Sales tax in Europe. Wow! I had no idea.

@graphite Well, you're American, you're not very well educated. Tell me, does the tax you "save" offset your healthcare bills? And your university fees?

People in Europe do not declare bankruptcy because of their taxes. And they certainly do not declare bankruptcy because they cannot afford healthcare.

More importantly, people in Europe don't die because they cannot afford healthcare.

@iamthe99 We have to pay for that stuff ourselves. Best medical care in the world, fine universities.

@graphite Well, quite apart from the fact that the US neither has the best healthcare in the world, nor the best universities, only those who can afford it will have access, will they not?

@iamthe99 Pretty much everybody I know has been to college. And yes, the US health care system has problems, such as giving free health care to illegals while taxpaying citizens don't get that.

@graphite I see. You don't think, perhaps, the problem is that the US healthcare "system" is complex, fragmented, and profit-driven, with high administrative costs, expensive prescription drugs, and has a complete lack of price controls and transparency?

@iamthe99 The payment process needs fixing but it's not a place like Canada, where you can wait months and months for vital treatment. And where did Mick Jagger go when he needed heart surgery? To Britain's national health care system? Nope - he hopped a plane to NYC.

From AI Overview: In 2024, the median wait time for surgery in Canada was 30 weeks, which is 222% longer than in 1993. This wait time includes both the time it takes to get a specialist consultation and the time it takes to receive treatment after the consultation. Wait times vary significantly by province and specialty, with some provinces like Prince Edward Island having much longer waits than others like Ontario.


...last time I needed surgery, I waited 5 days..

@graphite you drank all the KoolAde. I worked in the US healthcare system, which is an oxymoron. I also spent time on the UK system and the US military. Our technology may be the greatest, our actual ability to provide health care stinks.


I have no idea what surgery you were able to schedule in 5 days, because even i can't get to see a physician for a nonemergency in such a short time. Emergencies in an ER and you can count on staying a full day, mostly spending hours before being seen by a physician.

The problem will likely get worse, particularly on rural US if the house's Medicaid cuts are enacted.