The USA has refined the art of extracting money from people who are scared for their well being. Edit: Here are a couple of the many forces contributing to th

The USA has refined the art of extracting money from people who are scared for their well being. Edit: Here are a couple of the many forces contributing to this: * Political corruption is legal, in the form of lobbying. Politicians spend up to 70% of their time negotiating campaign money and large corporate donors can effectively fire (not-re-elect) any politician by not donating their campaign. Donors use this to "independently" lobby for laws that benefit them, effectively writing laws. Large health insurance companies, pharmaceuticals, etc. take full advantage of this. * Large employers are able to negotiate and purchase insurance at lower prices, and then offer better/any health insurance as employment benefits. This allows them to negotiate cheaper labor, on a very large scale -- if you want health insurance for your children and spouse, you are more likely to put up with an employer who pressures you for more work and treats you badly.