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What's funny is that in terms of welfare state, the median in the US isn't that different from the median in the EU. Funnier, nowadays the amount of taxes you pay in CA isn't much different from what you'd pay in EU/EEC member states with advanced economies.
It's a sad funny though, and I cannot help but feel that the biggest cause for all these geopolitical threats come from the inside more than the outside, again on both continents. Time will have to tell.
You remind me of a pattern I see from conservativea in Texas. Everytime I visit they talk like California is a communist hell hole where I pay a massive amount more in taxes. They talk Like it is North Korea. In reality it is more like a European country. I wish it wasn't but the reality is that Texas and most other states for many people aren't massively different. Few actually do the work to compare and figure out how much their choices are costing them. The size of the gap might surprise many.
Having worked with both, I often feel like even the politicians and high ranking state functionaries in Cali are very similar to German ones in their attitudes. Haha.
Its not all bad though, just there's a lot of waste that isn't getting addressed. Lots of ambition. Not always of the kind that actually helps people.
the amount of taxes you pay in CA isn't much different from what you'd pay in EU/EEC member states with advanced economies.
Hmm, not sure about that. Where are you getting that. Do most EU member states have progressive tax rates as we do here? Your income level makes a massive difference here.
And are you calculating total tax and fees in the EU including VAT and licensing fees. Not saying California has low taxes but many people are clueless about how comparable it is with other states depending on your income level.
A few years ago I did a comparison for myself regarding my cost of living in about 5 US states and was suprised by how comparable some states were to California on the tax/fee front. Most people read articles that generalize and go off that. Fine for a general idea but the devil is in the details.
I say this not to defend the dysfunctional state of California but rather to correct a misperception that other state don't have absurd states wasting resources as well. Its just easy to mock California vs admit your own home is not far behind it. Well on its way to being dysfunctional.
Yes, its all progressive tax on the income tax side in Europe, so the theft happens mostly on the top incomes.
VAT is shitty in EU for anything deemed luxury. Soft drinks are luxury in most countries but depending on where you are, so are many lactose free milk replacements.
I took CA as an example but you are right that the profile is not exclusive at all.
To be clear, my intent was to mock left Americans regarding how they view Europe as some socialist utopia we can't have because of the dumb hicks in the US.
Its not. And they aren't a monolith.