Objectivity: Who has it worse in the west: men or women?

Wealth inequality alone is not a bad thing. The fact that there are hedgefund managers who make 1 million usd/week does not bother me. What I care about is the ability of average people to live their lives and earn enough money to take care of themselves. This exists and is not a problem here. Over here it's not hard to cross into the 50k/year bracket. I know numerous people (without college education and from working class families) who make anywhere from 50k-500k/year. I'm talking about plumbers, electricians, babysitters, etc.

Compared to Europe, we have relatively few qualifications and rules. The richest person I know is a truck driver without a university education. He finished highschool, became a truck driver, worked for a decade, saved money, bought some trucks of his own, hired drivers, and now makes around $750k. If he grew up in Europe, he'd probably be making around 40k/year.

The American dream is alive and well. But it's not guaranteed and it's not something you can expect simply from going to college and getting a piece of paper.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scratch_Beginnings

  • "In a test of the American Dream, Adam Shepard started life from scratch with the clothes on his back and twenty-five dollars. Ten months later, he had an apartment, a car, and a small savings."

  • "His goal: to have a furnished apartment, a car, and $2,500 in savings within a year."

  • "Ten months into the experiment, he decided to quit after learning of an illness in his family. But by then he had moved into an apartment, bought a pickup truck, and had saved close to $5,000."

Wealth inequality is a lot worse in America than it is in Europe, and I'm all for a little bit more equality.

In Europe, everyone is little less wealthy, but those at the bottom are relatively comfy. This comes with more regulations and less freedom.

In America there is more freedom. It's easier for people to become wealthier and improve their status than anywhere else in the world. This comes at the cost of less income inequality. Personally I'd chose a country with America's values over Europe any day. I'm saying this as someone from a working class background. Over here, not everyone can get to the $100,000/year or more income, but I truly believe everyone (even without university) can get to $40,000/year.

The people are poor, most often out of poor decisions than due to tragedy. There is just so much opportunity here. Nursing, trades (construction, plumbing, electrician, etc.). It's not even hard stuff nor does the training programs require a lot of money.

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