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> it is expensive, but it is an important part of keeping an ombudsman on democracy, public broadcasting that is an entirely seperate pillar to the very existen

> it is expensive, but it is an important part of keeping an ombudsman on democracy, public broadcasting that is an entirely seperate pillar to the very existence of the country itself Exactly. I tend to think of those ~18€/month that I pay as a democracy fee – it's certainly expensive, but it's worth every penny err… cent. That's of course not to say that we shouldn't keep an eye on how that money is spent and shouldn't think twice about whether increasing their budget (again) is really necessary.

hh3k0 6y ago
> Exactly. I tend to think of those ~18€/month that I pay as a democracy fee – it's certainly expensive, but it's worth every penny err… cent. I never watch/listen to any German public broadcasting channel on television/radio and am still forced to pay nonetheless -- because I could theoretically use them. That's outrageous, to be frank. Honestly, having every household pay the fee while pretending it is not a tax is nothing but a vile gaslighting campaign. I make a habit of paying it 3 months late in order to create as much additional work and cost for them as possible, so far without any legal ramifications.
- codethief 6y ago
  As I said, I think of those ~18€/month that I pay as a democracy fee. Meaning that no matter whether I peruse public media[0], I still see a significant benefit for our society as a whole and, by implication, for me. Both politicians and the average Joe end up making better decisions because of public media and these ultimately also benefit me. [0]: My own usage varies quite a bit – during the first lockdown it was several times a day; now I'm back to using them every other week. So I definitely see where you're coming from. Nevertheless I still arrive at a conclusion different from yours. > while pretending it is not a tax Legally, it is not. But in practice it certainly is, I agree. Would you be happier if it were also officially called a tax? For me it doesn't really make a difference.

hh3k0 6y ago

> Exactly. I tend to think of those ~18€/month that I pay as a democracy fee – it's certainly expensive, but it's worth every penny err… cent. I never watch/listen to any German public broadcasting channel on television/radio and am still forced to pay nonetheless -- because I could theoretically use them. That's outrageous, to be frank. Honestly, having every household pay the fee while pretending it is not a tax is nothing but a vile gaslighting campaign. I make a habit of paying it 3 months late in order to create as much additional work and cost for them as possible, so far without any legal ramifications.

codethief 6y ago
As I said, I think of those ~18€/month that I pay as a democracy fee. Meaning that no matter whether I peruse public media[0], I still see a significant benefit for our society as a whole and, by implication, for me. Both politicians and the average Joe end up making better decisions because of public media and these ultimately also benefit me. [0]: My own usage varies quite a bit – during the first lockdown it was several times a day; now I'm back to using them every other week. So I definitely see where you're coming from. Nevertheless I still arrive at a conclusion different from yours. > while pretending it is not a tax Legally, it is not. But in practice it certainly is, I agree. Would you be happier if it were also officially called a tax? For me it doesn't really make a difference.