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Interesting article. If a country has some kind is social net for low income folks, (most developed countries do, even the US) then the assumption is that the

Interesting article. If a country has some kind is social net for low income folks, (most developed countries do, even the US) then the assumption is that the whole society is helping them, and some of your own money is going towards that help via taxes. If a low income person is spending money on things that are not necessities it might feel like their are miss-using the help they get. I think it is almost a tribal/low level human reaction to that. It might make you feel like you are being taken advantage of, and the feeling of unfairness might come out. It that person is low income, but not receiving any support, then another feeling is just sheer jealousy or inadequacy, where this person is dressing better/and has better phone/car than you.

rizzom5000 6y ago
I've heard that this is one of the reasons that obesity is a much bigger problem in the US vs. Europe. The way it read was that European countries have much more homogenized cultures where people are more openly shamed for having an unhealthy lifestyle; due to the fact that the healthcare costs are more visibly distributed to everyone.
- nicbou 6y ago
  What would that say about obesity in Canada? In my limited experience, there is no such shaming going on in Germany. Perhaps people move around more, and drive around less? Perhaps it's related to how food is regulated?
- dogma1138 6y ago
  The U.K. has one of the most socialized healthcare systems in the world if not the most and it has a huge obesity problem.
- BrandoElFollito 6y ago
  Thereis probably some of this butthis would not be the first thing which comes to mind. At least in France, children are faced with healthy food since primary shool. Sodas distributors are forbidden up to and including high school. They are also given the opportuinty to do sports (my children, 14 and 16, routinely go to play football with their friends in an open field - in the subrbs of Paris) Then there is not much tolerence for fat people. Surprisingly, this equals fatness to having a disease. The company restaurants are very affordable and usually healthy. One of the things which also help a lot that it is traditional to drink water at meals. This is also what you get at school (and nothing else), and at the office (some would buy something else but this is unusual.
dogma1138 6y ago
This isn’t just about a safety net it’s about public spending in general. In the U.K. median households are not net contributors, the U.K. tax base is exceedingly small the vast majority of people get much more than they put in. The average public spending in the UK is around £10,000 most households don’t pay that in income tax and NIC. Even if you take VAT into accounts it’s not enough because the primary expenses such as housing and food and transportation are VAT exempt and other common expenses like utilities have a reduced VAT of 5%.
- ebalit 6y ago
  > In the U.K. median households are not net contributors It seems inherent to a progressive taxation scheme? The only way I see median households being net contributors is if the taxation and redistribution made money flow from the poorest 50% to the richest 50% (either as cash or as services). I think a better indicator of how narrow the tax base is would be the percentage of households that are net fiscal contributors.

rizzom5000 6y ago

I've heard that this is one of the reasons that obesity is a much bigger problem in the US vs. Europe. The way it read was that European countries have much more homogenized cultures where people are more openly shamed for having an unhealthy lifestyle; due to the fact that the healthcare costs are more visibly distributed to everyone.

nicbou 6y ago
What would that say about obesity in Canada? In my limited experience, there is no such shaming going on in Germany. Perhaps people move around more, and drive around less? Perhaps it's related to how food is regulated?
dogma1138 6y ago
The U.K. has one of the most socialized healthcare systems in the world if not the most and it has a huge obesity problem.
BrandoElFollito 6y ago
Thereis probably some of this butthis would not be the first thing which comes to mind. At least in France, children are faced with healthy food since primary shool. Sodas distributors are forbidden up to and including high school. They are also given the opportuinty to do sports (my children, 14 and 16, routinely go to play football with their friends in an open field - in the subrbs of Paris) Then there is not much tolerence for fat people. Surprisingly, this equals fatness to having a disease. The company restaurants are very affordable and usually healthy. One of the things which also help a lot that it is traditional to drink water at meals. This is also what you get at school (and nothing else), and at the office (some would buy something else but this is unusual.

dogma1138 6y ago

This isn’t just about a safety net it’s about public spending in general. In the U.K. median households are not net contributors, the U.K. tax base is exceedingly small the vast majority of people get much more than they put in. The average public spending in the UK is around £10,000 most households don’t pay that in income tax and NIC. Even if you take VAT into accounts it’s not enough because the primary expenses such as housing and food and transportation are VAT exempt and other common expenses like utilities have a reduced VAT of 5%.

ebalit 6y ago
> In the U.K. median households are not net contributors It seems inherent to a progressive taxation scheme? The only way I see median households being net contributors is if the taxation and redistribution made money flow from the poorest 50% to the richest 50% (either as cash or as services). I think a better indicator of how narrow the tax base is would be the percentage of households that are net fiscal contributors.