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> 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/li
by 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 agoAs 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.