Ask HN: A US programmer makes 3 times that of a EU programmer. Why?

Re:Ask HN: A US programmer makes 3 times that of a EU progra... by jstx1 on Tuesday October 12, 2021 @07:00AM (#28838261)

> We pay for our national health insurance too and probably comparable to what Americans pay for their private.

To clarify something, in the UK there are two main deductions on personal income - income tax and National Insurance. National Insurance doesn't pay for healthcare, it pays for things like state pension and other support benefits - https://www.gov.uk/national-insurance/what-national-insuranc.... The National Health Service (NHS) is funded through taxes.

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Re:Ask HN: A US programmer makes 3 times that of a EU progra... by dogma1138 on Tuesday October 12, 2021 @11:59AM (#28841331)

NHS has access to some NI funding too about 20% of the NHS budget today comes from national insurance but oddly enough often in the forms of “loans”

https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/nhs-in-a-nutshell/how-...

National Insurance is also de facto a payroll tax in the UK and a pretty steep one at that it will be over 15% come April if the NIC increases are implemented as is.

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Re:Ask HN: A US programmer makes 3 times that of a EU progra... by shetill on Tuesday October 12, 2021 @07:26AM (#28838430)

thanks for clarifying I always thought NI contributes to NHS. Shame that it's not, makes sense now why NHS is in this state...

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Re:Ask HN: A US programmer makes 3 times that of a EU progra... by jstx1 on Tuesday October 12, 2021 @07:31AM (#28838471)

It also makes you wonder about NI itself. Have a look at what you're paying every month and how much you'll actually get for your state pension - it doesn't seem remotely worth it. And I get that it's a social service and it should cover the benefits for people who don't contribute - but it's a lot of money to pay for something you don't benefit from yourself.

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