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regular cup of coffee,which cost $1.50 here,dont know how much is it now as I drink coffee at home,,Swiss pays $5.
I confess to feeling rather skeptical about that. Parts of Switzerland is practically Italian, and you don't stiff those guys on their coffee - it's close to a second religion for them. Now, if you're in a frou-frou lakefront cafe on Lake Geneva, they'll undoubtedly take every dime they can. But if you go to where the office workers grab their morning macchiato, you'll get an amazing brew for less.
Denmark is also has a population of 5 million people it’s a totally different animal than the 350 million person United States. You have it backwards they can afford the public services because they DONT have many people that use or abuse it. Again their middle class is living much lower qualities of life than the US middle class. It is not uncommon for the middle class in Denmark to be paying over half their income in taxes. Many don’t have vehicles and rent their their homes. A/C, large vehicle ownership, home ownership, business ownership, etc luxuries our middle class enjoys are relegated only for their upper class. They also don’t have to defend and innovate for the free world like we do. There are pluses and minuses to both systems. There would be so much waste, fraud and abuse and lower quality services if we tried to implement their system. Our hospitals would be run like our public transit is. Not a good idea here.
A lot of countries have 5-million people. If it was that simple, more of them would be rich.
I suppose so. I don't think a UBI would be a *terrible* idea, as long as it was administered competently and fairly. More directly, I believe every American, regardless of ability or ambition, should be provided livable shelter, food, and healthcare. That shouldn't be so hard for a nation of our fortune, but we let so many people down, as though they have no worth.
why? if someone perfectly healthy wants to sit on their butt all day and do nothing productive should anyone else be supporting them?
if someone is healthy and doesn't want to do anything to support themselves they can rot in the gutter for all I care.
Side question. Assuming you are still a citizen etc. how do they tax you for your work in the US?
Is it like a reciprocal thing? Just curious. I realize I could google for a generic answer but felt you could give a much more informative answer.
Only two countries tax on worldwide income (citizenship rather than residency).....the U.S. and Eritrea.
The U.S. does have an exemption amount. IIRC, it's a bit over 100k per year.
An old (as in length of friendship) friend of mine, an American, makes much more than that and doesn't file in the U.S., but he doesn't intend on ever moving back to the U.S. (and he lives in Denmark ).
Only two countries tax on worldwide income (citizenship rather than residency).....the U.S. and Eritrea.
The U.S. does have an exemption amount. IIRC, it's a bit over 100k per year.
An old (as in length of friendship) friend of mine, an American, makes much more than that and doesn't file in the U.S., but he doesn't intend on ever moving back to the U.S. (and he lives in Denmark ).
Are you sure about an exemption amount?
From my understanding you still have to pay US Federal no matter where you live and how much you earn unless you renounce your citizenship. Uncle Sam doesn't stop coming for you until you're no longer a citizen, lol.
Any country's government that TAKES from one to GIVE to another is socialist, even if labor and industry are not nationalized.
. . .
Compulsory labor for the benefit of another is (ahem) slavery, clothed in socialist dialectic.
Confiscation of surplus is (ahem) theft by government, also clothed in socialist dialectic.
. . .
Voluntary charity is a blessing.
Compulsory charity is a curse.
. . .
In essence, socialists are thieves and slavers, using bafflegab to hide their true intentions.
One Liberal proposal that also could get votes is a deal where businesses are required to pay nearby landlords a fee or face a Govt fine , or some Govt tax credit for paying landlords certain fees and those fees enrich landlords and as a condition of receiving those fees, employees hired by the company will have apartment units reserved only for them and those tenants will have their rents capped so their rents will not climb
This would be a fun perk. Another clever piece to this is there’s a hidden tax benefit savings. If employer is directly paying landlord to agree to reserving spaces independent of the tenant lease agreements in order to attract tenants to be closer to their workplace and save on rent,
That is like the employer paying part of an employee’s house rent in addition to base salary, but since that money is going directly between landlord and employer, employee will not have to pay income tax on that money eventhough it helps them pay less money for rent which is like extra income.
Employee is equally well off in the latter 2 cases but the employer is better off by $1,200/year
It sounds like a very complex idea that would take a new level of bureaucracy to mandate. With no way of knowing it would really lower rents. Every place I know that has any rent control has the highest rents in the area. Sure a few people have very cheap rents but everyone else it is sky high.
You want cheaper housing give builders an incentive to build. Lower regulations in areas where cities are fighting development. Make enterprise zones in areas in flyover country. Where businesses won't pay taxes for 5 or 10 years if they relocate there. Make employees who move to these areas have a 100% tax credit for 5 or 10 years. We have a big country out there. Lots of areas have lots of space and lots of water.
Denmark is a very small country. Easier to administer these grandiose government programs. Americans are more shady overall. You say you can quit your job and get unemployment. That is what many will do. And a huge amount will cheat the system.
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