Roger,
A lot of Europeans comp-lain about your high taxes, without realizing that
although taxes are lower in the USA, they are still very high here. Middle
class people pay 28% federal income tax, plus state income taxes that vary
from 1 to 6 percent, plus sales taxes that the states and some cities levy
(sales tax is like your VAT tax but the rate is lower, usually around 6%),
and on top of all that we pay 14% social security tax to the federal
government. Our federal taxes alone are 42%! That's almost as high as your
taxes and consider that the average American gets NOTHING for it. Nothing.
Not a thing. No healthcare. No childcare help. The things we are given, like
the social security system for the disabled and the retired pay about half
the actual cost of living to these people. Retired people have to have
savings (not possible for the poor) or a pension from their employer in
addition to social security to survive, while the disabled have to be
supported by their families and often receive help from private charities
because they are given so little (average $800 a month) by the government.
Those who are unemployed receive very limited benefits for a short time,
often not enough time to find a job.
I'd rather pay a couple percent more in taxes and get SOMETHING other than
costly weapons for the military and subsidies for the wealthy for my tax
dollars.
--
Chris Crawford
Photography & Graphic Design
Santa Fe, New Mexico
http://www.chriscrawfordphoto.com
http://www.plumpatrin.com Something the world NEEDS.
On 4/12/07 5:33 AM, "Roger Key" <rogerdkey@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Us Europeans do not have free health care; we pay through the nose for it
> through our taxes. In Denmark average income tax is around 45-50% (top rate
> around 66% after you go over 40,000 dollars a year). However, everyone is
> covered, so everyone can come to a hospital. Prescription medicine costs
> too, but there are some limits. In the UK I believe that pensioners do not
> pay for medicine though. In my case I get free Zoladex every three months
> from the hospital for my prostate cancer, which I believe would otherwise
> cost me around 900USD every three months. I have paid into the system for
> around 24 years now without receiving much (ner been a night in hospital).
>
> We have good public transport in Copenhagen (and Denmark generally), But it
> helps that we live in small apartments and houses that are close to each
> other, so that the transport system can be run reasonably economically.
> Losses are paid through our taxes again. One of the problems in the US is
> that suburbs can be a long way out of town, and homes are spread out, so
> that public transport is expensive to run with reasonable service intervals.
> On my first stay in the US (Easton, PA) I had no car, so I walked to work
> which took me 35 minutes or so (no bus service). My coworkers were
> horrified, and organised lifts for me!
>
> Many people here do not own cars; gas prices are not attractive (around
> 1.60USD per litre/6 USD per gallon at the moment).
>
> As a pensionist I now get very cheap public transport, so I do not expect to
> drive so much anyway.
>
> Roger Key
> Denmark
>
>> From: Chris Crawford <chris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> Reply-To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxx
>> To: "olympus@xxxxxxxxxx" <olympus@xxxxxxxxxx>
>> Subject: [OM] Re: [ot] alternative fuels
>> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 02:29:15 -0600
>>
>>
>> Yes, Europeans have good public transit, which is simply non-existent in
>> most parts of the USA. We had none in my hometown in Indiana and here in
>> Santa Fe the public transit doesn't run anywhere close to where I live, and
>> doesn't go anywhere near my biggest client. So, I drive.
>>
>> I have a gas guzzler, a huge Chevy Caprice. My grandpa gave it to me, and
>> if
>> it weren't for him I wouldn't own any car. I can't afford to spend 20,000
>> to
>> buy a new fuel-efficient car, or even $5000 on a used one. I spend a lot on
>> gas, but I did the math and realized that if I bought a used car that got
>> better gas mileage than my Caprice, the used car would fall apart before I
>> actually saved any money because of the $5000 or so that a decent used car
>> would cost me.
>>
>> This is a problem that faces a lot of working class people in America. They
>> don't have the cash to buy a fuel efficient car, and can't borrow the money
>> for one due to bad credit that is a result of not making enough to live. My
>> credit was ruined by medical bills I couldn't pay. I have had a lot of
>> medical problems since childhood and have not had insurance since my
>> father's insurance told me I was too old to be on it at age 21. I'm 31 now.
>> You Europeans have free health care. Americans don't.
>>
>> America's ecomomy WOULD be wrecked because the majority of Americans (70%
>> of
>> us make less than 40,000 a year) would have to choose between food and gas
>> if it gets too expensive to drive to our crappy paying jobs.
>>
>>
>> --
>> Chris Crawford
>> Photography & Graphic Design
>> Santa Fe, New Mexico
>>
>> http://www.chriscrawfordphoto.com
>>
>> http://www.plumpatrin.com Something the world NEEDS.
>>
>>
>>
>> On 4/11/07 1:23 AM, "Wayne Harridge" <wayneharridge@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Most Europeans spend 2-3 times what you do on gas/petrol. Their
>>>> economies are not wrecked, they do not curl up in a foetal ball on
>>>> the living room rug and the sky has not fallen. They choose to drive
>>>> smaller cars, less far. Of course, in many cases (but certainly not
>>>> all) they have less far to go.
>>>
>>> ...and public transport is probably better too.
>>>
>>> ...Wayne
>
>
>
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