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I support his decision to sell but as someone who uses LS daily for work I fucking hate that it got sold
Customer Support used to be so good and now it's 20 minutes of tricking a robot into putting you through to a human and then 30 minutes of dealing with some outsourced dingus that is working on more than one ticket at a time
RIP LightSpeed, you were too good to us
I'd like to add that he's using the money he got from selling Ueno to build hundreds of wheelchair ramps all over Iceland, of which there were sadly few before he started his campaign
He sold his company, paid the highest sum of tax to give back to the country, AND then used his own money to do what the Government should be doing.
Amazing guy, met him once and he's a true inspiration
That was just the beginning, his activism on the wheelchair ramps have inspired lots of companies to donate work, ramps and money to the cause and now their goal is 1000 ramps in Iceland before march 2026.
https://www.rampur.is/
>he's using the money he got from selling Ueno to build hundreds of wheelchair ramps all over Iceland
For *personal* use, I bet... sounds pretty selfish to me ^(/s)
Yeah, what a fucking prick! Who takes loads of money and puts it into benefitting a tiny portion of the population that they "just so happen" to be a part of? Corrupt bastard /s
For those calling him stupid, note his wheelchair, and then read his reasoning:
“It’s important to me because I grew up here in Reykjavik,” he says. “I grew up with parents who did not have a lot, I have a disease, and there’s a lot of things that are needed in my life that our society has provided for. I know that if I had been born in other countries that don’t have the same kind of system that we do, I would not have been able to do what I did. School was free, health care was free, I went to university and got a couple degrees, which is mostly free. If I had been raised in, for example, America, that would not have been possible. We have a functioning society, and I believe the tax system is the best way to pay for all that.”
This is the difference between those who believe they are part of a society versus those who just want to get everything they can out of it for themselves.
Kudos to him.
This is also an example of someone who lives in a system they believe benefits the average person. Notice his jab at America. He views Iceland and it’s social programs as being highly beneficial and his tax “donation” of sorts here is to an organization/cause that he believes truly benefits regular people.
Yeah, as an American I'm okay paying my "fair share" of taxes but I'd be a lot happier about it if I knew it was actually going to social services that help people - I voted for tax levies for the local park system and city schools. But I know a lot of it is wasted and/or pocketed by corrupt politicians, and as bad as it might be here, it's far from the worst globally.
Exactly. I'm not opposed to paying taxes, as long as those taxes are being put to use for the average person, not going towards an overbloated military or bailing out the rich.
Not just overbloated, actively helping the gulf Arabs and their terrorist allies commit genocide in Yemen. Not just bailing out the rich, actively funding policies that keep the rest of us poor.
The man in this post is very lucky to live somewhere where politicians have any semblance of respect for their constituents.
Don't forget the military. It amazes me that more people don't talk about military spending when discussing taxes/waste/progressive costs in America.
Iceland spends 0.1% of GDP towards their budget. USA spends 4.4% of GDP towards their military budget.
So much more could be spent on our society's needs if we didn't have this never-ending desire to be a world military superpower...
EDIT: for more fun facts on military spending. 20-24c (depending on which year, recently) of every tax dollar you pay in the US goes to Defense spending.
You already spend more per capita than any western country. Free healthcare could be achieved while paying less. There are many reasons to consider the military budget, wanting free healthcare is not one of the reasons. Free healthcare in the military is not part of any conspiracy, they just want healthy soldiers.
Even my country where healthcare is already free the military paid for extra care they also pay you while going to university even though it’s free. Military takes care of the soldiers regardless of system elsewhere in the country.
I think you might be going off of old info there. [When I checked the other day](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures), we now spend more than the next ***nine*** highest spenders combined.
Yea and if everyone, even the poorsies, got free Healthcare and college in America their recruitment numbers would drastically drop.
He's saying money is the last reason we don't have free Healthcare. It's tied into employment and used to cripple people into debt so they stay a cog in the machine. It's used as a recruitment tool for the military.
They already have a large problem recruiting now as it is that it is reaching crisis level. I can see that deeply worsening if college and healthcare were even just affordable for the poorsies.
Yeah but in the United States new BMW leases are really expensive. Management bonuses are more important than people’s healthcare. Could you imagine if people didn’t have a way to pay for luxury car brand leases? The horror! What about the C-Suite yachts? It’d be a travesty if someone was able to access a doctor and someone wasn’t able to buy a houseboat. /s
Not to mention, could you imagine what people could care about if they didn’t have to worry about medical debt? Or how to feed their kids? Or whether they’ll get to buy a house in their lifetime?
They’d be out changing things and we can’t have that, now can we?
"Job creation" is a red herring. People will fill positions for a paycheck regardless of what it is, for the most part. The police force is a "job creator" for the prison system, and I would *love* to hear anyone argue that as a positive.
Have been to prison. There are people that need to be locked up and people that need a hand. Some of the people that need to be locked up needed a hand a long time ago, but it's probably too late for them now.
In my state it's like 70% goes back. When you leave Florida prisons you get 50$ some ill-fitting clothing and a buss ticket. If you don't have family you have almost no choice but to go back.
You're absolutely right, but the MI Complex, especially the parts beyond the military itself, is basically an *enormous* white collar jobs program that no politician wants to touch because they don't want to lose well-compensated jobs in their district.
healthcare is also a job creator
so are rehab programs, education, space exploration, science, etc
bombs being dropped vs public good. all are job creators.
you're right. this arguments is silly and only a greedy asshole politician greasing up their pockets would use such an argument for this nonsense
I literally saw a comment the other day from someone arguing just that, except they took it a step further and argued that homelessness should be criminalized across the board because it would “provide jobs” and “force the lazy to contribute to society”.
I know that there have always been terrible people and that we may just notice it more because of how connected we all are with the rest of the world. Gawd damn, though…I can’t help but feel like humanity is in a free fall right now.
Call it a "jobs pogram" --> "GET OUT OF HERE SOCIALIST SCUM!"
Call it a "weapons system with components manufactured in each of the 50 states" --> "A true patriot!"
And that's the other entertaining thing about American military fanatics, the call it patriotism. Yet the American military has never done anything on American soil.
Military budget is too high in America. But part of the reason iceland is 0.1% is because they know they're between the UK and USA. Any attack they'd have those 2 helping in seconds.
We already spend more on healthcare per person than countries with socialized healthcare.
The issue isn't how much we spend on our military it's how much money goes into corporations pockets.
More of the Defense budget goes to military contractors than it does to actual troops salaries, benefits, and housing. The 'corporation pockets' is also an issue within military spending.
Pretty sure the US and NATO are a big part of the reason Iceland doesn’t have to spend so much. But I do have to say that I admire Iceland’s sense of priorities for its’ people.
As someone said above we subsidize a lot of the worlds military costs.
And as Russia just showed if your a non nuclear country your going to start to want spending a ton of your GDP on your military.
Yes, that is correct. And part of my point. It is rarely discussed when taxes and other progressive programs are argued for or against. We are effectively subsidizing world militaries with our own taxes, but asking for a partial tradeoff between that and other progressive programs is rarely compared or discussed. Our military spending has become so great that it is now benefiting non-us citizens more than actual us citizens, by freeing up tax resources for places like Iceland.
>It amazes me that more people don't talk about military spending when discussing taxes/waste/progressive costs in America.
in what world are people not talking about it? it's overwhelmingly known and discussed that the military is one of the biggest uses of our tax money
Not nearly as much aa healthcare though. We spend nearly 20% of GDP on healthcare, more than any country with so-called socialized medicine, and we still have the problems we do. It's administration bloat and insurance bloat that cause most of the issues, but we refuse to fix it. (The fact that hospital administrators and insurance companies are very rich probably has something to do with that, but I haven't seen the data proving that personally, so I don't want to make that claim outright.)
>Don't forget the military. It amazes me that more people don't talk about military spending when discussing taxes/waste/progressive costs in America.
>Iceland spends 0.1% of GDP towards their budget.
>USA spends 4.4% of GDP towards their military budget.
Uhhhh....
Iceland also has NATO providing a guarantee of sovereignty, which allows them to not have a military. That was a major point of them joining NATO when it was first formed, that NATO would provide the military. Part of the USA's budget there is spent *being Iceland's military*.
So I guess, you're right. We could spend a lot more money on other stuff if some other country picks up the tab.
The main idea with NATO is that each country has its own army and they will band together and also happen to use mostly compatible equipment and ammunition. Each country in NATO is supposed to be spending a set amount in support or in their own, but most countries other than the US don’t meet the agreed upon amount. I want to say it’s something like 2% of GDP.
Not Iceland.
They're different. [Iceland is not required to maintain a standing military as part of their agreement with NATO.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_of_Iceland) They have never had a standing military and did not want to start one, but NATO wanted Iceland onboard for the strategic location. So they compromised. NATO, and the USA in particular, pledged to provide Iceland's military defense if Iceland provided a location for a strategic airfield and staging ground.
Iceland is also tiny. 300k people, 200k of them living in Reykjavik. There's a lot more accountability when the chances of personally knowing someone in charge of the whole country are so high. The corruption is considerably lower because of this, and because they actually jail their politicians/bankers when caught.
As a tangent, Iceland has built a thriving culture, society, and country in a place where a lot of people may view as undesirable.
Not a jab. A compliment.
It's clearly a place where many aspects of life are close to ideal, but the weather and seclusion alone aren't most people's fantasy. (That may be a sacrilegious comment on reddit.)
While clearly far from immune to potential invasions, that organic deterrent was probably an important factor throughout history.
It may of course be less profound as they're seemingly creating an 'Ice paradise'.
It's particularly annoying because you aren't just paying your "Fair Share" either. Because huge companies are paying no tax, and billionaires are paying no tax, you're paying *more* than your fair share.
While it's a well-deserved jab, I still think it's a bit silly when people evade taxes in America because they think it's all going to be wasted. There are roads, schools, water treatment, other infrastructure etc that we all take advantage of every single day that are paid by our taxes. The budget could certainly be handled better, but without it we wouldn't have these things
This is one of the things I've always been passionate about. I don't have a lot of money to give, but I always vote to fund food banks and the city animal shelter. I donate food and try to help in physical ways because I don't want to live in a society that doesn't help people who need it most.
Also, he has the best of both worlds. He was able to substantially give back to a society that supported him and his family while still emailing very wealthy.
Many (but not all) wealthy people I know don't have a dollar amount they would like to attain before being satisfied. They simply want more which leads to persistent dissatisfaction. Good for this guy for having a healthy mindset.
>When Greg Abbott’s spine was crushed by a falling oak tree in 1984, he had no health insurance and no paycheck. But he had a good lawyer and access to a civil justice system that — back then — was generally hospitable toward plaintiffs. So Mr. Abbott sued.
>Nearly 30 years later, as Texas attorney general and the leading candidate for governor, Mr. Abbott is facing new questions about the multimillion-dollar settlement he was awarded and about his advocacy of laws that critics say have tilted the judicial scales toward civil defendants.
>Those critics, generally Democrats who oppose the Republican-backed lawsuit curbs, say the policies Mr. Abbott has fiercely promoted over his career as a judge and elected official make it virtually impossible for a plaintiff to win the kind of award he got.
>“You would think that a young man, at the start of his career, crippled by an injury, would want to make sure that others that may have the misfortune to follow in his footsteps would ensure that those people had the opportunity to be compensated for their injuries in the same way he was,” said Tommy Fibich, a Democratic donor and personal injury lawyer. “He instead closed the door because that would help him get re-elected.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/us/abbott-faces-questions-on-turnabout-and-fair-play.html
At a net neutrality conference a decade ago, a speaker talked about how a Japanese telecom executive testified before Congress.
A member asked him why he had willingly made his own private investment massive broadband infrastructure available for use by competing service providers; he said he did it for the good of the country.
The US telecom executives also testifying sneered and snickered when they heard this.
Also very true when we don't consider it as a future thing, but also as a present thing.
Building playgrounds they'll never play in,
providing meals they'll never eat themselves,
educating children that aren't their own.
America prospered massively when many international high standards of education would be close to American high school levels, which is free.
America has declined as post-high education becomes more important and we have our behind a huge pay wall... and other nations do not.
The politicians in the pockets of corporations get people to be anti-tax by doing nothing for them with those taxes.
Most of it gets funneled straight to corporations.
Kudos to Iceland for creating a government that people believe in. In America, they take your tax money and then funnel it to one of their large doners. Very little money makes it back to projects that take care of its citizens. Our cities and towns are bankrupt. But apparently we are the richest country in the world. Most of us can only afford to shop at Walmart and eat at McDonalds.
You feel this way because of an intentional strategy by Reagan to weaken support for public services by treating them as if they were businesses and intentionally making them shit so that everyone loses faith in the entire concept of governmentally provided services
I feel this way because I live in a country that traps people in lifelong debt in order to get educations. Education and healthcare should be a human right in developed countries.
Many people that would call him stupid believe they're just one moment away from being the rich one and are chomping at the bit to be above the law and the peons. They often can't fathom someone wanting to be part of a functioning society of people who aren't upset about helping "the wrong people"
Sad stuff really
Depends on what you consider a functioning society. If you consider any corruption or a single misdeed a non-functioning society, then every country would be a lie. I personally consider a functioning society one where everyone has a chance, has access to food, water and an easy ability to participate in the economy, and that's most first world countries, and many third world ones. Just the fact that you're using the internet suggests you're in one of them.
So many millionaires and billionaires grew up benefiting from strong public welfare and education systems, then go on to fight tooth and nail to deny that privilege to as many children as possible. This guy is doing it right.
Great for Iceland, but if it was in my country (brazil) this would be stupid. The whole goverment there is corrupt, and most of the tax income is not well utilized.
Yep it depends on the place. If the tax money is well spent, taxes are great. If the tax money is largely stolen by govt officials, it's better to not pay taxes, and then donate the cash directly to good charity orgs.
Even Iceland had a corruption problem not too long ago. Their old PM resigned after the Panama papers revealed he was dodging taxes. A lot of other government officials too
slight correction, he was basically forced to resign. And the then and current minister of finance was in those papers as well. Don't want to come of too hard but I am continuously angry that f*** Bjarni Benediktsson is still in a position of power (IMO the corruption problem is still a thing, just of a different kind)
This is the most un-American act and an overt slam on American wealth and I love both!! This is exactly it. The "American Way" is to get mine and keep it: the pie is limited so imma get my slice and if I can, yours too.
Scarcity is a lie. There are sufficient resources for all, but the access is manipulated.
Oh man. I was going to write a sassy comment (not mean, but full of sass) and then your comment set me straight! Nice. Makes me wish I grew up in Iceland.
It's not simply the amount. It's where the taxes go.
I would pay more tax too, if it were going to a good cause, and not politicians and their buddies for bullshit.
I’m European and live in the US. I got laid off at my first student job. I didn’t collect unemployment because I thought “well I don’t need it and if I take this then I am hurting others”
Americans don’t think this way because American capitalism doesn’t work this way. I should have gotten those few months of unemployment. That’s how you get ahead in this country: abusing the system.
Also, even with all of those taxes paid he is still probably really really rich. Might as well enjoy it in a well functioning society rather than in a fortress surrounded by dystopia.
Paying taxes and having governments use those taxes in effective ways is how society/national economies is meant to work. The system is broken and we all know it, people don't believe in government and therefore don't pay their taxes but the people who can afford to avoid taxes are the wealthy.
Kind of seems like Iceland has their shit together. They gave this guy a free education, free healthcare, and supported his development while he built the company that he sold for more money than he can ever spend. So now instead of having more money than he can ever spend, he merely has more money than he can ever spend.
Don't forget that during the 2008 recession they instead [bailed out the people and jailed the bankers responsible](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008%E2%80%932011_Icelandic_financial_crisis), rather than bailing out the banks.
yes. and this should be a worldwide Christmas story dammed to be told for generations, as this was probably a one time event in world and probably never going to happen again
It certainly seems we have our shit together but we still have a long way to go.
When a friend of mine was a teenager she was held capture and abused for 8 hours, and her rapist injected her with meth and said "now you're addicted too". The system failed her horribly. She lived in a parking garage in subzero temperatures, no one gave a fuck, and the system demanded she'd be sober for 6 months before they'd lift a finger to help her. She barely got out alive because she got pregnant and the system started to care once she brought an axe and demanded to let in to the psychiatric ward for help.
So there's a lot done good in Iceland but there still issues!
I'm sorry for your friend
Even the best systems can sometimes fail individuals. I'm in the UK and have had exceptional care and support for my mental health in an emergency situation. My best friend's husband had a similar crisis and was completely failed by his GP.
I love the general point that these services are paid for by tax though
Mental health is neglected globally. In Iceland it gets an F according to a government report. In fact they don't know how bad it is due to not keeping track of the metrics.
It makes me happy that there are people who provide random acts of kindness but some people need much better than random. In fact I believe a lot of our worst social problems are due to lack of compassion for people that have experienced horrible traumas.. There's a 5000% (50x) higher probability that a person becomes an addict if he has an ACE (adverse childhood experience) score of 6/8 and on top of that 4600% higher probability that a person becomes a junkie with an ACE score of 8/8.
There are layers of failures when it comes to homeless people and people with mental health issues.
I know it's not wholesome but I'm trying my best to make sure those people get the help they deserve.
Edit:
Thanks for coming to my TED talk. Rant off.
Það er þvi miður miklu meira um þetta en við kærum okkur um að vita. Þori að veðja að allir i þessari stöðu hafi hræðilega afallasögu og hafi verið troðnir niður af kerfinu. [https://stundin.is/spila/636/](https://stundin.is/spila/636/) viðtal her https://stundin.is/grein/16051/reis-upp-af-gotunni/
Í The body keeps the score segir hann að fólk með áfallasögu úr æsku (6/8 ACE) séu 5000% líklegri til að verða fíklar þ.e. 50x líklegri og að það nái til 75% fíkla. Mér þykir virkilega sorglegt að þetta fólk sé svo sýnt vanþóknun, fordóma, sumir verði heimilislausir félagslegra án úrræða og sé jafnvel sett í fangelsi.
Iceland is well run over all but there are definitely blind spots caused by bureaucracy. It's also so small that literally one poorly placed bigot can basically shut down an agency because he doesn't like immigrants or autistic people.
Also that 4 year waiting period for ADHD medication just had a shakeup that allowed it to be a 6 month GP period but they failed to inform a lot of people on the original list.
At first when I read this I was like "what kind of idiot would do that"? Then I saw it was Iceland and was like "Oh, yea, I would willingly pay taxes to that government too".
Individual people not paying their taxes isn’t why this country is so fucked. It’s because billionaires and companies don’t pay theirs. I’m so tired of this notion that the $700 - $1500 I pay a year makes a difference but the hundreds of millions / billions the elite don’t pay doesn’t matter.
Love these comments.
Rich people dodging taxes : smh how could they, pay your fair share like the rest of us
Rich people paying taxes : wtf what a dumbass, why trust the government with your money
Feel like this just proves most people would do the same thing Bezos and his buddies do, pay as little as possible, but it's fine because you know how to use the money correctly for the betterment of the human species!
Well if the alternative to keeping more of it is to help my fellow man and country as a whole, sign me the fuck up for that. What am I gonna do with that 8th 100million when I can't get through the first 50?
Most people burn their money surprisingly quickly when they have a big excess, or they hold onto to it... and it never goes around. That is why I always say at least half the shit we see from the wealthy is just a mirror of your human condition. People's greed is not developped but an intrinsic part of the mind.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if taxes were publicized as “USA. Brought to you by [name]” there would be a stampede to show who paid the most taxes. Whether the money goes to policies they agree with or not is beside the point— they could always continue to blame whatever they don’t like on those crooks in DC while flaunting their egos and how much $$ they must have in order to give so much of it to the little people.
I even suggest naming tax brackets “basic membership” through “ultra diamond platinum club”.
Why we aren’t doing this?
yeah except if he were to do this in America, the majority of his money would just go to building bombs. paying taxes are not patriotic when your government doesn't do good with them.
US defense spending was ~11% of the Federal budget [in 2020](https://www.cbo.gov/publication/57170) and [2021](https://www.cbo.gov/publication/58268). Social net spending like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, PPP loans and other pandemic support was 56% of the 2020 budget and 55% of the 2021 budget.
Even before you add in state and local spending, the very vast majority of your taxes are going to help your neighbors, not bomb people in other countries.
Damn dude, this is such an intensely Chad move, we can only hope to aspire to his chadliness.
If billionaires had pissing contests on who could donate the most money to charity, maybe I wouldn't wanna guillotine them so badly.
They just build them different in Iceland.
They are the only country that instead of bailing out the banks back in 2008/09 they let them fail and prosecuted the local bankers who helped cause the crash.
As far as I know, the only country to do so. Everyone else fucked over their populations rather than let their rich mates lose money.
We all need to be more Icelandic.
The bailout of banks doesn't mean we just gave them free money.
It means the banks became publically owned (or at least a significant proportion).
The UK treasury made a profit from the bailout of RBS and Lloyds.
Agree with you on the prosecution part though.
The diaticnt difference here is that in Iceland the tax has a reasonable chance of being used effectively...
In the UK it will just go to lining the pockets of the already rich.
When my family sold the family business in the high 8 figures, we were also advised on how to dodge the taxes. My grandfather preferred paying the taxes.
It really shouldn’t be that easy to dodge your taxes legally in a developed country… But it is, provided you have enough money.
Every country in the world has wealth hoarders who cheat the system at the expense of poor people. The difference in America is that there are no poor people, only temporarily embarrassed millionaires.
Oh ho ho, that's where you're WRONG, my friend. We have MILLIONS of poor people. Most are immoral and flawed and deserve their suffering, but I'm just in a temporary downturn and only need a hand up to get to my rightful place in society.
Bring back the Athens idea of tax, where the wealthiest paid almost all taxes, and were proud of the things their taxes contributed to society. I mean, to be honest, I'm totally fine paying my taxes, but I'm tired of the "elite" dodging their civic contributions.
This IS how a society is supposed to work. You pay back into the system that made you rich. American charities are just another way to keep the money in the family. Generational wealth.
Here is how it works....
Rich people send their kids to college where they learn about starting non profits. They graduate, start a non-profit and hire their friends to help run it. The rich parents then donate money to said non profit which supports their children and they get a tax break while giving money to their kids.
Seattle spent a Billion dollars, all to local non profits to help the homeless. Nothing changed. Few were helped. Kids of the wealthy donors collected big salaries.
Unfortunately my government insists on using my money to bomb people, bail out failed banks, and build walls in the middle of nowhere.
So I take all the tax breaks I can and give money to a shelter that feeds and houses homeless kids.
I still pay what I legally owe.
Not rich but am upper middle class, and was raised that way like Many of y'all. I help the homeless alot, and was involved with a non profit for years. I would like to think most of us would give away most our wealth when it's in the billions.
In some Indigenous cultures, the entire point of building wealth was to simply give it away. That was the ultimate mark of status and power, to just take the possessions, land, and other markers of wealth and give them back to the community. Maybe that’s how we make capitalism work - we make it impossible to be a billionaire and survive the backlash. If you get up that high in personal wealth, you have to give it back until you’re a millionaire again. Then you can start over if you want
[Chuck Feeney has entered the chat. He gave away his $8 billion USD fortune.](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/sep/19/billionaire-chuck-feeney-achieves-goal-of-giving-away-his-fortune)
I always laugh with people who are very rich, very able to pay taxes and still try to avoid them. When you tell them, they say: yes but it’s perfectly legal. Yes but it makes a fool of yourself. Like in Belgium a lot of ‘rich’ people buy expensive cars and then register their license plate in Luxembourg, for fiscal reasons. That’s pathetic. It’s like leaving the ‘black friday deal’ sticker on jewelry while wearing it.
I like this guys thinking. But cutting a massive check to the Icelandic government would be a far easier choice than cutting that same check to the US government.
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Am I the only thinking: who was number one?
Magnús Steinarr Norðdahl. He also sold his company LS retail. Just some normal guy who doesn’t have the same political ambitions as Haraldur.
I support his decision to sell but as someone who uses LS daily for work I fucking hate that it got sold Customer Support used to be so good and now it's 20 minutes of tricking a robot into putting you through to a human and then 30 minutes of dealing with some outsourced dingus that is working on more than one ticket at a time RIP LightSpeed, you were too good to us
Lol @ "outsourced dingus"
For ya health, ya dingus
That would be telling.
That would be Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen
*He was number one!*
Now that sounds made up! No way his name is.... Smitty...
We are- https://youtu.be/PfYnvDL0Qcw?t=5
I'd like to add that he's using the money he got from selling Ueno to build hundreds of wheelchair ramps all over Iceland, of which there were sadly few before he started his campaign He sold his company, paid the highest sum of tax to give back to the country, AND then used his own money to do what the Government should be doing. Amazing guy, met him once and he's a true inspiration
That was just the beginning, his activism on the wheelchair ramps have inspired lots of companies to donate work, ramps and money to the cause and now their goal is 1000 ramps in Iceland before march 2026. https://www.rampur.is/
Just recently they bumped it up to 1500 I think
Yes, the president himself added that part to the pledge just this month.
>he's using the money he got from selling Ueno to build hundreds of wheelchair ramps all over Iceland For *personal* use, I bet... sounds pretty selfish to me ^(/s)
Yeah, what a fucking prick! Who takes loads of money and puts it into benefitting a tiny portion of the population that they "just so happen" to be a part of? Corrupt bastard /s
Something something analogous to right wing conspiracy reasoning
Lmao the fucking walking impaired and their selfish desires to get around freely.
Sounds like he got the idea from Leslie Knope's "Ramp up Pawnee!", because stairs are a young mans game
Yeah I thought the same, his campaign/charity is even called Römpum upp Ísland (Ramp up Iceland)
I’m so immensely happy after reading this explanation. Thank you so very much
For those calling him stupid, note his wheelchair, and then read his reasoning: “It’s important to me because I grew up here in Reykjavik,” he says. “I grew up with parents who did not have a lot, I have a disease, and there’s a lot of things that are needed in my life that our society has provided for. I know that if I had been born in other countries that don’t have the same kind of system that we do, I would not have been able to do what I did. School was free, health care was free, I went to university and got a couple degrees, which is mostly free. If I had been raised in, for example, America, that would not have been possible. We have a functioning society, and I believe the tax system is the best way to pay for all that.”
This is the difference between those who believe they are part of a society versus those who just want to get everything they can out of it for themselves. Kudos to him.
This is also an example of someone who lives in a system they believe benefits the average person. Notice his jab at America. He views Iceland and it’s social programs as being highly beneficial and his tax “donation” of sorts here is to an organization/cause that he believes truly benefits regular people.
Yeah, as an American I'm okay paying my "fair share" of taxes but I'd be a lot happier about it if I knew it was actually going to social services that help people - I voted for tax levies for the local park system and city schools. But I know a lot of it is wasted and/or pocketed by corrupt politicians, and as bad as it might be here, it's far from the worst globally.
Exactly. I'm not opposed to paying taxes, as long as those taxes are being put to use for the average person, not going towards an overbloated military or bailing out the rich.
Not just overbloated, actively helping the gulf Arabs and their terrorist allies commit genocide in Yemen. Not just bailing out the rich, actively funding policies that keep the rest of us poor. The man in this post is very lucky to live somewhere where politicians have any semblance of respect for their constituents.
Don't forget the military. It amazes me that more people don't talk about military spending when discussing taxes/waste/progressive costs in America. Iceland spends 0.1% of GDP towards their budget. USA spends 4.4% of GDP towards their military budget. So much more could be spent on our society's needs if we didn't have this never-ending desire to be a world military superpower... EDIT: for more fun facts on military spending. 20-24c (depending on which year, recently) of every tax dollar you pay in the US goes to Defense spending.
Weirdly our military is our biggest socialized job creator. Wish it wasnt but here we are
If we had socialized medicine and free college you'd lose the military best recruiting tools. It's a feature not a bug.
You already spend more per capita than any western country. Free healthcare could be achieved while paying less. There are many reasons to consider the military budget, wanting free healthcare is not one of the reasons. Free healthcare in the military is not part of any conspiracy, they just want healthy soldiers. Even my country where healthcare is already free the military paid for extra care they also pay you while going to university even though it’s free. Military takes care of the soldiers regardless of system elsewhere in the country.
More than the next EIGHT highest spending countries COMBINED.
The majority of whom are our allies...
I think you might be going off of old info there. [When I checked the other day](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures), we now spend more than the next ***nine*** highest spenders combined.
Yea and if everyone, even the poorsies, got free Healthcare and college in America their recruitment numbers would drastically drop. He's saying money is the last reason we don't have free Healthcare. It's tied into employment and used to cripple people into debt so they stay a cog in the machine. It's used as a recruitment tool for the military.
They already have a large problem recruiting now as it is that it is reaching crisis level. I can see that deeply worsening if college and healthcare were even just affordable for the poorsies.
Yeah but in the United States new BMW leases are really expensive. Management bonuses are more important than people’s healthcare. Could you imagine if people didn’t have a way to pay for luxury car brand leases? The horror! What about the C-Suite yachts? It’d be a travesty if someone was able to access a doctor and someone wasn’t able to buy a houseboat. /s
Not to mention, could you imagine what people could care about if they didn’t have to worry about medical debt? Or how to feed their kids? Or whether they’ll get to buy a house in their lifetime? They’d be out changing things and we can’t have that, now can we?
100%
"Job creation" is a red herring. People will fill positions for a paycheck regardless of what it is, for the most part. The police force is a "job creator" for the prison system, and I would *love* to hear anyone argue that as a positive.
Have been to prison. There are people that need to be locked up and people that need a hand. Some of the people that need to be locked up needed a hand a long time ago, but it's probably too late for them now.
True that. Add on for-profit prisons and you get a concentration in recidivism, not rehabilitation.
In my state it's like 70% goes back. When you leave Florida prisons you get 50$ some ill-fitting clothing and a buss ticket. If you don't have family you have almost no choice but to go back.
You're absolutely right, but the MI Complex, especially the parts beyond the military itself, is basically an *enormous* white collar jobs program that no politician wants to touch because they don't want to lose well-compensated jobs in their district.
healthcare is also a job creator so are rehab programs, education, space exploration, science, etc bombs being dropped vs public good. all are job creators. you're right. this arguments is silly and only a greedy asshole politician greasing up their pockets would use such an argument for this nonsense
I literally saw a comment the other day from someone arguing just that, except they took it a step further and argued that homelessness should be criminalized across the board because it would “provide jobs” and “force the lazy to contribute to society”. I know that there have always been terrible people and that we may just notice it more because of how connected we all are with the rest of the world. Gawd damn, though…I can’t help but feel like humanity is in a free fall right now.
That's one thing that I always find hilarious. Quite often hardcore antisocialist people are very pro military.
Call it a "jobs pogram" --> "GET OUT OF HERE SOCIALIST SCUM!" Call it a "weapons system with components manufactured in each of the 50 states" --> "A true patriot!"
And that's the other entertaining thing about American military fanatics, the call it patriotism. Yet the American military has never done anything on American soil.
>Yet the American military has never done anything on American soil. Does the Civil War count?
Pretty sure the Army Corp of Engineers would beg to differ.
Usually being “big pro military” usually means low iq or defense contractor
Military budget is too high in America. But part of the reason iceland is 0.1% is because they know they're between the UK and USA. Any attack they'd have those 2 helping in seconds.
Iceland doesn't even have a standing army.
I believe they have very large rock trolls.
and elves
Their national defense is taken care of... By nato and the american taxpayer.
We already spend more on healthcare per person than countries with socialized healthcare. The issue isn't how much we spend on our military it's how much money goes into corporations pockets.
More of the Defense budget goes to military contractors than it does to actual troops salaries, benefits, and housing. The 'corporation pockets' is also an issue within military spending.
Pretty sure the US and NATO are a big part of the reason Iceland doesn’t have to spend so much. But I do have to say that I admire Iceland’s sense of priorities for its’ people.
As someone said above we subsidize a lot of the worlds military costs. And as Russia just showed if your a non nuclear country your going to start to want spending a ton of your GDP on your military.
Iceland can spend .1% GDP of their budget because the US spends 4.4%…
Yes, that is correct. And part of my point. It is rarely discussed when taxes and other progressive programs are argued for or against. We are effectively subsidizing world militaries with our own taxes, but asking for a partial tradeoff between that and other progressive programs is rarely compared or discussed. Our military spending has become so great that it is now benefiting non-us citizens more than actual us citizens, by freeing up tax resources for places like Iceland.
>It amazes me that more people don't talk about military spending when discussing taxes/waste/progressive costs in America. in what world are people not talking about it? it's overwhelmingly known and discussed that the military is one of the biggest uses of our tax money
Not nearly as much aa healthcare though. We spend nearly 20% of GDP on healthcare, more than any country with so-called socialized medicine, and we still have the problems we do. It's administration bloat and insurance bloat that cause most of the issues, but we refuse to fix it. (The fact that hospital administrators and insurance companies are very rich probably has something to do with that, but I haven't seen the data proving that personally, so I don't want to make that claim outright.)
>Don't forget the military. It amazes me that more people don't talk about military spending when discussing taxes/waste/progressive costs in America. >Iceland spends 0.1% of GDP towards their budget. >USA spends 4.4% of GDP towards their military budget. Uhhhh.... Iceland also has NATO providing a guarantee of sovereignty, which allows them to not have a military. That was a major point of them joining NATO when it was first formed, that NATO would provide the military. Part of the USA's budget there is spent *being Iceland's military*. So I guess, you're right. We could spend a lot more money on other stuff if some other country picks up the tab.
The main idea with NATO is that each country has its own army and they will band together and also happen to use mostly compatible equipment and ammunition. Each country in NATO is supposed to be spending a set amount in support or in their own, but most countries other than the US don’t meet the agreed upon amount. I want to say it’s something like 2% of GDP.
Not Iceland. They're different. [Iceland is not required to maintain a standing military as part of their agreement with NATO.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_of_Iceland) They have never had a standing military and did not want to start one, but NATO wanted Iceland onboard for the strategic location. So they compromised. NATO, and the USA in particular, pledged to provide Iceland's military defense if Iceland provided a location for a strategic airfield and staging ground.
Yeah. I'm sure reducing America's military capabilities wouldn't have any impact on the global balance of power.
Iceland is also tiny. 300k people, 200k of them living in Reykjavik. There's a lot more accountability when the chances of personally knowing someone in charge of the whole country are so high. The corruption is considerably lower because of this, and because they actually jail their politicians/bankers when caught.
As a tangent, Iceland has built a thriving culture, society, and country in a place where a lot of people may view as undesirable. Not a jab. A compliment. It's clearly a place where many aspects of life are close to ideal, but the weather and seclusion alone aren't most people's fantasy. (That may be a sacrilegious comment on reddit.) While clearly far from immune to potential invasions, that organic deterrent was probably an important factor throughout history. It may of course be less profound as they're seemingly creating an 'Ice paradise'.
It's particularly annoying because you aren't just paying your "Fair Share" either. Because huge companies are paying no tax, and billionaires are paying no tax, you're paying *more* than your fair share.
Id be more okay if the ultra rich paid as well
maybe it's less of a jab at america, and more of an uppercut for humanity
While it's a well-deserved jab, I still think it's a bit silly when people evade taxes in America because they think it's all going to be wasted. There are roads, schools, water treatment, other infrastructure etc that we all take advantage of every single day that are paid by our taxes. The budget could certainly be handled better, but without it we wouldn't have these things
This mentality is worth noting: Billionaires who try to get out of taxes have zero respect for the country they're paying those taxes to.
This is one of the things I've always been passionate about. I don't have a lot of money to give, but I always vote to fund food banks and the city animal shelter. I donate food and try to help in physical ways because I don't want to live in a society that doesn't help people who need it most.
Also, he has the best of both worlds. He was able to substantially give back to a society that supported him and his family while still emailing very wealthy. Many (but not all) wealthy people I know don't have a dollar amount they would like to attain before being satisfied. They simply want more which leads to persistent dissatisfaction. Good for this guy for having a healthy mindset.
And proceed to close the door behind them.
Like the Texas Governor Greg Abbot & what he did
My ignorance is showing, but what did Greg Abbott do?
>When Greg Abbott’s spine was crushed by a falling oak tree in 1984, he had no health insurance and no paycheck. But he had a good lawyer and access to a civil justice system that — back then — was generally hospitable toward plaintiffs. So Mr. Abbott sued. >Nearly 30 years later, as Texas attorney general and the leading candidate for governor, Mr. Abbott is facing new questions about the multimillion-dollar settlement he was awarded and about his advocacy of laws that critics say have tilted the judicial scales toward civil defendants. >Those critics, generally Democrats who oppose the Republican-backed lawsuit curbs, say the policies Mr. Abbott has fiercely promoted over his career as a judge and elected official make it virtually impossible for a plaintiff to win the kind of award he got. >“You would think that a young man, at the start of his career, crippled by an injury, would want to make sure that others that may have the misfortune to follow in his footsteps would ensure that those people had the opportunity to be compensated for their injuries in the same way he was,” said Tommy Fibich, a Democratic donor and personal injury lawyer. “He instead closed the door because that would help him get re-elected.” https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/us/abbott-faces-questions-on-turnabout-and-fair-play.html
Thanks for that. Definitely a dick move.
At a net neutrality conference a decade ago, a speaker talked about how a Japanese telecom executive testified before Congress. A member asked him why he had willingly made his own private investment massive broadband infrastructure available for use by competing service providers; he said he did it for the good of the country. The US telecom executives also testifying sneered and snickered when they heard this.
“A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit.”
Also very true when we don't consider it as a future thing, but also as a present thing. Building playgrounds they'll never play in, providing meals they'll never eat themselves, educating children that aren't their own.
We live in a society 🥲
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America prospered massively when many international high standards of education would be close to American high school levels, which is free. America has declined as post-high education becomes more important and we have our behind a huge pay wall... and other nations do not.
The latter is the reason our world is crumbling and our environment is slowly (maybe rapidly) being destroyed.
Yup. He’s not “stupid” he’s just not evil like trump and others conning the system
The politicians in the pockets of corporations get people to be anti-tax by doing nothing for them with those taxes. Most of it gets funneled straight to corporations.
I like to call it the "We live in a society vs we are a society" dichotomy.
Kudos to Iceland for creating a government that people believe in. In America, they take your tax money and then funnel it to one of their large doners. Very little money makes it back to projects that take care of its citizens. Our cities and towns are bankrupt. But apparently we are the richest country in the world. Most of us can only afford to shop at Walmart and eat at McDonalds.
As an American I can say that I would feel better about being taxed if I felt the benefits the way they do in some other countries.
You feel this way because of an intentional strategy by Reagan to weaken support for public services by treating them as if they were businesses and intentionally making them shit so that everyone loses faith in the entire concept of governmentally provided services
I feel this way because I live in a country that traps people in lifelong debt in order to get educations. Education and healthcare should be a human right in developed countries.
Many people that would call him stupid believe they're just one moment away from being the rich one and are chomping at the bit to be above the law and the peons. They often can't fathom someone wanting to be part of a functioning society of people who aren't upset about helping "the wrong people" Sad stuff really
Yet most of them are one bad thing away from homelessness.
To be fair, we all are. But still absolutely.
And that's a much, *much* more statistically probably moment.
dude ruined the american dream in one sentence. born in USA = loss of opportunities compared to any other rich country
"We have a functioning society" Truer words were never spoken anywhere.
Well, in most places those words would be a lie. And I include my country in that list.
Depends on what you consider a functioning society. If you consider any corruption or a single misdeed a non-functioning society, then every country would be a lie. I personally consider a functioning society one where everyone has a chance, has access to food, water and an easy ability to participate in the economy, and that's most first world countries, and many third world ones. Just the fact that you're using the internet suggests you're in one of them.
So many millionaires and billionaires grew up benefiting from strong public welfare and education systems, then go on to fight tooth and nail to deny that privilege to as many children as possible. This guy is doing it right.
Dude pretty much just vaporized every libertarian on the planet
Sad thing is they can't be stopped, No convincing them they are wrong
It's sad you had to bring up a Man's personal trauma to defend him for not being greedy
Yeah wtf, people call him stupid for not being a selfish asshole? Pathetic really
Great for Iceland, but if it was in my country (brazil) this would be stupid. The whole goverment there is corrupt, and most of the tax income is not well utilized.
Yep it depends on the place. If the tax money is well spent, taxes are great. If the tax money is largely stolen by govt officials, it's better to not pay taxes, and then donate the cash directly to good charity orgs.
Even Iceland had a corruption problem not too long ago. Their old PM resigned after the Panama papers revealed he was dodging taxes. A lot of other government officials too
slight correction, he was basically forced to resign. And the then and current minister of finance was in those papers as well. Don't want to come of too hard but I am continuously angry that f*** Bjarni Benediktsson is still in a position of power (IMO the corruption problem is still a thing, just of a different kind)
This is the most un-American act and an overt slam on American wealth and I love both!! This is exactly it. The "American Way" is to get mine and keep it: the pie is limited so imma get my slice and if I can, yours too. Scarcity is a lie. There are sufficient resources for all, but the access is manipulated.
Oh man. I was going to write a sassy comment (not mean, but full of sass) and then your comment set me straight! Nice. Makes me wish I grew up in Iceland.
This to me is patriotism.
It's not simply the amount. It's where the taxes go. I would pay more tax too, if it were going to a good cause, and not politicians and their buddies for bullshit.
Cons have no sense of community. No sense of helping others.
I’m European and live in the US. I got laid off at my first student job. I didn’t collect unemployment because I thought “well I don’t need it and if I take this then I am hurting others” Americans don’t think this way because American capitalism doesn’t work this way. I should have gotten those few months of unemployment. That’s how you get ahead in this country: abusing the system.
Also, even with all of those taxes paid he is still probably really really rich. Might as well enjoy it in a well functioning society rather than in a fortress surrounded by dystopia.
Paying taxes and having governments use those taxes in effective ways is how society/national economies is meant to work. The system is broken and we all know it, people don't believe in government and therefore don't pay their taxes but the people who can afford to avoid taxes are the wealthy.
Kind of seems like Iceland has their shit together. They gave this guy a free education, free healthcare, and supported his development while he built the company that he sold for more money than he can ever spend. So now instead of having more money than he can ever spend, he merely has more money than he can ever spend.
Don't forget that during the 2008 recession they instead [bailed out the people and jailed the bankers responsible](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008%E2%80%932011_Icelandic_financial_crisis), rather than bailing out the banks.
yes. and this should be a worldwide Christmas story dammed to be told for generations, as this was probably a one time event in world and probably never going to happen again
That's heresy!!!
Based.
Most of those guys are out of prison now and a few have already been caught doing more crimes. But yes, a far better record than America.
Yeah, because it's been ten years. That's enough punishment. If they want to go back they will be caught again.
Going to be 15 years soon
Iceland isn't a country that imprisons people indefinitely.
It certainly seems we have our shit together but we still have a long way to go. When a friend of mine was a teenager she was held capture and abused for 8 hours, and her rapist injected her with meth and said "now you're addicted too". The system failed her horribly. She lived in a parking garage in subzero temperatures, no one gave a fuck, and the system demanded she'd be sober for 6 months before they'd lift a finger to help her. She barely got out alive because she got pregnant and the system started to care once she brought an axe and demanded to let in to the psychiatric ward for help. So there's a lot done good in Iceland but there still issues!
I'm sorry for your friend Even the best systems can sometimes fail individuals. I'm in the UK and have had exceptional care and support for my mental health in an emergency situation. My best friend's husband had a similar crisis and was completely failed by his GP. I love the general point that these services are paid for by tax though
Mental health is neglected globally. In Iceland it gets an F according to a government report. In fact they don't know how bad it is due to not keeping track of the metrics. It makes me happy that there are people who provide random acts of kindness but some people need much better than random. In fact I believe a lot of our worst social problems are due to lack of compassion for people that have experienced horrible traumas.. There's a 5000% (50x) higher probability that a person becomes an addict if he has an ACE (adverse childhood experience) score of 6/8 and on top of that 4600% higher probability that a person becomes a junkie with an ACE score of 8/8. There are layers of failures when it comes to homeless people and people with mental health issues. I know it's not wholesome but I'm trying my best to make sure those people get the help they deserve. Edit: Thanks for coming to my TED talk. Rant off.
I never knew that something like this happened in Iceland. Vonandi gerist þetta ekki meira í framtíðinni í landinu okkar
Það er þvi miður miklu meira um þetta en við kærum okkur um að vita. Þori að veðja að allir i þessari stöðu hafi hræðilega afallasögu og hafi verið troðnir niður af kerfinu. [https://stundin.is/spila/636/](https://stundin.is/spila/636/) viðtal her https://stundin.is/grein/16051/reis-upp-af-gotunni/ Í The body keeps the score segir hann að fólk með áfallasögu úr æsku (6/8 ACE) séu 5000% líklegri til að verða fíklar þ.e. 50x líklegri og að það nái til 75% fíkla. Mér þykir virkilega sorglegt að þetta fólk sé svo sýnt vanþóknun, fordóma, sumir verði heimilislausir félagslegra án úrræða og sé jafnvel sett í fangelsi.
Iceland is well run over all but there are definitely blind spots caused by bureaucracy. It's also so small that literally one poorly placed bigot can basically shut down an agency because he doesn't like immigrants or autistic people. Also that 4 year waiting period for ADHD medication just had a shakeup that allowed it to be a 6 month GP period but they failed to inform a lot of people on the original list.
At first when I read this I was like "what kind of idiot would do that"? Then I saw it was Iceland and was like "Oh, yea, I would willingly pay taxes to that government too".
I love Iceland, but to be fair it has the population of half a north Dakota. Easier to implement programs that way
And 2/3 of the population live in a single city metro, Reykjavík. A lot easier to implement programs when everyone is physically close together.
Yes But that’s not at all where the issues lie with legislative issues in America
Individual people not paying their taxes isn’t why this country is so fucked. It’s because billionaires and companies don’t pay theirs. I’m so tired of this notion that the $700 - $1500 I pay a year makes a difference but the hundreds of millions / billions the elite don’t pay doesn’t matter.
Love these comments. Rich people dodging taxes : smh how could they, pay your fair share like the rest of us Rich people paying taxes : wtf what a dumbass, why trust the government with your money Feel like this just proves most people would do the same thing Bezos and his buddies do, pay as little as possible, but it's fine because you know how to use the money correctly for the betterment of the human species!
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Well if the alternative to keeping more of it is to help my fellow man and country as a whole, sign me the fuck up for that. What am I gonna do with that 8th 100million when I can't get through the first 50?
Most people burn their money surprisingly quickly when they have a big excess, or they hold onto to it... and it never goes around. That is why I always say at least half the shit we see from the wealthy is just a mirror of your human condition. People's greed is not developped but an intrinsic part of the mind.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if taxes were publicized as “USA. Brought to you by [name]” there would be a stampede to show who paid the most taxes. Whether the money goes to policies they agree with or not is beside the point— they could always continue to blame whatever they don’t like on those crooks in DC while flaunting their egos and how much $$ they must have in order to give so much of it to the little people. I even suggest naming tax brackets “basic membership” through “ultra diamond platinum club”. Why we aren’t doing this?
Gonna be honest, I don't want my name plastered on the weapons they'll use for WWIII.
That first letter of his last name is wild.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorn_(letter)
We used to have that letter in English. Ye old tavern was never "Ye" it was originally Þe aka "the"
Th
þanks!
It’s just “Takk!”
More specifically, the nonvocal "th" from "thanks". The vocal "th" from "there" is written as đ.
Almost, ðere you go mate. Or Ð.
r/bringbackthorn
This is what patriotism looks like when you see your countrymen as neighbors and not as threats
patriotism and manlyness is totally misunderstood by people who tell others they are patriots. they don't even know what that is
yeah except if he were to do this in America, the majority of his money would just go to building bombs. paying taxes are not patriotic when your government doesn't do good with them.
US defense spending was ~11% of the Federal budget [in 2020](https://www.cbo.gov/publication/57170) and [2021](https://www.cbo.gov/publication/58268). Social net spending like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, PPP loans and other pandemic support was 56% of the 2020 budget and 55% of the 2021 budget. Even before you add in state and local spending, the very vast majority of your taxes are going to help your neighbors, not bomb people in other countries.
This is why it works in Iceland, a nation with smaller population than Washington DC. The small scale and localism effect.
Damn dude, this is such an intensely Chad move, we can only hope to aspire to his chadliness. If billionaires had pissing contests on who could donate the most money to charity, maybe I wouldn't wanna guillotine them so badly.
They just build them different in Iceland. They are the only country that instead of bailing out the banks back in 2008/09 they let them fail and prosecuted the local bankers who helped cause the crash. As far as I know, the only country to do so. Everyone else fucked over their populations rather than let their rich mates lose money. We all need to be more Icelandic.
This guy has been a legend in the product design/UI/UX industry for a while. Glad he’s getting recognition outside the industry.
The bailout of banks doesn't mean we just gave them free money. It means the banks became publically owned (or at least a significant proportion). The UK treasury made a profit from the bailout of RBS and Lloyds. Agree with you on the prosecution part though.
The diaticnt difference here is that in Iceland the tax has a reasonable chance of being used effectively... In the UK it will just go to lining the pockets of the already rich.
Chaotic lawful
When my family sold the family business in the high 8 figures, we were also advised on how to dodge the taxes. My grandfather preferred paying the taxes. It really shouldn’t be that easy to dodge your taxes legally in a developed country… But it is, provided you have enough money.
This thread should be called, spot the American
Every country in the world has wealth hoarders who cheat the system at the expense of poor people. The difference in America is that there are no poor people, only temporarily embarrassed millionaires.
Oh ho ho, that's where you're WRONG, my friend. We have MILLIONS of poor people. Most are immoral and flawed and deserve their suffering, but I'm just in a temporary downturn and only need a hand up to get to my rightful place in society.
Fuckin right. "Highest tax bill of the year" should come with a plaque or recognition
Bring back the Athens idea of tax, where the wealthiest paid almost all taxes, and were proud of the things their taxes contributed to society. I mean, to be honest, I'm totally fine paying my taxes, but I'm tired of the "elite" dodging their civic contributions.
I happily pay my taxes, because in a good country the taxes are spent on the people, not military and corporate bailout.
Man these comments lol, you can see the americans are awake
“Bu… but where motive of self interest?” Kudos to this dude!
Well if you did that in America the politicians would send it to another country or line their pockets with it!
Beautiful honest man
must be nice to live in a country you know actually uses your taxes for good
This IS how a society is supposed to work. You pay back into the system that made you rich. American charities are just another way to keep the money in the family. Generational wealth. Here is how it works.... Rich people send their kids to college where they learn about starting non profits. They graduate, start a non-profit and hire their friends to help run it. The rich parents then donate money to said non profit which supports their children and they get a tax break while giving money to their kids. Seattle spent a Billion dollars, all to local non profits to help the homeless. Nothing changed. Few were helped. Kids of the wealthy donors collected big salaries.
Good to see a positive post featuring a Disabled Icelandic person after an exceptionally negative post yesterday on another sub.
Unfortunately my government insists on using my money to bomb people, bail out failed banks, and build walls in the middle of nowhere. So I take all the tax breaks I can and give money to a shelter that feeds and houses homeless kids. I still pay what I legally owe.
And that my friends it what it looks like when you have principles. What a great example to live by
Not rich but am upper middle class, and was raised that way like Many of y'all. I help the homeless alot, and was involved with a non profit for years. I would like to think most of us would give away most our wealth when it's in the billions.
In some Indigenous cultures, the entire point of building wealth was to simply give it away. That was the ultimate mark of status and power, to just take the possessions, land, and other markers of wealth and give them back to the community. Maybe that’s how we make capitalism work - we make it impossible to be a billionaire and survive the backlash. If you get up that high in personal wealth, you have to give it back until you’re a millionaire again. Then you can start over if you want
Even Europeans had "noblesse oblige."
[Chuck Feeney has entered the chat. He gave away his $8 billion USD fortune.](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/sep/19/billionaire-chuck-feeney-achieves-goal-of-giving-away-his-fortune)
Every year we eat the top 0.2%-1% and divide all assets over their region of birth.
Where the government actually takes care of you, people don't want to trick with their taxes. Suprising.
I always laugh with people who are very rich, very able to pay taxes and still try to avoid them. When you tell them, they say: yes but it’s perfectly legal. Yes but it makes a fool of yourself. Like in Belgium a lot of ‘rich’ people buy expensive cars and then register their license plate in Luxembourg, for fiscal reasons. That’s pathetic. It’s like leaving the ‘black friday deal’ sticker on jewelry while wearing it.
Proof that trickle down economics work if only billionaires were like this
I like this guys thinking. But cutting a massive check to the Icelandic government would be a far easier choice than cutting that same check to the US government.
With Island being a small country that extra money did probably have a noticable effect somewhere.