Maybe when you and Reaper get older your optimism in this regard will change. Look around and ask yourself if it's naive to assume that someone with less money is always the one who is lazy or not a good/hard worker.There are people who break their back and still have limited choices.Most of the system is there to keep people too busy or distracted to change things and make it better.I love this country but it could definitely be better. i also think some people are consumed with work and that its their whole life.which is great for some but there is more to life. other countries actually know how to relax and enjoy life. Their productivity is still there but they have balance in life.Here the almighty dollar quest rules the day.What in your opinion is a reasonable allottment for vacation in a job first year there?
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Frankly busting your ass but not having much brainpower doesn't go too far. If you have sense and work SMART and hard, you will go places.
My father's parents were (legal) immigrants to the US. His father left their family of 6 boys when the oldest was 12 (my dad was 7 I think). none of them graduated high school. They had to band together as kids to make money doing things like laundry, delivering papers, busboy, etc to feed their family. My father never learned to read, but did learn to be an auto mechanic. Growing up I lived in a small house in rural NJ, middle of nowhere as that was one of the few spots relatively near NYC that they could afford a house. I grew up with free school lunches, as my parents always earned below the threshold. My parents rarely had a car made in the same decade as we were in, their first new car they bought when my father was 55. My first car was a $100 vw bug that had a seized engine I helped my father rebuild with used parts, and had to paint with spraycans.
I'm assistant to the CTO + product development manager for a multi billion $ corporation. I've got a 3000sqft house in a gated community, a 68 corvette in the garage and my wife and buy new cars every 3-4 years so they are always under warranty. I don't have a college degree, but I have drive, knowledge, and brainpower and that is far more important. Growing up I mowed lawns and did other odd jobs (worked at a gas station pumping gas) to save money to buy my own computer. I read and learned and applied that knowledge.
As far as other countries go, perhaps you are missing the huge unemployment rate, or crappy quality of life. If you like the hippie lifestyle then I suppose the european way is sensible - don't own a decent sized home, don't own any land, rent a tiny space, don't have a car, don't worry about having a job since the state will cover you, etc. Their economies are in the toilet far worse than ours is. Their influx of cheap labor from eastern europe has ruined their job market. So maybe they have the relax part down, but what fun is it to have 4 weeks vacation when you don't have the $ to do what you want with it? I guess if backpacking thru europe is your thing, then its perfect. I prefer a 4-5 star beach resort in hawaii or puerto rico, and eating at restaurants good enough that the chef goes on Iron Chef
So if your definition of relaxing is a breezy tent in the rain in the middle of nowhere the euro model works. My definition of relaxing is sitting in a hot tub overlooking the beach while waiting for my spa appointment for a massage.
