Reply #112: I believe this is a considerably more complex issue than painted by this article. [View All]

[DuaneBidoux]

I am not saying that this is not in general true but he has left out a number of issues that I believe are important.

I lived and worked in France for several years and if I had my choice I would go back in a heartbeat. For a variety of reasons beyond taxes I found the quality of life generally to be higher. It was more relaxed and every single thing done in life is not about the acquisition of "more." One of my favorite things of all was that just because a product didn't sell in mass quantity and make tons of money did not mean a product you liked would disappear from store shelves after 10 months. There isn't this pressure at work to spin the little wheels faster and faster just to keep your job (and then you get no reward for the resulting increase in productivity here).

But, taxes are high. It's just that they're high here to. Here it is state and local taxes that eat one alive. (In Houston where I live my $280,000 home is taxed at $9500 a year). And, I do believe to a large extent that European taxes are more regressive. I speak especially of VAT which has to be the single most regressive tax I have ever seen. Ironically, this cuts down on the kind of consumption I don't think is really good for the country and leads to a very high savings rate (I think it is like 10% of gross personal income for the French). The French are satisfied with one dvd player in one room, not one in every room.

Government consumption as a percentage of gdp is about 48%, which, anyway you measure it is fairly large. However, as the author points out, they don't have so many hidden taxes and they also don't, as he does not point out, have nearly as many vertical layers of government (e.g., city, county, state, federal) and what local government there is is for the largest part funded federally--thus we probably come close to the same once you have added all the layers up.

All this comes at a certain price in growth and flexibility, but unlike what the wingnuts portray here, it is a price they wish to pay. I have known a number of Europeans who live and work here, and contrary to what the right wing says, most are only to eager to go back after several years.