Katie Wells
David August ❌👑
noplasticshower@davidaugust all true for less than 6,000,000 people
Arthur van der Harg@noplasticshower @davidaugust If it’s feasible with 6M people, then it should be much more doable with over 60 times as many.
Morten Juhl-Johansen@ArtHarg @noplasticshower @davidaugust Add to that just over 6 million people in Denmark.
I definitely take home a bigger part of what I have earned here in Denmark when I calculate in health care, childcare and education for myself and my family.
/Edit: My point was, I used to live in Brooklyn, so it is not a theoretical comparison.
I definitely take home a bigger part of what I have earned here in Denmark when I calculate in health care, childcare and education for myself and my family.
/Edit: My point was, I used to live in Brooklyn, so it is not a theoretical comparison.
@mjj @ArtHarg @davidaugust I understand your point and politically I agree with it. But it is very naive.
@[email protected] @davidaugust I wish that were true. I love Norway and have a great deal of respect for that approach. But you guys seem to have no sense of just how big and how disparate the US is.
For example, I live in the DC metro area which has more people in it than Norway and overlaps physically with the tips of two states and a District with different laws and different (sometimes nonexistent) representation.
California, about 20 states west is the same area as Norway with the 6.6 times more people.
@noplasticshower @davidaugust Then your argument should not be “for 6M people”, but “sorry, we chose a system of government that puts individual well and woe before collective action”. It’s not that you couldn’t do this in California or even in the entire US. The risks would be lower than for Norway. But it’s just that Americans are OK with paying for a stretch of road that they themselves drive on, but not for one that their neighbour drives on. That is what corporations exploit.
@ArtHarg @davidaugust that is my argument. Bye bye.
Jugger1511@noplasticshower @davidaugust in Germany it's truth für 83.500.000 people. If you are Not an idiot you can scale it Up . In the USA is health Care obsessed by criminals
CS@jugger1511 It might be somewhat fairer than in the US, but there is also a strong private sector in Germany‘s health system.
@jugger1511 @davidaugust the US includes at least 1/3 very stupid people
Mastokarl 🇺🇦@noplasticshower @davidaugust I assume for the majority of us 450,000,000 EU Europeans it is pretty similar. Certainly all of western Europe.
nickapos@Mastokarl @noplasticshower @davidaugust I know plenty of old people that would be goners in Greece if it was not for the public health system, with all its issues and delays it has kept them alive.
These are poor people living with pensions 200-300 euro per month.
These are poor people living with pensions 200-300 euro per month.
schamspeare@davidaugust Oof. So true. They want less government, fewer social programs, no assistance, no "handouts." They aspire to selfishness, which they call independence and self-reliance. So far behind they think they're in front.
Audelle Hinnant@davidaugust
I don't think people understand the idea of free Healthcare. Yes, paying for it in taxes, means it's not free. However, paying for it in taxes means, I don't have to go six years without glasses because I can't afford the exam. It means if my glasses break today, I can go to get an exam, get my prescription and go to get my glasses without taking from my food, rent, and clothing.
Not sure about glasses outside of the US, is that a separate charge?
I don't think people understand the idea of free Healthcare. Yes, paying for it in taxes, means it's not free. However, paying for it in taxes means, I don't have to go six years without glasses because I can't afford the exam. It means if my glasses break today, I can go to get an exam, get my prescription and go to get my glasses without taking from my food, rent, and clothing.
Not sure about glasses outside of the US, is that a separate charge?
Melancholic Mediocrity 
@faliate
I average about 8 or 9 years per set of eyeglasses.
DerPumu (he/him)@LibertyForward1 @faliate @davidaugust that may not last forever. At a certain age you might benefit from new glasses every 2-4 years
@DerPumu @faliate @davidaugust I would love to replace them that often, but I'm generally only able to scrape enough money together every decade or so
@LibertyForward1 @DerPumu @davidaugust
Right. My glasses broke six years ago, I cannot afford an exam, nor have the funds to get one.
If taxes go towards medical expenses, it should extend to the nearly blind as well. The longer we go without glasses the worse our eyes get. I know that is impossible in the US. However, for the countries that do have a universal health care, maybe petitioning the government departments that run these programmes and asking them to extend the medical benefits?
Right. My glasses broke six years ago, I cannot afford an exam, nor have the funds to get one.
If taxes go towards medical expenses, it should extend to the nearly blind as well. The longer we go without glasses the worse our eyes get. I know that is impossible in the US. However, for the countries that do have a universal health care, maybe petitioning the government departments that run these programmes and asking them to extend the medical benefits?
@faliate @LibertyForward1 @davidaugust in many countries glasses are part of "free" health care. Here in Germany it's covered by the mandatory health insurance.
To be precise, that's not taxes going towards medical, over here, taxes are separate from health insurance, so politicians can't line their industrial friends' pockets with that money.
To be precise, that's not taxes going towards medical, over here, taxes are separate from health insurance, so politicians can't line their industrial friends' pockets with that money.
Miha Markič@faliate @davidaugust In my country exams are free and glasses and lenses are subsidized.
@mihamarkic @faliate @davidaugust Eye tests are free in Scotland and NHS advises people to have one every 2 years.
Similarly dentist check ups cost less than 10£ with an X-ray and polish and they are also scheduled at least once per year via NHS. You can of course go in at any time if there is an emergency
Similarly dentist check ups cost less than 10£ with an X-ray and polish and they are also scheduled at least once per year via NHS. You can of course go in at any time if there is an emergency
@nickapos @faliate @davidaugust Free dentists checks and care over here in Slovenia including x rays.
🇨🇦 CowMan 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 🇲🇽@faliate @davidaugust Optical, dental, prescriptions are not covered in Canada. Well, not universally covered.
Ysegrim@faliate @davidaugust In Germany, though examination by an ophthalmologist is free, glasses are usually not covered, except if you're practically blind without them.
@ysegrim @davidaugust
This is why I wish my grandparents never left Germany. Also, one of the reasons why I want to migrate back to Germany. Besides the culture and food, there are many great things about Germany.
This is why I wish my grandparents never left Germany. Also, one of the reasons why I want to migrate back to Germany. Besides the culture and food, there are many great things about Germany.
decapitae
Debora Weber-Wulff@davidaugust
Not just Norway! Many European countries also have free healthcare, free college, parental leave, and more. It’s necessary to have a well-educated, healthy population that doesn’t fall for fascists…
Not just Norway! Many European countries also have free healthcare, free college, parental leave, and more. It’s necessary to have a well-educated, healthy population that doesn’t fall for fascists…
@WiseWoman indeed, a real bulwark against fascism.
j_bertolotti@WiseWoman As much as I love having free healthcare, parental leave etc, people in EU countries fall for fascism every other week.
@davidaugust
@davidaugust
True, although it is not every day. We still have lots of work to do!
Juan Per¢ent,🇲🇽 🍉,🇻🇪@j_bertolotti @WiseWoman @davidaugust They forgot how communists, syndicalists and organising got them to a place of dignity. Thatcher and her lot have eroded the laws and institutions with austerity, technocracy, privatization and individualistic propaganda. It's still holding up though.
Disisdeguey🔻PalestineAction🇵🇸@j_bertolotti @WiseWoman @davidaugust Well, the #USofRael have been living under fascism forever, and yet don't get any of those things.
I don't know I kind of like my universal health care and strong unions things and still don't get fascists rulling my country.
I don't know I kind of like my universal health care and strong unions things and still don't get fascists rulling my country.
David S@WiseWoman @davidaugust sadly there are plenty of European countries on the brink of falling for fascists lies and hollow promises.
Pino Carafa@Pionir @WiseWoman @davidaugust Very true but with the USA in thrall of Orange Mussolini I'm not sure how that observation has any bearing on the pros and cons of one tax system compared to the other?
Pamela Barroway – Biz Editor@davidaugust I would happily pay more so that my son and all our kids could have this.
xs4me2
KanaMaunaI wish for once someone would do a side by side comparison of all taxes and health costs for an average citizen of these 2 countries.
This isn't quite what I meant. What is the cost from the average citizen viewpoint? We need a comparison of the all taxes (national, local, sales, etc.) plus out of pocket health costs for a median family. Probably also better if it is done as a percentage of per capital income. Makes a much better argument that gets around the regional differences in salaries.
HarryMuttHave a look here. This is for Germany, but of course, you can draw the same conclusions for other countries from it.
It's fairly accurate, although there are even minor errors in her German calculations in favor to the American outcome.
https://youtu.be/DWJja2U7oCw
THE BIG DEBATE: American Capitalism vs. German "Socialism" - SALARIES, TAXES, & SOCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS
zed@davidaugust and poor people in the US often pay a higher tax rate than poor people in Norway, because of this little trick call “progressive taxation”
Same for Germany as compared to the US. But hey, you can't mention "progressive" to Americans. They think it's a "librul" conspiracy. ;-)
@HarryMutt @davidaugust I only actually assumed that’s the case in Norway, I don’t have any experience with Norway taxation. But I’m actually an American living in France and so I’m familiar with France and know it’s the case here.
Americans in many large cities also get triple taxed, by the US, their state, and their city. All the different localities adding their taxes together can also really add up, especially if you don’t work in the same jurisdiction where you live.
@HarryMutt @davidaugust in 2024 I paid taxes to the US, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Delaware, and Wilmington (I worked in Wilmington but lived in Philly).
Tyrone Slothrop@davidaugust “I like to pay taxes. With them, I buy civilization.”
— Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
joshbuddy@davidaugust I liked Tim Wu's point the other day that private corporation in America are basically creating a "private tax", where they are being extractive and taking the profits while provide no value to consumers. His example of this was Amazon's pay-for-boosting merchants pay into, and that gets translated into higher consumer prices.
I wonder if you could analyze this "private tax", maybe the tax rate wouldn't be that different?