France or USA

[opebo]

Assume you are an ordinary person with no capital, who's only source of income is work.  Which country is preferable?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

France. You get much more vacation time too!

[minionofmidas]

Doesn't matter at all what type of person I am exactly...
The US is very nice and fascinating and all, but, face it, France is nicer. Plus I wouldn't have to fly across the ocean to visit my relatives.

[opebo]

Doesn't matter at all what type of person I am exactly...
The US is very nice and fascinating and all, but, face it, France is nicer. Plus I wouldn't have to fly across the ocean to visit my relatives.

Well I agree France is overall much nicer, but I think if you were a billionaire you could arrange a pretty nice existence in the US, and pay very little taxes.  I don't think France is the better choice for everyone, just the non-rich.

It doesn't help matters that food is so atrocious in America!  Though to be fair, France is not one of those countries that has legalized prostitution or drugs.

[Jake]

That is what my family is now, so USA.

[A18]

USA, but if the Democrats took over Congress, France

[John Dibble]

USA. I know I can find work here, so I know I can make it, and probably make it pretty well at that.

[David S]

USA  (Was there a doubt?)

[David S]

Well I agree France is overall much nicer, but I think if you were a billionaire you could arrange a pretty nice existence in the US, and pay very little taxes.  I don't think France is the better choice for everyone, just the non-rich.

It doesn't help matters that food is so atrocious in America!  Though to be fair, France is not one of those countries that has legalized prostitution or drugs.

Ok I'm no where near a billionare, but still managed to retire at age 55 with a comfortable although not extravagant existence.

As for food, well if you eat at Mickey D's yeah the food is lousy. But there are countless excellent restaurants in the US. What don't you like about them? From what I hear of France, the people don't get fat because they can't afford to buy enough food for that to happen. 

While I agree that drugs and prostitution should be legal, I don't use either and I don't view that as an important quality-of-life issue.
BTW Prostitution is legal in Nevada.

[Tory]

I wouldn't want to live in either place.

[Alcon]

United States. I don't want to learn French.

[Platypus]

Hmmn, depends. Australia, to be honest, and I very rarely don't pick an option.

[Lunar]

I voted France.  Europe is fun (vacation time) and I have EU citizenship.

[semissou]

US

french women are rather overated.

[Platypus]

semissou, are you related to opebo? (Looks at signature...)

[Richard]

Assume you are an ordinary person with no capital, who's only source of income is work.  Which country is preferable?

If I feel like I'll be able to start my own business and actually do something in life: USA

If I don't want to work and feel no need to achieve: France

[Dr. Cynic]

I am an American.

[Erc]

USA, due to the fact that there's more social mobility here.

[The Duke]

USA

Opebo, since 60% of American are in the stock market, its absurd to claim that being ordinary requires you not to have capital.  Actually, in America, not having capital makes you the minority.

[Tory]

I voted France.  Europe is fun (vacation time) and I have EU citizenship.

You would rather live in France than the U.S., and you have EU citizenship, what am I missing?

[opebo]

USA

Opebo, since 60% of American are in the stock market, its absurd to claim that being ordinary requires you not to have capital.  Actually, in America, not having capital makes you the minority.

Hah, incredibly dubious statistics there.  But seriously, nearly all stocks are held by the top few percent of the population.  Just because some poor working stiffs keep their meager retirement savings in stocks doesn't change the class differential. 

The bottom 90% or more of the population, who depends upon their wages for existence, and not income from return on capital, is better off in France than the US.

[Tory]

The bottom 90% or more of the population, who depends upon their wages for existence, and not income from return on capital, is better off in France than the US.

That depends. If you're poor and don't want to advance to middle class, then France is better. If you want to work and eventually become rich then America is much better.

[The Duke]

Don't even talk to opebo.  He is so filled with hate and so lacking in competence that he is unable to carry on an intelligent conversation.

[DanielX]

Good ol' USA.

Because, to be honest, France looks bleak in the long term. It's 20 years or so away from massive upheaval - yes, it's not PC to point to Western Europe's large muslim minority as a problem, but it is - and sadly, in many parts of Europe the only sane politicians who support sensible immigration restrictions are either BNP-esque fascists or tend to be assasinated (see Pim Fortuyn, and several others, mainly in the Benelux), or both. 

France, to me, seems bleakest. It seems fairly likely it'll either have a fascistic, Le Pen type government, or become an Islamic state similar to Iran or at least Algeria, by 2030 at the latest. Either way, not good. A very real possibility is a civil war, or at least massive riots.

And no, I don't think the EU will succeed long term; not unless there's a real change in its administration and structure. And letting Turkey in will make things more difficult - although not impossible, it'll be an easy way into the EU (after all, Syria and Iran, the main sources for foreign insurgents/terrorists slipping into Iraq, both border Turkey).

Of course, the US needs to rein in on immigration as well (actually, legal immigration isn't too bad, it's the illegals that need to be countered). The US is also plagued with problems (danger of insolvent social programs, afore-mentioned illegal immigration, an increasing danger that both major parties will become populist), but none seem, at the moment, to be as bad as France or the rest of Europe.

[David S]

USA

Opebo, since 60% of American are in the stock market, its absurd to claim that being ordinary requires you not to have capital.  Actually, in America, not having capital makes you the minority.

Hah, incredibly dubious statistics there.  But seriously, nearly all stocks are held by the top few percent of the population.  Just because some poor working stiffs keep their meager retirement savings in stocks doesn't change the class differential. 

The bottom 90% or more of the population, who depends upon their wages for existence, and not income from return on capital, is better off in France than the US.

This may be foolish on my part but I'm going to ignore John Ford's admonishment to not talk to you, and ask how you arrived at that conclusion.