vilmosi

>>> Since then she’s chosen to make red lines the prevent rare Brexit (EFTA) because ECJ, medium rare Brexit (Swiss style pile of agreements) because no free moment, medium Brexit (Ukraine style deep and comprehensive free trade area) because ECJ, medium well Brexit (Turkey style EU Customs Union) because independent trade policy, and well done Brexit (WTO) because she ruled out the only solutions to the NI/RoI border that the EU doesn’t consider absurd.

I understand what you're saying but it's not what people voted for. She knows that, Corbyn (EU skeptic) knows that.

There were no discussions about soft vs hard brexit around the referendum, I was there.

Very few parties had your versions of Brexit in their manifesto. All of them lost. It's just not what the people want.

> I live in New York City. My taxes (as a percentage of my income) are substantially lower than they would be if I worked the same job in London, Berlin, Paris, Stockholm, Amsterdam, or any of the European cities that are considered to be "tech hubs

Got any numbers on this? I was under the impression that effective tax rate is pretty much the same (if not lower, depending on your income) in London vs New York [0]. Could be wrong.

[0]http://www.hopesandfears.com/hopes/city/city_index/168817-ta...

>>> As far as I'm concerned, none of those "problems" exist. I have no monthly premiums to pay, most copays are $0 or close to it, and I don't think twice about finding in-network providers.

Right, so it works like universal healthcare... Great. You forgot to mention your deductible. Is that 0 true? Is it 0 to most people?

> That's the case in most of Europe too, with the UK being the main exception. Most European companies use some form of private insurance or have out-of-pocket expenditures.

Except private insurance in Europe is basically subsidised by government programs, which is why they are so much cheaper than in the US. Also, co-pays may exit, but do deductibles? I'm not aware of that.

> It's much easier for me to book a specialist if I need to than it would be in any of those other cities

Sure. You can also just get extra private insurance in those countries too.

> No more waiting 3 months to see a specialist

I don't want to start a universal vs private debate, it's been done before. But private insurance as a job benefit exists independently of a government run program (mostly).

>>> So you end up with significantly higher salaries[0], much lower taxes, and comparable health benefits

If you're talking about Silicon Valley or New York, taxes won't be that different. And you'll get decent health insurance, sure. But it's still insurance (co-pays, premiums, only covered at these clinics etc)

>>> so be able to force through her version of Brexit

Wasn't her version "remain"? It's not like she can actually do anything but brexit.

I guess it depends on the country and timescale you're looking at. But they are increasing.

> yet still notorious for violent street crime

As a resident, I have to say I'm pretty surprised to hear this. Is London that different vs similar sized cities?

>>> We can't just throw out having nice things because they aren't "required."

I wouldn't assume driving for 30 min in traffic is "nicer" than a 30min train ride.

>>> I don't see anyone biking with shopping bags, even in the summer.

See, this is where cultures clash. You don't expect people with shopping bags in bike friendly European cities either. Why? Because they don't buy groceries for a week at a time.

>>> Sure they could raise prices, but you risk pricing customers out, and as the one restaurant owner discovered, customers will still spend the same amount by ordering less or cheaper items.

Wouldn't all their competitors face the same "problem"? So it wouldn't be a "problem" in the end?

If you're talking about national insurance, which is more or less fixed, then you are incorrect. The NHS is not funded by it. It's still payed by taxes but it's not a flat rate tax.

Actually, that's a good point. The initiator of the divorce shouldn't be assumed to be the cause.

In the same way, the only things he owes to "society" are fulfillment of those voluntary contracts.

I thought it took off because they managed to get celebrities on it.

The grand parent did the exactly the same thing.

> Just ask the tens of million of immigrants in this country who have done exactly that

You're not really disproving his/her point as you're ignoring the many millions more who fail to move in the first place.

Cineworld is £18/month, not 35/40.

I'm a bit baffled how you think that recording personal information of people you see from your porch, without even telling them what or why are you doing it, is anything but unethical.

Honestly, I don't think London buses have the same problems as US buses.

If you read the article, there's a bigger chance of getting E. Coli from greens...

Also, I believe that was a joke.

> In the US, you at least have the potential for autonomy to pay the best doctor you can find you to treat you as soon as possible.

You can do that in countries with universal healthcare too.

The higher taxes aren't there to cover healthcare costs though. The amount you pay in taxes for universal healthcare are lower than what you pay in the US for non universal public healthcare that you don't even use.

I don't know where you live now but private insurance is much cheaper in countries with universal healthcare. Probably because the insurance company only pays for "extras" that the existing system doesn't. They don't pay for ambulance rides for example.

Also, universal healthcare does not mean private insurance does not exist.

Drug costs are a fraction of healthcare costs though.

Insurance has co-pays, does it not? People who use ER as their primary medical care would avoid that if possible.

But China is closer to point #1 and they don't strive to do anything.

Well average IQ of the human population around the world has been increasing in the past decades if not centuries. And it's not because we're evolving within a few generations.

Wouldn't a country with vast access to hydro power be inclined to not invest in wind? And why cherry pick wind power anyway?

There's an entire industry around parsing logs though. Even "big data" companies outsource their log parsing.

Requiring every website to create graphs and stats from log files is not practical, especially with websites that don't have a constant developer on it. Think blogs, recipe websites, restaurants. Google Analytics provides an insanely good value for them and it's a good thing.

It's not like pre Google Analytics we had a golden age of website stats.

I'm not bothered by it. If websites see their engagement fall due to so many popups, maybe they'll stop asking for so many things that require consent. Come to think of it, maybe that's the point.