It is in large part a tech problem though. The solution may or may not be more tech, but a huge part of the problem is the explosion of new tech uncoupled from any assessment of social good.

I’d estimate a tech CEO understands the problem at hand better than an octogenarian lawyer, at any rate.

Cries in European. Looking at you California tech dudes fleeing California because paying 13% income tax is 'too much'.

>Looking at you California tech dudes fleeing California because paying 13% income tax is 'too much'.

I'm 100% sure this is the political narrative being pushed in order to reduce California's taxes, but most people I know are moving because of housing costs, not taxes.

housing costs are just a privately run tax scheme.

By that logic you could say that about anything that costs money, and is “compulsory”. Are food costs a privately run tax scheme?

I don’t think people who are fleeing CA are in the 13% tax bracket. Federal + state tax is around 40% for most engineers I know.

I see your Californian 40%, and raise you our belgian 60%, excluding VAT.

What's your point? That different places have different social arrangements and tax regimes?

“

Each month the employer pays a considerable amount on top of your salary into the social security fund. The employee also pays a proportion of his gross salary in social security contributions. This fund is then used to pay social security:

    allowances in the event of sickness
    unemployment benefits
    allowances in the event of incapacity for work through sickness or invalidity
    allowances in the event of accidents at work
    allowances in the event of industrial disease
    family allowances
    pensions

”

https://www.belgium.be/en/family/social_security_in_belgium

And what about healthcare? “Healthcare in Belgium is composed of three parts. Firstly there is a primarily publicly funded healthcare and social security service run by the federal government, which organises and regulates healthcare; independent private/public practitioners, university/semi-private hospitals and care institutions. There are a few (commercially run for-profit) private hospitals.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_Belgium

I imagine this is all very different to how things are in California. So why are you comparing them?

Regarding VAT, at least where I'm from VAT is not levied on essential goods afaik. Secondly, some proponents of VAT claim it is a "fairer" tax than say income tax. One of Andrew Yang's ideas to fund UBI was to bring VAT to the USA (I am aware that VAT does exist to some extents in the States.)

So basically, what's your point?

There's no point.

Does that 60% include property tax?

> We would all be paying 30% income tax.

Only during the first year. Apple does cut it down to 15% - I guess after first year.

There's this also - https://www.imore.com/apple-reducing-app-store-cut-15-vast-m...