3 ms·

In my oppinion EU governments already have their thumbs in more pies than they should. I think a more interesting point is how EU companies can hope to compete

In my oppinion EU governments already have their thumbs in more pies than they should. I think a more interesting point is how EU companies can hope to compete with the likes of Google if non-EU companies can effectively subsidise their EU operations by using revenue from more profitable markets. The EU is most certainly profitable to operate in, it is the wealthiest block on earth. It's just that margins are slimmer and cost of business is higher. Heavy regulation of local comanies forces either heavy subsidies (basically all r&d in Europe is 50%+ subsidised) or a Chinese style blanket ban on competition.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
DelightOne 6y ago
I think they believe regulations can fix it. I'm not sure they do.
disabled 6y ago
We actually get fairly good value for our tax dollar, as EU citizens. I am both American and an EU citizen. While I love the United States dearly, I have a safer, more stable life working in the EU.
- 0xfaded 6y ago
  I've also lived in the US and now Europe. Don't get me wrong, each had it's pros and cons; as an individual both my purchasing power and quality of life was better in the US. Outside of universal education and healthcare, my conclusion is that the value of the European tax dollar is unfairly distributed. At the local level, European grants and subsidies create jobs for educated people who chose the right course of study. At the Eurozone level, you have the northern "export based" economies essentially using a devalued currency to outcompete the southern countries. Relatively that means more tax dollars for the northern countries, when ideally those would be spread somewhat evenly across Europe. I think Europe needs a technocratic tool that makes the economic performance of all countries everyone's problem. Denmark has an unemployment and retraining scheme called a-kasse that is reasonably well implemented. I could see a centrally funded, Europe wide implementation could be a solution.
  - disabled 6y ago
    Thank you for this comment. I really do believe this is spot on.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

DelightOne 6y ago

I think they believe regulations can fix it. I'm not sure they do.

disabled 6y ago

We actually get fairly good value for our tax dollar, as EU citizens. I am both American and an EU citizen. While I love the United States dearly, I have a safer, more stable life working in the EU.

0xfaded 6y ago
I've also lived in the US and now Europe. Don't get me wrong, each had it's pros and cons; as an individual both my purchasing power and quality of life was better in the US. Outside of universal education and healthcare, my conclusion is that the value of the European tax dollar is unfairly distributed. At the local level, European grants and subsidies create jobs for educated people who chose the right course of study. At the Eurozone level, you have the northern "export based" economies essentially using a devalued currency to outcompete the southern countries. Relatively that means more tax dollars for the northern countries, when ideally those would be spread somewhat evenly across Europe. I think Europe needs a technocratic tool that makes the economic performance of all countries everyone's problem. Denmark has an unemployment and retraining scheme called a-kasse that is reasonably well implemented. I could see a centrally funded, Europe wide implementation could be a solution.
- disabled 6y ago
  Thank you for this comment. I really do believe this is spot on.