Re: CLASS in Europe and America

> On 8/9/26 10:10, Lars Poulsen wrote:
>> As an immigrant from Europe (Denmark) I see much more class 
>> entrenchment in the USA than in the parts of Europe that I am 
>> intimately familar with. Americans TELL themselves (or each other) 
>> that they have high social mobility, but it is FAR easier to start a 
>> new business in most of Europe. Universal health care is one huge reason.
> 
On 2026-08-09 20:59, c186282 wrote:
>    The UK is still probably THE worst in the
>    vicinity about 'class'. You're either "born
>    to" whatever or you'll get squeezed out,
>    never be seen as a real "peer".
> 
>    It MAY be easier to start a biz in the EU. Never
>    looked into the details. However I do keep seeing
>    news from the EU about smaller biz collapsing
>    under huge tax and regulatory burdens. So "start",
>    maybe easier, "keep", not so much.
> 
>    And you don't have to own a biz to "get ahead".
>    Just don't spend every coin you earn as fast as
>    you earn it. Persistence in a large biz tends
>    to pay off as well - alas Gen-Z/A2 don't seem
>    to GRASP that. If they're not CEO in six months
>    they jump ship and start over, and over, and over ...
> 
>    Anyway, USA is about "opportunity" - IF you can
>    spot it. The original "old money" crowd is pretty
>    weak and thus things change fast.
> 
>    "Old money" - grandpa MAKES it, the kids SURF
>    on it and the grand-kids BLOW it all. That's
>    the normal cycle in USA.

That used to be the story, but it is much less so. It is now quite easy 
for the older generation to protect the wealth and avoid taxation.
Not only are inheritance taxes all but abolished, but once you have 
enough wealth, you do not even pay income taxes in the accumulation
phase: Borrow to spend ... and then there is a "tax-free basis step-up"
upon inheritance.

Also, US law - or at least its implementation - has been distorted to 
where "business friendly" is understood as "big business friendly" to 
the detriment of small businesses. At least in the Nordics, government 
programs favor mom-and-pop businesses and startups.

-- 
Lars Poulsen - an old geek in Santa Barbara, California