Or rather why Europe pays so bad.
I wonder whats the reason behind many american companies being able to pay 200-400kusd a year while its hard to get past 100k usd in the richer countries of Europe (Germany, Scandinavia, UK, etc.). A junior in USA gets more than a senior in Europe. And after 10 years the american may get 2-4x the salary of the european counterpart. In contrast life in USA is often even cheaper.
- Are european companies greedy?
- Are european companies less competitive?
- Are the high taxes and equality in Europe pushing companies to not try harder to reward talent while USA rewards the high performers as they can see the benefits it brings?
What do we get from the welfare system? Healthcare is great but its not much more than that I get. I wouldnt mind paying for education if that means Ill get more money for the next 30 years of my life. While I get unemployment its actually because I pay for an insursnce for it. I contribute to a private pension as I cant rely on the public one. Theres a lot of benefits of which I get nothing because I have a “high” paying job. So again I fail to see what this welfare system brings to me. It seems I am just paying for everyone else (other than again healthcare).
What you get for your taxes and employment benefits isn’t always easily measurable in terms of “what do I gain economically right now”. So let me list some of the benefits I think you enjoy, if in an indirect way or in the future:
Many weeks of paid vacation every year, job security, paid parental leave for months, free education for you and your children, free school lunches, free healthcare, subsidized unemployment insurance, subsidized medicine, subsidized public transport, subsidized access to swimming pools and training facilities, base of 401k savings, “unlimited” sick leave (you can not be fired for being sick and will usually get a good portion of your salary for a very long time on sick leave), free or heavily subsidized rehab and accessibility aids like wheelchairs and hearing aids and modifications to your home if you get ill or old, heavily subsidized personal assistance if you get disabled, etc etc.
A safety net not reliant on your employment.
Additionally I want to ideally have happy lawful people around me in my community and society and not homeless, hopeless, sick, uneducated, destitute and desperate people. So I want to build a sustainable society where these things are accessible to everyone and am willing to pay extra for it.
You get healthcare, always. Not just when you have a job. You get security around your job, so your employer can’t just go “lol, you’re fired, stfu”. You get “theoretically” enough money to live when you do get fired.
And you get that, regardless of your employment status. Everybody, from students, to fast food workers, to the nice rich software developers. Sure, you NEED it less if you’re a software developer, I almost certainly pay more in taxes than I get in tax-related value. But it also means that if my arms fall off one day, I’ll still be living in a country that will ensure I’m relatively healthy, homed, and fed.
Co-operation is why humans are so successful. If everybody was only ever out for themselves, we’d still all be scrabbling around in caves looking for food. Helping 100 people get educated so 50 of them can be useful members of society is still better than having 10 of them get supported through their parents, and letting the other 90 fail.
You get more peace and security.
You mean the ones that benefit from my taxes get those? Other than healthcare I fail to see what I get where I live. I think Id pay less than 20% in taxes and health insurance in Switzerland vs 50% now and still get the same benefits.