Goodness, how quaint and provincal these Europeans can be.

[Ed]

How funny.

IF sex is the great taboo in American life and movies, money is the subject that can shock the pants off a Frenchman. In a country where fortunes are more often inherited than made, and where most people work to live rather than the other way around, money is viewed primarily as a necessary evil. Talking about your finances, even among friends and family, is considered indiscreet, tactless, vulgar and vaguely American.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/14/movies/14HOHE.html

[Cleopatra]

:D

It might appear provincial to you but I find embarassing the way Americans talk about money. Everything is translated into dollars for the Americans. They have a price tag about everything, it's not provencial not to talk about your financial affairs in public, it's tact.

[Ed]

Originally posted by Cleopatra
:D

It might appear provincial to you but I find embarassing the way Americans talk about money. Everything is translated into dollars for the Americans. They have a price tag about everything, it's not provencial not to talk about your financial affairs in public, it's tact.

And if, somehow, Americans are uneasy about sex you think it is different? This should be interesting.

PS. The Marbles are worth $195,000,000 on ebay. That is about 10^38 Drachmas:D

[Cleopatra]

Europeans feel less comfortable with sex than they pretend that they do. Europe is not Denmark and Netherlands. The only difference is that in Europe you don't encounter the hyporcricy you do in the States regarding this issue. Nudity is considered beautiful and in many countries (Greece included) the male population would admire the PM if he had an affair :D In Greece for example they blamed Clinton for being President of USA and having this ugly woman as "mistress" instead of a beautiful one otherwise they thought that he was cool :D

To return to the topic in Europe you won't hear people saying that they won't go on vocation because they can't afford it. Personally I hate it when people ask me questions about my financial matters but on the other hand I feel free when I am with Americans to say that I can't afford this or that although they don't understand why I need the unpractical things I can't afford. :D

[Agammamon]

Hear, hear! You'd think that the "most powerful man in the world" could do better than that.

[Shane Costello]

Originally psoted by Cleopatra:
They have a price tag about everything, it's not provencial not to talk about your financial affairs in public, it's tact.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that a lot of them are
on the fiddle. (www.cato.org/research/articles/derugy-011112a.html)

According to statistics gathered last year by the International Monetary Fund, the estimated level of tax evasion in France is a whopping 17%, higher than in most developed countries and exactly double what it is in the U.S. Numerous studies have also demonstrated that over half of France's underground economy is tax driven. Whether employers pay their employees in cash, or employees ask to be paid in cash, the underlying motive is always to escape taxes.

[Peter Jenkins]

In my first encounter with a Texan, he outright asked me how much money I earned and told me how much he got. Usually I don't do that sort of thing until we're going steady.
I wouldn't say that money talk is 'taboo' in Britain, but I can sympathise with the sentiment in the NYT article.
Peter

[hgc]

Originally posted by Peter Jenkins
In my first encounter with a Texan, he outright asked me how much money I earned and told me how much he got. Usually I don't do that sort of thing until we're going steady.
I wouldn't say that money talk is 'taboo' in Britain, but I can sympathise with the sentiment in the NYT article.
Peter This is unthinkable amongst the people I know. I wonder if there might be some kind of distinction around geography (within the U.S.) or income level or whatever that divides those for whom this is polite behavior from those for whom it isn't.

[Cleopatra]

I am sorry hgc but NY is a European country. :)

[Ed]

Originally posted by Peter Jenkins
In my first encounter with a Texan, he outright asked me how much money I earned and told me how much he got. Usually I don't do that sort of thing until we're going steady.
I wouldn't say that money talk is 'taboo' in Britain, but I can sympathise with the sentiment in the NYT article.
Peter

So, how much do you make, sweetheart?:D

Whoopsie. Sorry Peter.

[roger]

Originally posted by Cleopatra
:It might appear provincial to you but I find embarassing the way Americans talk about money. Everything is translated into dollars for the Americans. They have a price tag about everything, it's not provencial not to talk about your financial affairs in public, it's tact. Interestingly, Americans find how Chinese talk about money embarassing. For example, one of the very first questions after meeting someone in China is what your salary is (so I have heard - haven't been there myself).

I've been thinking about that kind of thing lately, and find it very interesting what different cultures consider personal. For example, imagine if you asked somebody casually if they were married, or where they live, and they responded with "that's personal. It's none of your business." It would be a bit of a shock. Yet, in many ways it's a much more personal question than "how much do you make". Either question, within the context of the culture in which it is acceptable to be asked, merely tries to identify the person's place and role in their society.

Anyway, I don't feel that what one earns is a very personal matter, but I don't normally bring it up due to how society views the topic. And I always quail a bit when someone asks an innocuous question like "how are you?" "None of your god d@mned business," is how I'd like to respond! :D