First off, all developed countries in the modern world have these things in place, and the U.S sticks out like a sore thumb among them as one of the only nations that doesn't have universal healthcare. I'm sorry Americans, but I've visited your fine country quite frequently and Medicaid is a sorry, underfunded, over-stretched piss poor example of anything that could ever closely resemble universal care. Why do all these other countries have socialized medicine, welfare, etc?
Who, specifically, are these "developed" countries you speak of?
Secondly, the quality of health care in the United States is extremely good -- if you have health insurance.
If I need my gall bladder removed, I can get it done within a couple of days in the United States and it costs me virtually nothing out of pocket. The same is not true in Canada, UK, France, or Germany.
In the United States, I can make a doctor's appointment with the doctor of my choice and go in the next day. So if I have a sore throat or some other piddly thing I can get in right away. The same cannot be said in Canada, UK, France, or Germany where (according to people there) getting an appointment that week is very problematic, especially during certain times of the year.
In the United States, hot weather means our air conditioner bills goes up. In France, it means thousands of people in the government run hospitals die. I don't think I've ever heard of a case of someone dying in a US hospital to heat stroke due to external weather conditions.
95% of Americans either have good health insurance or can afford good health insurance. That leaves 5% (which admittedly is about 15 million people) who are citizens of our country who can't afford good health insurance.
I'm not willing to sacrifice the quality of health care that 95% have in order for the bottom 5% to have "Free" access.
So why haven't Americans seen the light as to the benefits of socialized care for all citizens? In my humble opinion there's a disturbing trend that I've noticed when I visit my American brothers and sisters- I call it the "I've got mine" mentality, and it bears no political affiliation- it's present in both liberal and conservatives (in my humble opinion). It's the attitude that everyone is on their own, the only rule of the game is to look out for #1, and if someone gets in the way of your goal or is going after the same thing you are, don't work together, stomp the fuck out of the guy and take the prize for yourself! Now please do not misunderstand me- this is not a rant against Americans, nor am I trying to attack your way of life. I am trying to understand it. What I see regularly is good hardworking people turned against each other by a system that encourages competition over cooperation and operates under a sink or swim mentality.
Americans would call this self-reliance. Yes, our culture values self reliance. We frown on those who cannot take care of themselves.
It's not a matter of selfishness, it's a matter of valuing our own independence. Americans, even on a per capita basis, give more to charity individually than any country in Western Europe or Canada.
Those who feel the government should take care of everything tend to give up their own individual responsibility -- even in the area of charitable giving.
Americans believe people should be responsible for their own lives. But that has nothing to do with generosity. Feel free to name a country whose citizeny are more generous than the people of the United States.
