing works. To do what you want you need to have multiple games and concepts in work all the time. Development of 2-3 games at the same time takes major capital outlay, and because gaming companies are HUGE risks unless they have one or two games like COD that can sustain the cash flow, it's unlikely that they have resources for more than one shot at getting the game out.
If you only have one game concept going, it's going to be boom and bust for development staff. It's going to be boom and bust for marketing staff too. So if you work in the industry, you need to know this and be ready to make the jump before the layoffs hit.... It's just how it is.
You are not following the logic I'm presenting.
Who's the MOST intolerant? is perhaps the best question to ask...
I'm saying that the person who attempts to force someone else to violate their religious views, through intimidation, force of law or otherwise to comply with their wishes is being the most intolerant, especially when it's easy to find another way. Just walk up the street or ask your smartphone for another baker and pizzeria that WILL serve you and use them instead. How hard is that?
Refusing to deliver food for the reception isn't forcing the couple to not get married and only makes them take their business elsewhere. Nobody's religious views get violated and the couple can still get their cake and pizza, just go someplace else...
I say, be tolerant, walk out of the business refusing to serve you and into one that will and just forget about it. No need to be rude, no need to get mad, no need to sue or get offended by people with stupid views... Because as Slashdot so aptly proves, stupid and disagreeable people are everywhere and letting yourself get upset by them is pointless.
I think you are totally wrong... But IMHO you are entitled to be as wrong as you wish...
Intolerant is baking a cake for a person that's on their fourth marriage while refusing to bake one for a lesbian couple that is finally able to marry after twenty years together.
"Intolerant" is defining "intolerant" as: "Intolerant is baking a cake for a person that's on their fourth marriage while refusing to bake one for a lesbian couple that is finally able to marry after twenty years together"...
No,it's not. It is intolerant to say to someone that you are not as important, not worthy of the same consideration as anyone else. How else would you define intolerant?
Forcing someone to act in violation of their personal convictions just because YOU think you are right is intolerance. Not accepting that somebody's views may differ from yours and deciding to make an issue about it to force them into submission to your view (no matter how right) is intolerance.
Tolerance is recognizing that others can be wrong and it's not your job to correct them; that you can choose to just walk away and let them be as wrong as they like, even if it's inconvenient for you. That's tolerance...
Intolerant is baking a cake for a person that's on their fourth marriage while refusing to bake one for a lesbian couple that is finally able to marry after twenty years together.
Actually, intolerance is refusing to let people hold their own views and forcing them to act in violation of these views. Intolerance is forcing others to accept YOUR views over theirs.
Not baking a cake doesn't prevent anybody from getting married... Not delivering pizza to the reception prevent people from getting married either. Yet both are seen as intolerance that must be stamped out for the good of all.
So who's really being intolerant? The people who can still get married like they say they wanted, but have to find another place to get their cake and pizza or the baker and pizzeria owner that is being forced into doing something they think is wrong? Tolerance says, OK, I don't agree with you, but I can take my business elsewhere so I will.
Don't be cynical, it's not helpful... There are people who have managed to make it in this system you claim is rigged so you cannot use this as an excuse.
Look, I grew up with some VERY poor people and I can tell you that the problem isn't about the system being rigged, but it's more about people's attitudes towards the system. Many are stuck in the cycle of dependence by their own actions, not because the "system is rigged" or "the man won't let them" succeed. I know they THINK that's the reason, but if you look closely and hear what they really say and observe what they actually do, it's clear that's not true.
Out of the 200+ in my senior class, only 4 went to any kind of college and 2 that I know of graduated. I hope that's changed in the decades since then, but I doubt it has by much. Not that it was beyond their reach or ability, but because they choose to stay where they where, to not try, though the resources existed for scholarships and they would have qualified for grants both on need and demonstrated ability.
So, in my limited experience, in that poor county, it's not the system that's rigged, but the mindset and cycle of dependency that says that it's not worth the trouble to try. Oh they want to believe that the system is rigged and THAT'S why they are where they are, but in reality it's more that they didn't try and the excuse is that the system is rigged so there's no need to try.
I'm not going to tell you that there isn't issues with the "system" but you don't fix the problem by throwing up your hands and refusing to try. You keep trying, keep after getting a better situation a better job, better education. You tell yourself that the obstacles you face may slow you down at times, but they cannot KEEP you down, that hard work and persistence are qualities that make successful people what they are. So even if the system is rigged at times, it's not an excuse for refusing to try...
Not exactly.. Where there IS some luck involved when some win big, hard work can also pay off. You see it's not about everybody being rich, it's about everybody being better off. It's about being able to chart your own course and make your own way as YOU see fit, working hard for your own benefit.
You see, in general, EVERYBODY from the poor on up are better off in capitalistic economies. More wealth is created and even the poor live better. Yes, you will have some that get very rich, and some that don't do well, but on average it's better.
To be fair, many times the marketing folk pull dates out of actual requirements and not just out of the air. What's really happened is the requirements and the schedule to do them was too optimistic for the resources and time allowed. You see, release dates usually are VERY important for marketing and if you miss marketing's date it can mean the difference between success and failure for the game and the company.
What the REAL problem happens to be is NOT what you claim, but the fact that management didn't recognize the schedule slippage when it was really happening and when they could do something about it, so in order to "make it" it turns into a orgy of late nights, pizza and caffeine energy drinks for that last development phase. When really what should have happened is the requirements should have been shaved back or more resources acquired a year ago. But that kind of management is rare in any of the engineering disciplines as is the processes necessary to collect the metrics and plan the work well enough to know when you are falling behind.
Blame the management, not marketing for what ails you in this case. More than likely the deliver date was fixed a long time before anybody started coding...
Not really, the companies that develop the popular games will survive. That means marketing is at least as important as development, that having good art work and a good story are as important as having a good development staff, that getting onto the right platforms and released at the right time is as important as developers...
Catching what I'm saying yet.... Development staff is literally NOT as important as it seems up front. Successful game releases require a lot more than just development...
[citation needed]
No it's not... At least for the people who wish to fan the flames of social discord.... Or for those being sarcastic..
There are better ways of making positive loops which are cheaper and more effective for the resources used. A blanket - hey kids, keep going to school, learn what you want - starts a cycle of dependency. You don't want that.... To quote Ben Franklin..."I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth I travelled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer. "
There are safety nets here, they are just lower than the other side of the pond.
BTW, ObamaCare is anything but universal heath care, despite how it was sold. What it really does is mandate a minimum and maximum set of acceptable health insurance policy coverage, then force employers to provide that level of insurance to all their "full time" employees or pay a fine. Individuals who don't get insurance from working now MUST buy coverage, or they too pay a fine.
What it has really done is to incentivize employers to hire only "Part time" (less than 30 hours/week) employees and cut the bulk of their work force down to less than 30 hours. Now these lower skilled workers are working multiple jobs to make ends meet, then they get forced into buying health insurance with HUGE deductibles. Many times there total out of pocket costs for premiums alone exceed half their income, then when they have to see the doctor, they are basically paying out of pocket because of the large deductibles.
We still have millions of people who are uninsured, and millions more who cannot afford to see the doctor.... Many of whom are now trying to hold down multiple jobs because their hours got cut...
Which do you prefer? Freedom, Higher risks and higher reward? No risk, less freedom, but a lower standard of living?
Socialism has made many promises it cannot keep. Capitalism promises nothing, but can generate much more wealth.
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. And to in my experience end up giving up liberty AND security.
Joining the EU wasn't the problem ... joining the Euro was.
Sorry for confusing the two. In my mind they are the same event when talking about Greece, however they where two distinctly different events.
However, the Euro isn't the source of Greece's problems right now, it's actually what's holding the country together right now. If they withdraw or get ejected from the Euro, really bad things will happen. At this point, I don't see how they stay in unless countries like Germany agree to forgive their debt, but without some kind of iron clad assurance they won't do it again, I don't see Germans wanting to do that. So we kick the can down the road, forgive a little, turn the thumb screws a little, and hope Greece elects reasonable leadership, full knowing we just bought ourselves another quarter at the most.
This unpleasant cycle will continue until somebody gets tired and lances the boil ejecting them from the Euro, the whole thing blows up in violence, or both....
I went there for work but left because of weather, and because leaving Austin meant hicks in sticks. Also PDs in texas are fucking insane.
I don't like the weather and didn't care for Austin when I lived there either, but it's not hicks in sticks really, it's something hard to describe unless you've been there However, Cars and houses come with A/C, so the heat isn't a problem if you stay indoors. Most younger folks love Austin and it's unique night life and although I didn't like the town and traffic, there is LOTS of interesting stuff to do there. You might try Dallas, or big cities are not your thing Tyler (although it's hard to find work there).
I have no idea what you mean PDs are insane in Texas. I never had an issue in Austin or where I live now outside of Dallas. But I'm not out looking for trouble on my hog with the rest of my biker buds, it's too darn hot to want to ride much in the summer anyway, so I stick with my car mostly.
Everybody starts out in the same boat. The smart, however, learn from their mistakes and keep trying until they find the way to make it work. So.. Go out there and know that your experience makes you less naÃve, just don't make the same idiotic mistakes again, and this time you will have a better chance at success.
Or they realize this is not for them. I couldn't be an artist or athlete or salesman or race car driver. Ok technically I could be a better one, but only because I'm so abysmally poor the only way is up.
He can be taught! You see, you learned by making mistakes and determined where you are NOT likely to be successful. Remember, the young and foolish risk takers are in a different season of life, so if you are going to do the high risk startup gig, do it young. Once you get married, buy a house and have kids different things become important. Knowing where that next mortgage payment is coming from starts to overshadow the lure of taking risks, and being home with the family is more important than working 40 hour days. Once the kids are gone, then you might get one more shot if you want it, just remember you want to retire someday so it's got to be quick.....
However, if you decided that the corporate life is for you, great. Don't feel bad, it's a stable low risk option (or at least it was at one time). Many have done it before, you are in good company (with me for now.)
Oh I got that, go to Germany and get free college at the expense of the German people... I was rejecting the idea that this somehow was a good idea for Germany, or any other country for that matter.. I'm arguing that it would be stupid for any other countries to do the same thing, including the USA.
How's that? In the USA the top marginal tax rate is like 39.6%. You pay this rate for every dollar over $413K you make. At $100K you are going to pay a marginal rate of 28%, at $250K it jumps to 33%. In Germany literally EVERYBODY pays 42% (from 50K Euros which if poverty on up) and that jumps to the top marginal rate of 45% once you reach 250K Euros.
If you assume that a euro is a dollar (not quite but close) then just about every upper middle class family is going to pay just about 15% more for the same income in Germany. Some less, some more.
I live in a state with no income tax, we pay 8.25% in sales tax. Germans pay 18% VAT which works out to 10% increase over what I spend... Property taxes, fuel taxes are all similar...
All this works out to AT LEAST 15% more tax liability for Germans over what I pay.... Sorry, but that's the truth.
Part of it is not eating your planting seed. Germany sees what lack of education has done in the US, and isn't going to make that mistake.
It's like we don't spend anything on education in this country... Could it be that we spend ineffectively? Yet listen to the howling when somebody talks about shifting things around in the department of education.....
We don't lack education opportunities here in the USA, it's here and what we have is very good if you look in the right places. It's also not that expensive if you are careful about where you go and don't get caught up in the student loans are easy trap and borrow more than you needed too.
Here's hoping Germany does better in their attempts to invest in their work force's future, but I'm not holding my breath. Nationalizing all of the education institutions in a country is generally not effective at producing good educations and if you have the government paying the bills, they will own the schools eventually.
They can afford it off the backs of the Greeks and the other unfortunates in the Eurozone that they utterly dominate.
Hold that phone.. OFF THE BACKS OF THE GREEKS? Not even close..
The Greeks have made their OWN problems here and it's Germany that keeps propping them up thank you. (And this from a largely disinterested third party over here in the USA). Greece's problem is the government made the mistake of joining the EU yet making promises to their countrymen that the government couldn't afford to fulfill. They piled on national debt providing services and benefits to their citizens with no possible way to repay, and they've been doing it for decades.
Now the debt is due and they cannot even make the INTEREST payments on it to keep kicking the can down the road like they've done so many times in the past. Now the interest on their debt is more than what they can repay and the creditors (like Germany) are going to be left holding the bad debt and paying for what Greece spent on themselves.
This is not a problem with Germany taking advantage of Greece, in fact, quite the opposite is happening. Germany (and the rest of the EU) is going to pay for the excesses of Greece. To be sure, the people Greece will suffer the most, but it was their choice, their votes for the leaders they elected that is the cause. Yet there will be people in Germany and the rest of the EU which will also suffer due to Greece's failures, though they themselves never had the chance to voice their opinions like the people of Greece did.
Try to tell me that's fair, because it's not. Nor is it Germany's fault when Greece fails.
Your terrible argument assumes a simple "dollars out, dollars in" model.
In theory, it's possible that educating everyone increases the wealth of everyone involved by an amount greater than the taxes paid out to cover education over the course of their working lifetime.
Ah yes, the "investment in the future" argument. This would be a fine thing if it actually worked out this way, but if there is one thing you can count on when the government starts dishing out money for things, nobody will be there to complain about the falling standards and rising costs of the program.
Where I agree that investing in education of your citizens is a worthy goal that can pay future dividends, one must be VERY careful with how the program works and you must be very careful about what sorts of education you fund. Having a country full of music majors and basket weavers might be interesting, it doesn't help much in the modern world. But if you say "free education for all" you are going to invite a bunch of young kids to get useless degrees from overpaid universities and end up adding to your debt load (not that Germany has all that much debt load at this point compared to the rest of the EU). What you really want to do is encourage the kinds of education that will reap you benefits. You want engineers, scientists, linguist and capable managers of businesses and finance, not basket weavers, musicians, artists in abundance.
So you are saying someone in Germany that goes to college will owe more because of higher taxes vs someone in the US that goes to college and owes back student loans plus pays taxes? Yeah, I don't think so.
I've not run the numbers, but I believe you are not taking everything into account here. Yes, Germans pay much higher tax rates than we do in the USA and where paying back student loans my be onerous for the people who choose to take on more debt than they can expect to be able to repay, I believe that the extra tax burden for life in Germany far exceeds the costs or paying your own way. Of curse, it all depends on where you end up on the income scale, because Germany has a progressive taxation structure with nearly 19% VAT (think sales tax on every thing you buy, though it's sometime hidden from you), plus a top income tax rate of 45% with all the same property taxes and such you have in the USA. It's more, much more, for most upper middle class.
So, sacrificing say 15% of your earnings for life sure seems like a bad trade for any reasonable amount of student loans. Using a community college for 2 years then 2 years at a state school would run you under 20K in tuition, books and fees (more like 15K). If you are careful, work summers, you should get though your STEM degree and into the work force with say $25K in debt (or less if you try or manage to get some scholarships/grants etc.) $25K is a whole lot less than 15% of your lifetime earnings...
Let's say you manage to average 100K/year for 25 years of work, if the increase in taxes is even 5%, you will pay $125,000 for that "free" education. Of course you will pay more than $25K back on your loans, but again, if you just pay the 5% of your income, with starting salaries starting above $60K and quickly rising to $80K, you are going to pay back that loan at 3-4K/year and be done with the debt in 10 years or less.
No, I'll pass on the "free" stuff..
I love Germany, but I don't know of any German beers that are all that good. They certainly have the reputation but the reality has always been disappointing.
They are not that good, they are just served in larger portions, which makes all the difference... (Well, that and they generally have more alcohol than what Americans are used to). Once you are buzzed, everything tastes good..... Well, at least to the college student.
BTW... I'm partially kidding. The Germans are generally better at brewing beer than the bulk of what's consumed on this side of the pond. Although with the micro-brewery thing here in the states, we have some really good stuff here too, it just doesn't usually come from the big nation wide commercial brewers..
Starthead: "We were naive idiots"
Everybody starts out in the same boat. The smart, however, learn from their mistakes and keep trying until they find the way to make it work.
So.. Go out there and know that your experience makes you less naïve, just don't make the same idiotic mistakes again, and this time you will have a better chance at success.