Do you happen to remember the name of that documentary? I saw the Vice specials from a really long time ago, but they seem to have gone through a much more controlled experience that wouldn’t see what you describe. Heck, I think what I saw predates smartphones taking over the world.

Some of his advice (mainly the first “baby steps” of paying off debts and getting some money saved) is reasonable enough. Snowball method of paying off debt may not be the most mathematically advantageous, but it does give psychological quick wins to those who may need it most. Paying off high-interest loans first doesn’t mean much if you get frustrated and give up. Setting a budget is also important.

Once you get past that his advice is pretty awful though. Yes, I use credit cards but I pay it off. Yes, I have a car loan but its interest rate is so low I pay a rounding error’s worth of interest through the life of the loan. No, I’m not paying my mortgage off on a 15-year schedule because its interest rate is plenty low as well and I’ve got better things to do with my paycheck.

Speaking of doing research, thoughts?

https://www.npr.org/2024/09/23/nx-s1-5074064/ev-gas-cars-environment-skepticism

The big question is if you can charge at home. Depending on the car, it’s feasible to do so on a normal outlet if you drive ~30 miles or less per day. A 240 volt outlet can be a game changer on top of that though. My setup charges my car 0-100 in about 6 hours (you know, overnight, when I’m not doing anything and electricity is cheapest). But if I were in an apartment and had no access to overnight charging I’d consider other options.

(Chevy Bolt EUV)

Please elaborate. Better yet, don’t.

By the way, you do understand that itineraries with layovers exist, and that stopping all international flights in and out of the world’s most populous country is unrealistic?

That’s cool, and I’d love to see it. “wage” means hourly payment for time worked. Anything else is a benefit or whatever - but not wage. Wage theft is not getting paid wages due.

Vacation time is not the same as hourly wage.

I don’t think we really disagree here. You’re focusing on what people are. I’m focusing on how they see themselves. They’re not necessarily the same things.

Doesn’t mean you don’t call yourself middle class, because at least you’re not homeless. At the very least, “lower-middle class”

20-something years ago PBS had an excellent documentary called “People Like Us: Social Class in America” to show, well, social class in America. If you can find it, or at least clips of it, I’d recommend it. There was one cutscene with a bunch of people being asked which class they see themselves as, and pretty much everyone felt they were “middle class” - but you could tell by the way they presented themselves (clothes, jewelry, etc) that they were all over the place.

Pretty much everyone calls themselves middle class. Outside of the extremes one would expect, there will always be richer and poorer people among you, meaning you’re in the “middle” - whether you’re struggling to make rent or debating whether or not to go to the vacation home this weekend.

Use it or lose it is very common, even in (US) government employment.

Lotsa misinformation coming from that general area.

Assuming the words themselves are accurate, there is still a difference between wanting to “engage more” with Beijing and wanting them to swallow your country whole. Not to mention all the other issues one may vote over

Screenshot taken at 18:07, which puts you at GMT+2. Curious what makes you such an expert in American and Asian secessionist politics from Eastern Europe 🤔

Hi, it’s now 2024. To the best of my knowledge the independence movements of Puerto Rico and Hawaii are currently minimal (not non-existent, but even Texas has some weirdo secessionists). While the circumstances of those territories becoming a part of the US may be dicey, “our ancestors made a mistake” isn’t really a good reason to cut those places away entirely if modern-day people generally wish to keep the current arrangement.

Taiwan, on the other hand, generally wishes to remain independent from China. False equivalence.

Yeah? That’s where I’d start. Maybe they were at a bank that’s not their own?

Hard bread with hard ingredients (like meat chunks or salami), soft bread with soft ingredients (like egg salad). I’d call a burger medium soft, and ciabatta is too hard for that

When did I say anything about a private room? You get a few feet of separation from your parents and a different adult to talk to for a moment. That may be enough of an opportunity.

Uh, that’s not exactly what happens when the metal detector goes off but it gives you an opportunity to talk with someone without your parents around. TSA isn’t police, but hopefully they can contact police.

That said, parents do get a pretty strong say in where they take their minor children.

I would imagine so. Most 25-29 year olds’ parents aren’t that old, plus you’d need a combination of “able to afford a house” and “parents need/want to move in with kid (and vice versa)”.

In the mid-60s on the graph, there’s a blurb that it’s 25-29 year olds living with their parents. Not super noticable at first glance.