Viva La France!

[sonickteam2]

Originally posted by Brandon Brendall, the thief:
  There is no constitutional right to take a vacation.  Stop crying and work to get a better job if you don't like what yours offers.
 

not all of us want to sell our souls to the government for a few measly vacation days! why do the sheep get all the good benes??

[sweetcell]

Originally posted by le sonick:
 but americans are MOST famous for not being able to put themselves in anyone else's shoes...even other americans!

very interesting observation.  can't say i dissagree.  i guess it's an extension of the social emphasis placed on individuality in this country.

[alex]

Happier?  Is that why they have so many riots and car burnings?  Protests and strikes?  Is that why 53% voted for a conservative president who ran a campaign on changing the status quo?  Healthier, maybe, but I wouldn't call the French "happier" overall.  And I have no idea why you threw in attractive, like that has any relevance.
 
 The poverty rate is not a good indicator of the overall economy of a nation.  The poverty rate is low in France because of massive government spending on welfare, which in turn has helped slow their economy...see my original post in this thread, which breaks it down.
 
 And no, I've never been, but I plan on it sometime in the next few years.
 
 

Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes,Japanese Golfer:
  Have you ever been to France? Their people seem so much happier, healthier, and attractive compared to here, even with the smoking and red meat.
 
 And how is their economy "wrecked" if nobody is living in poverty?

[alex]

Uh, except that as individuals, Americans give more to charity than any other nation on earth.
 
 

Originally posted by sweetcell:
   

Originally posted by le sonick:
 but americans are MOST famous for not being able to put themselves in anyone else's shoes...even other americans!

very interesting observation.  can't say i dissagree.  i guess it's an extension of the social emphasis placed on individuality in this country. [/b]

[sweetcell]

Originally posted by Brandon Brendall, the thief:
  Uh, except that as individuals, Americans give more to charity than any other nation on earth.

not surprising, since the US is the richest on earth and has a huge population.  percentage of income given might be better grounds for bragging rights (then again, richer you get, the more disposable income you have to give away).  but i'm certainly not knocking charitable giving in this country by individuals.  
 
 btw, source?

[alex]

And a source you shall have.
 
 It's interesting to read this stuff:
 
 The U.S. government gave about $20 billion in foreign aid in 2004, and Jimmy Carter,  Bono and Angelina Jolie cried about it, but then privately in the same year, individual Americans gave another $24.2 billion.
 
 After the 2004 tsunami, the U.S. government pledged approximately $900 million to relief efforts, but American individuals gave another $2 billion in food, clothing and cash.
 
 Americans per capita individually give about three and a half times more money per year, than the French per capita, seven times more than the Germans and 14 times more than the Italians.
 
 Just some stuff to think about before you make snobby, ignorant generalizations (le sonick) about Americans.

[sonickteam2]

Originally posted by Brandon Brendall, the thief:
 
 Just some stuff to think about before you make snobby, ignorant generalizations (le sonick) about Americans.

i've lived in this country for 13 years, sir....so snobby perhaps...ignorant, not a chance.
 
   and for the record, your "Stop crying and work to get a better job if you don't like what yours offers." comment was fairly ignorant in its own right!  
 
 so, touche buddy!

[alex]

Oh, and I'm surprised  this wasn't posted yesterday, since it was all over the place:
 
 French workers biggest whiners, Irish happiest: study
 
 French workers are the world's biggest whiners, according to a study published Monday which said the Irish complain least about their lot.
 
 Britons come second to their Gallic cousins in the moaning stakes, followed by Sweden, the United States and Australia. Japanese workers have the lowest morale, but don't complain so much.
 
 The lowest levels of whining were found in the Netherlands, Thailand and Ireland, according to the study by the FDS research group.
 
 "It is interesting to note that after France, Britain and Sweden, the world's biggest workplace whingers are Americans, despite their having by far the highest levels of income," said FDS chief Charlotte Cornish.
 
 "Compare them to Thai workers: while real levels of income are more than eight times higher in the States, more workers in the US feel their pay is a problem than in Thailand," she added.
 
 The study, entitled "What Workers Want, A Worldwide Study of Attitudes to Work and Work-Life Balance", draws on data from 14,000 employees in 23 countries.
 
 They were notably asked about their satisfaction with issues including pay levels and their work-life balance, as well as average working hours.
 
 In terms of worker morale, Dutch workers are the happiest, followed by their Thai and Irish counterparts. The lowest morale of all is found in Japan, followed by Germany, said the study.
 
 The study's authors noted that rightwing French President-elect Nicolas Sarkozy shouldn't expect things to become happier anytime soon, as he prepares to shake up notoriously strike-prone France.
 
 "The UK and US, with their marked competitive individualism and unequal wealth distribution, both appear towards the top of the world's list of whingiest workers," said Cornish.
 
 "The French come out on top -- it seems unlikely that Nicolas Sarkozy's election and the likely shift to more Anglo-Saxon economic practices will make the workers in France any more happy with their lot," she added.
 
 
 What was that, Rhett?  French are happier?

[sonickteam2]

Originally posted by Brandon Brendall, the thief:
  And a source you shall have.
 
 It's interesting to read this stuff:
 
 The U.S. government gave about $20 billion in foreign aid in 2004, and Jimmy Carter,  Bono and Angelina Jolie cried about it, but then privately in the same year, individual Americans gave another $24.2 billion.
 
 After the 2004 tsunami, the U.S. government pledged approximately $900 million to relief efforts, but American individuals gave another $2 billion in food, clothing and cash.
 
 Americans per capita individually give about three and a half times more money per year, than the French per capita, seven times more than the Germans and 14 times more than the Italians.
 
 Just some stuff to think about before you make snobby, ignorant generalizations (le sonick) about Americans.

this data really shows NOTHING about the general caring of the us population.  so, the richest country gave the most!!! nowhere in your americanized data does it say how many people contributed what money?
 
 $2 billion in food, clothing and money? how do we know that $1.7 billion of that was donated by american companies and the wealthiest 1%?  leaving the other 350 million people donated nickels and dimes.
 
  i'm not saying thats the case, but simply this data really doesnt show jack-shit...but thanks for providing it!

[alex]

Originally posted by le sonick:
 i've lived in this country for 13 years, sir....so snobby perhaps...ignorant, not a chance.
 
   and for the record, your "Stop crying and work to get a better job if you don't like what yours offers." comment was fairly ignorant in its own right!  
 
 so, touche buddy! [/QB]

Your statement was highly ignorant of the actual facts about individual giving in America.
 
 And working to get something better if you don't like it is kind of how things work here.  It's not my fault you're some out of touch elitist who doesn't understand such things.

[sonickteam2]

Originally posted by Brandon Brendall, the thief:
   

Originally posted by le sonick:
 i've lived in this country for 13 years, sir....so snobby perhaps...ignorant, not a chance.
 
   and for the record, your "Stop crying and work to get a better job if you don't like what yours offers." comment was fairly ignorant in its own right!  
 
 so, touche buddy! [/b]

Your statement was highly ignorant of the actual facts about individual giving in America.
 
 And working to get something better if you don't like it is kind of how things work here.  It's not my fault you're some out of touch elitist who doesn't understand such things. [/QB]

as i've already stated, your "actual facts" dont say patooey.
 
 so what you're saying is basically that people who dislike their jobs but dont get new ones are lazy crybabies? just trying to get your point because apparently i missed it.

[ggw]

Brandon is correct -- Americans give more, per capita and in total, than other nations (like 3x as much as Canadians, I believe).  The American government, on the other hand, is way down the list.
 
 If you want a source, just google per capita charity giving
 
 You'll get lots of reports like the one below:
 
 In an earlier report in Philanthropy, Tobin, Karp, and Weinberg write that, "a recent German study reports that on a per capita basis, American citizens contribute to charity nearly seven times as much as their German counterparts, and that about six times as many Americans as Germans do volunteer work.... Some 70 percent of U.S. households make charitable cash contributions...over half of all U.S. adults will volunteer an estimated 20 billion hours in charitable activities this year.... In short, American philanthropy is extraordinary by any world standard."

[alex]

You want more?  A good resource on this topic is, "Who Really Cares" by Arthur Brooks.
 
 More findings:
 
 -People at the lower end of the income scale give almost 30 percent more of their income than do those who make $1 million or more.
 
 -The American working poor are, relative to their income, some of the most generous people in America today. The nonworking poor, howeverâ??those on public assistance instead of earning low wagesâ??give at lower levels than any other group. In other words, poverty does not discourage charity in America, but welfare does.
 
 -24 of the top 25 states where people give an above average percent of their income were red states in the previous presidential election.
 
 -Mississippi is one of the poorest states in the nation, but gives the most away.
 
 -Conservatives give about 30 percent more than liberals, even though on average conservative-headed families make slightly less money.
 
 -People who believe the government does not have a basic responsibility to take care of the people who can't take care of themselves are 27 percent more likely to give to charity.
 
 -Religion is the single biggest predictor as to whether someone will be charitable. Religious people give to four times as much to charity, and not just to their own church but also to outside organizations and even explicitly non-religious charities.
 
 Besides all of this, WHO CARES how many people contributed what money?  I mean you're obviously off the mark when insinuate that Americans don't care, but even more obviously, if we're giving so much, SOMETHING is working, and it's working better than it is in Europe.
 
 

Originally posted by le sonick:
 this data really shows NOTHING about the general caring of the us population.  so, the richest country gave the most!!! nowhere in your americanized data does it say how many people contributed what money?
 
 $2 billion in food, clothing and money? how do we know that $1.7 billion of that was donated by american companies and the wealthiest 1%?  leaving the other 350 million people donated nickels and dimes.
 
  i'm not saying thats the case, but simply this data really doesnt show jack-shit...but thanks for providing it! [/QB]

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

Thanks, but when I want an opinion on a country on something as subjective as "healthier, happier, and more attractive (which to me is in large part a reflection of the first two), I'll start by asking someone who has actually been there (preferably lived there), as opposed to someone who is prfoota.
 
 

Originally posted by Brandon Brendall, the thief:
  Happier?  Is that why they have so many riots and car burnings?  Protests and strikes?  Is that why 53% voted for a conservative president who ran a campaign on changing the status quo?  Healthier, maybe, but I wouldn't call the French "happier" overall.  And I have no idea why you threw in attractive, like that has any relevance.
 
 The poverty rate is not a good indicator of the overall economy of a nation.  The poverty rate is low in France because of massive government spending on welfare, which in turn has helped slow their economy...see my original post in this thread, which breaks it down.
 
 And no, I've never been, but I plan on it sometime in the next few years.
 
   

Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes,Japanese Golfer:
  Have you ever been to France? Their people seem so much happier, healthier, and attractive compared to here, even with the smoking and red meat.
 
 And how is their economy "wrecked" if nobody is living in poverty?

[/b]

[alex]

Originally posted by le sonick:
 

so what you're saying is basically that people who dislike their jobs but dont get new ones are lazy crybabies? just trying to get your point because apparently i missed it. [/b]

I'm saying that if you don't like the benefits your job gives you, rather than whine about the government not forcing private businesses to give you vacation time, you should probably work harder to get to a job that gives you what you want.
 
 Obviously, with the current state of the French economy, government mandated 30 day vacations and 35 hour work weeks do not work.