Politics

[Jiggafini19Deux]

Wonder what the common denominator is among those countries. I could see them all being more outdoorsy, they probably touch grass more than the rest of us.

If you get sick or hurt, you're far more likely to end up on a mattress getting better rather than go bankrupt.

Or maybe they do more rock climbing, like you said. Tough call.

 

[TorontoGold]

If you get sick or hurt, you're far more likely to end up on a mattress getting better rather than go bankrupt.

Or maybe they do more rock climbing, like you said. Tough call.

They don't have that pesky obamacare!

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

House votes overwhelmingly to save Speaker Mike Johnson from Marjorie Taylor Greene's push to oust him

Greene lacked much support within her party to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson, winning just 11 GOP votes, while a majority of Democrats voted to save him.

www.nbcnews.com

This might have slipped past, well, just about everyone here I guess?

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

They don't have that pesky obamacare!

The ACA is better.

 

[ulukinatme]

If you get sick or hurt, you're far more likely to end up on a mattress getting better rather than go bankrupt.

Or maybe they do more rock climbing, like you said. Tough call.

I think we're both right:

These Are the World’s Happiest Countries in 2025

Find out what makes Finland so happy.

www.afar.com

“Finnish happiness boils down to the simple things in life: connecting with nature, caring for one’s mind and body, and appreciating design and art around us. Happiness can be found in moments of pure contentment you get when the setting is just right: on a bike ride in a forest with the perfect playlist on or enjoying a post-sauna sausage while cooling off on a beautiful summer evening,”

 

[GATTACA!]

Wonder what the common denominator is among those countries. I could see them all being more outdoorsy, they probably touch grass more than the rest of us.

It's wealth inequality. It's no wonder as it keeps getting worse and worse our collective happiness continues to drop, birth rate continues to drop, home ownership is dropping, retirement is later and later or completely impossible for a widening number of people. Homeless people everywhere you look. My generation is the first generation since the 1800s that will be worse off financially than their parent.

Back in the day Henry Ford increased his wages enough that his employees could afford to buy their own product. Nowadays Walmart keeps them so low they make sure to deny employees full time benefits and instructs them on how to apply for welfare.

People literally can't afford to live, certainly can't achieve the American dream.

 

[GATTACA!]

I think we're both right:

These Are the World’s Happiest Countries in 2025

Find out what makes Finland so happy.

www.afar.com

This is 100% correct. They have the time and resources to actually enjoy their lives.

 

[TorontoGold]

It's wealth inequality. It's no wonder as it keeps getting worse and worse our collective happiness continues to drop, birth rate continues to drop, home ownership is dropping, retirement is later and later or completely impossible for a widening number of people. Homeless people everywhere you look. My generation is the first generation since the 1800s that will be worse off financially than their parent.

Back in the day Henry Ford increased his wages enough that his employees could afford to buy their own product. Nowadays Walmart keeps them so low they make sure to deny employees full time benefits and instructs them on how to apply for welfare.

People literally can't afford to live, certainly can't achieve the American dream.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

I think we're both right:

These Are the World’s Happiest Countries in 2025

Find out what makes Finland so happy.

www.afar.com

So environment and the arts, then?

Let me see what candidates on my ballot support these things....

 

[ulukinatme]

So environment and the arts, then?

Let me see what candidates on my ballot support these things....

It's strange that you think politicians are the source of happiness.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

It's strange that you think politicians are the source of happiness.

I never said that. I also used italic font.

I agree with Gattaca, and you liked his post as well. There's that.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

It's wealth inequality. It's no wonder as it keeps getting worse and worse our collective happiness continues to drop, birth rate continues to drop, home ownership is dropping, retirement is later and later or completely impossible for a widening number of people. Homeless people everywhere you look. My generation is the first generation since the 1800s that will be worse off financially than their parent.

Back in the day Henry Ford increased his wages enough that his employees could afford to buy their own product. Nowadays Walmart keeps them so low they make sure to deny employees full time benefits and instructs them on how to apply for welfare.

People literally can't afford to live, certainly can't achieve the American dream.

I don't think a map and 15 minute head start is at all required for any of us to understand this. We all live in certain bubbles, but the majority of us here and the people we know are probably more likely to be closer to becoming bankrupt than billionaires. I could get hit my lightning and the medical bills would result in my wife starting a Go Fund Me Page. I find that ridiculous.

There was probably once a time when hard work and doing what is right got you very far in life. That message rings somewhat hollow today, and oftentimes the misdirection is that people are lazy and don't want to work hard. I have no doubt that there are lazy, entitled people who exist in this country, but at the end of the day, all of us here know people who have worked their asses off for decades and ultimately have nothing to show for it due to no fault of their own.

 

[Blazers46]

Expectations….
I think a lot of it has to do with expectations. I was once a social worker that helped tweeners transition to adulthood. 16-21 year olds and these kids just have some outlandish expectations. A lot of kids want to be a YouTuber or be tik tok famous. A lot of people live within their screens. There are a lot of directionless people that graduate high school and then get lost. A lot of laziness in society is just a result of being lost with no direction.

I have met the poorest of the poor in the US and in other countries and found a lot of people that are happy.

I have met some very wealthy people worth 100m-ish and they are unhappy.

 

[GATTACA!]

Expectations….
I think a lot of it has to do with expectations. I was once a social worker that helped tweeners transition to adulthood. 16-21 year olds and these kids just have some outlandish expectations. A lot of kids want to be a YouTuber or be tik tok famous. A lot of people live within their screens. There are a lot of directionless people that graduate high school and then get lost. A lot of laziness in society is just a result of being lost with no direction.

I have met the poorest of the poor in the US and in other countries and found a lot of people that are happy.

I have met some very wealthy people worth 100m-ish and they are unhappy.

Those are fringe cases IMO.

Your average person wants to be able to work their 9-5 and earn enough to live their life comfortably. People would be way happier if it was still feasible to work a blue collar job and make enough to support a family with a house, kids, and a stay at home parent. Like how it used to be for decades.

And even if they don't and you're right and everyone just wants to be the next Mr Beast, how much happier would they be if they were comfortable and not living paycheck to paycheck while they chased that unobtainable dream?

 

[Sea Turtle]

Expectations….
I think a lot of it has to do with expectations. I was once a social worker that helped tweeners transition to adulthood. 16-21 year olds and these kids just have some outlandish expectations. A lot of kids want to be a YouTuber or be tik tok famous. A lot of people live within their screens. There are a lot of directionless people that graduate high school and then get lost. A lot of laziness in society is just a result of being lost with no direction.

I have met the poorest of the poor in the US and in other countries and found a lot of people that are happy.

I have met some very wealthy people worth 100m-ish and they are unhappy.

Do they even have shop class and auto class anymore?

I remember getting to weld, lathe, wood plane, band saw, drop forge, work foundry and pour molds from crucible. Ben Davis had an auto/body shop that others schools could send students to.

 

[Blazers46]

Those are fringe cases IMO.

Your average person wants to be able to work their 9-5 and earn enough to live their life comfortably. People would be way happier if it was still feasible to work a blue collar job and make enough to support a family with a house, kids, and a stay at home parent. Like how it used to be for decades.

And even if they don't and you're right and everyone just wants to be the next Mr Beast, how much happier would they be if they were comfortable and not living paycheck to paycheck while they chased that unobtainable dream?

I’m not saying “everyone”, I just used that as an example. That “dream” is an expectation. We can argue about the obtainableness of that “dream” but everyone needs to have realistic expectations and direction.

 

[NorthDakota]

Do they even have shop class and auto class anymore?

I remember getting to weld, lathe, band saw, drop forge, work foundry and pour molds from crucible. Ben Davis had an auto/body shop that others schools could send students to.

My high school had some vocational tech classes. I didn't take any but I know they built a house every year.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

I don't think a map and 15 minute head start is at all required for any of us to understand this. We all live in certain bubbles, but the majority of us here and the people we know are probably more likely to be closer to becoming bankrupt than billionaires. I could get hit my lightning and the medical bills would result in my wife starting a Go Fund Me Page. I find that ridiculous.

There was probably once a time when hard work and doing what is right got you very far in life. That message rings somewhat hollow today, and oftentimes the misdirection is that people are lazy and don't want to work hard. I have no doubt that there are lazy, entitled people who exist in this country, but at the end of the day, all of us here know people who have worked their asses off for decades and ultimately have nothing to show for it due to no fault of their own.

To take it a step further, I suspect most, if not all; of the posters here agree on more than they realize & could even agree on more topics than they disagree if I were to wager. The problem with all Americans is we don’t compromise or just leave it at “agree to disagree”. We have to win the other side over or show them how dumb they are to not agree w/ us & vice versa.

But it’s those emotional hot buttons that get the divisiveness. Don’t get me wrong, healthy debate is great. But social media has devolved to the point where Americans seem more divisive than reality would likely bear out.

 

[GATTACA!]

To take it a step further, I suspect most, if not all; of the posters here agree on more than they realize & could even agree on more topics than they disagree if I were to wager. The problem with all Americans is we don’t compromise or just leave it at “agree to disagree”. We have to win the other side over or show them how dumb they are to not agree w/ us & vice versa.

But it’s those emotional hot buttons that get the divisiveness. Don’t get me wrong, healthy debate is great. But social media has devolved to the point where Americans seem more divisive than reality would likely bear out.

First of all, how dare you?

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Wonder what the common denominator is among those countries. I could see them all being more outdoorsy, they probably touch grass more than the rest of us.

At first glance, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Netherlands & Norway don’t sound like cultural melting pots of diversity.

 

[Blazers46]

Do they even have shop class and auto class anymore?

I remember getting to weld, lathe, wood plane, band saw, drop forge, work foundry and pour molds from crucible. Ben Davis had an auto/body shop that others schools could send students to.

In the Mishawaka area there is the Elkhart Career Center. They do a lot from cosmetology to the Auto. I think my point is young adults want the American dream but they aren’t guided on how to obtain it. @GATTACA! suggests people just want to do their 8 and the gate and expect to thrive. That’s not reality nor should it be.

 

[Irish#1]

I don't think a map and 15 minute head start is at all required for any of us to understand this. We all live in certain bubbles, but the majority of us here and the people we know are probably more likely to be closer to becoming bankrupt than billionaires. I could get hit my lightning and the medical bills would result in my wife starting a Go Fund Me Page. I find that ridiculous.

There was probably once a time when hard work and doing what is right got you very far in life. That message rings somewhat hollow today, and oftentimes the misdirection is that people are lazy and don't want to work hard. I have no doubt that there are lazy, entitled people who exist in this country, but at the end of the day, all of us here know people who have worked their asses off for decades and ultimately have nothing to show for it due to no fault of their own.

It's about working smarter not harder. My oldest granddaughter, graduated from college two years ago with a lot of student loan debt. Today, she has about $30K in the bank, only has a couple of payments left on a new car she hasn't even had for a year yet and has made a decent dent in her student loan debt.

How's this happening? Even though she wanted to be on her own, she lived at home for two years so she could use the money to pay down debt. She also got a marketable degree in chemistry.

 

[Irish#1]

Reading the article, it doesn't look to good for Menendez.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/13/politics/bob-menendez-what-to-know-trial/index.html

 

[drayer54]

Reading the article, it doesn't look to good for Menendez.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/13/politics/bob-menendez-what-to-know-trial/index.html

Dude is kryptonite. He's clearly got something on Schumer or he would have been gone by now. Dems are downplaying a corrupt Senator in their caucus and won't toss him. He's survived. New Jersey seems to like this crap. I bet he's still
hustling until the GOP takeover.

 

[RDU Irish]

Envy is the killer of happiness. It is why social media is so toxic. All the poors thinking they would be happy if they just had a couple more bucks in their pocket as they go to buy a lottery ticket and show up late to work. The American Dream is alive and well - in many ways easier today than ever before.

 

[RDU Irish]

Dude is kryptonite. He's clearly got something on Schumer or he would have been gone by now. Dems are downplaying a corrupt Senator in their caucus and won't toss him. He's survived. New Jersey seems to like this crap. I bet he's still
hustling until the GOP takeover.

Its not like the seat is at risk of going red. Tells you all you need to know about the swamp.

 

[drayer54]

 

[drayer54]

Our principled norms remain under attack by Biden. After trying to cherry pick the debate rules and setting, Biden is covering up the evidence he deemed false in his public rant.

 

[drayer54]

Our principled norms remain under attack by Biden. After trying to cherry pick the debate rules and setting, Biden is covering up the evidence he deemed false in his public rant.

It's worth pointing out that the transcript has been released, and they are only covering up the audio. Imagine how bad it must be.

 

[GATTACA!]

🤣🤣🤣