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(Caution: serious venting ahead ;-) Same here in Belgium. Both the situation and the propaganda about it. Total tax pressure is extremely high. Government ser
by unknown_apostle 10y ago
(Caution: serious venting ahead ;-)
Same here in Belgium. Both the situation and the propaganda about it.
Total tax pressure is extremely high. Government services in Belgium are mediocre at best.
Imagine every public institute disease possible (rent seeking, no skin in the game, resistance to reform, employees not giving a shit, impossible size, …). Then multiply it by the fragmentation between Belgium’s many governments and departments and regions and bureaucracies. Then there's the EU.
But in the end it all depends on whom you ask.
The ever growing group of net receivers of the system are very happy. Multinationals and the very rich don’t care.
Even people who are employed in the private sector don’t care. They have a significant portion of their taxes paid for by their employer. So for them it remains an abstract thing as long as they don’t get fired.
The ones who sweat extremely high taxes the most are self employed people and SMEs. Basically most people who are personally involved with a business and are willing to work very hard to get ahead with something.
But hey, it’s social democracy so the majority is what matters! And boy let me tell you, the majority is very happy with socialism. I bet a lot of them would rather get rid of refugees and immigrants than abort socialism.
And since the majority has got it all figured out, I’m looking to emigrate, away from Utopia.
It’ll have to be Australia or NZ because Canada and the US have closed down. Anything Western outside the EU that’s just slightly behind on the curve is fine.
- pjc50 10y agoGood luck immigrating to Australia if you think the US has "closed down" - you might get stuck in a concentration camp on an island. Belgium is a little special because of the fragile Flemish vs. Walloon "ethnic tension". It seems to be stable so long as both sides are permitted equal subsidy.
- unknown_apostle 10y agoYes. Flemish/Walloon stuff is a lot, but it doesn't stop there. France has similar problems with out of control government. Why not Australia? My occupation is on the list of wanted occupations?
- pjc50 10y agoThen you'll probably be OK. It's just that immigration is no longer welcome in general. Great place if you avoid the spiders and the bogans, though.
- unknown_apostle 10y agoWell, we'll see whether they want us. I'll be visiting the country with my wife in a couple of weeks. Then I'll file the paperwork. Btw I'm not frustrated in daily life ;-) I've just started to believe that "happiness with high taxes" is a euphemism for an ever growing sense of entitlement that is (barely) being fulfilled. At least in Belgium and France.