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This is so true. I’m a software engineer in Berlin, and I’m from Sri Lanka. It amazes me how many young people are still pursuing bachelor’s or master’s degrees

This is so true. I’m a software engineer in Berlin, and I’m from Sri Lanka. It amazes me how many young people are still pursuing bachelor’s or master’s degrees in business management or related fields instead of specializing in STEM fields, where they’d have a better chance of securing a high-paying job and making a meaningful impact. It seems like everyone wants to work for big four audit firms, but they often end up doing poorly paid internships in companies unrelated to their higher studies field. As you mentioned, the EU single market is just another bureaucratic monster. If you want to expand your business to other countries, you’ll need to apply for passporting. Then, if you ever want to provide services related to local taxes, you’ll have to have a physical office registered in the respective country. Each country also has its own nationalistic preferences regarding which services and products they use. For example, the French tend to prefer French companies over any other company that provides the same product, or even a better version from another European country. In essence, the EU is simply a massive tax burden on European citizens, benefiting only a handful of countries within the continent.

Gravityloss 2y ago
I think EU simplifies things a lot and accelerates the economy. I'm from a small country. Almost whatever business you do, you usually start thinking export really fast. One thing to say about EU is what they say about Africa. It's not one, there are different places in there. If you've been in one, then that might not apply somewhere else. I don't think EU countries have that many domestic businesses anymore. Companies operate in multiple countries and have supply chains crossing borders. People can freely just go and work wherever they want just like that. EU has removed so much friction and middlemen. Maybe German and French people could learn English a bit better and it would be smoother for business. And taxation of work could be harmonized and simplified so it'd be easier to buy labor (and not just products or services) from anywhere. That's a hard problem though because of the different societies and services and thus different taxation. What would you improve?
kergonath 2y ago
> In essence, the EU is simply a massive tax burden on European citizens, benefiting only a handful of countries within the continent. The tax burden is absolutely not "massive", either in relative or absolute terms. Money going to underdeveloped parts of the EU is by design. Helping them helps everyone. It creates a huge internal market and companies and people benefit, even from net contributing countries. There sure are issues to solve, but in pure monetary terms, the EU is a no brainer, just look at the UK.
- rdm_blackhole 2y ago
  > Money going to underdeveloped parts of the EU is by design. Helping them helps everyone. That is your take on it. But is it true? How does a French/German person benefit from the money from their taxes being sent to another country when their own economies are in the dumpster? > It creates a huge internal market and companies and people benefit, even from net contributing countries. Maybe for big companies. I don't think a plumber in Spain cares that they can sell their services to someone in Latvia. > There sure are issues to solve, but in pure monetary terms, the EU is a no brainer. Then why is it that we are having this conversation? If the EU is a no brainer, we should be swimming in cash, shouldn't we? Even the most ardent supporters of the EU have finally admitted the truth (such as Mario Draghi), the EU is falling behind on many fronts including but not limited to AI, EVs, economic output, industrial output, defense spending and so on... > Just look at the UK That's a bit disingenuous. There are many countries in Asia or elsewhere that are doing just fine without being part of a union such as the EU. What about Germany currently? What about Greece after 2008? What about France which had a 10%++ unemployment rate for the majority of the 2010s? The UK is not doing well at the moment, that is a given, but let's not pretend that the countries in the EU are doing any better either. At least the UK has a functioning government whereas France is in a deadlock and will soon go through it's 4th prime minister/government of the year.
  - kergonath 2y ago
    > How does a French/German person benefit from the money from their taxes being sent to another country when their own economies are in the dumpster? I benefit when I can use a Latvian bank that does not take an arm and a leg for basic services, and when I can get decent and cheap goods from all over Europe. I benefit when I can go and work in another country with different opportunities. People who complain about the EU and inflation have no clue how it was before the single market. > If the EU is a no brainer, we should be swimming in cash, shouldn't we? Well, firstly by most standards we are. The problem is inequality and the way wealth is distributed, not the lack of it. > Even the most ardent supporters of the EU have finally admitted the truth (such as Mario Draghi), the EU is falling behind on many fronts including but not limited to AI, EVs, economic output, industrial output, defense spending and so on... This is true, but none of this is the EU’s fault. It does not control the industrial policies of the member-states. And how would any of these member-states fare in an ideal timeline where the EU does not exist? Would having 27 different currencies, 27 different tariffs systems, 27 completely different tax structures with controls at each border help with developing any of this? > That's a bit disingenuous. There are many countries in Asia or elsewhere that are doing just fine without being part of a union such as the EU. I never said it would not be fine outside the EU, I am just saying that it would be measurably worse. That other countries in other circumstances do better or worse is neither here nor there. The UK provides data on a single country being inside and outside in a short time span. All the complications it is going through is something it did not have to do when it was in the EU, and any other country would have to deal with the same issues. > What about Germany currently? What about Greece after 2008? What about France which had a 10%++ unemployment rate for the majority of the 2010s? You are cherry picking. All these except (in part) Greece are the consequences of national politics. You cannot say that the EU is to blame for every single bad outcome in the last 30 years while saying nothing about the successes. It’s just dishonest. > The UK is not doing well at the moment, that is a given, but let's not pretend that the countries in the EU are doing any better either. The UK is doing spectacularly badly. I sincerely hope that it’s getting better but let’s not fool ourselves: I cannot name a French prime minister or president that was as bad as May, Johnson, Truss, or Sunak (I could name a couple of Camerons though, so it’s certainly not all good). Good luck to Starmer and I hope everyone will get better, but in the meantime it was the opposite of smooth and painless, and the UK is still not where it would have been. > At least the UK has a functioning government whereas France is in a deadlock and will soon go through it's 4th prime minister/government of the year. None of these governments were as inept as Truss was and the reason why there is some instability currently is that the parliament is more representative of the people. I’ll take that any day instead of a party having an absolute majority with 37% of the vote.
oblio 2y ago
> In essence, the EU is simply a massive tax burden on European citizens, benefiting only a handful of countries within the continent Ummm... The EU budget and workforce is smaller than that of a big European city, let alone a country. If you look at the numbers, the actual EU machinery is very small for what is basically a government institution.
flkenosad 2y ago
It really is an eternal September.

Gravityloss 2y ago

I think EU simplifies things a lot and accelerates the economy. I'm from a small country. Almost whatever business you do, you usually start thinking export really fast. One thing to say about EU is what they say about Africa. It's not one, there are different places in there. If you've been in one, then that might not apply somewhere else. I don't think EU countries have that many domestic businesses anymore. Companies operate in multiple countries and have supply chains crossing borders. People can freely just go and work wherever they want just like that. EU has removed so much friction and middlemen. Maybe German and French people could learn English a bit better and it would be smoother for business. And taxation of work could be harmonized and simplified so it'd be easier to buy labor (and not just products or services) from anywhere. That's a hard problem though because of the different societies and services and thus different taxation. What would you improve?

kergonath 2y ago

> In essence, the EU is simply a massive tax burden on European citizens, benefiting only a handful of countries within the continent. The tax burden is absolutely not "massive", either in relative or absolute terms. Money going to underdeveloped parts of the EU is by design. Helping them helps everyone. It creates a huge internal market and companies and people benefit, even from net contributing countries. There sure are issues to solve, but in pure monetary terms, the EU is a no brainer, just look at the UK.

rdm_blackhole 2y ago
> Money going to underdeveloped parts of the EU is by design. Helping them helps everyone. That is your take on it. But is it true? How does a French/German person benefit from the money from their taxes being sent to another country when their own economies are in the dumpster? > It creates a huge internal market and companies and people benefit, even from net contributing countries. Maybe for big companies. I don't think a plumber in Spain cares that they can sell their services to someone in Latvia. > There sure are issues to solve, but in pure monetary terms, the EU is a no brainer. Then why is it that we are having this conversation? If the EU is a no brainer, we should be swimming in cash, shouldn't we? Even the most ardent supporters of the EU have finally admitted the truth (such as Mario Draghi), the EU is falling behind on many fronts including but not limited to AI, EVs, economic output, industrial output, defense spending and so on... > Just look at the UK That's a bit disingenuous. There are many countries in Asia or elsewhere that are doing just fine without being part of a union such as the EU. What about Germany currently? What about Greece after 2008? What about France which had a 10%++ unemployment rate for the majority of the 2010s? The UK is not doing well at the moment, that is a given, but let's not pretend that the countries in the EU are doing any better either. At least the UK has a functioning government whereas France is in a deadlock and will soon go through it's 4th prime minister/government of the year.
- kergonath 2y ago
  > How does a French/German person benefit from the money from their taxes being sent to another country when their own economies are in the dumpster? I benefit when I can use a Latvian bank that does not take an arm and a leg for basic services, and when I can get decent and cheap goods from all over Europe. I benefit when I can go and work in another country with different opportunities. People who complain about the EU and inflation have no clue how it was before the single market. > If the EU is a no brainer, we should be swimming in cash, shouldn't we? Well, firstly by most standards we are. The problem is inequality and the way wealth is distributed, not the lack of it. > Even the most ardent supporters of the EU have finally admitted the truth (such as Mario Draghi), the EU is falling behind on many fronts including but not limited to AI, EVs, economic output, industrial output, defense spending and so on... This is true, but none of this is the EU’s fault. It does not control the industrial policies of the member-states. And how would any of these member-states fare in an ideal timeline where the EU does not exist? Would having 27 different currencies, 27 different tariffs systems, 27 completely different tax structures with controls at each border help with developing any of this? > That's a bit disingenuous. There are many countries in Asia or elsewhere that are doing just fine without being part of a union such as the EU. I never said it would not be fine outside the EU, I am just saying that it would be measurably worse. That other countries in other circumstances do better or worse is neither here nor there. The UK provides data on a single country being inside and outside in a short time span. All the complications it is going through is something it did not have to do when it was in the EU, and any other country would have to deal with the same issues. > What about Germany currently? What about Greece after 2008? What about France which had a 10%++ unemployment rate for the majority of the 2010s? You are cherry picking. All these except (in part) Greece are the consequences of national politics. You cannot say that the EU is to blame for every single bad outcome in the last 30 years while saying nothing about the successes. It’s just dishonest. > The UK is not doing well at the moment, that is a given, but let's not pretend that the countries in the EU are doing any better either. The UK is doing spectacularly badly. I sincerely hope that it’s getting better but let’s not fool ourselves: I cannot name a French prime minister or president that was as bad as May, Johnson, Truss, or Sunak (I could name a couple of Camerons though, so it’s certainly not all good). Good luck to Starmer and I hope everyone will get better, but in the meantime it was the opposite of smooth and painless, and the UK is still not where it would have been. > At least the UK has a functioning government whereas France is in a deadlock and will soon go through it's 4th prime minister/government of the year. None of these governments were as inept as Truss was and the reason why there is some instability currently is that the parliament is more representative of the people. I’ll take that any day instead of a party having an absolute majority with 37% of the vote.

oblio 2y ago

> In essence, the EU is simply a massive tax burden on European citizens, benefiting only a handful of countries within the continent Ummm... The EU budget and workforce is smaller than that of a big European city, let alone a country. If you look at the numbers, the actual EU machinery is very small for what is basically a government institution.

flkenosad 2y ago

It really is an eternal September.