this post was submitted on 29 Apr 2024
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It sort of makes sense. A stronger EU safety net means less burden of future proofing lands on each employee. That's bound to make those employees more competitive.
In the US, I have to consider the possibility of an uncovered black swan medical event in my family's future, since our medical safety nets are poor. As someone who can demand more money, you bet your ass that my employer gets to pay for ways to reduce that risk to me.
If I were a EU citizen, I suspect I wouldn't be worrying about it, or carrying so much insurance.
But you would be, you'd just be paying for it in taxes instead of your pocket. If you're middle class, you're paying for it either way. I don't know how those are funded in the EU, but you're either paying for it through corporate taxes (i.e. lower salary), income taxes, consumption taxes, etc.
Comparing apples to apples here is quite difficult because of the complexity of such systems, but I wouldn't be surprised if it comes out to a similar number.
No, you don’t have to have a large amount of reserves, because it’s paid as part of the salary regardless. If you’re fired, you don’t have to pay it any more, even though you can still benefit from it.
It’s not dead cash sitting in an account on the bank, it’s in constant flow.
The same is true in the US, I invest my HSA funds, and I can sell if there's a major medical emergency or something. The main issue is having to pay for insurance regardless of employment, but ACA subsidies are pretty good for that (I was unemployed for the better part of a year and paid very little).
IMO, if you're middle class, it's largely a wash.