this post was submitted on 14 Jul 2026
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Work Reform
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A place to discuss positive changes that can make work more equitable, and to vent about current practices. We are NOT against work; we just want the fruits of our labor to be recognized better.
Our Philosophies:
- All workers must be paid a living wage for their labor.
- Income inequality is the main cause of lower living standards.
- Workers must join together and fight back for what is rightfully theirs.
- We must not be divided and conquered. Workers gain the most when they focus on unifying issues.
Our Goals
- Higher wages for underpaid workers.
- Better worker representation, including but not limited to unions.
- Better and fewer working hours.
- Stimulating a massive wave of worker organizing in the United States and beyond.
- Organizing and supporting political causes and campaigns that put workers first.
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12.4%?!
*cries in dutch 49.5%
They are talking just about social security not full income tax, etc.
Yeah but at least you get something other than murdered brown people half the world away for your tax dollars.
They do murder brown people inside the country and nearby it's borders as well.
Fair enough
Oh no, do you feel unwell? Do you need to take paid personal leave from work to visit a free doctor?
This is normal in civilized countries.
*it's not free.
i pay (on top of my tax deductions) about monthly 150eur for health insurance, and on top of that a yearly 384 eur "eigen risico" (own risk). still better than the US, but free it is not.
If you are unable to afford to pay those additional costs, are you unable to access Healthcare?
Looks at the services your government provides you and compare it to America. That should help you feel a little better about the taxes you pay. We end up paying more to private corporations for the same or worse than your taxes pay for.
This is social security,
A big reason US taxes seem lower is because there are so many different taxes and we usually don’t aggregate
Google says you’re specifying the Dutch income tax rate, so it’s not comparable and the Dutch social security tax’s is “only” 27.5%
your "only" is doing some heavy lifting there :) but of course i wouldn't have it any other way.
Don't worry - I only take home half my pay as netpay, too, after deductions for tax and retirement and healthcare and have a $4k deductible before my health insurance kicks in.
So it's not paid in taxes, but works out the same.
As other mentioned its social security and Medicare tax. Social security tax ends after a point and Medicare tax continues (1.45% I think), hence the 2.2% effective tax rate.
What's missing is also the employer taxes, which are mirrored, this the cost of carrying employees in the US is higher than the gross wage... So the effective tax and real wage is all masked. (Eg if my salary is $100,000 I pay like $12k in social taxes and my employer also does the same, meaning the cost to the employer to hire me is $112,000)
All this said, the limit on social security tax is fucking stupid and needs to be abolished.