Astronomer

Well I'm from Australia so it totally baffles me that other countries don't have public healthcare, and that in other countries healthcare can even be unaffordable. To me, that is a really alien concept. A few years ago, I was in hospital for 4 weeks for a medical condition and was giving medication, tests, various medical treatments and I didn't pay a single cent.

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hip hop bunny hop

Speaking of alien concepts; how does paying taxes for a service to make it socialized somehow make the same service free? The ****s only free if you don't pay taxes...

Now, in regards to the notion that healthcare pre-Obamacare was unafforable: no. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a clinic that has a sliding fee scale based on income. So, no.


Well, yeah. link - when the BLS shows you're getting 35 part time jobs for every one full time job...

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Burning Down

It's nearly free for me here because I pay next to nothing in taxes to the government - I get a lot of my income through private teaching so I just deduct everything that I can. This year I didn't pay anything in income tax because my employer paid too much back to the government (tax comes out of my paycheck right away here), and I deducted business expenses for my teaching.

Feels pretty good to get government services for free this year if I do say so myself

djchameleon

I also hear another work around is that businesses will be firing employees and re-hiring them as independent contractors so that they file a 1099. I'm not sure if that loop hole will work but small businesses are getting creative to get out of paying the taxes for Obamacare.

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Fame, fortune, power, titties. People say these are the most crucial things in life, but you can have a pocket full o' gold and it doesn't mean sh*t if you don't have someone to share that gold with. Seems simple. Yet it's an important lesson to learn. Even lone wolves run in packs sometimes.

Astronomer

This is a myth, our tax levels are not that different. Australians really don't pay that much more tax than Americans, unless you are in like the top tiny percent of high income earners, which I doubt any of us here are.

List of countries by tax rates - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So our tax levels are pretty similar, perhaps ours are just better utlised towards areas like health, rather than areas like defense and interest on your country's debt. Personally I'd rather have my tax go towards a healthcare system such as ours over here, because I can't believe the stories I hear from other countries of people not being able to afford adequate healthcare. Thanks to our system, I've always been able to afford the medical assistance I need, and I've never worried about medical bills in my life.

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Burning Down

Wow, Americans pay more in payroll taxes than Canadians, according to that list. And I saw that the max individual taxation is about the same on average... so really, the average American who works full time is paying more taxes than their Canadian counterpart. And then also paying for health insurance on top of that. WHAT. THE. FUCK.

Unknown Soldier

I think you've missed the point of healthcare in certain countries, I can't exactly speak for Australia, but I'd guess the whole thing was based on the UK model. Sure it's all funded from taxation, but the point is that in the UK, is that it's completely free for every resident, regardless of whether they pay taxes or not. So as far as the general public is concerned it's a free service.

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hip hop bunny hop

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I don't remember saying that Australia had higher taxes, but, yeah, it is unfortunate that some segments of the USA feel compelled to engage in massively idiotic, unnecessary foreign policy schemes such as providing loans below cost to the British during WW2.

Except, you know, most Americans pay nothing in income taxes. As in, a whole 50% of the country pays absolutely nothing.

Now, in regards to the fact that the traditional American viewpoint is that the Government need not provide for its citizens some sort of healthcare, this is true. That this differs from some other countries is, of course, also true. This is, of course, yet another sign of American superiority and how American culture remains the most vibrant on earth. Sorry, I see no need to shackle greatness with your pitiful slave morality!

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Have mercy on the poor.

Burning Down

Please expound on that thought.

Astronomer

Sorry, I will clarify - I was responding to your comment about healthcare not being "free" unless you aren't paying taxes. Well, essentially this is true per se but I am calling it "free" for the purpose of the description in that you go to hospital and don't pay any out of pocket expenses (but you do pay taxes out of your income) but you are not directly paying for the health services at the time.

If two countries pay the same in taxes, yet one country gets "free" (in the sense that I am using the term) healthcare and the other does not, this must been that one country is utlising the taxes to create a public healthcare scheme, whereas the other country is using their taxes towards other avenues (in the US, most taxes primarily go towards military and interest on debt.)

Personally I feel lucky that I pay the same taxes as other parts of the world and that the taxes that I pay go towards a public healthcare system that I can utilise. It is very possible that I could be paying taxes AND having to pay for my healthcare. Fortunately, I get "free" healthcare (in the sense that I am using the term).

That is what I meant.

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