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I'm Scottish and while I've not quite experienced it myself, I'm happy living in Europe where m taxes are spent on health care as opposed to bombs. It's not so

I'm Scottish and while I've not quite experienced it myself, I'm happy living in Europe where m taxes are spent on health care as opposed to bombs. It's not so much shocking as it is just really sad. :(

dyno12345 13y ago
It's not zero-sum. The US already spends more per capita on healthcare than every other country. It just does so extremely inefficaciously.
- ownagefool 13y ago
  Are you talking about the states/fed? As that'd suprise me.
  - roguecoder 13y ago
    It's almost all the result of the extra administrative overhead from our fragmented insurance market, profits to the for-profit hospitals and insurance companies and the extremely expensive ineffective end-of-life care that is incentivized by that incredibly messed up system.
    - ownagefool 13y ago
      Yeah but that'd all seem to be from private individuals, which seems to fit with my idea of a US that is more than happy to collectivly suffer, as long as folks don't feel anyone is getting a free ride. It's a stupidly short sighted game of russian roulette but nowhere near as hilarious as if the Government itself really does pay out more per capitita than anywhere else in the world.
      - dyno12345 13y ago
        It really is that bad. http://flipchartfairytales.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/health-per-capita.jpg http://flipchartfairytales.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/healt... When limited only to public spending, Norway and Luxembourg spend more per capita, but that's it
- nemesis1637 13y ago
  True. Not only does the US as a nation spend more on healthcare than almost anyone else, US citizens also spend more on healthcare than citizens of almost any other country. So the govt. and the citizens are paying boat-loads--that's inefficiency. And, it doesn't help anything that we're one of the most unhealthy nations.
- nemesis1637 13y ago
  Yes, the state http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_health_expenditure_(PPP)_per_capita http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_heal...
ims 13y ago
And the rest of the Western world, like it or not, is able to spend less on defense precisely because -- thanks to some unique events in the 20th century -- the US is effectively providing a defense subsidy for all of its allies. I'm not advocating, just saying. Perhaps European countries would have to spend more if the US did not concern itself with the rest of the world? Food for thought.
- justin66 13y ago
  > the US is effectively providing a defense subsidy for all of its allies. Not to mention the defense industry.
- pionar 13y ago
  This. Also, if you live anywhere and think your taxes don't go to defense spending, you're delusional.
  - fasouto 13y ago
    Obviously. Every country in the world spend money in defense, the difference is the percentage of the GDP spent.
    - dragonwriter 13y ago
      > Obviously. Every country in the world spend money in defense, the difference is the percentage of the GDP spent. Kind of like healthcare. Where, germane to other arguments made in the thread, the US also spends a larger share of its GDP than other developed countries, so, no, other developed countries aren't able to provide universal healthcare through public spending because of a "security subsidy" from the US; there able to do so because their mostly-public healthcare systems are more efficient than the US system which splits costs between public and private systems nearly evenly (with a slight private bias.)
- rza 13y ago
  This may have been true in the Cold War, but that war has long been over. To say that US defense spending now is benefiting anyone in any way now is laughable, except for maybe South Korea and Taiwan. If anything, our meddling has raised security concerns for all our European allies due to the displacement and disruption of life by our actions in the Middle East.

dyno12345 13y ago

It's not zero-sum. The US already spends more per capita on healthcare than every other country. It just does so extremely inefficaciously.

ownagefool 13y ago
Are you talking about the states/fed? As that'd suprise me.
- roguecoder 13y ago
  It's almost all the result of the extra administrative overhead from our fragmented insurance market, profits to the for-profit hospitals and insurance companies and the extremely expensive ineffective end-of-life care that is incentivized by that incredibly messed up system.
  - ownagefool 13y ago
    Yeah but that'd all seem to be from private individuals, which seems to fit with my idea of a US that is more than happy to collectivly suffer, as long as folks don't feel anyone is getting a free ride. It's a stupidly short sighted game of russian roulette but nowhere near as hilarious as if the Government itself really does pay out more per capitita than anywhere else in the world.
    - dyno12345 13y ago
      It really is that bad. http://flipchartfairytales.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/health-per-capita.jpg http://flipchartfairytales.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/healt... When limited only to public spending, Norway and Luxembourg spend more per capita, but that's it
nemesis1637 13y ago
True. Not only does the US as a nation spend more on healthcare than almost anyone else, US citizens also spend more on healthcare than citizens of almost any other country. So the govt. and the citizens are paying boat-loads--that's inefficiency. And, it doesn't help anything that we're one of the most unhealthy nations.
nemesis1637 13y ago
Yes, the state http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_health_expenditure_(PPP)_per_capita http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_heal...

ims 13y ago

And the rest of the Western world, like it or not, is able to spend less on defense precisely because -- thanks to some unique events in the 20th century -- the US is effectively providing a defense subsidy for all of its allies. I'm not advocating, just saying. Perhaps European countries would have to spend more if the US did not concern itself with the rest of the world? Food for thought.

justin66 13y ago
> the US is effectively providing a defense subsidy for all of its allies. Not to mention the defense industry.
pionar 13y ago
This. Also, if you live anywhere and think your taxes don't go to defense spending, you're delusional.
- fasouto 13y ago
  Obviously. Every country in the world spend money in defense, the difference is the percentage of the GDP spent.
  - dragonwriter 13y ago
    > Obviously. Every country in the world spend money in defense, the difference is the percentage of the GDP spent. Kind of like healthcare. Where, germane to other arguments made in the thread, the US also spends a larger share of its GDP than other developed countries, so, no, other developed countries aren't able to provide universal healthcare through public spending because of a "security subsidy" from the US; there able to do so because their mostly-public healthcare systems are more efficient than the US system which splits costs between public and private systems nearly evenly (with a slight private bias.)
rza 13y ago
This may have been true in the Cold War, but that war has long been over. To say that US defense spending now is benefiting anyone in any way now is laughable, except for maybe South Korea and Taiwan. If anything, our meddling has raised security concerns for all our European allies due to the displacement and disruption of life by our actions in the Middle East.