Readit NewsBut I like your second interpretation way more!
"makes fun of us for overspending on health care yet charges us 10X as much for the drugs they manufacture: https://www.healthline.com/health-news/heres-how-much-more-o..."
It is pretty amusing to see Europeans gloating over their low-cost/public healthcare while part of its treatment structure is subsidized by Americans through what they pay for the same to the same companies.
But as we are supposed to steelman others on hn, I will pretend that your comment was made in good faith, and that you are actually amused by "Europeans gloating" and just want my take on the rest of the parent comment.
Of course, some of the price difference between US and the rest of the world comes from research and development, along with price segmentation, the latter being pretty much standard in capitalism on a global scale.
But as long as your drug companies spend so much on marketing and making intermediaries rich beyond measure, and your government doesn't negotiate the prices down and doesn't properly regulate them, it seems a bit strange to me to completely focus on the r&d part when talking about the 10x difference.
While the US isn't willing to meaningfully address any of the other major issues with healthcare pricing, it feels like this issue is just an excuse for some Americans to see themselves as victims on the global stage, which has become rather fashionable with supporters of the current administration. To an outside observer, the situation looks very similar to the ongoing embarrassment about the tariffs, or the examples I have already given about defense spending and vacation time.
Part of the reason the US has a higher GDP is because we work longer hours and take less vacation. "You work harder, therefore you should shoulder more" hardly seems fair.
Europe makes fun of us for our defense spending yet demands protection, makes fun of us for working long hours yet says we should shoulder more, makes fun of us for overspending on health care yet charges us 10X as much for the drugs they manufacture: https://www.healthline.com/health-news/heres-how-much-more-o...
I just can't shake the feeling that Europeans see Americans as suckers.
> we work longer hours and take less vacation.
Yes, but people working longer hours doesn't necessarily translate to more output, especially when quality is taken into account.
Anecdotally, from what I've heard from people working in international companies, the American work culture doesn't seem to be very efficient when looking at the end result. The studies of 32 hour work weeks seem to indicate similar findings, though like the anecdotes, should be taken with a grain of salt of course. But I truly believe that in most cases, a developer who works 10 hours a day will not produce more than one who works 6 hours a day, at least after a couple of days.
>Europe makes fun of us for our defense spending yet demands protection
You do realise that until very recently, America has gained an absurd amount of soft power through this defence spending, right? And was able to convert this soft power into a lot of GDP through indirect subsidies of its international companies? Just because the current administration has squandered this advantage, doesn't mean you did not get out more than you paid for the last couple of decades.
>I just can't shake the feeling that Europeans see Americans as suckers.
I agree with you on that point,but not for the reasons you might think. I see the "temporarily embarrassed millionaire" phenomenon, people constantly against their self-interest and the like, and and it's hard not to. I have relatives in the US, and I still feel sympathy for your people.
But it's getting harder and harder to not see you as suckers when you look at the tariffs or the cuts to welfare, science and education, all while the rich get massive tax cuts. And all is being done in the name of "draining the swamp", by a billionaire who is incredibly well-connected with 90% of the corrupt elite he publicly opposes.
https://x.com/stillgray/status/1929070220921942470?ref_src=t...
For the record neither is the "correct" nazi salute.
Also, the gesture is usually interpreted in the context of his increasingly fascist rhetoric, which makes it harder for an outside observer to give him the benefit of the doubt.
However, as you posted the video in defense of Elon and decided to believe the narrative over what you can see with your own eyes, I'm probably wasting my time here.
So I wanted to show that people have also used cheap excuses like this in the past, and that we shouldn't give Russian propaganda the benefit of the doubt.
Of course there weren't any atrocities commited against the Sudetendeutsche population, I just assumed everyone knew that, but that's due to my German-centric view of history.
I should have expected this, as sarcasm doesn't translate well over text, especially if people don't share the same cultural background.
The sole reason Russia invaded Ukraine was that it was flirting too much with NATO.
Putin might be a lunatic, but he is not stupid.
He even made a speech at the Sportpalast in Berlin in which he stated that the Sudetenland was "the last territorial demand I have to make in Europe". So all's fine, and we don't have to worry about Germany.
https://wiki.lspace.org/Klotz