Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Europe is now a corporate also-ran. Can it recover its footing?

economist.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

191–200 of 905 posts

Re: Europe is now a corporate also-ran. Can it recover its footing?

#191

Post by andi999 »

238475235243 wrote: post #43

I've lived in a few different parts of the EU, and couldn't imagine a worse idea than starting a company there (which I did, once). Starting is hard enough without the general negative attitudes, the government insanities, the insane taxes, the low work ethic, the 8 weeks of vacation every month (I exaggerate, slightly). And I was in one of the two best EU countries, God only knows how bad it is in Spain or Italy or…

I agree on most things on the list, but work ethics? At least here it seems pretty strong, and result focused (so getting things done is more important then doing overtime).

Re: Europe is now a corporate also-ran. Can it recover its footing?

#192

Post by oblio »

deertick1 wrote: post #127
nodemaker wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hmm so 1) the corporate tax rate and other tax benefits in many EU countries is much lower than the US (I imagine you must have heard of US companies using their European operations to dodge us taxes) 2) The quality of labor you can hire is generally higher in europe (for example its common knowledge that facebook london has better engineers) I think what the us has is access to venture capital which i agree is diffi…

I have a really hard time believing theres higher quality talent in Europe in general.

Why? The EU has a higher population than the US and it has many top notch universities.

Europe tends to lose many of its tech talents to the US, but if you pay comparable salaries you'll keep them.

Re: Europe is now a corporate also-ran. Can it recover its footing?

#193

Post by mattlondon »

Dma54rhs wrote: post #147
oneplane wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other hand, people here don't tend to go bankrupt and lose their house, healthcare (ironically) and life (from a social aspect) in general when they don't have a perfect health. They don't have to hide their state of wellbeing from their employer in the hope of not getting fired, and they don't have to worry about living on the street because they don't have a job for a bit. Businesses are fun and all, but in…

You need to be employed in order to get Healthcare in most of the EU countries anyway, so it's not all that rosy as Americans tend to think.

What? I think citation needed here.

As far as I am aware, healthcare in most EU States is universal and not dependent on employment.

Sure you can get private healthcare through employment, but the state systems is there for everyone if they need it.

Re: Europe is now a corporate also-ran. Can it recover its footing?

#194

Post by christkv »

It’s way harder to grow a business in a region dominated by tons of different languages and business cultures. Doing business in Germany or Greece are two completely different problems. This means most companies don’t escape local to be come multinationals. Lack of massive amounts of growth capital is another as well as a risk adverse culture in at least most of the EU countries.

Re: Europe is now a corporate also-ran. Can it recover its footing?

#195

Post by yoz-y »

apatters wrote: post #180
onion2k wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why should society optimize for how easy it is to start a business?

Because if you don't you'll end up with fewer businesses, which will concentrate wealth, which has documented negative effects on society.

The article, most people here, and the reality disagrees with that. The point is that all the giants are elsewhere.

Case in point as mentioned elsewhere: we actually have ISP competition here.

Re: Europe is now a corporate also-ran. Can it recover its footing?

#196

Post by andi999 »

thijsc wrote: post #143
238475235243 wrote: post #43

I've lived in a few different parts of the EU, and couldn't imagine a worse idea than starting a company there (which I did, once). Starting is hard enough without the general negative attitudes, the government insanities, the insane taxes, the low work ethic, the 8 weeks of vacation every month (I exaggerate, slightly). And I was in one of the two best EU countries, God only knows how bad it is in Spain or Italy or…

Reporting back: Your comment is utter nonsense. There is a thriving tech scene in Europe and we do quite well! Reliable and cheap health care is a huge boon for small entrepreneurs. There’s little regulation to deal with as a software company. Child care and great schools are cheap or free. Yes firing people is much harder, that is a different context compared to the US you have to properly plan for. Which we do over…

I wish there were thriving tech scene in Europe.

Re: Europe is now a corporate also-ran. Can it recover its footing?

#197

Post by brnt »

238475235243 wrote: post #43

I've lived in a few different parts of the EU, and couldn't imagine a worse idea than starting a company there (which I did, once). Starting is hard enough without the general negative attitudes, the government insanities, the insane taxes, the low work ethic, the 8 weeks of vacation every month (I exaggerate, slightly). And I was in one of the two best EU countries, God only knows how bad it is in Spain or Italy or…

Sounds like an awesome place for workers!

Re: Europe is now a corporate also-ran. Can it recover its footing?

#198

Post by darthrupert »

kentlyons wrote: post #186
sildur wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

EU built a Nokia. Until MS infiltrated and dismantled it, that is.

How much help did Nokia have from the EU?? Sure it was very Finnish, but not clear the EU helped. And it wasn't MS, it was Nokia itself in the face of Apple. I worked at Nokia and saw it first hand.

Finland's economy opened up significantly when we joined EU. It's no coincidence that Nokia's success followed soon after.

Re: Europe is now a corporate also-ran. Can it recover its footing?

#200

Post by oblio »

brnt wrote: post #197
238475235243 wrote: post #43

I've lived in a few different parts of the EU, and couldn't imagine a worse idea than starting a company there (which I did, once). Starting is hard enough without the general negative attitudes, the government insanities, the insane taxes, the low work ethic, the 8 weeks of vacation every month (I exaggerate, slightly). And I was in one of the two best EU countries, God only knows how bad it is in Spain or Italy or…

Sounds like an awesome place for workers!

Yeah, but you won't make OP a billionaire so shame on you!
Post reply on HN