this post was submitted on 24 Jan 2025
869 points (96.0% liked)

Actually Infuriating

348 readers
13 users here now

Community Rules:

Be Civil

Please treat others with decency. No bigotry (disparaging comments about any race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexuality, nationality, ability, age, ). Personal attacks and bad-faith argumentation are not allowed.

Content should be actually infuriatingPolitics and news are allowed, as well as everyday life. However, please consider posting in partner communities below if it is a better fit.

Mark NSFW/NSFL postsPlease mark anything distressing (death, gore, etc.) as NSFW and clearly label it in the title.

Keep it Legal and MoralNo promoting violence, DOXXing, brigading, harassment, misinformation, spam, etc.

Partner Communities

founded 6 days ago
MODERATORS
 
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 78 points 5 days ago (10 children)

It's not strictly true collage or university as it's know in the rest of the world, in the UK it's only Scotland that gets free tuition, not the rest of us, higher education which is 16-18 is free

[–] [email protected] 25 points 5 days ago (2 children)

In France, college is free only if you're from a underpriviledged social class, and only for a limited time.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 5 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (9 children)

I didn't qualify as "boursier", my tuition was around 400€/year through out bachlore and master degrees (école d'ingénieurs). It's not so expensive. I still was able to claim 90€/month of help for housing (CAF). My friends who qualified paid 0€ for tuition, and they also got more for housing but I don't remember how much. This was from 2011~2016.

In south Germany today, a foreigner, who can't claim any financial help, has to pay ~~3000~4000€/semester~~ 1500€/semester.

Still far far away from what education costs in USA from what I've heard.

Edit: Corrected the price of tuition in Germany.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 5 days ago (5 children)

Our local university charges $440/year for parking :/

load more comments (5 replies)
load more comments (8 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Came to say this. Most people in the UK have to pay tuition for university. There is a govt loan but you're still paying it, plus interest

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (8 replies)
[–] ICastFist 14 points 4 days ago

Would you look at that, Brazil has all of those! The problem with UHC is that right wing politicians have been doing everything in their power to dismantle it ever since its inception.

The previous govt (fucking bozo) was also keen on "isn't it better to have some work and no rights, rather than having rights and no work?"

Public universities, while being free, often can only be attended by the well off, since class times might be all over the week (Monday morning, Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday morning AND night), fucking anyone that needs to work to sustain themselves.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 4 days ago (4 children)

The world isn't this black and white, so you can't just compare things at a basic level like this

For example the Netherlands has intuition fee's for universities. It's about 2500 euro per student per year. I'd much rather have it free, but it's still nothing compared to the 50K or 100K some people pay for an American University

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 days ago

And the UK for that matter. You only get free education up to A Levels (18 years old).

If you want a degree then you pay for it.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 44 points 5 days ago

But renaming mountains and bodies of water are going to solve all of that, our orange god king told us so.

/s if it’s not obvious

[–] [email protected] 37 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (34 children)

We need to stop calling it “free” college. It’s not free. It’s a worthwhile investment we all pay for and reap the benefits of.

We don’t call it a “free military.”

[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 days ago (16 children)

College is free, uni isn't

Not our fault just one country uses the word incorrectly

load more comments (16 replies)
load more comments (33 replies)
[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Republicans: Don't care, owned the libs.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago

What was that quote? "A Republican would eat shit if they thought a Democrat would have to smell it"?

[–] [email protected] 21 points 5 days ago (21 children)

I've never worked a single job in the US that didn't have sick and vacation hours. Granted it was like 5 seconds allowed every 7 years but still.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 5 days ago (11 children)

Neither of them are actually a legal requirement. What is offered is basically part of the "compensation package" (it's considered part of your pay) in the US. Also there are A LOT of jobs in the US that don't give paid sick time or vacation time, they are usually pretty far down the hierarchy though, and the jobs that do give paid time off typically don't give it to you until you have been employed there for at least a year.

I don't think this graphic is stating you cannot get any of these things in the US, but none of these things are guaranteed by the government.

load more comments (11 replies)
[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 days ago (11 children)

i dont even have sick hours anymore its all pto. so if i get sick i just lose my vacation

load more comments (11 replies)
load more comments (19 replies)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Paid sick leave exists in some US states, for example vermont. It’s not a lot but it’s better than nothing.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 days ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (2 children)

Sadly we are all not blessed by having Bernie as a ~~governor~~ representative.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 days ago (3 children)

Bernie isn’t our governor. Republican Phil Scott is. With ~70% of the vote.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago

Yeah. The Democrats screwed up that opportunity for us. Twice.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 days ago

Free college is no longer a thing here in the UK. But our student loan terms are bloody generous.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 5 days ago

Plenty of states offer free community and state college admission for residents; not saying the chart isn't right (and sad) but I hate the stigma that the only good colleges are for-profit private ones.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 5 days ago (10 children)

Canada actually has paid sick leave for a few years now. If I remember correctly, it’s federally mandated 10 paid sick days and 3 paid personal days.

load more comments (10 replies)
[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 days ago (7 children)

Well, there's one country I'm not moving to. It amuzes me that a first world country, hell, a global superpower, doesn't have any of that stuff, it would benefit everyone, especially free healthcare because you wouldn't have to worry about going bankrupt just to get that surgery you know you need. It doesn't even have to be free, just making it affordable for everyone is already a huge step.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 days ago (4 children)

America isn't a first world country. It favors the rich in the same way as most African and Central Asian nations.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

The first/second/third world designation is a cold war relic. America is first world by definition, but we probably should have ditched the whole framework after the Berlin Wall fell.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments (6 replies)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (2 children)

Indeed, but nothing is for free and we pay for the so-called "free" services through taxes. Yes, the 1st Class EU members are way ahead of the piss poor US labor laws and public services. Thanks to the MAGAts, working conditions will become 3rd World.

One matter, the blue-collar apprenticeship system in Germany is outstanding and the only organization that comes close are the trade unions in the USA, but it depends on which local you are in. Some are superb and some are WTF.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Yes healthcare is paid for via taxes so it isn't strictly speaking isn't free, but it also isn't the same as paying for health insurance. For one thing you don't pay more money just because you've got a Pre-Existing medical condition. In a way everyone pays less because all of the people that would otherwise pay for private healthcare, still pay the taxes, so everyone else is being subsidized by the rich, who in the US wouldn't contribute to anyone else's healthcare.

I don't think anyone ends up paying more in taxes than they would if we operated under the US private health care system.

So while your point is strictly speaking true, it's also a bit pedantic.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 4 days ago

No disrespect to the guy individually but "it's not free, it's paid for by taxes" is mentioned every single time when this conversation comes up.

Everybody knows. Nobody actually thinks these these things appear out of thin air. We all know how taxes pay for public services and employment rights.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago

I love the way Germany has trade unions that are trade wide rather than smaller unions. I wish we could import that to America.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (6 children)

Asterisk on Canada’s not free post secondary

The majority of the cost is paid for citizens so it’s still better than the US

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 days ago

Trash country. Trash electorate.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 days ago

Oligarchies gonna ollygark.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 5 days ago
[–] [email protected] 14 points 5 days ago (4 children)

UK has free college? Is that a joke?

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 13 points 5 days ago (3 children)

Yeah but what's the price of eggs in those countries?

Checkmate, libs 😎

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 13 points 5 days ago

This is kinda misleading 'cause it portraits the UK as a Paradise and, well... Is the UK.

(Although, compared to USA, The UK is indeed a Paradise)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Luckily there's still many other important things such as food safety, workplace safety, consumer protection... um...

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

We used to have free college, but college students protested things which pissed off Reagan so he campaigned against it

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 12 points 5 days ago (3 children)

Why is the British flag the pre-1801 one?

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments
view more: next ›