71–80 of 92 posts
public means public, if something is paid for by tax money, it should be licensed for public use
I was about to call that the Rundfunkbeitrag is not legally a tax (Steuer), but a tax (Beitrag). For some reason that difference does not seem to exist in English and it translates to the same word??
public means public, if something is paid for by tax money, it should be licensed for public use
This often a complicated case regarding competition law. In our neoliberal world giving away something for free that was subsidized is often seen as destroying market. The national CIO of Germany at one time recommended public bodies to us copyleft (also the EC opted for EPL) , rather than putting it into public domain. I also like this idea. However, this is fundamentaly different from the US. The German weather ser…
Here in Israel they just upload most of their TV content to YT, some if it is really good. They used to also stream (and archive) their news stuff, but for some reason I'm getting a 404. (You can look up Kan11 and Kan11news if you are curious, though I don't think they have translations so probably not useful if you don't speak Hebrew). EDIT: Looks like it is only broken for me in FireFox...
They did upload there, but fortunately it was available elsewhere too.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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Sigh. I know that dunking on the EU is increasingly a HN meme because most of you lot work for companies that feel threatened by governments with teeth, but “governments waste money!!!” in as much as it is an accurate stereotype is not localised to the EU by any means.
public means public, if something is paid for by tax money, it should be licensed for public use
I was about to call that the Rundfunkbeitrag is not legally a tax (Steuer), but a tax (Beitrag). For some reason that difference does not seem to exist in English and it translates to the same word??
Duty. (like stamp duty)
Fee.
Licence/License. (maybe like the BBC licence fee?)
Levy. (see below)
There is also the concept of the hypothicated tax. The only exemplar I know is the Australian Medicare levy, the money is solely to be used, and spent on Medicare, and no other purpose enshrined in law. People often claim petrol tax was designed to pay for roads infrastructure but it wasn't legally bound, and is not a hypothicated tax. Nor is the ULEZ and like costs to drive in the inner city with a petrol engine. They are designed to discourage use of ICE not to pay for them.
public means public, if something is paid for by tax money, it should be licensed for public use
This often a complicated case regarding competition law. In our neoliberal world giving away something for free that was subsidized is often seen as destroying market. The national CIO of Germany at one time recommended public bodies to us copyleft (also the EC opted for EPL) , rather than putting it into public domain. I also like this idea. However, this is fundamentaly different from the US. The German weather ser…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> From my understanding they're doing so because the content is paid for by public money, and YouTube is a foreign for-profit company. So they were essentially spending the citizens money to provide content to a private entity that's headquartered abroad That's one thing, but IIRC the larger part was that the private broadcasters whined as they always do.
Just like they whined about one of the best public funded and free weather apps out there and sued them: DWD https://www.dwd.de/DE/presse/pressemitteilungen/DE/2020/2020...
I've since been encouraging everyone I know to do the same, and I never forget to tell this backstory.
Besides, DWD is hands down the single best weather app in the DACH region anyway.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It doesn't exist because the distinction is meaningless. The government forcing you to pay money to a government (adjacent) institution is a tax for all practical purposes.
But there's a difference: A Beitrag is bound to a well defined objective which means it is determined what the money will be used for at the moment it is collected whereas a Steuer contributes to the household as such. Also, public TV is not controlled by the government but by a council that is more or less democratic. Still far from perfect, sure
Of the countries I lived in, the quality of the broadcasting and reporting in Germany has been the better one so far.
And when you see the flow of vomit produced by most of the private television in the countries around, you realise that the compromise is not perfect, but it's nonetheless miles ahead of most other options.
You also quickly realise that most private channels are owned by powerful players pushing their own agenda, which can bring even more bias and one-sidedness.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
yes, but it continued: ca. 2015, you have to pay it anyway, with no exemptions ca. 2020, they start randomly sending out delay penalties, even if you are late by days, without ever notifying you of the due dates ca. 2022, they sneakily shift the 3-months fee forward, first you can pay it at the end of the period, then in the middle month, then soon at the beginning meanwhile, the programming gets worse and worse ever…
If you vote for fascists - whose lead candidates seem to be spying for Russia and China - because of a 17€ license fee per month, then you should reevaluate your perspective on the public broadcasting system and on money.