The U.S. spend more than any other country on its healthcare. The result being that we have the best quality overall. Yes, other countries have better access to basic services, but overall ours is better.
This is incorrect. The US does spend a ridiculous amount on health care. However, it is often substandard, and at best on the same level as Canada. Studies done at Harvard showed that a public health care system actually cost the government less and provided better services than the current American system. The private system wastes a lot of time and money on waging middlemen and HMOs that are unneccessary.
The U.S. is the center of the world's finacial markets. Of all the developed nations, we have the most open markets period. This is mainly due to our general stability. The world invests in our Bonds because they know the U.S. will be around to make good on them. The EC just started to get on the band wagon only ten years ago, and their growth is still sluggish. Yes, other countries have better growth rates, but you are talking about countries who are still developing. Sure , there are lots of great opportunities in China and Russia. They also have so many infrastructure needs, that seriously going there would require a lot of investment capital and long term planing to deal with the general insatbility. Better to stay in the US where you have an advanced market.
True now, but in decades time when the markets of the EU and China catch up, the US will be severely crippled economically. When the investing goes to those new markets, the US, which primarily relies on the services industry will have no natural resources to fall back on.
As far as education goes, The U.S. has more schools and educators than any other country in world. If our education system is so bad, then why do so many people come here to go to college? The problem is that it is unequal. We all know the schools in the rich neighborhoods are much better than the poor ones. This is definately a major problem which needs to be adressed. How I could not tell you.
It is the same in Canada. High school and below is basically useless in today's job market, so I will concentrate on university. Whereas not even 10 years ago University was affordable for everyone, now tuitions have increased almost 300%. There are more wealthy idiots than poor geniuses at schools now, which is terrible. The right of education will soon become a fantasy, and progress will be reduced as a result.
The redistribution of wealth (per you example) is not necessarily evil. Doctors make, in general, less money today than they did 30 years ago, not so much from government intervention but the creation of HMO's and major Hospital corporations. By using their massive financial leverage on the individual physicians, they were able to drive total costs down. Ideally this should have been passed on to the consumers. Instead, it went back to the corporations. While I do have sympathy for the extremely high malpractice insurance rates they have to pay, I really don't feel so bad for them overall. From what I can tell, most doctors still do quite well despite the recent changes. Also, just because a person went to school for 12+ years, does that somehow entitle them to make a fortune?
Although my opinion may be biased, I believe saving lives and preventing illness is more important and respectable than , for example, throwing a ball in a net, and is thus worth more money, but in today's monarchistic economy that values sport as greater than intelligence and social merit, its the other way around. Its pure marketing.
However, due to the ridiculous amount of debt that doctors come out with, we in Canada have less and less physicians taking up general practice, and more opting for the high-paying fields like Cardio, Ophtho, Derm, Plastics, ENT, etc. I honestly don't blame them one bit. If the docs aren't paid well enough they should either go to a high paying field or go to another country.
But, if you can't afford food, then doesn't that make you eligible for welfare (which is paid for by the taxes that were taken away from the poor!)? Welfare is only available for a year or something like that...just long enough to get back on your feet. If you can't get a regular-paying job (full-time at McDonald's is more than enough for the bare essentials) in a year, then you don't deserve anyone's gratitude.
This is a retarded statement. On welfare, with no education and a kid or two, this is what will happen:
1. the family will only be able to afford junk food, thus making them fat. The fatness will cost the health care system more and also make them less attractive.
2. Their lack of attractiveness will limit their employment to WalMart, and even that's a stretch.
3. WalMart doesn't pay enough to improve or even sustain an adequate quality of life.
4. Any hope for a better job is out the window, due to the lack of an education and lack of sufficient funds to start a business. Aside from porn, which pays better than walmart, they're basically in a pit of poverty for the rest of their lives.
They should do it like they do in Switzerland. Welfare is 7 years long, and is like a loan, not a handout. It pays for good food and an education. With that education one can get a job and pay the government back. If they fail to do so after the 7 year period, they are jailed and their children are taken away. That is fair.
(the rolling of the eyes symbolizes my loathe for the laziness and sloth of the western world)