Maastricht Treaty revisions needed?

[Jester]

If you earn an average wage in the Netherlands, let's say 2,800 Euro per month (17.5 Euro per hour), then if the government takes 45% you'd be left with about $1540 (about $9.63 Euro per hour). So, is your time worth the higher wage, or not. Then a the highly taxed Netherlander, I'd ask myself, what is my return on my investment of about 1/2 my days labor. What it means is that you have about 1/2 the economic power you had before the government took its share away from you.

Pre-tax income is not context-free, and therefore is a very poor indicator of "economic power." It's not the amount you would earn, if only that meddling government didn't take anything away. It's an amount that includes both the expectation of taxation, and the productivity benefits of everything the government provides. Think of how much less people would be able to produce in the absence of roads, of defense, of a functional system of policing and laws. Now add the benefits of free education, health care, and so on. All of that increases productivity, and therefore wages, leading to a much higher level of pre-tax income.

-Jester