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Perhaps Europe doesn't want giant corporations that pay no tax, create a few thousand decent jobs at most, and are in all other ways detrimental to society and
by mnm1 8y ago
Perhaps Europe doesn't want giant corporations that pay no tax, create a few thousand decent jobs at most, and are in all other ways detrimental to society and all the other workers they employ. It seems to me like the laws are generally created to avoid this kind of predatory, vampiric corporation that Americans love so much in favor of corporations that work for workers rather than corporations that work only for their owners. But who knows? Certainly the lack of giant tech corporations is a feature, not a bug. Who wants a company like Facebook or Amazon that brings very little to society, pays no taxes, and creates very few well paying jobs sucking up resources for its own profit only when they can have an actual competitive economy and marketplace? Perhaps European regulators want to avoid the monopoly and oligopoly that dominate American markets, especially American tech markets.
- sbacic 8y agoI'm very, very wary of any corporations that "work in the interest of the workers". What that usually translates into (at least here) is the government subsidizing said corporations with public money. Case in point, a pair of shipyards are making the news because they (yet again) need a bailout in order to continue to function. "Think of the workers", "local business" and such are being thrown around. I just hope that this time the EU won't let the government waste taxpayer money.
- mnm1 8y agoThat has nothing to do with it. I'm talking about providing decent wages, vacation, normal working hours, steady jobs, etc. Of course, these laws need to be implemented by the government but it has nothing to do with taking government funding.
- sbacic 8y agoAll of those things are required by law and apply to local companies and subsidiaries of US tech giants in equal measure, so I'm not quite sure what your point is. I, for one, would gladly exchange the current menagerie of dysfunctional local companies for FAANG subsidiaries. Microsoft pays some of the highest salaries here, doesn't need regular government bailouts and doesn't depend on rent-seeking to make its profit - which is more than I can say for many businesses here.
- mnm1 8y agoAll those things are not required by law in the US.
- renjimen 8y agoI don't think that salary is the driver in Europe that it is in America. People value their life outside of work to a greater degree, and there is less emphasis on getting rich. The thought of taking a job with twice the salary but a third of the vacation is pretty awful to me and most of my tech friends.