My Life on this planet.

In Belgium, attempts to form a government stalled (partly) due to disagreements over tax reforms as these should be more balanced. While these reforms are essential, they should not disproportionately benefit the wealthy, as this would place a greater burden on middle and lower-income citizens. When the majority can no longer afford to spend, businesses will suffer as consumer demand will decline, leading to a decrease in profits. Initially, probably local companies are more affected, but eventually, even larger corporations will feel the impact as well. In the UK in 2022, Prime Minister Liz Truss ’s government also found it essential to reform the tax system, but her government collapsed shortly after introducing a plan as it was considered too extreme and bad for the economy. PM Truss argued that British taxes were among the highest globally, a claim that seemed exaggerated — especially compared to Belgium’s system which imposes much higher taxes at lower income thresholds. While...

The conflict between the staff and the management of Delhaize continues. This article shows why the staff, together with the unions, may be right. After all, the profit margins of the stores are less today than they used to be. The retail landscape is changing dramatically. People now regularly buy smaller quantities instead of once a week. For example, it appears that shops managed by Delhaize have limited opening hours, such as not being open on Sundays, when many people go shopping these days. The reason? The staff must be paid extra on Sundays. Evening work must also be paid extra. People now also buy via websites while products are delivered to their homes. This is even promoted by Delhaize, as a result of which people go less to stores, and therefore stores have less income. Since the profit margins are less, it will also be more difficult for the self-employed to make the business profitable, especially since Delhaize is not cheap. An example is Snickers which can be up to 55% m...

14/03/2023: Post at Facebook about French pension protests How unions and journalists live in dreams instead of working with governments for good pension reforms.  We know we live longer, whether we like that or not. And thus, pensions will become too expensive, but also boredom may settle in for many. Instead of union bosses who ask to be fired to show their members that is the way to have good benefits until their real retirement, they should explain employees and employers that, as we can enjoy a longer life, it is logic we need to work longer.  How can unions contribute to good pension reforms? First by accepting we need to work longer. Then argue that pensions should be based not only on the final years of their earnings so workers can descent the career ladder, certainly when they finished paying their mortgage while their children left home. Of course, a certain age is not the only milestone as the length of the career, but also the toughness of a profession is importa...

This is an older text (from around 2013-2014) that I didn't publish earlier, among other reasons because my internet was down and afterwards the moment was gone, hence some links to older articles. But now it seems to be another moment to publish the updated article as part of my miniseries about the pharmaceutical sector to show it is much more than "only for the money" although I acknowledge there are excesses. As a reminder:  - The first article was about the obligations pharmaceutical companies have to continue to monitor the safety of their products after commercialisation and if needed companies must update the product information, a cost for the companies.  - The second article described how the product information of codeine-containing products had major updates long after it was first used because new data became available as a result of its use in clinical practice and because it can interfere with  new drugs.  -  This third article describes the pr...

This article is a follow-up of my previous article to illustrate how the product information of medication is never final but pharmaceutical companies continue to update the information to be sure healthcare professionals and patients can trust that the information is up-to-date and medications are safe to use.  When companies want to make changes or government medicine agencies tell them to do so, companies must submit dossiers to these agencies and pay for the assessment of the suggested changes and after their approval, the updated product information will be published on the website of medicine agencies but also printed in the leaflet that is enclosed in the packaging of the medication. And yes, civil servants working at those agencies declare each year that they have no conflicts of interest and thus are independent from the companies to work in the interest of society.   Codeine can be taken as example of what happens after medications receive their authorisation...