This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »
SandWitch · 26-30, F
Leave the USA and start living like the rest of the world lives, which is a life based on quality of life, not a life that is based on material accumulation of Chinese-made 'stuff'.
whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M
@SandWitch I have been saying that for years. 4 weeks (or more) annual leave. Overtime pay. Sick and other personal leave. Universal health cover. And no need to buy your kids kevlar back packs..😷
SandWitch · 26-30, F
@whowasthatmaskedman
You know, I honestly feel empathy for Americans at large, but I also feel deeply sorry for them. For some reason, they seem to think that the end of the rainbow touches down in the middle of the American mid-west... you know, that place where Dorothy of Oz lives?!
If Americans would only get out and see the world that surrounds them and even experienced for a month what true capitalist socialism means in non-debt burdened countries who's citizens make more disposable income than average Americans do without working 60 hours a week, maybe Americans would come to understand that the old American illusion they were taught from childhood was nothing more than a fools game for the uneducated masses to sustain for the benefit of the otherwise educated 1% who live at the top.
You know, I honestly feel empathy for Americans at large, but I also feel deeply sorry for them. For some reason, they seem to think that the end of the rainbow touches down in the middle of the American mid-west... you know, that place where Dorothy of Oz lives?!
If Americans would only get out and see the world that surrounds them and even experienced for a month what true capitalist socialism means in non-debt burdened countries who's citizens make more disposable income than average Americans do without working 60 hours a week, maybe Americans would come to understand that the old American illusion they were taught from childhood was nothing more than a fools game for the uneducated masses to sustain for the benefit of the otherwise educated 1% who live at the top.
whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M
@SandWitch I couldnt agree with you more. Having been to the US on business and as a tourist, I can say they individually they are among the nicest, most generous spirited people I have known. But totally one eyed about their own nation. This is reinforced by the culture and some of the values, taught from childhood. What is different in other countries is that the government in your country and mine is still accountable to the voters, who arent asleep at the wheel with a gun under the pillow to make them feel safe..😷
SandWitch · 26-30, F
@whowasthatmaskedman
You just said it all right there! I still go to the USA on business trips, mainly to coastal shipping ports but not inland at all, so I really don't get a true cross section of American culture from marine life to dirt farmers and everything in-between. I still feel their tension in the air though, even around the port docks where everyone carries a concealed weapon and they assume everyone else does as well.
You just said it all right there! I still go to the USA on business trips, mainly to coastal shipping ports but not inland at all, so I really don't get a true cross section of American culture from marine life to dirt farmers and everything in-between. I still feel their tension in the air though, even around the port docks where everyone carries a concealed weapon and they assume everyone else does as well.
whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M
@SandWitch You mentioned that tension.. I was in Las Vegas a decade ago. And the desperation then was in the air. Not the tourists. But everyone working there has an air like this was their last resort..😷
SandWitch · 26-30, F
@whowasthatmaskedman
Very interesting about Las Vegas. I wouldn't have thought of Vegas as being a place of "last resort" for one seeking gainful employment. My expertise lies in the heavy marine industry of propulsion design, but most of my time is spent doing underwater diving photography of distressed ocean vessels and pricy pleasure yachts left in the hands of inexperienced adult grandchildren which end up on coral reefs during an alcohol related incident!
The kind of tension that I feel at my end of the equity spectrum often seems palpable but only when a problem arises, which has led me to understand that as long as everything is going fine, money is not an issue. But as soon as something expensive happens, all of a sudden the possibility of the truth coming out is sometimes too embarrassing for me to witness first hand.
That truth being, that there's actually no money in the kitty to fix those 4 bronze propellers that got torn off grandad's yacht on the coral reef, at which point the issue becomes a matter of borrowing money from a bank to fix it ..OR calling the insurance agent to have the vessel written off on the coral reef and take the cash and call it a day?
Americans in particular play a game called "living rich", but they're really not!
Commercial shipping vessels play that same game which equates to stretching what equity they have in the pot to grow as big as fast as they can, but are unable to maintain what they do have because nobody thought about the cost of maintenance in the Board Room.
What you end up with are vessels that run into bridges in the middle of the night after their engine quits from lack of maintenance and their remaining engine is rendered useless because they left port without a propellor on it's shaft which had been missing but logged missing 2 months earlier, as they lose control and either run aground in the harbor or find a convenient bridge to stop them.
In my business travels which take me all over the world on short notice, many of the women I befriend on site, happen to be displaced, single American women whom are not college educated and who could not find employment back in the US, so they turned to cruise lines and private yacht chartering companies in the Caribbean and south America as a last resort, somewhat like how you describe Las Vegas to be.
But we're not talking about working for minimum wage here, we're talking about working for their keep which means the cruise line or yacht Brokerage owns them and houses them in exchange for their labor and social services.
Displaced, single American men whom are not college educated are now in that same game as American women who as well work aboard those ships for room and board in exchange for their labor and social services.
What eventually becomes glaringly obvious in my business is the fact that seemingly rich people in America are not actually rich at all and nobody is getting rich in the marine industry by working for Americans who pretend to be rich. This is no different than Donald Trump pretending to be a savvy, rich business tycoon and everyone believing his con game. Believe me when I say, Donald is not rich! Sad to watch Americans faking it. Very hard to watch actually. 🇸🇪
Very interesting about Las Vegas. I wouldn't have thought of Vegas as being a place of "last resort" for one seeking gainful employment. My expertise lies in the heavy marine industry of propulsion design, but most of my time is spent doing underwater diving photography of distressed ocean vessels and pricy pleasure yachts left in the hands of inexperienced adult grandchildren which end up on coral reefs during an alcohol related incident!
The kind of tension that I feel at my end of the equity spectrum often seems palpable but only when a problem arises, which has led me to understand that as long as everything is going fine, money is not an issue. But as soon as something expensive happens, all of a sudden the possibility of the truth coming out is sometimes too embarrassing for me to witness first hand.
That truth being, that there's actually no money in the kitty to fix those 4 bronze propellers that got torn off grandad's yacht on the coral reef, at which point the issue becomes a matter of borrowing money from a bank to fix it ..OR calling the insurance agent to have the vessel written off on the coral reef and take the cash and call it a day?
Americans in particular play a game called "living rich", but they're really not!
Commercial shipping vessels play that same game which equates to stretching what equity they have in the pot to grow as big as fast as they can, but are unable to maintain what they do have because nobody thought about the cost of maintenance in the Board Room.
What you end up with are vessels that run into bridges in the middle of the night after their engine quits from lack of maintenance and their remaining engine is rendered useless because they left port without a propellor on it's shaft which had been missing but logged missing 2 months earlier, as they lose control and either run aground in the harbor or find a convenient bridge to stop them.
In my business travels which take me all over the world on short notice, many of the women I befriend on site, happen to be displaced, single American women whom are not college educated and who could not find employment back in the US, so they turned to cruise lines and private yacht chartering companies in the Caribbean and south America as a last resort, somewhat like how you describe Las Vegas to be.
But we're not talking about working for minimum wage here, we're talking about working for their keep which means the cruise line or yacht Brokerage owns them and houses them in exchange for their labor and social services.
Displaced, single American men whom are not college educated are now in that same game as American women who as well work aboard those ships for room and board in exchange for their labor and social services.
What eventually becomes glaringly obvious in my business is the fact that seemingly rich people in America are not actually rich at all and nobody is getting rich in the marine industry by working for Americans who pretend to be rich. This is no different than Donald Trump pretending to be a savvy, rich business tycoon and everyone believing his con game. Believe me when I say, Donald is not rich! Sad to watch Americans faking it. Very hard to watch actually. 🇸🇪
whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M
@SandWitch Agreed that trump is not rich. The numbers is where my interest lies. Buried in his books is a series of items labeled "undisclosed creditors" with no amounts against them. How thats legal I have no idea. But it showed up in his New York fraud trial. Now hypothetically, one of the creditors could be Vladimir Putin for five billion dollars. It is certainly someone he doesnt want to declare publicly.. And in theory it could be enough to put his entire empire into the negative balance. Putin had said he was going to pursue trump in court for what he owed Putin. But of course that was before he was re elected.. We will see what happens once trump is no longer a "useful idiot."😷
SandWitch · 26-30, F
@whowasthatmaskedman
I think where Trump's life will start to become unravelled for him is when he's no longer President and there is no longer an iron dome that separates him from the reality of his own life.
I think where Trump's life will start to become unravelled for him is when he's no longer President and there is no longer an iron dome that separates him from the reality of his own life.
whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M
@SandWitch Considering his age, his health and that JD Vance is his VP, I fear trump will never face consequences in this life. He will however, live in infamy in history. 😷
SandWitch · 26-30, F
@whowasthatmaskedman
...like how the world still talks about Hitler, though nobody has ever praised him for his very gregarious social skills.
...like how the world still talks about Hitler, though nobody has ever praised him for his very gregarious social skills.