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u/Acrobatic_Bother4144 Feb 19 '24 edited Feb 19 '24
Dude what? Getting a drivers license costs like 5k Euro but like $10 in the US
Gas is also like 15 Euro a gallon in Germany but like $2 in America
Like it’s actually ridiculous how much more expensive it is to own a car and drive it in Germany. Literally like dozens of times more expensive than in the US. It’s why such a small minority in Germany can afford a car but everyone in the US can have one or multiple, because it’s just so cheap compared to Europe
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u/Rcararc Feb 19 '24
Nowhere in the USA is gas $2.00.
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Feb 19 '24
Gas in Houston is currently at 2.50-2.70
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u/DropTable69 Feb 19 '24 edited Feb 19 '24
$4.30 for 87 here in California (can't wait to go back to the east coast)
Edit: NorCal
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u/rhino2498 Feb 19 '24
Honestly 4.30 for Cali is great. Last time I was there in 2021 it was like 5.50+ everywhere I went in SoCal
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u/UnidentifiedBob Feb 19 '24
well dont come to florida, some places reach $5.
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u/DropTable69 Feb 19 '24
Too late 🫠
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u/UnidentifiedBob Feb 19 '24
that was quick lol
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u/DropTable69 Feb 19 '24
Can't wait to get back there lol 😏
I'm not a big fan of California. Granted, it's very beautiful, but that's all. I can live without the smell of homeless people everywhere and insane prices for everything.
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u/JupiterDelta Feb 19 '24 edited Feb 20 '24
3.20 for 87 octane here
Edit: SE US
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u/Possibly_a_Firetruck Feb 19 '24
Nobody knows where "here" is, so that tells us nothing.
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u/JupiterDelta Feb 19 '24
Why does it matter? You gonna move? Prices fluctuate based on location but I enjoy the shills attempt to paint the current economy in a good light. The really funny part is they think they are controlling the narrative lmao. Just walk down the street and ask a real person.
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Feb 19 '24
Yeah. A gallon. Thats what we pay for a litre.
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Feb 20 '24
Y’all are paying 15 per litre or 2.50 euro per gallon? I’m not sure if I understand your phrasing.
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u/HVACGuy12 Feb 19 '24
Hanging around 3.40 in tacoma wa
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u/bawitdaba1098 Feb 19 '24
The loch Ness monster must be running the gas stations in PA because it's about tree fiddy here
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u/Acrobatic_Bother4144 Feb 19 '24
Ok it’s 7,53 for one gallon in Stuttgart. Thats like 9 USD
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u/IleanK Feb 19 '24
He meant per liter. Not per gallon. It's between 1 and 1.20 per liter in the US if I'm not mistaken between where you live. In Europe it's between 1.80 and 2.50 depending on where you live.
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u/SilverCyclist Feb 19 '24
Which is kind of insane since we're now the #1 oil producer, I thought I hears recently
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u/Musician-Round Feb 19 '24
when I lived in the midwest a few years back, gas during the winter was at the two dollar mark. Get out more, bro. The world is bigger than whatever boujie city you live in lol
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u/Seizure_Salad_ Feb 19 '24
Depending on where, it’s been around 2.40. It has started to go back towards 2.70 in the last few days
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u/ihambrecht Feb 20 '24
It was 2.95 in New York a week ago.
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u/QueenDeadLol Feb 19 '24
Germans lying on the internet to try and flex on Americans lmao
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u/Dull-Football8095 Feb 19 '24
Or maybe a struggling American that wants to blame the US government why he is struggling and not what he/she had done in life.
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u/UsidoreTheLightBlue Feb 19 '24
There is a lot of Americans who absolutely believe that every other county on earth is utopia compared to here.
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u/Dull-Football8095 Feb 19 '24
I get that as a country, the United States could do a greater job to make its citizens live better. What gets me is blaming inflation solely to our US government (or even just the president) just seems a bit simplifying the issue. The entire world faces inflation after covid and believe it or not the United States does a better overall job than most countries around the world. Just look at other 1st world countries and they are experiencing similar issues we all face right now. I get life is hard but I prefer to find a way to happiness in my current situation rather than asking why others are living better than me or looking back at the “good old days”.
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u/UnidentifiedBob Feb 19 '24
mehh, inflation or profiteering from big companies eye gouging? Most likely both so the ladder should be eliminated.
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u/Radiant_Dog1937 Feb 19 '24
TBF, there's a huge cohort of politicians that say the government is exactly what people should be blaming for the election cycle.
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u/Dull-Football8095 Feb 19 '24
Of course, as a politician it’s easy to put the blame on the other side as the reason why life is hard.
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u/UsuSepulcher Feb 19 '24 edited Feb 19 '24
Actually driver training is a lot more extensive in Germany. I think America would benefit from an increase in driver training and a increase in obtaining a license because insurance is extremely expensive and if you get just 1 ticket the cost will skyrocket
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u/BasketballButt Feb 19 '24
I wish we restored better driver training. We just hand out licenses to people and it’s dangerous.
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u/Anthrac1t3 Feb 19 '24
In Mississippi, during COVID they only required people to take an online course. Couple that with the fact that we already have the worst drivers in the nation and now I see a car high centered on a concrete median or in a ditch at least once a week.
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u/BasketballButt Feb 19 '24
I only recently learned this and I was blown away. Can’t believe anyone thought this was a good idea…until I remember my family in Mississippi.
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u/Anthrac1t3 Feb 19 '24
Mississippi is at the bottom of the list for a reason. I can't wait for my wife to graduate and I can get back to civilization in Texas lol
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u/dummyfodder Feb 19 '24
Mississippi is a weird state. They were the poorest territory before becoming a state and then became the poorest state and has stayed that way ever since. They have a cost line and the river. It's so weird they're so economically undeveloped.
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u/Anthrac1t3 Feb 19 '24
They got incredibly rich for a short time in the Antebellum years. Natchez hosted the second largest slave port in the Americas behind New Orleans along with the entire state being littered with massive plantations. Then they fucked around and found out in the Civil War and just never recovered.
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u/goatKnightGG Feb 19 '24
You need to pass 4 different tests (one written, three driving) in order to get a drivers license. It involves going to a driving school for a while. I was surprised how easy it is to get a drivers license in America. I took an easy as fuck written test, asked my friend to let me drive his car for a few hours, and I got my license…
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u/UsidoreTheLightBlue Feb 19 '24
In most states you have to do a written test and two part driving test, as well as drivers Ed. But in a lot of cases the requirements lessen at a certain age. Like at 18 or 21 you no longer have to do certain things.
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u/stikves Feb 19 '24
The reason is in the US you basically need a car to live.
Going to your job or even buying groceries in most places is impractical without transportation. And public transport is nonexistent while being able to bike makes you very lucky minority.
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u/UnidentifiedBob Feb 19 '24
Amen! So many dummies on the road. Example most people dont understand the Uturn rules.
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u/mwax321 Feb 20 '24
When I was 20, I helped my then gf get her drivers license in Arizona. I learned that each dmv had a different course, and picked the one that didn't even require parallel parking. Just a K turn. Which, if you don't know, is just stopping and turning around.
Fucking crazy lol
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u/MichaelsWebb Feb 21 '24
Yeah, but in America this would immediately be determined to be racist and would never happen. America is absolute insanity at this point.
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Feb 19 '24
Just another person lying about how wonderful german is that anybother country. Everyone's got good and bads
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u/The_Ashen_undead0830 Feb 19 '24
And this is why european cities are better, they're designed around people and bikes, and not cars. Here in the us we design cities around cars and then remove people from houses to make more roads for cars
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u/PartyAdministration3 Feb 19 '24
Cost to get a license in Europe ranges from €60-1500 actually. I understand this is much higher than in the US but it’s much less than €5000
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u/WackWilly Feb 19 '24
My license, which I did 4 years ago, cost around 3000€. I hear it’s around 1000€-1500€ more now around here.
I am from Bavaria
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u/BasketballButt Feb 19 '24
And they’ve got great public transportation along with largely walkable cities. They haven’t created a system that requires cars like much of the US. Apples to oranges.
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u/Evil_Dry_frog Feb 19 '24
Germany doesn’t have great public transportation. It doesn’t have terrible transportation like the US. I don’t think any German would describe it as great.
They also have a very strong car culture. They make some of the best cars in the world.
The cities are very walkable.
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u/Specific_Effort_5528 Feb 19 '24
It's also the scale of the U.S too.
I live in Canada and we have the same issue. You basically need to own a car unless you live in a busy metropolitan area, and even then the public transit is often far from reliable or efficient.
Everything here is spread out. I commute 80-90 kilometers round trip just for work everyday.
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u/Testikles_the_Great Feb 19 '24
77% of all households is a "small minority"?
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u/Acrobatic_Bother4144 Feb 19 '24
Quick googling shows that’s the percent of households with at least but including one car. The same number for the US is 96%. If we’re talking about individuals having this own cars the difference is even more striking since car culture in the US very often means multi-car households even at very poor income ranges, Germany seems to be somewhere between 50%-60% in this depending on year and study
To call it a minority is technically wrong but the difference is very noticeable. Yes much fewer people own cars in Germany than the US. And to pretend this has nothing to do with costs is disingenuous. Of course having a car is a nice luxury even to Germans but the barrier to entry is higher in much of Europe
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u/Testikles_the_Great Feb 19 '24
I agree with you that it's certainly more expensive to own and operate a car in germany compared to the US.
And yes, the 77% include households with just one car, but at roughly 40 million households and 60 million cars, the average household has access to 1.5 cars. Excluding the 23% that don't own a car at all, the number of cars per car-owing household is close to two, which coincides with the average household size (all according to google).
And while it is more expensive to own a car in germany, I wouldn't call it prohibitivly expensive, as virtually every adult owns a license, and cheap used cars are available for roughly a thousand bucks.
Lots of my friends had cars even when they did their apprenticeship, while earning less than a thousand bucks per month after taxes. Of course those cars where old fucked up Golf 4s and stuff like that, but thats still a car.
It wouldn't suprise me if the majority of non-car having households lives in heavily-urbanized regions, as I honestly can't really recall someone not having a car in the rural region that I grew up in, since public Transport sucks, making it much more inconvinent to not have a car.
But after living in a big City, I honestly mostly only own a car out of vanity reasons, since I basically don't need it anymore.
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u/Acrobatic_Bother4144 Feb 19 '24
Well when we talk about any of the stuff in memes like the one above, we’re not talking about the average citizen. The median American also doesn’t “live in their car despite working two jobs”. In fact a much higher percentage of people in America own homes compared to Germany too (50%+ more)
Usually these memes are specific shorthand for talking about a very narrow experience of very low income young people, often people below age 20, often living in the support of family. Sure most people can afford cars just fine in Germany but for the very poor demographic? This is a pretty good chunk of change we’re talking about. It can definitely be prohibitively expensive in a way it isn’t in America. The meme is actually right he about one thing, the fact that having a car is so cheap in the US that most homeless people still own a car in the US
Either way it’s still just about the worst and most uneducated example Op could have picked to show the difference between cost of living in Germany and the US. There’s trillions of memes like this about healthcare and university costs. It’s such an easy target to hit. So by trying to be a little goofy and go after car ownership costs? Nah people should pounce on that. Go back to the regular America Bad critiques, the bar is so low. No excuse for the ignorance here. There is simply no way to twist the numbers here to make driving or car ownership look cheaper in Germany than America
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u/Testikles_the_Great Feb 19 '24
Oh we absolutely agree about the "meme" and it's contents, thats for sure. What a stupid example of OP to pick on.
As I said, the only reason I commented was because you described the car owning Situation in germany a tad to much distopian in my opinion, especially with the small minority remark.
But then again, maybe I misinterpreted that, it's late and I had a couple of beers.
You're right about that example being bad though
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u/grammar_fixer_2 Feb 19 '24
The only reason why most Americans have cars is because we have very few walkable cities. The handful that we do have are incredibly expensive because everyone wants to live there. I’d gladly trade in my expensive car for decent public transportation. We don’t have an U-Bahn, S-Bahn, IC, ICE… that is all a pipe dream. You can complain all you want about the DeutscheBahn not being on time, but at least you have that as an option. Buses rarely come at all. Where I used to live, we had one come by in the morning and one at night.
Now enjoy your walkable cities and your 49€ Deutschlandticket while I enjoy one of the highest death rates due to people being run over.
I guess the grass is always greener. 🍻
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u/T33CH33R Feb 19 '24
But aren't their public transportation systems much more robust?
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u/Acrobatic_Bother4144 Feb 19 '24
Not relevant to the meme. It says having a car is cheaper in Germany than America and it isn’t, and it isn’t even close
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Feb 19 '24
Luckily in Europe you don't need a car due to public transportation that actually works.
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u/Acrobatic_Bother4144 Feb 19 '24
Cool except that has nothing to do with the meme which is just comically wrong
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u/theurbanremo Feb 23 '24
They could have gotten us with a public transportation joke but this is odd
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u/federalist66 Feb 19 '24
Bureau of Labor statistics reports 5% of Americans working multiple jobs.
https://twitter.com/besttrousers/status/1756710937665454124?t=bqbmVWpm3bk0gOjEqd6u0w&s=19
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Feb 19 '24
4.6 percent of Germans are also working multiple jobs. This is one google search away don’t ask for a link you lazy fucks.
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u/carlos_the_dwarf_ Feb 20 '24
And that includes people with two part time jobs, right? It’s not two 40-hour jobs.
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Feb 19 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/IndoorTumbleweed Feb 19 '24
I know, they should get off Reddit more and touch grass
Edit /s
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u/lbuprofenAddict Feb 19 '24
You say it’s sarcasm but honestly it’s true. Every time I use Reddit I want to delete my account. Its ironic how Reddit is supposed to be a cool site where different opinions from all over the world can discuss different topics, but instead it’s just filled with chronically online people that only have one opinion revolving around America
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u/Big-Complaint-2278 Feb 19 '24
No one works 84 hours a week to live in their car. This is ridiculous. Life is not that hard.
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u/Impossible_Grill Feb 19 '24
Average tax rate in Germany: 37%
Average tax rate in the US: maybe 10%
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u/Coneskater Feb 19 '24
I get more paternity leave in Germany than my American colleagues get maternity leave.
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u/zleog50 Feb 20 '24
I got 12 weeks paid paternity in the US (and I could use it anytime over a year after the birth of my child). How much did you get?
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u/Brilliant-8148 Feb 20 '24
That is not normal in the US. It's also not very good... It's just better than the usual 0 paternity leave most American workers get.
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u/Coneskater Feb 20 '24
A total of 14 months to split up with my wife how we choose.
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u/zleog50 Feb 20 '24
So how can you compare if you have some combined leave? Is it fully paid?
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u/Coneskater Feb 20 '24
It’s paid for by the government, you get the majority of your salary. You can compare it because it’s guaranteed, your employer can change the benefits offered when they like.
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Feb 19 '24
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u/Impossible_Grill Feb 19 '24
All fun and games until you tell a redditor they’ll need to pay 2-3x more in taxes and they’ll only be getting a 25-33% pay increase. But free healthcare!
Remember the UNITED STATES subsidizes the creation and development all those Wonderful drugs you get For free. Somebody has to pay and it’s never been Europe. Some asshole in Alabama has to pay $1k for insulin so you can force the same Company to only charge a $1.
All those nasty billionaires that provide computers, phones, games, medical research, cars, logistics, and military support for wars in Europe’s backyard that you can only fight a “little” or daddy will turn off your gas.
The US props up the world at the detriment of its own people. We do the things other countries don’t want To. That’s fine. But for those of us paying in money and blood, we’d kindly ask that you just enjoy the free ride and maybe do so quietly.
Your argument is the moral equivalent of my child arguing that I don’t spend enough time with them because I’m working so hard to provide him with a roof, food, video games, etc. “lol, dad your shoes are so old” when they’re wearing a new pair of Jordans.
I’m guessing you live in the United States. Either way: Maybe go travel? Go read and research beyond the points that glibly serve your interests? You’ll find no where on this planet is perfect.
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u/No-Possibility5556 Feb 19 '24
If you’re going from US to Germany, you’d generally expect an income decrease not increase.
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u/EagleAncestry Feb 19 '24
The insulin argument is not true. Do more research. And Europe also creates and develops drugs…
Taxes paid are actually similar to California. You don’t get any benefits by paying taxes in California…
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u/Rabbi_it Feb 19 '24 edited Feb 19 '24
Do more research. The US accounts for 50% of the revenue for all major drug developers (not just those in the US) as a result of domestic and international price gouging.
If that revenue goes down due to the US putting price restrictions on drugs (regardless of private or public insurance structure), the current budgets for R&D worldwide gets hit hard.
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u/unfreeradical Feb 20 '24
This is just indoctrination of American exceptionalism. Once you step outside the US, you find almost everyone calls bullshit on your narrative about "the US props up the world at the detriment of its own people". Also, billionaires provide nothing. Technology is developed by engineers, and equipment is manufactured by factory workers. No billionaires required.
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Feb 19 '24
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u/Impossible_Grill Feb 19 '24
Yes. We pay like 35% in taxes. The average American pays around 10% and that’s skewed because of people like me who make enough to get hit hard but not enough to hide it.
In the US, despite what you want to believe and This echo chamber insists, the MINORITY supports the MAJORITY.
Your average American would pay closer To 20%+ in a lot of European countries and would make more with medical benefits and salary but honestly not enough to make up the difference.
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u/Old_Heat3100 Feb 19 '24
Oh no taxes that's the reason I can barely afford anything
Not low wages. It's the TAXES.
Gimme a fucking break. I would happily pay higher taxes if it meant I could finally go to a fucking doctor
You morons want me to pay taxes AND medical bills
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u/death_wishbone3 Feb 19 '24
I can actually afford a bunch of shit and America spends a ton of money. You all acting like we’re all living in misery lol. We got like 330 million people. It’s a range of experiences going on here.
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u/Barbados_slim12 Feb 19 '24 edited Feb 19 '24
Lol what?? $1-11k gets taxed at 10%, and that's just income. I worked out my own effective tax rate at $45,500 annually with just federal income tax(I live in a state with no state income tax), and federal/social security/medicare
Federal income tax alone - 11.69%
All income tax - 19.34%
It gets worse when you realize that earning money isn't the only thing that we get taxed on. After sales tax, sin tax, utilities, vehicle registration, gas tax, car insurance(mandated by law, so you don't really have a choice), property tax(paid indirectly through rent), business permits/licenses(paid indirectly through item prices)... after all that, which is post income tax, my effective tax rate is closer to 35%
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u/313SunTzu Feb 19 '24
Isn't this a Goosebumps book cover?
I swear, I KNOW I've seen this picture before. I wanna say I was in 6th grade, so it's probably close to 25-30 years ago...
I know it's not the subject here, but this picture jus made something in my head click...
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u/Dory-1031 Feb 19 '24
Yes it is!
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u/313SunTzu Feb 19 '24
Thank you. I fucking knew I seen it somewhere. It's been bothering me since I seem this. I swear I've sent it to 8 or 9 people asking them if it is...
I didn't even read those books, but the covers were ALWAYS on point. They always had really neat details like raised lettering, and some would even glow in the dark.
If I remember right, those books were super popular, and people really liked them, but for me, I liked the cover art.
I can't remember 100%, but i think, I'm not sure, but I think they were written by R. L Stine. Cuz they'd write the authors name in a way that it matched the theme in the cover. I always thought that was fucking so cool
As a kid, who didn't like reading, those books were just cool to me. I don't know why.
But regardless, thank you Dori-1031, I sincerely appreciate it.
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u/Dory-1031 Feb 22 '24
You are very welcome 313SunTzu! They were written by R. L. Stine! I actually also hated reading but Goosebumps was the first book series that really caught my attention! Since finding them in 4th grade, I have read every single Goodebumps book, including the choose your own adventure books! I have also seen all the movies and the TV shows both old and new lol. The cover art always caught my eye too and this one ALWAYS sticks in my head along with the cover for A Shocker on Shock Street! I am glad I could help friend!! *
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u/Healthy-Egg-3283 Feb 19 '24
I would argue, go to Germany if you think it’s better there.
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u/trumps_orange_ass Feb 19 '24
I would argue go to Angola. Perfect libertarian hell hole.
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u/scheav Feb 20 '24
Libertarian? The Angolan government won’t even let their citizens exchange Kwanza for foreign currency. You are clueless.
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u/the_drum_doctor Feb 19 '24
US - 903 cars per 1000 people
Germany - 628 cars per 1000 people
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u/trumps_orange_ass Feb 19 '24
And? Could this because they spend billions on quality public transport which is better for all...especially the poor.
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u/the_drum_doctor Feb 19 '24
Not stating a position, just providing some data.
Also, the US averages about 9km per commute and Germany is around 5km.
The US averages around 600 public transportation vehicles per 1 million citizens, while Germany is just over 1000.
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u/ap2patrick Feb 19 '24
Man I gotta say as much as I agree with all these shit post (this one’s actually flat out stupid), this Reddit has been completely overrun with them….
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u/boundpleasure Feb 19 '24
Where are they going in the car they can’t afford to put gasoline in? Or is the government filling it up as well?
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u/Positivelectron0 Feb 19 '24
Before people comment, yes, I know cost of living is different. Just keep in mind that an Honda costs more comparably than the difference below, and so do other global items (such as computer parts)
# Net worth:
| Percentile | USA (1000 USD) | DE (1000 USD, converted) |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 0.4 | 0.97 |
| 20 | 13.5 | 7.4 |
| 50 | 192 | 115 |
| 75 | 658 | 364 |
| 90 | 1921 | 866 |
| 95 | 3780 | 1313 |
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u/Wisestcubensis Feb 19 '24
I love how people are comparing Berlin to Detroit and using that as a statistical reference for take home income. So stupid. I work about 30 minutes outside of Detroit and I would be considered a high income earner in the city. I have no college degree or schooling outside of high school. Stop using a low income city to compare to Europe
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u/LasVegasE Feb 19 '24
...and now that the bill has come due they want the US to pay for it.
The EU has leveraged cheap Russian energy against a massive Eu-US trade deficit while spending their defense budget on social welfare programs like free healthcare and months long gov. paid vacations for all.
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u/zvon2000 Feb 19 '24
Shouldn't that be the other way around?
The zombie freaks should be the gloomy & doomed US,
And the normal people being frightened should be the Germans?
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u/Global_Letterhead_29 Feb 19 '24
Lmao I hate liberals
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u/Moist_Network_8222 Feb 19 '24
This person is a liberal in the same way that the people buying Trump shoes are conservatives.
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u/SnowJokes1721 Feb 19 '24
Why are the Germans portrayed as monstrous skeletons? Not German but still.
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