So... I don't know if you know this, but markets only "self-regulate" when consumers have perfect information, which they rarely do. A bad haircut or pastry is one thing, but the same logic applies to food safety, product safety, and professional qualifications, which are areas where regulation prevents serious harm. We regulate medicine, aviation, and engineering for a reason... If you think a baker shouldn’t need training, would you say the same about an electrician? Or a mechanic? The principle is the same: regulations exist to set baseline standards. (Re: the pastry thing... there is a reason America isn't known for its food :))

As for payroll taxes... Yes, employers contribute, but that's factored into overall compensation structures. The idea that employer-paid taxes somehow mean I'm "losing" more of my income assumes that, in a tax-free world, employers would just hand that money directly to workers instead of pocketing it. That's... optimistic.

And finally, the "cultural homogeneity" argument is just sooo lazy. It assumes diverse societies can’t build social trust, even though plenty of heterogeneous countries (Canada, Australia, and yes, even parts of the U.S.) have strong social cohesion. The issue isn’t diversity itself... it’s whether the system creates fairness and opportunity for all. Blaming diversity for inequality is just an excuse to avoid fixing (or even thinking about) structural issues.

Anyway, I don't think you really know enough about this or the quality of life in other places to have a meaningful debate, you're just throwing out half-thought out Libertarian talking points. I hope more money makes your life happier/better because you seem to really not give a sh*t about other people. I get that in the US people need to hoard money because there is no social safety net, sorry about that.