Ignoring your silly propaganda at the end, but the reason I mentioned leaving, is not because im against your free speach blah blah blah But simply because as I stated before, your value align with europeans, not americans. The world is a free market, can you choose whatever free country you want to live in. Why would you subject yourself to living in amercia where the values are directly contrary to your euro-like values? Moving somewhere where the govt principles and values match your own simply makes sense. But dont stay in america and try to change it into europe. I LIKE america the way it is and dont want the euro system of rob from the working and give to the slackers, thank you very much. And no I dont blindly follow the govt leaders and think its great. Im for small govt and there are big problems in the US govt, just look at the push for socialized medicine Your attack on the founding fathers does nothing to discredit their original ideas that formed this country, so ill ignore that propaganda as well. There are no slaves today, and women vote and are equal, it all worked out and the constitution can directly be pointed at as the driving force. The US govt started walking the talk laid down by the founders and here we are. Unfortunately, they are now ignoring a lot of the original ideas and turning towards socialism. No thanks.
Cherry pick all you want, but I look around and see myself, in a nice place driving a nice car debt free with a huge pile of cash in the bank eating great and healthy food in health conscience california I work low hours I have months of vacation a year I have great health insurance with some of the best medical care in the world live in a crime free area have access to surfing, skiing, rock climbing, mountain biking, kite surfing, etc, all within short drives im quite happy thank you very much im not taxed to death for my hard work and yes I have a 60" flat screen and an xbox 360 So you see, and I can reverse cherry pick all day too and what does it prove? In the end, the study is correct, americans do have more cars, washer/driers, bigger homes, blah blah blah, and are not taxed to death nearly as much as europeans. Eating crap food, working long hours, huge debt, that all depends on the individual. In the usa, we have the freedom to be whatever we want without a stupid govt bearing down on us, stepping on our necks with a big black boot and never allowing us to accumulate any real wealth like in europe. With euro tax rates, building wealth is so hard. Id just be an unemployed bum, go surf every day, collect my govt cheese, and let the slackers pay for my lazy ass At least here, I can reap the rewards of my hard work and get to where I am today, cruising on easy street, stress free with financial security.
I think it is important to figure the difference in tax rates. For someone with a decent income, paying private insurance is a better deal. Now if you have a low income, the value of the government health plan is basically fixed so it becomes a greater percentage of your income. Say, 500/month on a 60k salary is 10%. But the same 500/month health plan on a 150k salary is only 4% of gross. Definitely a socialist system. Optimal use of your time re: health care is to be unemployed if it's free for all. We could solve this pretty quick but there would be a revolt among the low-paid. The government could just make health insurance mandatory (like auto liability insurance) in most states, and demand that employers provide it and deduct it from employees paychecks. That would leave most low-paid jobs unfilled as they would pay nothing or negative wages.
So the part I am stuck at is why you feel that this is the case for most of the country. It must be just one person who keeps running up consumer debt & subprime loans. Oh wait, you were trying to counter my argument. Cause notating that 40% of America is living below the poverty line is cherry-picking. Nice one. People do build wealth in Europe, you do realize they actually have a POSITIVE savings rate, unlike USA. Do you completely ignore the fact of the Euro strength? There is some wealth building right there, even if you are just sitting there getting handouts. Reverse is USA, where inflation is rampant and the USD is sinking. California is not at all representative of USA. Ironically, California is notorious for filling up human storages with those no longer "economically viable" in the new economy. Might want to investigate the heavy lobbying behind "three strikes" rule. 10-20 years ago, US had the higher standard of living. Now that illusion is being kept up by consumer debt, statistics & paper pushing. This is the new America: weakening dollar, rampant inflation, shrinking wages and a deteriorating job base. You know, someone like you can argue about the great standard of living in USA, but you certainly can't argue about where it's headed. Seriously, educate yourself about the many different European nations. You seem to have the impression that there are zero opportunities there. Even tiny nations like Cyprus have numerous opportunities which are no longer available here.
the insured price is a fraction of the cash price.it is ridiculous situation that the uninsured or cash paying should subsidize rhe insured. everybody in the US should be allowed to join a group plan to spread the risk.
next step would be to force the employer to contribute, which will leadito higher unemployment like the european model
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_rates_around_the_world#List_of_tax_rates_around_the_world Looking at the above site, Europe's tax rates are not bad at all. I think the US has close to the highest rates in the world when you add in state and social security taxes, not to mention other taxes like sales and property taxes. Plus if you are self employed, you pay full cost of health insurance. If you are an employee, you may have to contribute partially.
Guys, the situation in Europe is not good. I have a lot of family and friends there. Yes, if you are a bank trader in London, you are living in style. For everyone else, the unemployment there is disgraceful. Over 10% in Germany and France. Property values are getting crushed outside the big cities. Savings rates are high sure, but they have no EQUITY!!!! Trust me man, it ain't good. When you compare the amount of money that americans have in stock, bonds and real estate, we blow Europe out the back door. The savings rate does not take this into account and that is why it's a joke of an indicator. Europeans don't have millions in 401k plans like we do, they don't have millions in IRA's. Oh and as for their health insurance. It's not free in most countries, you pay for it. All my family pays for health insurance over there. Yes, they have subsidized health care for the poor which is analogous to our health care clinics here and free emergency room care. Are there problems with the US? Of course there are. But compared to Europe, we are fine.
Your numbers don't include local taxes and also the rental taxes you pay over there. Yes, you heard me correctly, you actually pay tax to rent, not own!!!!