• @Gabu
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    1 year ago

    It’s fine, I don’t expect an American to understand this straight away - nor to be smart, to be honest. You see, the taxes of other countries are either lower or effectively the same as in 'murica, but because essential infrastructure isn’t being run for-profit, it becomes much cheaper for the government to pay for it, which results in a lower cost for the same results.

    4 years of their life? Is that free?

    Yes. You seem to be under the illusion that time actually represents tangible capital – it doesn’t. You’ll spend those 4 years alive anyway, right? Then you may freely use it to acquire education. Oh, another grand benefit of living in a civilized country – if you’re too poor to sustain your costs of living, be it because a part time job doesn’t pay enough or because your family lacks the funds, you can apply to receive free money from the state for the duration of your degree, provided your performance is acceptable.

      • @Gabu
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        31 year ago

        Yes, that is literally how that works. You’ve never heard the phrase “time is money”? That’s what that means.

        If you live your life by following random aphorisms, be careful not to die in the next few minutes. Just because your monkey brain is hardwired to like certain word orders doesn’t make them rational or truthful.

        …or you could use it to do things you actually want to do?

        Weird, I know, but in civilized countries, people actually enjoy learning.

        God I’m just so jealous that you guys have all this free money falling from the skies. I assume all of your work is completed by a legion of robots in this utopia?

        No, still regular old capitalistic exploitation - we’re just not so stupid as to accepts the horrible conditions you have in the US of A.

          • @Gabu
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            31 year ago

            Don’t worry, I have literally no intention of ever stepping in your shithole country.

            What is it exactly that you think money is? Just fancy paper?

            That’s literally what it is. It’s paper we’ve collectively decided to ascribe value to. Want the simplest proof possible? At any point, the state can decide to print 10x, or 1000x, or 1000000x the total circulating currency.

            No one goes to school for fun except for rich old people. People go to school to get money.

            Now you’ve regressed… Do I need to start from the beginning?

            The “horrible conditions” where we don’t have our money taken at gunpoint and given to people who contribute nothing to society?

            First, define contribution. Second, you are taxed just as much, as I already explained. Just reveal your true, ugly colors already – you can’t stand the idea of social mobility. You want poverty to exist so you can feel better about your sad life.

          • @[email protected]
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            fedilink
            21 year ago

            Wait, have you literally never learned anything ‘just for fun’? Like read about an ancient civilization or learned to ski or ride a bike or something?

            Riding a bike and skiing definitely hasn’t ever helped my employability or level of income… pretty fun though so I’d recommend it.

            And yes, people can learn these things inside a school. Although many people also learn them outside of school. But learning is learning.

            • @LemmysMum
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              11 year ago

              They’re American, they don’t have personal time or resources for fun because they prefer the yoke of corporate slavery.

      • @Furbag
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        11 year ago

        Yes, that is literally how that works. You’ve never heard the phrase “time is money”? That’s what that means. Money is nothing but a physical (or digital) representation of someone else’s time.

        If that were true, billionaires would never die.