Live data from Hacker News

How Europe is killing makers and micro-entrepreneurs

lectronz.com

641–650 of 1001 posts

Re: How Europe is killing makers and micro-entrepreneurs

#641
This is with stupid half backed regulations like that that Europe industrial base is collapsing and that voters in most countries are turning their vote to nationalist parties.

Life is already difficult everywhere nowadays, and instead of having European institutions lifting weights on the citizen shoulders, like they did for the single space for telecom or payments a decade ago, they are now actively harming citizen with everyday new political regulations that are not asked by the population but mostly pushed by lobbies.

Like chat control.

Here, in this case, it doesn't look so, but a few big manufacturers and retailers like Amazon are congratulating themselves to have been able to ensure that there is a high barrier to entry to sell any product over there when it is effortless for them as they already have all the logistic and representatives in place.

Re: How Europe is killing makers and micro-entrepreneurs

#642

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Could EU just ask DHL/Hermes/whatever to charge an additional €1 "for recycling"? Yes, but... Within EU we already pay ~€3 for packages from China. And in Austria we will soon pay additional ~€2 for every delivered package. And 20% VAT. Edit: I am pretty sure at least some part of these already contribute towards recycling. The goal here is likely not just to get more funding for recycling, but rather to use materia…

It should be much higher. The amount of shit that gets shipped from China to Europe (world) is fucking ludicrous, and people should be taxed heavily for the stupid shit they often don't need.

Not everything is unnecessary and a lot of it will be bought anyway but now through EU resellers that charge a lot more for the same shit.

Re: How Europe is killing makers and micro-entrepreneurs

#643

Earlier quoted context omitted.

America does it with 50 states

In theory, true. In practice, state independence has been dead for the better part of a century. The 10th amendment has been eviscerated by the courts. By a strict reading of its relatively simple language, most of what the federal government does is unconstitutional. Today, USA is unabbreviated as the “United States of America”, but the country was founded as the “United States for Anerica”. As such, I am strongly i…

> but the country was founded as the “United States for Anerica”.

This is simply incorrect, it has been the United States of America since the Declaration itself where it states: > We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled,

Re: How Europe is killing makers and micro-entrepreneurs

#644
post #562

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Spain also smashes foreigners owning a property in Spain. They see tourists and foreigners (even if they're from the EU) as a gigantic target to squeeze and screw as hard as they can. That's what you get when your economy is based on tourism and rich foreigners owning property there: you have to squeeze those hard for it's basically all you have. Officially tourism is "only" about 15% of the GDP but Spain is a servic…

> “Spain also smashes foreigners owning a property in Spain.” In which way?

Spain charges you tax if you rent the property out. If you don't rent the property out, it imputes a rent and you are charged tax on the imputed rent.

The cadastral value is (finger in the air) 40% of the value of the property; you pay (non-eu resident) 24% of between 1.1% and 2% of the cadastral value.

So 0.1%-0.2% of property value annually.

Re: How Europe is killing makers and micro-entrepreneurs

#645
post #518
post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

They manage to do it for 50 states in the US just fine. It isn’t exactly rocket science. It’s just that individual countries in Europe all feel like unique little snowflakes.

States in the US are little vassals of the federal government. "Freedumb" indeed.

It'd be interesting to see the US try a real federation, but recent evidence suggests that's beyond its capabilities.

Re: How Europe is killing makers and micro-entrepreneurs

#646

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Political decision to close modern nuclear powerplants without replacement - Germany. Experts made a petition to reopen them. Migration - EU failed for many years to protect its border against illegal imigration - millions came, half a mil now legalized in Spain. Overregulation - EU institutions themselves now acknowledge that regulatory and administrative burdens are hurting EU competitivenes "Integration"/security…

I don't really see these as problems. I think the world needs someone to lead on the environment and Europe is more than rich enough that they can handle some short term pain. The countries aren't trying to maximize for short term gains like some other countries and thinking more long term and I think that is a great thing. From the top. Nuclear - many people in Europe are anti nuclear Migration - Europe is going to…

I think that main difference is, that you look at Europe from outside, I live here and talk to people from mentioned European countries living with these consequences and problems.

One more typical example: we have no big AI company in the EU, because EU was busy being "world first AI regulator" before the industry even started here.

And no, EU is not that rich that it can sustainably pay for policies which make its own energy and industry significantly less competitive with little to no effect on CO2: https://www.climate.gov/sites/default/files/styles/full_widt...

Btw would you be so optimistic about Green Deal and regulation if you too had to pay EU price for petrol of about $8/gal ?

Yes peace since WW2 is great, but we have one war on EU borders and other in Middle East.

Freedom of speech is a bedrock of democracy. I dont thinkt we can bent it for different "noble" reasons or because regulators label smth as hate speech or misinfo. https://prostasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image_2022-...

I think we can agree that we disagree, I wish you well.

Re: How Europe is killing makers and micro-entrepreneurs

#647

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Universal chargers, removable batteries, open app stores, AI data protections... The same "protections" also means that the E.U. has no major AI player at all. It seems like all the E.U. can do is tax and regulate what is invented and produced elsewhere.

> has no major AI player at all So? Will major AI players introduce universal healthcare in US? Or is it coming along with AGI which is why it should be the most important to every citizen? Or maybe EU citizens should all band together and stop being lazy and go to having 0 mandatory vacation days? Reminds of me very old USSR joke which was basically "we have rockets in space, and don't have sausages in stores".

> So? Will major AI players introduce universal healthcare in US?

We don't want universal healthcare, 6-month to one-year waits for routine operations, having to beg doctors for prescriptions, massive tax hikes to pay for all of that while disincentivizing people from working and keeping jobs.

Re: How Europe is killing makers and micro-entrepreneurs

#649

Thanks to tomis who posted the EU FAQ on the topic below: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/ad1... None of this applies to companies that are micro-enterprises or use generic rather than branded packaging. There's a helpful diagram on page 13. The author of this article seems to have imagined a worst-case scenario based on either a misunderstanding or misrepresentation of the EU rules; the disc…

There are a dozen small business owners in this thread alone, giving specific details of how this legislation is irrationally hurting their business and the economy.

Re: How Europe is killing makers and micro-entrepreneurs

#650

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, so tell me where in Europe can I buy replacement parts for random electronics when I need them? Often very specific ICs, last time it was a cassette deck pinch roller, etc. Preferably somewhere where it’s cheaper than the value of the thing being repaired.

Yes, and that's a whole different problem, which in itself does not equal stupid shit. The reason the price for parcels from China is going up in Europe is not shipping chips or component, it's from shipping stupid fucking shit people do not need, from e.g Temu and copied goods such as clothing, shoes and what not. The toll offices in the airports are being drowned in cheap crap. Shut it down by making people pay mor…

Clothing, famously less important on Maslow's hierarchy of needs than semiconductors.
Post reply on HN