Universal non-chronic prenatal, neonatal and pediatric healthcare seems like a moral and financial no-brainer for our country.
The happiest kids in the world have social safety nets
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Re: The happiest kids in the world have social safety nets
#72> American parents on both sides of the political spectrum know this and are increasingly frustrated by how little they have been offered in this country—particularly in exchange for the high taxes they pay. How much taxes do Americans think we Europeans pay? Those dutch parents are paying close to 60-70% taxes once you account also for VAT
For reference, total tax revenue (at all levels) is around 25% in the US. Compared to around 37% in the Netherlands and 33% across OECD. By this metric, the US has the 4th lowest overall tax rates in the OECD (above only Mexico, Ireland, and Chile).
https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/how-do-us-taxe...
Re: The happiest kids in the world have social safety nets
#73Freedom to try things and fail is a great gift.
Re: The happiest kids in the world have social safety nets
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
> 60-70% taxes The highest Dutch tax bracket is 50%, but that only applies to income over 75K EUR. Also, VAT doesn't apply to rent, and it's reduced for food. Housing and food are most household's largest expenses. So the 21% sales tax can be deceptive. Taxation as a % of the Dutch GDP is 38%. That is to say, taxes take 38% of all the wealth produced in the Netherlands. For some comparison purposes, the number in the…
For context, 75,518 EUR is $81,014. So if you're a software engineer making $200k, you're paying 37% on the first $81,014, or $30,000, and then 50% on the remaining $118,986, or $60,000. For a grand total of $90k on your $200k salary. Oof. In a modern society, with modern technology, why does the government demand ownership of 30-50% of the value that people generate? That's an enormous amount of free labor.
It's not a good example as almost no-one has a salary that high. For software engineers you're looking at say 90-100K as an average maximum, with vast majority earning less than that.
Edit to cover your edit: it's certainly not free labour, I happily pay my taxes because I believe I'm getting quiet something in return.
Re: The happiest kids in the world have social safety nets
#75"But, after spending time at their former home on Bloemgracht, a street and canal in the Jordaan neighborhood of Amsterdam"
So ... for context ... the Bloemgracht is where the 1% of Dutch people live. Not exactly Park Avenue ... but not Queens, and certainly not the Ozarks.
Re: The happiest kids in the world have social safety nets
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
I read a blog post a while back that had the idea that the reason so many American's remember their college years so fondly is because for many of them it was the only time in their lives where they lived somewhere walkable.
Not only walkable, but with a lot of third spaces and those get actually used because your peer group cannot afford lots of private space. You likely even live in a dorm or with roommates. Anecdotally I spent 2 years of my undergraduate living by myself a 10 minute drive away from University in a little village outside of town. I then moved in with roommates to live walking distance between University and downtown. I…
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Re: The happiest kids in the world have social safety nets
#77I started the article expecting it to be little more than a standard case of one's pet grievance being the cause of all of society's ills. I was pleasantly surprised as I started reading. I thought maybe 'social safety net' to the author doesn't mean wealth distribution but rather something like community engagement and mutual support. Alas. Not halfway through does the article take the expected turn towards pet grie…
Yes, I file this article under the categories of "straw man" and "non-sequitur".
Re: The happiest kids in the world have social safety nets
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sounds nice. I've personally spoken on the phone with a police officer who told me he'd involve CPS if he saw my daughter walking (two blocks!) to school again.
How old is your daughter and what happened when you told him to mind his own business and called his bluff?
> what happened when you told him to mind his own business and called his bluff?
It's not a bluff. From what I've read, fighting CPS is expensive. (Though I would raise the issue with the police chief.)
Re: The happiest kids in the world have social safety nets
#79I'm strongly in favor of expanding the US social safety net, but I don't want to neglect other obvious factors here. Dutch children are able to walk or bike outside unsupervised. In the US they'd risk either being killed by a driver, or stopped by an overzealous neighbor or police officer. I think this kind of freedom of movement has a big effect on happiness, it certainly did for me. ETA relevant links: https://yout…
> In the US they'd risk either being killed by a driver, or stopped by an overzealous neighbor or police officer. It may depends on where in the US you're talking about, but in my area none of this is actually true. Although lots of people believe it is.
I find these stories of kids not walking (or biking) outside wild! Hundreds of kids in my neighborhood walk, bike, or public transit to school everyday with no issues.
I do worry about car on pedestrian crashes but the city has crossing guards and traffic calming for just this.
Where are these places that you can’t be outside as a child?
Re: The happiest kids in the world have social safety nets
#80I'm strongly in favor of expanding the US social safety net, but I don't want to neglect other obvious factors here. Dutch children are able to walk or bike outside unsupervised. In the US they'd risk either being killed by a driver, or stopped by an overzealous neighbor or police officer. I think this kind of freedom of movement has a big effect on happiness, it certainly did for me. ETA relevant links: https://yout…
I read a blog post a while back that had the idea that the reason so many American's remember their college years so fondly is because for many of them it was the only time in their lives where they lived somewhere walkable.
It also a time living in an unnatural community not subject all the issues that exist in the outside world. Campuses are not functionally independent entities. They are artificial environments funded from the outside to fulfill a specific purpose. Spend time on a military base. They are also great places in which to live. Easy commutes, local services, great security, very low unemployment and most are very walkable. They are largely designed to accommodate the needs of young people, much like college campuses. But nobody forgets the artificiality. They are not standalone and their systems cannot accommodate the realities of the wider population.