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I appreciate the chance to get (what I presume is) a European perspective on this. I think Americans are just generally less trustful of government, domestic or

I appreciate the chance to get (what I presume is) a European perspective on this. I think Americans are just generally less trustful of government, domestic or foreign, and therefore less trustful of regulatory discretion. There are vague American laws too, like "honest services fraud"; but 1. We complain about those too. 2. The dangers of extraterritoriality and vagueness seem synergistic. A major check on regulators' discretion is political will, and screwing foreigners tends to be a lot more popular than screwing your own citizens. The ideal tax is one on foreigners living abroad... I think the GDPR will probably be fine, and have net positive effects even as it pushes small, essentially-compliant but risk-averse operators out of the EU. I find its legal basis troubling.

hluska 8y ago
Actually, I'm Canadian and I don't consider myself very trusting of government. I've always seen the EU as a natural place for my startups, so I've made a point of learning as much about EU economic policy as I can. At first, I found the glut of it to be incredibly scary, but then I was lucky to have a series of European roommates when I was in business school. One time, I was afraid of some anti-corruption laws because it seemed like basic parts of doing business here would result in severe penalties there. My roommate at the time thought I was being certifiably insane, because the EU just doesn't work like that. He couldn't imagine what transgression I could possibly commit to warrant more than a strongly worded letter (on better stationery than I'd get from the Canadian government). From there, I started learning more about how open the EU is. I mentioned this in another comment, but I'll also encourage you to read about the International Procurement Instrument. The EU (like many other economic bodies) has trouble with non-EU companies bidding on EU public contracts and winning because the playing fields just aren't level. I don't want to give too much of the story away, but as you read about the IPI meandering its way through European politics, you can see an EU bending over backwards to make sure that foreign companies have open access to EU markets. If you read about the IPI with North American eyes, it seems absolutely bizarre. But it's a good primer to the EU's difficulty with protectionism. I'm from western Canada and seriouslu, if the Canadian government felt this way about protectionism, I could get a western independent movement off the ground in a matter of months...not that I would or would even want to, but it would be so egregiously opposite how we do things that radicalism would ensue. Sorry for droning on and on, but I don't think I can really debate you. I agree with you and everything you're saying is logical. My only response is that Europe is so incredibly different and that response is honestly starting to wear thin. Besides, I'm being a shitty entrepreneur. The more people are afraid of GDPR, the more opportunity I'll get!! :) (I've enjoyed this talk with you. Thanks for engaging with me!)

hluska 8y ago

Actually, I'm Canadian and I don't consider myself very trusting of government. I've always seen the EU as a natural place for my startups, so I've made a point of learning as much about EU economic policy as I can. At first, I found the glut of it to be incredibly scary, but then I was lucky to have a series of European roommates when I was in business school. One time, I was afraid of some anti-corruption laws because it seemed like basic parts of doing business here would result in severe penalties there. My roommate at the time thought I was being certifiably insane, because the EU just doesn't work like that. He couldn't imagine what transgression I could possibly commit to warrant more than a strongly worded letter (on better stationery than I'd get from the Canadian government). From there, I started learning more about how open the EU is. I mentioned this in another comment, but I'll also encourage you to read about the International Procurement Instrument. The EU (like many other economic bodies) has trouble with non-EU companies bidding on EU public contracts and winning because the playing fields just aren't level. I don't want to give too much of the story away, but as you read about the IPI meandering its way through European politics, you can see an EU bending over backwards to make sure that foreign companies have open access to EU markets. If you read about the IPI with North American eyes, it seems absolutely bizarre. But it's a good primer to the EU's difficulty with protectionism. I'm from western Canada and seriouslu, if the Canadian government felt this way about protectionism, I could get a western independent movement off the ground in a matter of months...not that I would or would even want to, but it would be so egregiously opposite how we do things that radicalism would ensue. Sorry for droning on and on, but I don't think I can really debate you. I agree with you and everything you're saying is logical. My only response is that Europe is so incredibly different and that response is honestly starting to wear thin. Besides, I'm being a shitty entrepreneur. The more people are afraid of GDPR, the more opportunity I'll get!! :) (I've enjoyed this talk with you. Thanks for engaging with me!)