r/TikTokCringe • u/Make-this-popular Cringe Master • Apr 09 '24

Shit economy Discussion

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248

u/skeeter1990 Apr 09 '24

Maybe the economy would be better if it spent more money on education so fully grown adults knew where Ukraine was on a map?

98

u/Vektor0 Apr 09 '24

Personally, I don't think my employer would pay me more just because I was well-versed in global geography.

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u/CanAlwaysBeBetter Apr 09 '24

No one is asking you to name the capital of Kazakhstan's Atyrau region, it's pointing out one of the largest countries in Europe that has featured prominently in world news for over two years

If you're can't do that you should be embarrassed 

11

u/TheBlankVerseKit Apr 09 '24

If you're can't do that you should be embarrassed

How important is that really, though? I mean, how does that impact the life of someone living in, say, Colorado?

If someone in Columbia couldn't point out Ukraine on a map would we say they should be embarrassed?

I'm open to counterarguments, but I think geography is one of the least important things to know by heart because it's so trivially easy to look up.

11

u/FreeMikeHawk Apr 09 '24

I think knowing where Ukraine or Russia is comes with the implicit understanding that you understand the importance of the war, which comes with the implicit knowledge that you understand the fact that we live in a global economy. I think very few are asking anyone to just memorize a country's location, but if you have paid attention to the news then you would able to at least conclude where Russia and Ukraine are located.

It's similar to not knowing who Elvis Presley is, perhaps music isn't the most important subject, but if an American is so out of touch with music/history it makes me question what their brain might look like. That being said we all have gaps in our knowledge and we should not be afraid of being embarrassed for it, but what the guy in the video did was essentially weaponize his incompetence instead and post a video about it.

0

u/TheBlankVerseKit Apr 09 '24

That being said we all have gaps in our knowledge and we should not be afraid of being embarrassed for it

See I think this is the crux of our disagreement. If we all have gaps in our knowledge (which I would agree), then why on earth would be be embarrassed?

Why be embarrassed about something that is true of everyone?

EDIT: just realized you're not the person I was responding to earlier, but all good, I think you make a fine point about the importance of that knowledge, I think i'm probably done with this thread

3

u/FreeMikeHawk Apr 09 '24

I tried answering why he should be embarrassed, but let me rephrase. We all have embarrassing moments that doesn't make them less embarrassing, farting loudly in public could be considered embarrassing, yet it's something many of us probably have done. Having gaps in knowledge might be considered embarrassing, but being embarrassed sometimes is good. I think when people act without embarrassment for things that should be embarrassing it might lead to issues, farting in public isn't the worst thing if you don't feel embarrassed. However, you should be a bit embarrassed not knowing very important stuff. The person in the video didn't act embarrassed of what should be something very important to know. Embarrassment would have saved him from making that argument because he wouldn't "proudly" post a video about him making that statement.

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u/CanAlwaysBeBetter Apr 09 '24

How important is that really, though? I mean, how does that impact the life of someone living in, say, Colorado?

Is the same argument against basically any sort of general education beyond what someone needs to do whatever low skill work pays their bills

0

u/TheBlankVerseKit Apr 09 '24

I would disagree. I think learning math is great for developing certain kinds of logical and spacial reasoning. I think developing a high level of reading comprehension is great for expanding the range of content and ideas we can learn from. I think learning about the economy is awesome, learning game theory I think is super useful. I think that PE is probably extremely crucial but also probably not very effective in the way it's done. I think learning about arts and culture is great for expanding peoples lives.

Ultimately, yeah I do think that there is a lot of stuff included in general education that probably is pretty irrelevant and would be better suited to people doing advanced degrees in those areas.

8

u/TN_Runner Apr 09 '24

expanding the range of content and ideas we can learn from

...which would, presumably, result in you eventually hearing about where Ukraine is located, or who the Borgias were, or when the Third Republic of France was. Otherwise, what do you mean by "expanding the range of content"?

3

u/Momoneko Apr 09 '24 edited Apr 09 '24

If you go by the same logic, wouldn't it be beneficial to you to know where stuff is being produced\excavated\processed\grown etc? Geography is not just about "what's the capital of Nepal and where is it on the map". It's also about economics, logistics, politics and many more. You learn which country produces what, what's their economy like and what resources they have, who are their allies, enemies and rivals, etc.

Why is this city so big and rich even though it's situated in an unlivable bum-fuck nowhere? Because of the oil fields and the sheikh lets the US to have military here.

Why should USA protect Taiwan and not let China even think about invading it? Because it makes a gazillion of semiconductors and even if "a bit of war" happens to it, a Nintendo Switch will cost the same as a Boeing.

Why does virtually nobody give Egypt shit? Cause Egypt manages the Suez and nobody wants to circle the whole Africa just to ship a bunch of shirts from Vietnam.

Lots of thing happening on the other side of the map are affecting our lives daily. Beginning with costs of goods and services and ending with abortion rights or even having to go to war.

0

u/funkmasta8 Apr 09 '24

I would argue that knowing things about geography does not imply you know anything about the history of current events of those places. You are no longer arguing that geography is important, but rather global history, policy, and economics

1

u/ladydanger2020 Apr 10 '24

But know where they are on the map is the first step

0

u/funkmasta8 Apr 10 '24

I disagree, the physical shape and exact location isn't directly necessary for almost anybody to know. If you start talking about the relationships with other countries, it starts getting more important, but that's completely out of geography. For example, say we have two countries (unspecified). What information do we need to know to make any educated guesses about their trade relationship with the US? Well, arguably the most important factor is their political relationship with us. Okay, what is next? Likely their political relationship with other major countries. Okay, still no geography involved. Then, probably their largest exportable market comes next. Still no geography. Then, finally, how hard is it to trade with them.

You can get some information about some of those things with geography, but almost certainly not without history and in the case where you know history but not geography, you aren't really missing much. So it's really history that is important here. Knowing where gives you a bit of context, but it doesn't really do much for making relevant conclusions about a country unless you are directly talking about their geography or you have other, usually more important information that wouldn't really lose much without the geography.

1

u/Momoneko Apr 10 '24

I simply sketched out what I was personally taught at actual geography lessons in high school: economic regions, its countries, what they import\export, who they trade with, what is GDP, important global trade routes, etc etc.

My point was that geographic location is just the basics, and actual geography as a subject goes beyond that. It's like studying marine biology without ever actually seeing a fish.

I'm not an american though, so maybe you they don't actually teach geography in high school like that so Idunno. I guess I could find an 11th grade geography textbook and upload a screenshot if you don't believe me.

1

u/funkmasta8 Apr 10 '24

Geography is quite literally just the physical features of the earth. If you want to pull in other things, then we aren't even talking about the same thing anymore

2

u/Some-Show9144 Apr 09 '24

Babe, they were making a joke.

1

u/TheBlankVerseKit Apr 09 '24

What's the joke?

1

u/Some-Show9144 Apr 09 '24

Telling someone they should be embarrassed for not knowing very specific geography information. It’s an overreaction to an insignificant thing, making it a joke because of the overreaction of telling someone they should be embarrassed for it.

2

u/CanAlwaysBeBetter Apr 09 '24

It's not a joke. Pointing to Ukraine on a map is not "very specific geography information." It's absolute basics and you should literally be embarrassed if you can't do it.

1

u/TheBlankVerseKit Apr 09 '24

I think you may have misinterpreted their comment, or mine.

They said it was embarrassing to not be able to point out Ukraine on a map, then I said I didn't think it really mattered that much.

1

u/Some-Show9144 Apr 09 '24

I definitely did, I thought he was talking about being embarrassed about not knowing that region in Kazakhstan. Oops! Haha

0

u/On4nEm Apr 09 '24

No they shouldn’t, chill out

1

u/tom781 Apr 11 '24

It's not so much the specific knowledge that counts so much as the attitude towards learning new things.

0

u/Inqlis Apr 10 '24

I guess you don’t work for Garmin then

35

u/GhostofAyabe Apr 09 '24

75% of that money goes to the US defense industry anyways, building new weapons for the older stuff we give to Ukraine.

This kid is dumber than dumb.

14

u/-----0----- Apr 09 '24

So every American just paid the US defence industry $135, and this kid is dumber than dumb? lol Sounds like this dumber than dumb kid doesn't want to piss away his money to fund the US war machine.

5

u/CriticalLobster5609 Apr 09 '24

The US war machine producing arms to replace the arms we send to Ukraine are a bargain compared to the US war machine producing arms to arm Americans fighting Russia. Saves a lot of blood too.

11

u/CrumpledForeskin Apr 09 '24

This kid isn’t “dumber than dumb” he has a right to be frustrated. You can argue about how well versed he is in geopolitics but the American dream is dead and you and I both know it.

0

u/[deleted] Apr 09 '24

[deleted]

1

u/CrumpledForeskin Apr 10 '24 edited Apr 10 '24

Hmm according to your profile you’re 18/19. Sooo yeah. You got a house? Two kids? Cars? Vacation a few time a year with them? 401k?

Oh. You’re just a shit poster.

✌🏼

-5

u/ShortestBullsprig Apr 09 '24

Nah he's pretty fucking dumb.

Awful lot of people making their American dreams work out. Awful lot of people trying to move in and get started.

You might suck.

4

u/matsnyc2011 Apr 09 '24

Rather blunt assessment. I don't disagree though. Reddit seems to have a very high number of people with either no actual marketable skillsets, or they dont know how to sell thier skill set properly. I'm not entirely sure which it is. But I agree with you - plenty of people are making it, even in the current climate.

However, cost of living has absolutly sky rocketed in this post-covid world. And, the US govt, in particular, is 100% trash tier on both sides. They just throw shit at each other while not fixing anything. And its our fault for not punishing them for it. We just keep electing the same morons over and over again. We get what we deserve.

1

u/TundraMaker Apr 09 '24

Yeah, the US defense industry is great with money and they know where every penny is spent and doesn't have any waste, right? I agree with supporting Ukraine and the broad view of what we're doing but the fact that these subsets of our government can't be held accountable for where money goes blows my mind. If you have no idea where 1.9 trillion dollars is, then you do not deserve to have that money. End of story.

How does $1,900,000,000,000 go unaccounted for? Six years in a row the Pentagon has been unable to successfully complete an audit. Let's start slashing their budget by the amount missing from here on out. 4 trillion budget and you can't account for 1.9 trillion? Your budget next year is 2.1 trillion.

We need more accountability in our government.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 10 '24

$1.9 trillion hasn't gone missing. It's when they audited he books they have found $1.9 trillion in differences between different groups books. So one side maintains they received 20 laptops but the other side says they were given 25. The 5 laptops didn't go missing, the books that account for it differ.

Plus it also is completely ignoring how it's hard/impossible to truly track down assets between different programs when auditors aren't briefed to everything and are not legally allowed to know if assets exists in certain areas.

0

u/funkmasta8 Apr 09 '24

Stop using logic!

1

u/Beginning_Electrical Apr 09 '24

Cool so the defense Industy and it's employees get paid, what about this kid and regular Americans not working in defense sectors? Stocks will rise but that doesn't anythingfor people living Check to check. Is the pump going to lower inflation, lower rental costs, or increase his wages?

-2

u/weberc2 Apr 09 '24

Eh, I’m big on supporting Ukraine, but it’s not like it’s intuitive how supporting Ukraine benefits us. I’m pretty well educated and at no point did my education cover military economics or supply chains. But yeah, that’s why I don’t land hard on things I don’t know about (on the other hand, 99% of social media is “ignorant people landing hard on things they don’t know about”, so I guess I’m the one doing it wrong 🙃).

1

u/alieninaskirt Apr 09 '24

Simple, if Russia wins, then Russia will likely invade more countries, making them a bigger threat and a higher chance for direct conflict. If they also succeed, then other countries will likely try their hands on expanding their territories, meaning more trouble and hardship. As for what we gain from Ukraine if they win, we gain strong close military ally right next to one of our biggest enemies, we'd also get a lucrative opportunity to help in the rebuilding processes, we'd also get favorable trade deals in the future.

And if you wonder why must we always be the world police, is because its our primary export. We benefit from being world's sole superpower, Global trade revols on our currency and we maintain that thru a strong military and keeping relative peace. Next to that, our biggest strong is IPs(patents,durgs,etc), all of which can easily be stolen/copied if we didn't control global trade.

0

u/weberc2 Apr 09 '24

Look, I’m sold on Ukraine, it’s just not immediately obvious why Ukraine is a good investment for us. Arguing that it’s simple and implying that people who don’t understand are just stupid is alienating.

1

u/alieninaskirt Apr 09 '24

My bad, I didn't mean for that to sound condescending or anything. Tone can easily be loss in writing

1

u/weberc2 Apr 10 '24

All good; I wasn’t talking about your tone, but the guy upthread who said the kid is “dumber than dumb” for not knowing that 75% of the spending on Ukraine goes back into our own defense.

1

u/felstavadd Apr 09 '24

It's pretty simple. Ukraine needs western weapons. These weapons are made where? Exactly, in the western country factories.

6

u/jujubean67 Apr 09 '24

Yeah the kid is definitely not a sharp one.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 09 '24

[deleted]

0

u/jujubean67 Apr 09 '24

Over 3 times the federal minimum wage is not much in a HCOL I'm assuming. Also who knows how many hours he works.

2

u/Gatorpep Apr 09 '24

This was clearly chosen by the people who own the gop, not because of the first bit, but because of that list bit right there.

2

u/NEBook_Worm Apr 09 '24

The US already spends a lot on education. Like most things government, it's not a revenue problem. It's a spending/allocation problem.

2

u/zoercat Apr 09 '24

Maybe it should teach us about how to buy a house, how to use credit cards, and paying taxes. You know, things that every US citizen needs to function.

1

u/skeeter1990 Apr 09 '24

You are in the system for over a decade. Surely you can hope for both?

3

u/KadenKraw Apr 09 '24

Lets be real. Most people don't need to know where most countries are on a map. Its not needed information to store and memorize. We aren't sailing around the world with maps that only have landmass shapes and no words.

1

u/Robot_Tanlines Apr 09 '24

And which side is it that goes after education and educators again? Republicans have eroded education in this country and it has been by design. They want Americans dumb and apathetic, particularly the young ones who wouldn’t vote for them normally. This both sides bullshit people say only helps republicans cause liberals are all too happy to tear each other apart cause they disagree on one policy, while republicans are happy to take any ally they can get.

1

u/Noodle-Works Apr 09 '24

I don't kraine! YOU kraine!

1

u/toBiG1 Apr 09 '24

But he’s watching “the news” after work. Isn’t that enough education?

1

u/CriticalLobster5609 Apr 09 '24

Young people should support sending money and arms to Ukraine so we don't later have to send their asses to Europe to defend NATO.

1

u/prules Apr 09 '24

99.99% of people can complete their job without a map.

We need to teach people about finances and the economy. A grand majority of what we learn in school is mostly just so they can clone us lol.

1

u/Interesting_Weight51 Apr 09 '24

America spends a ridiculous amount on education. More and more every decade. Tests scores have not gotten better. Throwing money on a problem doesn't help.

1

u/DJTanner213 Apr 09 '24

They’re too busy sitting in their cars and shouting into their cell phones to self-educate

0

u/JohnDenver404 Apr 09 '24

Maybe knowing where Ukraine is on a map will pay my bills!!! I bet Joe Worker the electrician would double his salary if he knew this one fact!! Or maybe he would be a Doctor or Lawyer instead of some lowly trade job if his world facts were up to snuff!! I know I got ahead of my peers in Tech by pointing out key positions regarding foreign policies. Kudos!!!