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Helsinki Relocation Package: City as a Service

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Re: Helsinki Relocation Package: City as a Service

#221

Post by mapgrep »

timsally wrote: post #210
xyzzy_plugh wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the point is that you can choose to go live somewhere that is not the USA and you continue reap the benefits you describe, all the while paying a different countries taxes and personally benefitting much much more. If I was an American, I wouldn't want to be footing the bill for Global Security either.

> If I was an American, I wouldn't want to be footing the bill for Global Security either. There is a deep and nuanced conversation to be had here, though I will say fourstar already made one important point very succinctly. [1] I will point out that it has been the position of the American people since WWII that we are happy to foot the bill for global security. So while you might not feel that way, Americans feel d…

Ww2 in Europe was largely won by the USSR. Britain and the US opened a western front quite belatedly after years of begging by the USSR, after the Soviets sacrificed 15+ million lives to turn the tide, and after a lot of wasted time focusing on minor gains in North Africa (at Churchill’s insistence). Combined US and UK military’s deaths were less than a tenth those for USSR. We love to pat ourselves on the back with movies about D Day though. (They should be about Stalingrad.)

Finland incidentally was a key ally for Hitler in his attack on the USSR.

Re: Helsinki Relocation Package: City as a Service

#222

Post by brailsafe »

It seems a little unusual. I can't quite tell what the difference between this and just flying to the country and working remotely would be. According to the terms, you pay for accommodation and everything in the country, as well as your flight there and so on. Maybe it's just sort of an in for permanent residence?

Re: Helsinki Relocation Package: City as a Service

#223

Post by astura »

eru wrote: post #143
Mediterraneo10 wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In Europe those services pay for ... healthcare which is mostly used by the elderly. Finnish public healthcare encompasses things like regular dental visits that people of every age use. Also, those high taxes pay for world-class public libraries and child daycare which the broad public use, even expats in the IT sectors.

Private dental visits shouldn't cost you more than a few hundred quid per year on average. (In a sane country.) So they would only justify perhaps about 0.1% higher taxes?

For just routine cleanings, sure. If you need work done it can get real expensive.

Re: Helsinki Relocation Package: City as a Service

#224

Post by reader_mode »

kaitai wrote: post #200
reader_mode wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coverage issues happen in EU with public insurance as well - years back one of my coworkers son had an eye tumour, the experts in country didn't want to treat him because they knew their equipment wasn't precise enough to treat it without blinding him, the medical insurance would not cover out-of-country treatment because the procedure could be performed in-country. He ended up asking for charity to pay for it out of…

My friend in graduate school (making $18k a year) had a baby who had some complications; the final bill was $1.5 million dollars. She was an immigrant from the Caribbean; her family there was reasonably paid by national standards there, but... $1.5 million is a lot to cover. And remember, the spouse can't cover you unless you're registered on their insurance. A few weeks in the NICU and a couple surgeries and there y…

Don't get me wrong - the situation sounds terrible and I'm sure the US health insurance system is pretty bad for a lot of people (at least it sounds like your friend got the treatment and can go through bankruptcy to clear off the debt) - but from OPs perspective, being covered by insurance on a good income - being in constant fear of medical bankruptcy sounds bizarre to me.

Re: Helsinki Relocation Package: City as a Service

#225

Post by justatdotin »

siavosh wrote: post #93
socialdemocrat wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is not like taxes disappear into a black hole never to be seen. Most of that money comes back to you in the form of services Americans would have to pay for anyway. What matters is what the taxes give you. A lot of American taxes don’t give people much of anything. Maintaining the worlds largest prison population is expensive but what exactly does that give the Average American? Worlds largest military also sucks…

I wish humanity didn't need a military but saying the world's largest military doesn't give anything back is a bit misleading. Some would argue the world's largest military enable the post WW2 order and with it the free trade that most of the world depends on. So in a very concrete way, the American tax payer subsidizes much of the world's economy. Now in a post cold war with the growing isolationist tendencies of Am…

That the rest of the world lives under the 'order' and 'free' trade imposed by the usa's overwhelming military power, goes beyond benefit or dependence: it's imposition.

Re: Helsinki Relocation Package: City as a Service

#226

Post by trevyn »

deanc wrote: post #190

Overall my experience in Helsinki has been hugely positive. I’ve been here now over a decade and have settled with work and family life. Work life balance is great, there’s a beautiful outdoors to enjoy all year, and the people are warm and kind, if not difficult to start with. All that said, there’s a lot of bullshit and hot air here in this thread: - public healthcare is great until you have something difficult to…

>I’ve been here now over a decade

What is your level of Finnish now, and how did that progress over the time you've been there?

Is English your first and only other language?

Re: Helsinki Relocation Package: City as a Service

#227

Post by justatdotin »

drevil-v2 wrote: post #179
socialdemocrat wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is not like taxes disappear into a black hole never to be seen. Most of that money comes back to you in the form of services Americans would have to pay for anyway. What matters is what the taxes give you. A lot of American taxes don’t give people much of anything. Maintaining the worlds largest prison population is expensive but what exactly does that give the Average American? Worlds largest military also sucks…

The American military that you scoff at is what gives Europe it's freedom. It did against the Nazis, against the USSR and now does against Russia and China. I just have this to say to the folks who despise the era of American power and hegemony, you are absolutely going to love the Chinese one. Good luck buddy posting similar comments about them in that world order.

I just have to say to the folks whose only defence of the american militarist empire is the threat of a chinese one, you are absolutely bankrupt.

Re: Helsinki Relocation Package: City as a Service

#228

Post by trevyn »

siavosh wrote: post #93
socialdemocrat wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is not like taxes disappear into a black hole never to be seen. Most of that money comes back to you in the form of services Americans would have to pay for anyway. What matters is what the taxes give you. A lot of American taxes don’t give people much of anything. Maintaining the worlds largest prison population is expensive but what exactly does that give the Average American? Worlds largest military also sucks…

I wish humanity didn't need a military but saying the world's largest military doesn't give anything back is a bit misleading. Some would argue the world's largest military enable the post WW2 order and with it the free trade that most of the world depends on. So in a very concrete way, the American tax payer subsidizes much of the world's economy. Now in a post cold war with the growing isolationist tendencies of Am…

Frankly, it it not a coincidence that Silicon Valley and companies like SpaceX are in the US. They are direct results of the military ecosystem that has developed there.

The classic reference is Steve Blank's "Secret History of Silicon Valley": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTC_RxWN_xo

Re: Helsinki Relocation Package: City as a Service

#229

Post by labster »

h0l0cube wrote: post #192
thehappypm wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US military is designed to defend 2 continents at once since Europe has shown zero interest in actually paying for its own military. Of course that’s going to be expensive as hell.

The US military is under no obligation to do so. Edit: People are getting caught on semantics here. Change 'is under no obligation' to 'not required' if you please. There's no pressure for the US to remain (see comment to reply for examples of the US breaking treaties). Perhaps there are incentives to stay that are privy to policy-makers, but are those incentives what the average tax-payer wishes for?

Yes, the US military is obligated to defend Europe under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.

Re: Helsinki Relocation Package: City as a Service

#230

Post by ianai »

nonfinn1039 wrote: post #209
socialdemocrat wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is not like taxes disappear into a black hole never to be seen. Most of that money comes back to you in the form of services Americans would have to pay for anyway. What matters is what the taxes give you. A lot of American taxes don’t give people much of anything. Maintaining the worlds largest prison population is expensive but what exactly does that give the Average American? Worlds largest military also sucks…

I keep hearing this myth about that US taxpayer dollars go mostly to the military. Sure it's a big ticket item, but half of it goes to social programs: 2019 (USD): - Health and Human Services: 1,215 Trillion(27%) - Social Security: 1,101 Trillion (25%) - Department of Defense: 658 Billion (14.7%) source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_budget

You can’t throw social security in there since that’s actually paid into from workers. Yes it’s a Ponzi scheme-government backed. That’s not the same thing as a money pit with no revenue incoming.
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