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We all feel like this in Europe. It's crazy. How are the politicians all like this?

by anax32 12d ago

letmetweakit 12d ago
Imagine living in the US then …
stingraycharles 12d ago
Maybe people are feeling confident to put their masks off with the stuff that’s happening in the US?
mitxela 12d ago
Because they're not terminally online and don't know why this is bad. But they do know that making the rich less rich is bad, just like in the US. Europe retains more counterculture than the US does, but not enough.
mvdwoord 12d ago
How de we keep voting on the same group of people/ideas?
- trumpdong 12d ago
  Europe has so many parties. But they all agree on this because to disagree would be to attract an aerial democracy delivery from the USA.
  - modo_mario 12d ago
    It never gets to that in countries already deeply aligned. They all agree on this because it will be a hidden sticking point for some others, If that's not an impediment some lobyists will make it so. If that doesn't work us ambassadors, state departments and/or USTR will pressure or even put you on a trade watchlist. If that doesn't work some 3 letter agency folks will land on a domestic airfield and have some talks. If that doesn't work some media might peculiarly shift it's tone. etc
bsoqk 12d ago
I don't know about the rest of Europe, but in Spain, this happens because people are extremely dependent on government handouts. Most people dislike the government's policies, but they are afraid of having to work, so they don't want to rock the boat. In Spain, half a million more people depend on getting money from the government than work in the private sector: https://theobjective.com/economia/macroeconomia/2024-09-16/ayudas-sueldos-publicos-nominas-privado/ https://theobjective.com/economia/macroeconomia/2024-09-16/a...
- ecshafer 12d ago
  How is this possible? It cant be sustainable to have more people live off of welfare than work.
  - ColonelBlimp 12d ago
    Civil servants don't live off of welfare. They work and receive a salary in exchange.
  - clarionbell 12d ago
    It isn't. But reform would a political suicide, because all of these people are voters. So the status quo continues, and for now everyone can feel great about how caring the society is.
- anax32 12d ago
  That's a crazy stat. In the UK, 53% of people are net recipients - about 2M people! (https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/incomeandwealth/bulletins/theeffectsoftaxesandbenefitsonhouseholdincome/2024 https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personal...) State dependents - either benefits/welfare or employed - have a very different experience of the economy than others; the disconnected work/pay relationship. The disconnect between income and effort is causing people to have warped priorities, which, ultimately, results in inflationary economics and impoverishment.

We all feel like this in Europe. It's crazy. How are the politicians all like this?

by anax32 12d ago

We all feel like this in Europe. It's crazy. How are the politicians all like this?

letmetweakit 12d ago

Imagine living in the US then …

stingraycharles 12d ago

Maybe people are feeling confident to put their masks off with the stuff that’s happening in the US?

mitxela 12d ago

Because they're not terminally online and don't know why this is bad. But they do know that making the rich less rich is bad, just like in the US. Europe retains more counterculture than the US does, but not enough.

mvdwoord 12d ago

How de we keep voting on the same group of people/ideas?

trumpdong 12d ago
Europe has so many parties. But they all agree on this because to disagree would be to attract an aerial democracy delivery from the USA.
- modo_mario 12d ago
  It never gets to that in countries already deeply aligned. They all agree on this because it will be a hidden sticking point for some others, If that's not an impediment some lobyists will make it so. If that doesn't work us ambassadors, state departments and/or USTR will pressure or even put you on a trade watchlist. If that doesn't work some 3 letter agency folks will land on a domestic airfield and have some talks. If that doesn't work some media might peculiarly shift it's tone. etc

bsoqk 12d ago

I don't know about the rest of Europe, but in Spain, this happens because people are extremely dependent on government handouts. Most people dislike the government's policies, but they are afraid of having to work, so they don't want to rock the boat. In Spain, half a million more people depend on getting money from the government than work in the private sector: https://theobjective.com/economia/macroeconomia/2024-09-16/ayudas-sueldos-publicos-nominas-privado/ https://theobjective.com/economia/macroeconomia/2024-09-16/a...

ecshafer 12d ago
How is this possible? It cant be sustainable to have more people live off of welfare than work.
- ColonelBlimp 12d ago
  Civil servants don't live off of welfare. They work and receive a salary in exchange.
- clarionbell 12d ago
  It isn't. But reform would a political suicide, because all of these people are voters. So the status quo continues, and for now everyone can feel great about how caring the society is.
anax32 12d ago
That's a crazy stat. In the UK, 53% of people are net recipients - about 2M people! (https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/incomeandwealth/bulletins/theeffectsoftaxesandbenefitsonhouseholdincome/2024 https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personal...) State dependents - either benefits/welfare or employed - have a very different experience of the economy than others; the disconnected work/pay relationship. The disconnect between income and effort is causing people to have warped priorities, which, ultimately, results in inflationary economics and impoverishment.