Almost all of these other nations have higher tax rates than the US, are in more debt than the US (to the point of going bankrupt in the most serious of cases), and have a plethora of other problems. They also run their systems much better than we do here in the US.
However, you say a "livable wage" should be a right - but that's just not, frankly, possible in our current economic world (or any viable one for that matter). If everyone started making, say $15 dollars/hr as fast food workers want, what would happen? Well, restaurants would suddenly be paying 1 person what they used to pay 2. So one of two things will happen (or more likely, a combination of both) - they'll raise prices, or they'll lay people off. If they raise prices, they'll have to raise them by about or more than what the wages were raised by. So you just end up with higher cost products - sure the people are making more money, but the value of 1 dollar went down because the cost of products/services went up. So in effect, if you increase minimum wage, you also increase living wage, and you can never achieve (through strict regulation/laws alone) a minimum+living wage combined.
btw I agree with the two italicized statements you made ---so i just realized the whole darn quote becomes italicized. i bolded them instead oopsie.
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Sorry I can't respond to more, there's so much and it'd be nitpicking. But to "You spend your entire life healing people." - No. You spend your entire life fighting insurance companies to even make 80 cents on the dollar for what you need to break even for your equipment and time. You spend your days overbooked because of the way you have to schedule. You spend every day afraid the next patient you see may bring a lawsuit that you have to spend money to fight - just because you did everything you could to help them and they weren't satisfied. Being a doctor is not an easy job, and I'd go so far as to say in today's world it's a pretty horrible one to have, sadly.
Didn't stop me from making it my career choice though (for other reasons though, I'm going into pediatric neurosurgery hopefully)
However, you say a "livable wage" should be a right - but that's just not, frankly, possible in our current economic world (or any viable one for that matter). If everyone started making, say $15 dollars/hr as fast food workers want, what would happen? Well, restaurants would suddenly be paying 1 person what they used to pay 2. So one of two things will happen (or more likely, a combination of both) - they'll raise prices, or they'll lay people off. If they raise prices, they'll have to raise them by about or more than what the wages were raised by. So you just end up with higher cost products - sure the people are making more money, but the value of 1 dollar went down because the cost of products/services went up. So in effect, if you increase minimum wage, you also increase living wage, and you can never achieve (through strict regulation/laws alone) a minimum+living wage combined.
btw I agree with the two italicized statements you made ---so i just realized the whole darn quote becomes italicized. i bolded them instead oopsie.
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Sorry I can't respond to more, there's so much and it'd be nitpicking. But to "You spend your entire life healing people." - No. You spend your entire life fighting insurance companies to even make 80 cents on the dollar for what you need to break even for your equipment and time. You spend your days overbooked because of the way you have to schedule. You spend every day afraid the next patient you see may bring a lawsuit that you have to spend money to fight - just because you did everything you could to help them and they weren't satisfied. Being a doctor is not an easy job, and I'd go so far as to say in today's world it's a pretty horrible one to have, sadly.
Didn't stop me from making it my career choice though (for other reasons though, I'm going into pediatric neurosurgery hopefully)
I agree with your statement about how many countries have better-run systems than the U.S. Take healthcare, for instance. The reason why U.S. healthcare spending is so high (~18% GDP compared to ~9% OECD average) is precisely because of the system, which is highly complex and characterized by high administrative costs and poorer health outcomes. A fairly large portion of each healthcare dollar goes towards administrative costs due to the immense labyrinth of private insurance. When you compare the US healthcare system to countries like the UK, where healthcare is guaranteed and universal, you can really see the flaws in the US system. In these countries, medical bankruptcy is unheard of, doctors don't have to pay upwards of $800k for their education and worry about malpractice suits, and all costs and fees are reasonable and highly transparent. Meanwhile, in the US thousands of people go bankrupt due to medical fees each year, procedures and drugs are highly marked up, and the overall system is motivated by profit. Sure, the NHS has some flaws, but there is a very good reason why the UK takes such pride in it -- it's simple and effective. Costs and procedures are highly regulated through NICE whereas in the US, Medicare can't even fight pharmaceutical companies to lower costs. Doctors in the UK are paid less, but they pay far less for medical school and malpractice insurance and PCPs are paid on a per-patient rather than fee-for-service basis, meaning that preventive care is emphasized as doctors are encouraged to keep patients healthy.
Totally went off-topic there, but healthcare is really something I'm interested in. If you want to learn more about other national systems of healthcare, I highly recommend you read The Healing of America by T.R. Reid.
Survival of the fittest, is all I can say at this point. May be sad, but true
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Are you familiar with social darwinism? Y'know, the school of thought used to justify things like racism?