r/antiwork Jan 14 '22

So sorry, I'm broke so I can only pay you $77 for my food. You were great though.

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u/Sckanksta Jan 15 '22

In Denmark you also doesn't pay a fortune just to see the doctor which counts for something 😁

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u/SavagecavemanMAR Jan 15 '22

Denmark starting to sound pretty good…..

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u/tr0pheus Jan 15 '22 edited Jan 15 '22

Yeah until you make money.

Don't get me wrong. I love the possibilities we have here, but we pay too much in taxes and fees. The government has become to big and should go back to providing the basics needed for a good life (free healthcare, education and financial help if you lose your job)

I had a job once that after taxes gave me $80 more a month than if i collected welfare. That makes some people speculate in getting a disability check and then working some shady job that pays cash. If you do like that, you can work 20 hours a week and make more money than most people working fully legal.

We have made it to easy for people to just stay at home and don't contribute

Edit : It's funny, Everytime i explain that Denmark is really not perfect (even though I have lived here for 34 years) i get bombarded with downvotes....

I get that Scandinavia might seem like a perfect place for Americans , but it isn't.

It's better and more just than America, but far from perfect. You should seek a political system that lies somewhere in between where you are and where Europe is.

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u/tosser88899 Jan 15 '22

Imagine for a moment life in the US. You might have the exact same lifestyle you have now and the exact same amount of money. But if you get sick? If you lose your job? If you were young and wanted to go to school?

You would live under the constant dread of it.

Life in the US can feel like you are balancing a sword upright with one hand while standing on a rug that a person is holding waiting to pull it out from under you.

More than half of us live only a few months from homelessness. The lucky are a year or two from it.

Does that happen in Denmark? Be honest. Still think high taxes are a burden?

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u/tr0pheus Jan 15 '22

I know the struggles you face over there and I'm sorry you have to live like that. I can't imagine the stress.

That is why I think a model between American and European society would be a good solution. We need a healthy , competitive private sector but we also need safety from job loss and unforeseen medical expenses etc.

No it doesn't happen here. Fortunately. As high taxes as we pay? Abso-fucking-lutely!! As little as you guys pay? Absolutely to little. A healthy middle ground would be for the best. Don't forget that Europe has also piggy backed on security bc if anything happens here we expect USA to come help , so our military is pathetic and we absolutely cannot defend ourselves. So if USA doesn't have our back we would have to raise taxes even more.

The base tax rate is already 45%. If you earn somewhere around 80k$/year everything over that gets taxed progressively more up to 56% iirc. Everything you buy has 25% sales tax. If you want a car that is even more taxed. A shitty small new car can easily go for 60k $, that's not a Mercedes or an Audi that's just a small very basic car . If you want gasoline on that car you pay around 7$ for a gallon of fuel. If you want electricity that is around .5 $/kWh (65% of that price is....you guessed it.... Taxes)

If you WANT something in Denmark it's taxed at least 25% , and as you can see , if you NEED something it's taxed even more.

Around 28% of danish workers are also working for the government, so if they want a raise, they just vote for one of like 5 political parties that constantly wants to expand said government.

Can you really not see that too much government can become dangerous?

Of course we should offer everyone free education, medical services and a check to survive between jobs. We absolutely should do that! But we do so much more unnecessary than that. It's hard to fathom how big the government is here if you haven't lived here.

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u/tosser88899 Jan 18 '22

You are incorrect if you think that I am suggesting that higher taxes and more government is the solution. What we need is wage reform. A higher minimum wage that is tied to inflation. Regulations that punish corporations involved in wage theft and anti labor policies. A mandate for sick leave and paid time off. A single payer healthcare system paid by taxes that cannot be manipulated. Free education that is funded not by property taxes so that the wealthiest areas get access to good education and the poor areas get shitty education.

In short. A system that is more fair for everyone and not just the wealthy.