US resident visiting the EU at the moment. It’s indeed enjoyable to be in the highly-regulated EU in many ways. I think it makes their typical crowded city more practically livable than the equivalent in the US.
But I also like being back in the states where the government doesn’t seem to meddle with daily life quite as much.
Collectively, the EU is probably better, especially in crowded cities. Individually, it’s not so clear.
The EU as a whole has different priorities with their regulations but they’re not always more strict. It depends. Last time I was over there I was surprised by a couple of the things I saw that would be ADA, fire code, health code, or OSHA violations back home.
They weren’t anything too substantially significant, but neither is a Hyundai ignition key.
As two examples: it could easily be collectively more convenient if individuals had fewer rights and less privacy.
The US right to free speech is inconvenient at times for the collective. (I have no interest in hearing pro-Nazi speech. I have even less interest in living under a government with the power to ban that speech or other unpopular speech.)
When I lived in Germany, I had to register my address with the local government and update it quickly if I moved. In the US, I can move without reporting it to the local government. I’m sure there’s some collective benefit to the local police having a fairly accurate record of where everyone is regularly sleeping. Individually, I’m not interested in being obligated to share that information.
I believe the US approach is better, but I acknowledge that’s in large part because I was raised/indoctrinated to believe that.
You are actually supposed to notify the USSSS (for the draft) within 15 days if you are a man between the ages of 18 and 27, but I assume most people don't.
I'd say a significant majority of people do, but inadvertently.
Only 8 states don't require USSSS registration before obtaining an ID/driver's license and would automatically register (CA, CT, IN, NE, OR, VT, WA, WY), and of those, Washington and Indiana still automatically register unless there is an explicit opt out.
It's also a requirement for consideration of financial aid or in-state tuition for college, so many public universities won't allow application without proof of USSSS registration first and also helpfully auto-register on application or during enrollment.
My experience in CA is public high school would refuse to even award a high school diploma if you're 18 by graduation and didn't register and would also auto-register on your behalf if no explicit opt out was given. Funnily enough, mine registered me in the 30 days _before_ I turned 18.
Well, neither of those are local government which the parent comment referenced. Even if we did report moving to our local government, the IRS or USPS won't necessarily get that information.
The IRS gets our address because most people are required to file their tax returns, and we put our address on those forms.
The USPS doesn't need to find anyone. They just deliver to the address on an envelope. If the person isn't there, it's the sender's problem. You can however voluntarily tell the USPS you've moved, and they'll forward your mail for a period of time.
But I also like being back in the states where the government doesn’t seem to meddle with daily life quite as much.
Collectively, the EU is probably better, especially in crowded cities. Individually, it’s not so clear.