Live data from Hacker News

Finnish-born journalist: Americans make crucial mistake in how they look at life

businessinsider.com

1–10 of 72 posts

Re: Finnish-born journalist: Americans make crucial mistake in how they look at life

#4
"Foreigners tend to view Nordic countries as "these socialist nanny states where everybody has a collectivist mindset," Partanen said. But "in fact a lot of these services really support everybody's independence.""

I pay a ton of taxes in the U.S. I don't get how Finland warrants an accusation of a collectivist mindset, while America takes and redistributes just as much money. Is it because spending on defense, instead of social services, doesn't qualify as a collectivist mindset?

Re: Finnish-born journalist: Americans make crucial mistake in how they look at life

#5
post #4

"Foreigners tend to view Nordic countries as "these socialist nanny states where everybody has a collectivist mindset," Partanen said. But "in fact a lot of these services really support everybody's independence."" I pay a ton of taxes in the U.S. I don't get how Finland warrants an accusation of a collectivist mindset, while America takes and redistributes just as much money. Is it because spending on defense, inste…

In Norway, you pay an annual tax on basically everything you own (update: yes, everything you own, not everything you earn that year) past the first ~$180k. I don't really care what sort of "independence" this supports for somebody, I'm not going to live somewhere that makes you rent everything from the state, after paying exorbitant taxes to "buy" it.

update: corrected the cutoff figure with new exchange rates and policy updates, seems that two parties in NO are looking to eliminate the wealth tax.

added: keep in mind purchasing power differences in Norway, where basically everything is more expensive relative to the U.S. exchange value of the kroner. 1,480,000 NOK (source of the $180k figure) will buy you about 40 sqft of suburban apartment in Norway, on average.

Re: Finnish-born journalist: Americans make crucial mistake in how they look at life

#6
post #4

"Foreigners tend to view Nordic countries as "these socialist nanny states where everybody has a collectivist mindset," Partanen said. But "in fact a lot of these services really support everybody's independence."" I pay a ton of taxes in the U.S. I don't get how Finland warrants an accusation of a collectivist mindset, while America takes and redistributes just as much money. Is it because spending on defense, inste…

Effective tax rate in finland is around 50%

https://tradingeconomics.com/finland/personal-income-tax-rat... and seems to come from a income tax rate that is similar to the US 25-31% but also includes retierment / social monies around 18+3%, so ends up effectively being 50-51. Also capitol gains is taxed at 30% for anything over 30k euros.

I found this info with one google request, first 2 answers.

So the tax rate is OOM 2x the US.

So it's not anywhere near as much money % wise.

But yes we allocate it differently.

Re: Finnish-born journalist: Americans make crucial mistake in how they look at life

#7
post #4

"Foreigners tend to view Nordic countries as "these socialist nanny states where everybody has a collectivist mindset," Partanen said. But "in fact a lot of these services really support everybody's independence."" I pay a ton of taxes in the U.S. I don't get how Finland warrants an accusation of a collectivist mindset, while America takes and redistributes just as much money. Is it because spending on defense, inste…

In Norway, you pay an annual tax on basically everything you own (update: yes, everything you own , not everything you earn that year ) past the first ~$180k. I don't really care what sort of "independence" this supports for somebody, I'm not going to live somewhere that makes you rent everything from the state, after paying exorbitant taxes to "buy" it. update: corrected the cutoff figure with new exchange rates and…

Oh, you shun any product of science then?

Re: Finnish-born journalist: Americans make crucial mistake in how they look at life

#8
post #4

"Foreigners tend to view Nordic countries as "these socialist nanny states where everybody has a collectivist mindset," Partanen said. But "in fact a lot of these services really support everybody's independence."" I pay a ton of taxes in the U.S. I don't get how Finland warrants an accusation of a collectivist mindset, while America takes and redistributes just as much money. Is it because spending on defense, inste…

In Norway, you pay an annual tax on basically everything you own (update: yes, everything you own , not everything you earn that year ) past the first ~$180k. I don't really care what sort of "independence" this supports for somebody, I'm not going to live somewhere that makes you rent everything from the state, after paying exorbitant taxes to "buy" it. update: corrected the cutoff figure with new exchange rates and…

If what happens to your income past the first $100k is a major concern for you, you are very much in the minority in the US, as the median family income in the US is about $60k[1], and most Americans have less than $1k in savings.[2]

Sure, rich people have little to gain by having a great social safety net, as they can just rely on their own money for all of that. But for the vast majority of Americans, it matters.

Also, for those who are complaining that the US has such high taxes, you should know that the US itself used to tax income of over 90%.

[1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United...

[2] - https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/13/how-much-americans-at-have-i...

Re: Finnish-born journalist: Americans make crucial mistake in how they look at life

#9
Two examples of the holistic view:

- Finland is adopting a more holistic education system than compartmentalised subjects http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39889523

- (Not Finland but really cool) retirement home with a co-located pre-school benefits both the elderly and the young kids https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/01/the-pr... :

> Another resident with advanced Alzheimer’s whose speech was incomprehensible garble was able to speak in complete, fluid, and appropriate sentences the moment she was wheeled into the baby room. “You could immediately see that she had accessed some part of her brain that had raised several kids,” Hoover says.

Re: Finnish-born journalist: Americans make crucial mistake in how they look at life

#10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Norway, you pay an annual tax on basically everything you own (update: yes, everything you own , not everything you earn that year ) past the first ~$180k. I don't really care what sort of "independence" this supports for somebody, I'm not going to live somewhere that makes you rent everything from the state, after paying exorbitant taxes to "buy" it. update: corrected the cutoff figure with new exchange rates and…

If what happens to your income past the first $100k is a major concern for you, you are very much in the minority in the US, as the median family income in the US is about $60k[1], and most Americans have less than $1k in savings.[2] Sure, rich people have little to gain by having a great social safety net, as they can just rely on their own money for all of that. But for the vast majority of Americans, it matters. A…

The poster was talking about what "you own". It's really easy to have more than $100k in assets. That's basically anybody who owns a home.
Post reply on HN