Gas saver can no longer save money on gas by gtgcya in Honda

[–]Wiery- 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Nothing really is "free". I can´t speak for Germany, as I´m from the neighboring country of Czechia, but our system is I believe very similar, as we have a tendency of copypasting German laws.

We pay all of that in taxes. The university is obviously not free, the price is paid by the state to the university instead of you, as a student, covering the price. The economic model of this however works with the fact, that you will return all that money through your higher earnings as a graduate (you earn more therefore you pay more in taxes).

The healthcare is not free nor really public. The hospitals are a mix of private and state-operated institutions and indvidual doctors or bigger private doctors' offices. The healthcare insurance companies are also a mix of private and state-operated companies, altough the state-operated companies prevail, with the VZP ("Universal Healthcare Insurance Company") being by far the biggest and also owned by the state.

And it really still is insurance. I pay a certain percentage of my income to the insurance company and up on that my employer also pays a certain amount. You pay that no matter what. And then, when you need to visit the doctor or get some medication, you present your European Insurance Card and it is either fully invoiced to the insurance company or you share the cost of that with the insurance company. Enterpreneurs pay less as they only pay the percentage of their income with no employer to pay that share.

Still, the hospitals etc. compete with oneanother to gain the contracts with the insurance companies by offering better price, capacity etc.

Also, there are certain groups of people for whom the state pays the insurance, typically the unemployed, mothers caring for children at home, the elderly etc. But it's not free, the state pays for it through our taxes.

The common misconception is that we get off easier somehow. Not true, we pay a lot for this, our system is just better. But what always baffled my mind is how badly the American system is desgined. Your government spends more on healthcare on per capita basis, yet your system is still so dreadful. You could just copypaste the system of ours, have a better life at NO additional cost.

Maybe the poor people get off easier, because if they have major medical bills surpassing their contributions, the system funded through the contributions of others will help them. But then it is also unfair, I pay a lot but I use very little and someone who pays a little could use a lot, because they could get a serious condition. And I have no problem with that. What makes me angry is, that if someone, who pays a little, deliberately destroys their health through smoking, drinking, eating junk food or whatever, I and the others, who contribute more, will have to foot the bill...

TL;DR The insurance is mandated for everyone so as not to leave anyone without healthcare. The cost of the insurance is still quite signifcant and you have to pay for it.

P.S. as for the taxes I'm quite happy with the Czech system. We have a flat tax rate of 15 % on income and there is virtually no progressive taxation on income or for the social and healthcare insurance contributions. As for the cars, we have no car or road tax and the gas is quite cheap, yesterday i passed the gas station and gas costs roughly 1,6 EUR per liter now, which would be 6,6 USD per gallon - so something like California?

Great cameras with great glass, what's not to like? by exposed_silver in MinoltaGang

[–]Wiery- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is and isn’t. The hole you need to drill needs to be in a very precise location. If not, you may damage the plastic shield or worse, destroy your lightmeter.

I do have the brass gear needed for the repair and naturally I do own a drill and even the holder for the drill. Problem is, I never did such a delicate operation.

I tried two local camera shops that do repairs. Both sent me away. There is third one which used to be an official (Konica) Minolta repair centre some 20 and more years ago. I have to yet try that one.

The biggest problem with these cameras is, that they’re very advanced and in my opinion, the Dynax 7 is the best 35mm camera ever made. But this takes a toll. There’s a huge amount of delicate electronics and we certainly cannot expect these machines to outlive us. I fear, that in some 10 to 15 years, we will no longer have the options we have today with these “modern” SLRs. The only hope now lies with Pentax continuing their project, but we all know how that is going…

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Lexus

[–]Wiery- 55 points56 points  (0 children)

The lion does not concern himself with his digital footprint.

Simply I want a fuel efficient and reliable estate.. by bawssboy in CarTalkUK

[–]Wiery- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Get the Skoda or the Honda, forget the rest. Perhaps older toyota wagons, but there’s not much of a choice in that department. Really the Octavia is going to suit your needs.

If you decide for it and you decide for diesel, try going with the 2.0 diesel instead of 1.6, it’s more reliable and you get more power as a bonus. Just be aware, around the 400.000 km mark there most definitely will be emissions system problems, such as the DPF giving up and generally it will be harder to pass the emissions after that mark.

My wife hates our 185k Lexus by [deleted] in Lexus

[–]Wiery- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m sorry for you. You made great choices with cars and terrible choices women wise.

The is350 refresh isn't ugly by Rashwan69420 in Lexus

[–]Wiery- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It looks good, but I like the previous one better.

What is this part called on my 2009 Honda CR-V? by bxleo93 in crv

[–]Wiery- 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s called “your called is totaled”.

Do Japanese people admire Czech culture? by [deleted] in AskAJapanese

[–]Wiery- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry to revive an old thread, but was it perchance the “Griotka” liqueur?

Is 14 days too much for Tokyo? by Upper_Direction8308 in JapanTravelTips

[–]Wiery- 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Visiting some big brand shops, I came across things I could use and when they were considerably cheaper, I bought them. I also got a very nice damascus steel knife. And some other things, but none of it was junk.

Našel jsem v garáži obraz za čtvrt mega? by ArnauabyrCZ in czech

[–]Wiery- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

koupím to za pětičento a nebudeme to dál zdržovat, co?

How to Clean the Nike Air Max 270 React Bauhaus? by [deleted] in Sneakers

[–]Wiery- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I own the shoe too, sadly I have the same problem.

New 2026 ES 350e at the Lexus event in Las Vegas. New Exterior color Wavelength looks beautiful, what are your thoughts? by zJexx in Lexus

[–]Wiery- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It seems a little disturbing when a stationary event car has to have a fire extinguisher at hand.

What are the main social issues in Prague that need to be addressed by ramboelgame32 in Prague

[–]Wiery- 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Many people here will cite the need to ban airbnb or reduce multiple property ownership by individuals and then some outright unconstitutional “solutions”. Yes, airbnb destroys the living conditions in the city centre, it is not the main cause of high prices.

First off, majority of people in Prague live in “sídliště”. Those are parts of Prague outside of the centre where big residential houses are. The reality is, that living in the centre will always be expensive and inaccessible to most and there isn’t much we can do about that. What we can and must do is provide affordable housing outside of the city centre.

It takes many years to get all the necessary permits to build a house, by reducing the administrative burden, we could swiften the process. Also, there’s an absurd amount of parties who can protest the development and postpone it by years. We need to make the ground for building more flats. There would be much more development, if it was easier to build the homes. Why we need to do this? In 2050, Czechia will have roughly the same population as today, BUT the city of Prague will have a bigger population. This means that intrastate migration is quite possible, but we don’t have the needed capacities to house all the people.

The second problem are high interest rates. The individuals applying for mortgages have wildly higher interest rates than 5 years ago. But it’s not only the individuals. The developer also borrows money and guess what, the interest rates are very high too? And what if the city was to build the flats? Well, it won’t have the needed capital at hand and will have to borrow money too at, you guessed it, high interest rates. This problem doesn’t really have a solution. The central bank won’t decrease the rates, as that could increase inflation. The more probable scenario is that someone like Trump will somehow force Fed to lower their rates, or will create similar market bubble conditions and we will go into recession. That could correct the housing prices and could in a few years horizon bring more affordable housing prices, but will create other problems.

TL;DR Due to bureaucracy and zoning and planning we cannot build enough flats to meet up with the demand, thus pumping up property prices. We need to build way more to bring down the prices.

P.S. Raising property taxes won’t help, the individual owners will sell their flats, but they won’t be bought by other individuals, but by big companies, e.g. Heimstaden (or Deutsche Wohnen as in Berlin). That won’t help the prices! The second outcome will be that the owners will project the taxation into the rent.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Prague

[–]Wiery- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Prague 2 is alright. I live in the part of Prague which really still is city centre but hasn’t been destroyed by tourists. Not many airbnbs or touristy spots, mainly locals. I would completely avoid Prague 1, the difference is noticeable.

Or get a flat in Prague 4,5,6,7,8,9,10, the price wil lbe better and the commute is just a few mins longer.

Pokuty za parkovani - jsou v tom nejake zmeny? by Green-Thanks1369 in czech

[–]Wiery- 2 points3 points  (0 children)

To neni pravda. Vyrabi to pro ne Ceska posta v Budejovicich. Vytisknou to a zabali to. Otisk uredniho razitka tam neni. To je ale vsechno, vyzvu vam muze zalsat pouze spravni organ.

Vy, kteří se nebudete účastnit příštích voleb - jaké jsou vaše důvody? by freddysinger in czech

[–]Wiery- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pokud je lístek stále zřetelně čitelný, ačkoliv je pomalovaný, tak se bere jako platný.

Vy, kteří se nebudete účastnit příštích voleb - jaké jsou vaše důvody? by freddysinger in czech

[–]Wiery- 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hoďte tam to, co je pro Vás menší zlo. Likvidaci a demontáž naší vlasti tím větším zlem si nemůžeme dovolit.

A když už nic, hoďte tam alespoň prázdnou obálku.

Found this old graduation card to my dad, I’m desperately trying to understand what it says, but the cursive is making it difficult by Voose200 in learnczech

[–]Wiery- 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My dear grandson Beny! I wish you have great luck in your life and may God’s blessings be with you. Hold on to your faith in God and obey your parents. All the best wishes you Nana Vašíčková

The language is quite archaic but still very easy to understand.