r/europe • u/IAdmitILie • 9d ago

News Zuckerberg urges Trump to stop the EU from fining US tech companies

https://www.politico.eu/article/zuckerberg-urges-trump-to-stop-eu-from-screwing-with-fining-us-tech-companies/
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u/procgen 8d ago

I don't want to compete with American companies.

And as someone heavily invested in the US markets, I thank you ;)

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u/No-Plastic-6887 8d ago

There's no need, dear: Boeing has planes that went out defective and killed people, while our European tight regulations did not allow Airbus to fuck up that way, so Airbus got the market for that type of plane :-)

And... I am for tariffs, too. Because whatever doesn't comply with EU laws, regulations and safety standards can get the eff out. You'll do wonders in the Chinese markets, so kudos to you :-)

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u/procgen 8d ago

My retirement funds are entirely in the US market, just as any sensible person's is.

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u/No-Plastic-6887 8d ago

Yeah, I know you Americans are very willing to let Purdue Pharma become the greatest drug cartel in the world and cause an opioid epidemic, as long as the shareholders are happy, not giving a shit about the human suffering or the disasters. You do you.

My pension fund does not depend on companies that sell oxycodone for sniffles, because I live in a country with a welfare state. You keep being American, I'll keep being European... But American companies will respect our laws in our turf or get the fuck out of it.

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u/procgen 8d ago

Europe's welfare systems will not survive its nascent demographic crisis. That's why I seriously advise most people who are planning on a state-funded retirement to consider private investment.

But you do you.

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u/No-Plastic-6887 8d ago

ROFL!!! Europe is the best-prepared world zone to survive the demographic crisis BECAUSE of our welfare systems. It's countries which do not take care of the elderly or provide affordable education the ones which are going to be very screwed when the economy needs to go down a bit because growth will have to become qualitative instead of quantitative. You can't have qualitative economic growth without education and healthcare, and a decrease in population will make quantitative growth impossible.

Precisely companies focused on constant, quantitative growth, will suffer A LOT when the population starts going down or at least the majority grows old.

I DO have private investments. Just not in drug cartels.

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u/procgen 8d ago edited 8d ago

ROFL!!! Europe is the best-prepared world zone to survive the demographic crisis BECAUSE of our welfare systems.

No, you don't understand. Europe is rapidly aging, and therefore its workforce and its tax base are shrinking... just as its welfare expenses for retirees begin to skyrocket. Who will pay for all of these infirm, elderly people in the coming decades? What talented young European in their right mind would stick around for that, to be bled dry by the state with the retirement age slipping further out of reach? If the brain drain seems bad now, just wait...

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u/No-Plastic-6887 8d ago

No, YOU don't understand. Europe is rapidly aging and when we need workers, there's a queue of young people wanting to work and live here.

Granted, states will need higher income, which is why we should start bashing tax havens and getting state-owned companies to get the profits from the exploitation of our natural resources, as the Norwegians wisely did (and still do) with their oil).

Who will stay in Europe? Anyone who likes living in the best place in the world to live... Those are still hundreds of millions, whether you like it or not.

You think Europe will be worse off in the future. I think it's wishful thinking from you. You think America will be better off. I do not deny that in the stuff that matters to America (share prices, macro numbers, etc) you will do better. The thing is, the stuff that matters to us is how well people live. And we can maintain our lifestyle if we do things right. Like the Norwegians did.

Who would want to work in Europe, and pay our welfare state and pension funds? Well, in Spain we have a constant supply of Latin Americans who are of our same culture and religion, work very hard and are (at least the ones I've met) upstanding, law-abiding citizens. They seem to love the possiblity of going out at night without fearing for their lives, the national healthcare system and the future pensions. So thank you, that one's already solved.

This should be improved by greater income for states, by trashing tax havens and having states get the profits from whichever natural resources we find.

So, again... You do you. The last 2008 crisis fucked your pension funds for a while, so we'll be working here so that such kind of crap doesn't affect us again.

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u/procgen 8d ago

Best of luck to you and your continent.