You may claim to be an atheist, but you've been infected with the US idea that wealth == value to society and are parroting it.
That $25k/yr teacher? Say she pays 20% effective tax rate. You're left with $20k/yr. Housing? $600/mo or $7200/hr. Down to $12800. Car insurance. $1000/yr, down to $11800. Food, $200/mo or $2400/yr. Down to $9400. Utilities in Arizona, $200/mo, down to $7000. Any student loans? 10% of income, $2500/yr, down to $5500. Car repairs/lease, $2000/yr, down to $3500. Clothing, $1000/yr, down to $2500 for insurance and anything outside of bare necessities. And insurance deductibles in the US aren't zero.
Do the math before you talk how great the US system is.
Most of the people with the gumption to want to expatriate (and not just say rah-rah-rah, my country is the greatest) are on the upper levels of intelligence.
I've heard $400 billion, if it's $700 billion, that's about $17500 per resident. Current bond rates max at 4.5% per annum, so debt service is about $65 a month per resident of California. Not zero, but not crushing either.
Of course, California would have less debt if it were its own country, since Federal tax money is constantly taken from CA and used to support red states.
To use a different example of misvaluation of social value... we in the US pay adjunct professors, doctoral candidates, and research assistants engaged in life-saving biomedical research $20-25,000 per year. Meanwhile, middle managers at any number of firms whose main business is importation of cheap, disposable plastic trinkets made by underpaid workers can easily make $150,000 per year. Which points out the need for everyone to be offered decent levels of medical care -- pay grade has little to do with the social importance of one's work.
California? Mess? You mean fifth or sixth largest economy in the world? Oh right, and democracy (subject to Constitutional restrictions: CA still has courts) is better than oligarchy.
Urgency and probability of success of a given treatment.
I can't say that I could decide between the welfare recipient and teacher without further information. Remember, Edison died rich and Tesla died penniless. The sports star? Proof that society is full of dumb people who mis-value others' "value."
You're toeing the Christian prosperity gospel line, that wealth and financial success are somehow tied to being a good or deserving person. I call nonsense on this -- it's a bunch of crap fed to stupid people, designed to keep them placid and accepting of social inequality.
No: fuck oligarchy. Do you think that oligarchs who manage to buy their way into office are better at choosing? Remember, they're still elected by the people whom you disparage.
Some prisons are privately owned. Others are owned by states and may or may not be privately run by contractors. Others are Federal, same applies as above. Finally, there are county and city jails, generally for prisoners before trial ("on remand") or serving short sentences.
The rate of non-Swiss residents is likely much higher than 6%. Remember, they allow virtually unrestricted immigration from most of the EU. They're not part of the EU, but they're part of work-permit treaties.
Killed people? Maybe a few people will die of lung cancer 40 years from now. Balance that with the oil not burned, the refineries not run, and the CO2 not emitted because the VW diesels were more efficient than gassers, and it likely comes out as a wash.
Infrastructure and services? What infrastructure? If you were in Montreal, public transit and ability to walk are probably better than in most of California.
Switzerland has more open borders than the US -- citizens of most EU countries (ex Romania/Bulgaria, I think) can easily get work permits. The process is a cakewalk compared to getting US work permits if you're Canadian or Mexican.
Switzerland has more immigration than you'd think. 6% of the population are Muslim, and there are open work-visa agreements with many European countries. So no, their strength doesn't come from xenophobia.
Except that a lot of murder convictions get overturned on appeal -- meaning that you could be wrongly convicted and still get the death penalty. Nah. Time for the US to bring its sentencing laws in line with the rest of Western civilization.
(1) Those are AVERAGE wait times... wait times for more serious conditions are shorter. (2) Given your welfare recipient vs active member example, who says the welfare recipient, if they were in better health, won't be able to work and contribute? (3) Furthermore, who says the welfare recipient isn't poor because of lack of opportunities afforded them be society. US education and professional opportunities are highly unequal by area, income level, and (yes) ethnicity.
Treating everyone equally is a good thing -- human life shouldn't be valued on how much money people make. Another example. Should a teacher in Arizona making $25,000/yr be considered less valuable than some roided-up sports star making $10,000,000 a year?
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It takes much less current to induce heart stoppage/afib than to cause visible damage.
You may claim to be an atheist, but you've been infected with the US idea that wealth == value to society and are parroting it.
That $25k/yr teacher? Say she pays 20% effective tax rate. You're left with $20k/yr. Housing? $600/mo or $7200/hr. Down to $12800. Car insurance. $1000/yr, down to $11800. Food, $200/mo or $2400/yr. Down to $9400. Utilities in Arizona, $200/mo, down to $7000. Any student loans? 10% of income, $2500/yr, down to $5500. Car repairs/lease, $2000/yr, down to $3500. Clothing, $1000/yr, down to $2500 for insurance and anything outside of bare necessities. And insurance deductibles in the US aren't zero.
Do the math before you talk how great the US system is.
Most of the people with the gumption to want to expatriate (and not just say rah-rah-rah, my country is the greatest) are on the upper levels of intelligence.
I've heard $400 billion, if it's $700 billion, that's about $17500 per resident. Current bond rates max at 4.5% per annum, so debt service is about $65 a month per resident of California. Not zero, but not crushing either.
Of course, California would have less debt if it were its own country, since Federal tax money is constantly taken from CA and used to support red states.
They don't generally comment on actual causes of death until a full investigation has been done. Tox screens, etc.
Suicide, drug overdose, or a malfunction in the flotation tank. Electricity + conductive salt water can be dangerous.
To use a different example of misvaluation of social value... we in the US pay adjunct professors, doctoral candidates, and research assistants engaged in life-saving biomedical research $20-25,000 per year. Meanwhile, middle managers at any number of firms whose main business is importation of cheap, disposable plastic trinkets made by underpaid workers can easily make $150,000 per year. Which points out the need for everyone to be offered decent levels of medical care -- pay grade has little to do with the social importance of one's work.
California? Mess? You mean fifth or sixth largest economy in the world? Oh right, and democracy (subject to Constitutional restrictions: CA still has courts) is better than oligarchy.
Urgency and probability of success of a given treatment.
I can't say that I could decide between the welfare recipient and teacher without further information. Remember, Edison died rich and Tesla died penniless. The sports star? Proof that society is full of dumb people who mis-value others' "value."
You're toeing the Christian prosperity gospel line, that wealth and financial success are somehow tied to being a good or deserving person. I call nonsense on this -- it's a bunch of crap fed to stupid people, designed to keep them placid and accepting of social inequality.
No: fuck oligarchy. Do you think that oligarchs who manage to buy their way into office are better at choosing? Remember, they're still elected by the people whom you disparage.
It depends.
Some prisons are privately owned.
Others are owned by states and may or may not be privately run by contractors.
Others are Federal, same applies as above.
Finally, there are county and city jails, generally for prisoners before trial ("on remand") or serving short sentences.
It's naive to think that judges aren't swayed by current political climate.
The rate of non-Swiss residents is likely much higher than 6%. Remember, they allow virtually unrestricted immigration from most of the EU. They're not part of the EU, but they're part of work-permit treaties.
6) Yep, that's one advantage of public insurance. Lower stress, knowing you and your family have a right to basic health care no matter what...
Killed people? Maybe a few people will die of lung cancer 40 years from now. Balance that with the oil not burned, the refineries not run, and the CO2 not emitted because the VW diesels were more efficient than gassers, and it likely comes out as a wash.
Infrastructure and services? What infrastructure? If you were in Montreal, public transit and ability to walk are probably better than in most of California.
Mine work without data access! HAH!
Switzerland has more open borders than the US -- citizens of most EU countries (ex Romania/Bulgaria, I think) can easily get work permits. The process is a cakewalk compared to getting US work permits if you're Canadian or Mexican.
This. Mod parent up!
Switzerland has more immigration than you'd think. 6% of the population are Muslim, and there are open work-visa agreements with many European countries. So no, their strength doesn't come from xenophobia.
Except that a lot of murder convictions get overturned on appeal -- meaning that you could be wrongly convicted and still get the death penalty. Nah. Time for the US to bring its sentencing laws in line with the rest of Western civilization.
I can play my favorite songs on demand WITHOUT ads. Why? Cos I have them stored locally on my device. Imagine that, Pandy-Pandora.
(1) Those are AVERAGE wait times ... wait times for more serious conditions are shorter.
(2) Given your welfare recipient vs active member example, who says the welfare recipient, if they were in better health, won't be able to work and contribute?
(3) Furthermore, who says the welfare recipient isn't poor because of lack of opportunities afforded them be society. US education and professional opportunities are highly unequal by area, income level, and (yes) ethnicity.
Treating everyone equally is a good thing -- human life shouldn't be valued on how much money people make. Another example. Should a teacher in Arizona making $25,000/yr be considered less valuable than some roided-up sports star making $10,000,000 a year?
"Can" doesn't mean "will", though, especially with love of the US government being at a low ebb in Europe right now.
By "engineering", do you mean the building-things/designing-things kind, or the appitty-app designer kind of engineer?