Today I was having a discussion about different countries and their quality of living. I have been interested in what living is like in other countries, but haven't had the opportunity to even visit them. I have formed some views on health care systems, taxes, and leadership. However, I'm just venturing into these topics and love to hear what other people have to say about them.
I feel that the US health care system is corrupt. I believe this is due to lobbying of the pharmaceutical and insurance companies. The government is not taking into consideration the best interest of the citizens. Then I hear about Canada, Iceland, France, etc. They have free health care through the government. I know that they are taxed heavily for it though. This leads me to my next question.
If the citizens are getting free health care, child care, extended maternity leave, and other subsidies from the government, are the higher taxes a big issue? I understand that some countries have as high 60%, possibly more, of their income taxed. In the US, we are taxed about 30% of our income, then have insurance and retirement deducted. Plus, we pay out of pocket for health services that aren't covered by insurance. If you have children, you are paying for child care after the approximate 2 month maternity leave is over. Doesn't all that money equal or exceed the higher taxes in those countries?
I feel that maybe the US will never have a socialist system like these countries because it's too big. European countries are comparable to our states. Since it's highly unlikely that the US will ever separate, should states have more power? How would that work?
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Pretend that we are at a pub, having this discussion. You wouldn't bring your books or magazines with you, just your brains, experiences, and opinions. The goal is to foster a conversation with varying points of view. Please do not quote articles here. If you want to reference a book or article that is fine, but don't quote it. If members find it intriguing, they will pursue that on their own. If you pulled out a book and started reading it to someone at a pub, they'd ask you to leave. At this pub, if you paste articles, they will be deleted. Thank you in advance for your cooperation and I hope these will be insightful, interesting discussions for all. |