A place to discuss positive changes that can make work more equitable, and to vent about current practices. We are NOT against work; we just want the fruits of our labor to be recognized better.
Our Philosophies:
Our Goals
I'd watch US shows where sometimes people would get fired on the spot in in a dramatic way and thought it was just artistic license until I realized Americans literally have no protections and can be fired at will for no reason at all. It is horrifying. What's even worse is that people celebrate this as a "fluid labor market" , as if placing people under chronic insecurity is a virtue.
I have coworkers from other countries who came to America and asked me if the contract they signed was true - that they can be fired at will.
It's incredibly embarrassing.
I wouldn't call the US developed. There is development, with the sky scrapers, mega companies and billionaires, but there are also palaces built in South Africa, North Korea and Turkmenistan. North Korea and Turkmenistan have better infrastructure than the US. But I wouldn't call insane poverty rates, insane inequality, autocracy, oligarchy, insane incarceration rates, corrupt government and legal system, institutionalized racism and still legal slavery any form of modern development.
Developed
Not civilised
I can't fathom how anyone is against free healthcare. CHILDREN have to go without healthcare FFS CHILDREN. How can anyone justify that?
I don't have kids so why should I pay for their healthcare
That's how they justify it. They're fucking ghouls
The problem is there's a false scarcity. Healthcare is expensive for people in the US right now, so the idea of paying for someone else's healthcare via universal healthcare doesn't sound like a good thing, it sounds like taking the money you need for your healthcare to pay for someone else's.
It's NOT like that, but people have it in their heads that it is. And it's very hard to change a made up mind when there are people rallying against it to protect their own private interests.
That's no reason to not have universal healthcare.
Sure, some people think as you describe, but they are the minority. We're supposed to be a representative democracy.
(many polls, pick your favorite)
bOtH pArTiEs think otherwise, unfortunately
Even within free market logic free healthcare just makes sense. It enables people to more comfortably quit their job to start a business or take any better job. It also allows people more freedom to choose medical professionals based on their merits rather than on who their insurer says they can use.
It's also cheaper for everyone, and results in much better outcomes on average. It's truly win/win/win.
The only losers would be the insurance companies that would no longer exist. And fuck them.
The stupid thing is that even this isn't necessarily the case. Even in countries that have public healthcare, there are still private options for those who want "fancier" care. The true statement is that they would only be able to rip off the wealthy, instead of everyone in the country.
I can’t fathom how anyone is against free healthcare
"We CaN'T aFfOrD iT! wE wIlL rUn OuT oF mOnEy!"
Every fucking time it's suggested. Every fucking time, you get some clown screaming about how it costs too much and it will bankrupt the country and how health care will go away if you try to federalize it.
And under this government? Maybe they're right. Maybe American business leadership would just rip the wires out of the walls anyways. Look at what UK politicians have done to the NHS, ffs.
It's very possible that Americans don't have access to health care because we are simply too greedy and cruel and stupid as a population to value it above carpet bombing the Global South.
Hungary also did that under Orbán, but we were told once we will have enough "national billionaires", the money will start to trickle down. When the billionaires arrived and we asked when the money will finally trickle down, we were told money is not everything, and we're acting like "spoiled children".
USA! USA!! 💥
Greatest country in the world apparently.
I live in a third world country, and I get asked now and then if I'd ever move to the USA, and my answer is always
"No, if I'm going to move to a country it must be better than the one I am currently living in"
It's the bully who constantly has to tell everyone how great they are and acts like an asshole tworads everyone while they're actually very mentally broken, scared, dumb etc.
27 countries? Which ones?
It's kinda why these types of posts should probably be discouraged. Posts like these should have sources.
To be fair they did say they had the lowest literacy rates
My country has all of that (healthcare/education are basically free). Workers rights are protected and stuff but taxes here are really high compared to the U.S.
No, there are approximately 190 fully capitalist countries, stop whitewashing capitalism. Capitalist countries also include: Afghanistan, Burundi, South Sudan, DRC and India. Stop with this evolutionist nonsense.
Number one!
But I think the only and actual problem is education. The rest are just consequence. It's not for nothing than when the rest of the world thinks about an american, they see a fat dumbass bigot idiot. I know a lot of people are not like that, but it does not matter. As a country, this is how everybody sees you.
And for once, fix the root cause of the problem, not the symptoms.
I'd argue even with education, your defacto two party system still prevents true change/progress. Not sure if better education would be enough to change this.
The two party system worked for a long time because both sides were committed to the idea that a functional government was a good thing.
A multiple party system didn't save Germany from Fascists. When enough citizens decide their fellow citizens are the problem decent government becomes impossible.
So you say, that the US has the purest capitalism while everyone else has diluted it with some soviet communism?
Honestly FOX News might be the organization, which helped the term "socialism" the most in the US. When you call every good policy "socialist" then people wanting that will call themself that.
And americans will tell you it's because they are better or different.
Lol.
We got fed so much propaganda about this country growing up. Basically North Korea Lite.
The corrupt gop fuckers will recreate the commie folk devil that worked during the cold war, they will claim communism will end America they will turn voting for social democracy into national crisis
They are always lying
I need sources.
I need sources
How dare you not to believe a random anon
Yes, but the first one is not true.
Tired of calling what countries like Australia and Germany have as "universal healthcare".
It isn't. Simply isn't.
In the case of Australia most familiar with. It's a weird mix of public and private, with most medical costs covered under a private subsidy model, where your health service can change whatever, and you have to pay the gap between the Medicare rebate and what the services charges.
Doesn't cover dental, has a small rebate for physio and other allied health (again, private providers, public rebate) and covers a basic check up for eyes every 3 years only, but doesn't cover most optical.
The hospital system is also an absolute mess of a two-tiered system I won't get into here.
It's not fucking universal and I'm sick of people pretending like it is. It's just kilometres better than the USA, which is the lowest bar ever.
I'm convinced the reason is "We can't do that, black people would get it. White people have the good jobs and will get that all on their own."
Lol. Who's the shithole country now?
Europe doesn't have socialism. This list is not even close to good. Europe is like, behind what I want. I want socialism. I want to nationalize big tech. Europe wants no part in nationalizing their tech. I don't want mandatory PTO, I want a union and representation and a funded pension. I want publicly ran and funded groceries and hospitals, not just universal health insurance. I'm a former libertarian and I want these things btw. It's not hard to convince a libertarian to be socialist. Europe is too capitalist for me.
Also 'developed' and 'non-developed' is modern colonial language. The original post reeks of liberalism. Not against you OP, I just hate looking to Europe for the future of America. America has fundamental issues that make it not really suited for european capitalism, but if the DSA has their way in the next decade or two we might have some good socialism in the US.
The modern use of the word Socialism means having significant publicly funded institutions. When people say they want socialism they mean they want more of it, because most likely they already have lots of publicly funded institutions - like police and fire protection, public libraries, unemployment compensation.... What they want is more, and Europe has more than the US.
Developed and non-developed are economics terms for different degrees of industrialization and overall wealth. they're not "colonial" language.
Good, America sucks.
The tax system and healthcare system are genuinely fucked in the US. Both could be simplified greatly and benefit people, but those in the small handful of decision making power to do benefit from keeping it complex. The IRS is spineless, and private health insurance is disgusting.