Submitted by Sorin61 t3_yc8qmg in technology
TheMotorcycleBoy t1_itkyxwx wrote
Reply to comment by StabledGenius in The US Navy wants swarms of thousands of small drones by Sorin61
I know that was a joke but just in case this sort of thing starts to creep into 'mainstream thinking'...
Military spending is 3.29% of GDP. You already spend more in tax per person in the US on universal healthcare than the UK does (probably plenty of other free-at-point-of-use countries as well, I just haven't seen the stats.)
It's not the misdirection of tax dollars into the military that's the (main) problem. The problem is the exorbitant prices of healthcare and drugs in the US. The companies involved in that lucrative arrangement are not keen for any reform of healthcare service provision, and they pay / lobby / donate / propagandise to keep things as they are.
One aspect of that propagandising is to reassure US voters that the richest country in the world is not able to afford free healthcare because it's money is tied up in 'military spending' to protect all these uppity European countries while those socialist idiots waste all their resources on their universal healthcare and free higher education. It's a hollow claim. US military spending is around 3.29% GDP and most European countries its around 2%.
Sorry to get all heavy - because it's a reply to what was obviously only a light-hearted and oft-repeated quote. Just needs to be said.
anti-torque t1_itlv74a wrote
>You already spend more in tax per person in the US on universal healthcare than the UK does (probably plenty of other free-at-point-of-use countries as well, I just haven't seen the stats.)
I ran the numbers 3 years ago, and we were spending $10.7k per capita in health care. About $6k of that was in taxes. Iirc, Switzerland paid the second most, with $7.7k--all taxes, I think, which go straight to private insurance to handle everything. And I thin the UK comes in third in per capita expenses, just under $6k, with most Euro universal systems close behind.
It wouldn't be a problem if outcomes matched the expense, as they do in Switzerland. But the US outcomes match more closely with places like Costa Rica, where they spent about $3k per capita, annually.
TheMotorcycleBoy t1_itm4l1i wrote
At this time of year, as we approach Halloween, more than ever, we are grateful to those who do the math.
memberjan6 t1_itl1187 wrote
Why tf do you claim to know that healthcare is a joke?
MakionGarvinus t1_itl98d1 wrote
In the US, we have some of the highest levels of care, paired with the lowest levels of access.
Supertrinko t1_itmymia wrote
Yeah Americans have this sort of pride in the idea that "socialist" countries have to sit in waiting rooms for hours, or on waiting lists for months. That the American system is some point of pride because you get healthcare when and as you need it.
The fact is though, that you get it so quick because most people can't afford it. If healthcare were affordable, a lot more people would use it and the waiting lists would be longer.
Some people will then make excuses to keep such a system.
MakionGarvinus t1_itn1c1c wrote
In Canada, most hospitals around where my wife is from charge a $20-50 co-pay. That prevents people from coming in with a cold, and clogging the system just to be told to take a couple days rest. I think they do have a version of supplementary insurance that you can pay for, and get extra / 'better' care.
Supertrinko t1_itn21hn wrote
Couldn't that be better targeted by saying "If we determine that you come to the emergency room for a non-emergency, you'll be charged the co-pay fee."
In NZ, we pay $40 for a GP consult ($80 if it's a GP you aren't registered to), but it's free if you go to the hospital and hang around in triage until they finally get to you.
I would very much like it if hospitals just said "This could have been a GP visit, so pay us $80." It would stop people just using emergency rooms as a free doctor's visit.
But free doctor's visits could also help that.
MakionGarvinus t1_itn2d9q wrote
From what I've heard, it becomes a problem around areas with a lot of natives. $20 to 'hang out' stops that.
Supertrinko t1_itnfme4 wrote
In NZ, it's an issue with low socioeconic groups, which so happens to be "natives".
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