the lounge

I am not particularly fond of either party and I am even less fond of the bipartisan system in the US. Some amendments the system have been long overdue but I honestly do not know what the best direction would be.

Coming back to the healthcare topic. Healthcare is not free in Europe. That is a very big misconception. We pay for it through taxes. There are a few different variations of it within the EU with varying degrees of state involvement each with each own benefits and drawbacks.

Actually in a lot of countries healthcare is neither public nor universal but simply regulated by the state. Also it is always possible to opt-out of it and get private health insurance or get it on top in order to extend coverage. Under certain conditions, this can actually be an even better/cheaper option.

Moreover, in no occasion has healthcare bankrupted the economy of any country. What has happened is actually kind of the opposite. Countries' administration have (partially) bankrupted the healthcare system by misusing the tax reserves meant for healthcare. Ironically, insurance companies have done the exact same thing and it was even worse. But this goes to show that insurance, regardless if private, public or hybrid, is a very inefficient way to purchase healthcare.

If you ask me, the right to access to healthcare should be universal. Healthcare ensures that people stay alive, healthy and with high life quality even at a higher age which from a macroeconomic point of view means that people can remain highly productive for a longer time which should help the economy. Sure, there are some demographic problems arising but this an entirely different topic.

I also believe that healthcare should be a mostly non-commercial/competitive sector and mostly controlled by government.

^This.

Also it was mentioned before that if US citizens don't like the conditions, they should move to another country. First of all, why not try and improve on the aspects they do not like? Is the country impervious to criticism and improvements? These really are the foundational blocks of progress.

For the ones who actually want to leave, it turns out that the deck is stacked against them.

The US is one of the 3 countries in the world with an expatriation tax, meaning it is taxing citizens that choose to immigrate abroad. This significantly narrows down the list of countries that it makes financial sense to immigrate to. There is always the option to abandon US citizenship but this can make things complicated in terms of acquiring another citizenship.

Moreover most Americans do not speak a second language (21% Americans speak a second language) and of those who do, it is unclear if they are fluent enough in it in order to live in another country. Also, the most common foreign languages spoken are Spanish (50%), French (12%) German (5,7%) and Japanese (4,9%) That is also a very limiting factor.

Also immigrating is quite an expensive endeavor, so the people that actually can do it are quite few

@Speed Chaser, what I meant was it's not something that is easily learnt, it has to be taught. It's fairly specialized knowledge and there aren't any youtube videos guiding you on how to use an RPG or fly a heli. Safely anyway. I do think that said equipment ought to be destroyed by airstrike though, atleast cos it looks bad to have the enemy gallivanting around with our equipment.

@ORJ, I feel bad for you man. Your immigrant co-worker made a sucker out of you. Weren't you entitled to any benefits as well?
Also, I clearly was lied to with regards to native land.
Fuck.
My.
Life.
Sell the land if they want to, just don't come crying afterwards...

I should probably declare that I'm not a Democrat or even a huge supporter of them.(obviously, I'm a foreigner, and I'm generally independent) I have no great love for their brand of politics or the fact that they are a little too close to corporate interests for my liking. I also think they are bunch of lazy cunts.

Actually speaking of health care, I'm now strongly considering 2 surgeries that cost like 8K usd and 40K usd......
I now actually have to look up my insurance details....