Even if you consider defense RnD spending "useless" (its not), look at pharmaceutical spending.
https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/health_glance-2015-7...
Why don't we nail down one of these countries you're describing, so we can directly compare the spending?
>but regardless of this fact are you implying that since the US subsidizes so much for the other countries that Americans deserve to live in this second rate system where everyone is on their own?
Where did I say that?
You asked why other countries can do X. One of the reasons is because they don't have to pay for Y. If other countries could not longer rely on the US or China, we would see a much different picture.
>First point that is always made is we should be happy that US employees makes so much more salary. What you fail to understand is that Europeans are coming from an environment where they had good schooling, probably no debt from University and made it to adulthood without any health issues thanks to good healthcare and good healthy food policies.
So why abandon that environment?
>Furthermore Europeans ALWAYS have an exit strategy to go back to a system that has all these fundamentals. The US employee may be paid better but they grew up and live in an environment where everybody else is sinking due to the lack of these fundamental systems.
Do you have evidence for this?
>Secondly on a tangental point, Europeans love to talk about how Americans have access to a billion options for snacks and food. What they fail understand is that if you have grown up in this environment of corn laden garbage it is a prison that is difficult to escape. It is easy for Europeans to be in awe coming from an upbringing of whole nutritious foods. Its another thing to realize how much more expensive it is to eat healthy in the US vs Europe thanks to policies that were in place before even I was born (88).
That's the first time I've heard of this.
Normally I hear "wow, you're going to pay 3x as more for the same job I was doing in Spain?"
Look, you asked why countries are different and I gave an answer. You're now debating whether or not that is "good". You're also leaving out countless negatives about these countries you're alluding to.
>The US subsidizes so much for other countries. Without the US, these other countries wouldn't be able to have the same success.
This chart provides a false picture of R&D spending as European countries do in fact provide a lot of R&D to the global economy in ways that benefit regular people. How is the R&D broken down? I bet the US has a lot of R&D devoted to defense which I woudn't consider in the same category as other types of R&D spending. But regardless of this fact are you implying that since the US subsidizes so much for the other countries that Americans deserve to live in this second rate system where everyone is on their own?
>As an aside, I think the biggest irony is commenting this on HN. I know tons of SDEs that come from other countries because they get paid fractions of the salary they would get here.
I hear this trope trotted out so many times and in two tangental ways.
First point that is always made is we should be happy that US employees makes so much more salary. What you fail to understand is that Europeans are coming from an environment where they had good schooling, probably no debt from University and made it to adulthood without any health issues thanks to good healthcare and good healthy food policies.
All of this is a nonzero cost that allows Europeans to jump into the US system with a leg up from many of their American counterparts who may not have had those luxuries. Look at the typical middle class American household and you'll see all these hidden costs that reduce the chances of them achieving the success that the immigrants came into the country with.
Furthermore Europeans ALWAYS have an exit strategy to go back to a system that has all these fundamentals. The US employee may be paid better but they grew up and live in an environment where everybody else is sinking due to the lack of these fundamental systems. Just look at how San Francisco is turning out with its failures. Sure tech is booming but everyone else is sinking. Americans were born into this and for the most part are stuck in this system for life.
Secondly on a tangental point, Europeans love to talk about how Americans have access to a billion options for snacks and food. What they fail understand is that if you have grown up in this environment of corn laden garbage it is a prison that is difficult to escape. It is easy for Europeans to be in awe coming from an upbringing of whole nutritious foods. Its another thing to realize how much more expensive it is to eat healthy in the US vs Europe thanks to policies that were in place before even I was born (88).