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Countries with free health care for everybody can still offer plenty of incentives for making money, I don't think anyone would argue the UK isn't a capitalist

by corin_ 15y ago

Countries with free health care for everybody can still offer plenty of incentives for making money, I don't think anyone would argue the UK isn't a capitalist country, and if you came to live here I'm confident that the NHS wouldn't be enough to make you stop caring about wealth. I'm not in favour of communism, but as far as I'm concerned, medical care should be considered a right not a priviledge - there's really no benefit to denying it for the poor. (For the record, I fit into the group of people who could easily affordto go private with Bupa here in the UK, and I'm far happier paying more in taxes to subsidise the NHS.)

arethuza 15y ago
I would urge caution when using the terms "free" when discussing the NHS in a context like HN - I know you mean "free at the point of delivery" when you say "free" but many people won't! :-)
- corin_ 15y ago
  Obviously it has to be paid for, and I did end with the words "paying more in taxes to subsidise the NHS", but it's not as simple as paying for in advance, because people who don't make enough money to pay taxes, the unemployed, or people who need healthcare that costs more than the taxes they have paid do get it free.
javert 15y ago
The UK is not a capitalist country in the proper sense of the term, it's a mixed economy. I believe keeping what you earn is a right. You believe free medical care is a right. Not mutually compatible. Glad I don't live in the same country as you.
- corin_ 15y ago
  Is there any true capitalist country then? Where do you live that you don't have to pay any taxes?
  - javert 15y ago
    Is there any true capitalist country then? No. And I do have to pay taxes. I live in a country where there are a lot of people that do agree with you (the US), so my remark was a bit facetious. Actually, it's a double punishment to live here, because not only is the government taking lots of money to pay for the medical system, but Americans are too incompetent, broadly speaking, to run a centralized medical system. So the more the government spends, the more it sucks. At least you Europeans can make socialized medicine "work" in some sense of the term.

by corin_ 15y ago

arethuza 15y ago

I would urge caution when using the terms "free" when discussing the NHS in a context like HN - I know you mean "free at the point of delivery" when you say "free" but many people won't! :-)

corin_ 15y ago
Obviously it has to be paid for, and I did end with the words "paying more in taxes to subsidise the NHS", but it's not as simple as paying for in advance, because people who don't make enough money to pay taxes, the unemployed, or people who need healthcare that costs more than the taxes they have paid do get it free.

javert 15y ago

The UK is not a capitalist country in the proper sense of the term, it's a mixed economy. I believe keeping what you earn is a right. You believe free medical care is a right. Not mutually compatible. Glad I don't live in the same country as you.

corin_ 15y ago
Is there any true capitalist country then? Where do you live that you don't have to pay any taxes?
- javert 15y ago
  Is there any true capitalist country then? No. And I do have to pay taxes. I live in a country where there are a lot of people that do agree with you (the US), so my remark was a bit facetious. Actually, it's a double punishment to live here, because not only is the government taking lots of money to pay for the medical system, but Americans are too incompetent, broadly speaking, to run a centralized medical system. So the more the government spends, the more it sucks. At least you Europeans can make socialized medicine "work" in some sense of the term.