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   Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Thursday, 11-Jun-2026 13:47:24 JST Adrianna Tan

   “Incomes can be shockingly low: Junior doctors recently went on strike for the 15th time in three years over their salaries, which start at just £38,800; the median salary for British civil servants is £35,680.”

   Looks just British junior doctors and civil servants just barely make the cut for the income cut off to sponsor spouses of other nationalities.

   Immigration topics have been a pet interest of mine. The UK has been traditionally a key immigration destination for people from the former colonies.

   Now I don’t really hear of anyone who really wants to go

   https://archive.ph/2026.06.11-004941/https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/07/uk-productivity-economy-reform-party/687303/

   • Embed this notice
     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Thursday, 11-Jun-2026 13:49:24 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     It’s a bit of a shocker that in my lifetime I would go from hearing about people talk about the powerful nation that once ruled us to

     Hearing its sclerotic right wing promise that if they get elected they’ll turn the UK into.. Singapore-on-Thames? Wtf

     I wish I can go back in time and tell the colonizers all of this

   • Embed this notice
     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Thursday, 11-Jun-2026 13:51:36 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     Those incomes are far lower than comparable salaries in Singapore. Maybe 2-3x lower. Even after converting the currencies. The cost of living is also much much higher in the UK

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Thursday, 11-Jun-2026 13:57:20 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     I think something has shifted in the last couple of years. I no longer hear condescending messages about how the west is best. Anywhere

     As the world seems to turn towards autocracy and fascism

     My sense is that many who already live in autocratic places, like Singapore or the UAE, generally have a ‘what good is democracy when you’re poor and you’re being arrested for the free speech you boast of? I might as well have a comfortable life’

     (Not saying I agree with this viewpoint. But it does feel like many feel this way.)

     I’m not a believer in the ‘Chinese century’ (and as an ethnic Chinese diaspora person who dislikes its government I really hope not in many ways.. they are going to be terrible for the sovereignty of my own country)

     I don’t have answers but I certainly believe that many changes have happened and some of them feel irreversible.

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Thursday, 11-Jun-2026 14:09:34 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     That said, I think Americans’ belief that Britain is as poor as Mississippi is a stretch. In absolute dollar and pound terms, sure. Maybe even in purchasing power parity

     But I think quality of life for a poor or lower middle class person in Britain would still exceed that of a poor or lower middle class person in Mississippi. Not saying it’s great, and the NHS and other public services are failing, etc, but I get the sense that Mississippi’s abject poverty and poor health outcomes just isn’t comparable. I’m sure a lower middle class person in Mississippi can buy a bit more stuff though.

     I’m tired of hearing this ‘like Mississippi headline’. What about trying to improve the lives of people in Mississippi instead of only thinking about them when wanting to compare how poor some European countries are

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Thursday, 11-Jun-2026 14:28:02 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     • andrew773

     @andrew773 click the link I posted in the first toot

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     andrew773 (andrew773@mastodon.online)'s status on Thursday, 11-Jun-2026 14:28:03 JST andrew773

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte Mississippi is already heavily subsidized through federal taxes compared to most states. Mississippi and the South have serious issues due to our failed reconstruction. Where are you hearing Americans think Britain is more poor than Mississippi? I wouldn't imagine anywhere in Europe is as poor as Mississippi. There are some very dire situations in that state. Even the largest city in the state fails to provide safe drinking water.

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Thursday, 11-Jun-2026 23:34:34 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     • Ted Mielczarek

     @tedmielczarek there’s that but

     Rich Americans who can travel and romanticize Europe also don’t see at all the shitty parts of it or don’t care

   • Embed this notice
     Ted Mielczarek (tedmielczarek@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 11-Jun-2026 23:34:35 JST Ted Mielczarek

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte there are still *a lot* of Americans who believe that America is the best country in the world despite all the evidence to the contrary. Generations of propaganda have hit pretty hard and we're not exactly educating folks to develop critical thinking skills.