Hacker News Reader

But that is 20% not 100%. And in most non retarded countries brutto is actually brutto, because there is no need to lie to people about how much the government takes away

View on HN

The 100% figure is coming from the comment above mine, actually. As for the rest of your comment, your assessment is noted.

Historically, this has nothing to do with lying, but is all about the founding idea of the social security system that all parties (workers, employers, state) carry part of the burden. Employers were supposed to pay their fair share because they also benefitted from the system (a sick or injured employee is not a productive one). Or saying it differently: the employer pays an insurance premium to reduce the effects of sickness. That premium is tied to the „value“ of the employee as measured by their salary.

There is plenty to improve with the system but to call it „retarded“ considering how much good it has brought to the world seems quite wrong to me. I don’t want to work in the pre-Bismarck era

Reply on news.ycombinator.com