[PunchTornado]

It doesn't help that the best engineers work for GAFA because of big salaries. European companies pay smaller salaries compared to the US ones. A good engineer can double his salary by going to the US. Sure, he may see more social issues there because of no safety net, but maybe he doesn't care.

[reducesuffering]

Less of a safety net is more accurate. Medicare, MediCal, Medicaid, Food Stamps, Social Security, public housing, welfare, etc. It’s the majority of US federal government spending.

[user5994461]

Salaries are irrelevant since it's close to impossible for an European worker to move to the US, work visas are incredibly difficult to get and even if you manage to get one you don't have the same careers prospects as a native.

edited: reworded to "close to impossible"

[read_if_gay_]

> Salaries are irrelevant since it's not possible for an European worker to move to the US

I know plenty who did. You should rather say something like it's hard for the average European worker to move to the US.

[user5994461]

Hard is an understatement. I had multiple friends who had offers from US companies on the table for $200k+. They all fell through because it was impossible to get a visa (however internships are easy with a J1).

The one who went the furthest worked remotely for a very well known company from France for 2 years. Even with the company sponsoring the visa, he had to wait more than 1 year to have a shot, the lottery only happening once a year. He didn't get selected and eventually the company gave up on having any hope to ever bring him.

[Nimitz14]

??? This is false. Look at the top researchers in US companies and universities and a massive share is from Europe.