> It was supposed to be something akin to United States of Europe

No, it never was.

> but instead in devolved into a bureaucracy

No it hasn't:

"There are two striking aspects of this rejection of EU bureaucracy. First, in comparison with other, comparable entities, such as the US federal bureaucracy, the EU’s administrative apparatus has a marginal size. Specifically, the EU, which is responsible for more than 440 million citizens, employs only around 60,000 people, while the US federal bureaucracy has more than two million employees that govern a territory with about 330 million inhabitants. Accordingly, the EU bureaucracy is comparatively small and far from being the “bureaucratic monster” which it is frequently portrayed as."

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2023/09/04/why-do-so-many...

> that regulates the shit out if everything,

I'm thankful for that. That is why our food is way better and way healthier than the shit the US makes it's citizens eat.

> is incredibly socialist and the EC thinks it is above everyone else.

LOL. No it's not "socialist" and the European Commission is the executive branch of the European Union. If you really think the Commission behaves as if they are above everything else (they do not!), I pull an American president.

▲

andsoitis 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

> That is why our food is way better and way healthier than the shit the US makes it's citizens eat.

The US optimized for convenience, affordability, and variety.

You can eat very healthily in the US, but it requires more intentional choices. In many (not all) EU countries, the default option is closer to healthy.

▲

Lapel2742 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

> You can eat very healthily in the US, but it requires more intentional choices.

It requires money too. If you are poor your choices are naturally limited and in the end you are dependent on government regulations to eat at least somewhat healthy.

▲

andsoitis 2 days ago | parent [-]

> It requires money too. If you are poor your choices are naturally limited

Yes, because the US optimizes for convenience, price, and variety, so you see more industrialized food.

On average, poor people in Europe eat healthier than poor people in the US, but still significantly worse than wealthier Europeans.

▲

Lapel2742 2 days ago | parent [-]

> On average, poor people in Europe eat healthier than poor people in the US, but still significantly worse than wealthier Europeans.

Sure. But in the end the EU feeds it's citizens healthier food than the US does. That's all I'm saying. I'm glad we have those regulations.

▲

andsoitis 2 days ago | parent [-]

We agree.

What's interesting is JFK Jr. (our Secratary of Health and Human Services) has a stance that Americans eat too many ultra-processed foods. He wants people to eat more whole foods and fewer additives. He questions conventional warnings about saturated fat and supports dietary changes than include more full-fat dairy and meats. He prefers education over bans or mandates.

	▲	Lapel2742 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		> He prefers education over bans or mandates. And that is not working for the poor of which the US seems to have plenty for a developed country. The poor have no choice, even if they are educated, and the food industry is fine with selling them garbage. It's legal to do so after all. AFAIK food is generally even cheaper in Europe than in the USA. Even with those regulations.

▲

VonTum a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Regulation is about setting minimum standards for acceptance, not specifying exactly how.

This means that if I walk into a random croissant shop and buy a croissant, I don't subsequently have 2 days of food poisoning.

Arguably, healthier being the default is also good. The less I personally need to think about this, the more I can think about other more useful things.

▲

2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

[deleted]

▲

blibble 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

> There are two striking aspects of this rejection of EU bureaucracy. First, in comparison with other, comparable entities, such as the US federal bureaucracy, the EU’s administrative apparatus has a marginal size. Specifically, the EU, which is responsible for more than 440 million citizens, employs only around 60,000 people, while the US federal bureaucracy has more than two million employees that govern a territory with about 330 million inhabitants.

that's because the EU co-opted existing member state agencies instead of creating its own

e.g. the german federal department of agriculture effectively is controlled by the EU (almost all of its duties are an EU competence), but 100% of its costs are attributed to germany

this makes the EU look much more efficient than it is

	▲	watwut 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		It makes them lool as efficient as they actually are. Being able to use existing infrastructure is good.