No part of any world has free healthcare.
I agree. Either you pay for your need out of your pocket or everyone contribute to the healthcare system with taxes. There is no such thing as a free lunch. However, the term "free healthcare" is used for healthcare that is publically funded, and that's the definition I'm going to use. What is mentioned as "free" is in fact publically funded.
You pay for it with gigantic ridiculously high taxes.
What you consider "ridiculously high taxes" has to be set in proportion of what you get for your tax money. For example, if I pay 10% but it's all used to pay our politicians an nothing more, that would be "ridiculously high taxes" because nothing is being spent on anything productive. What if I pay 30-35% tax but I get free education (from primary school to university), free healthcare, subsidised childcare, generous parental leave as well as a well maintained road and train infrastructure? I would be happy to live in a coutry like that because you got a lot of value from your tax money, it's not "ridiculously high taxes" in that case.
You pay for it with a depressed economy.
Australia is doing well at the moment. It was pretty much the only country that was left untouched by the GFC. Northern Europe (especially Finland and Sweden) is doing great; balanced state budgets and a healthy economy. And these two countries (and Australia) have free healthcare and education. Nothing depressing there (except the cold and the darkness amybe;) )! Please compare the economy of these three countries with free healthcase with the US economy that doesn't have free healthcare. Well, it seems that US is paying for it's non-free healthcare with a depressed economy.
You pay for it with depressed technology.
Huh? Have you seen the technology in north Europe? Just take broadband connection as a percentage of population. All nordic countries (Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark) have a higher coverave of broadband than US. Sweden, considered to be a high salary country, still manage to be an export driven economy. Why? Well, if you can't compete with salary you have to do things more efficiently. So the basis of the Swedish inustry success is skilled workers and smart technlogy. Have you seen the amount of automation? I have visited the huge mine in the north of Sweden, it's the world largest underground mine. It's relly impressed. The guys controlling the loaders were not sitting in the loaders, they were sitting in a control room a couple of 100 metres above the loaders. Being a miner is not a dirty and dangerous job there.
You pay for it with rampant poverty.
I disagree. To use tax money to pay for things that are in everyones interest helps reduce poverty. Why? Well, should your ability to study be dictated by your parents bank account? Education and healthcare should not be a privilige for the rich. It is in everyones interest that this is publically funded. If you are just looking at cold number, take this example: A guy is injured and can not work. He can't afford to go to the doctor and as such is left out of the workforce. If he had access to free helthcare he could go to the doctor and get cured (medication, rehabilitation or whatever) and he could join the workforc again. He will then earn money so he could live, he will spend money and he will help with improving the economy. For me, this is an example that free healthcare helps the economy and reduces poverty. Non-free healthcare only helps to maintaine the gap between rich and poor.
You pay, you pay and then you pay some more, whether you need any healthcare or not.
Yes, thats how it works with taxes. Maybe you won't get everying cent paid in tax back this year but maybe some other year you are receiveing more that you paid. I'll balance itself. You have to consider that one tax rate is supposed to pay for all stages in life. Your parents pay taxes for you so you have the privilige to be born (at least here delivery is for free). You will get paid education. You will start wokrking, start a family and you will pay taxes for the benefits of your children. And later you will retire. You have to ask yourself, is the tax rate you pay now a good investment for all the benefits that you will receive trough your life?
You can be 100% healthy every day for 10 years but you will still PAY thousands of $$$$ every single year for your "free healthcare".[/QUOTE]
I won't argue against that. In fact, I a ok with paying taxes to the healthcare for someone in need. One day it will be my turn to use the healthcare and I'm not going to complaing about the "ridiculously high taxes" I've paid in the past when I'm in the situation when I need help from the public!
Oh, so much ranting. Most of it might be incomprehensible. Sorry for being politically but it was too good of a bait to not bite. Oh, I need coffee:drink:
