You Americans really crack me up sometimes... What in the world could possibly be seen as wrong in making the rich spend a little bit of what they earn on helping the less fortunate? It doesn't make sense.
What makes even less sense is that a lot of the unfortunate people who would actually benefit from Obama's reforms vote republican out of sheer stupidity.
I'm from Belgium, Europe, and we have a long tradition of a caring state. Just a few examples to illustrate:
Education: Is virtually for free, AND of pretty high standard. I think that is a really good thing. Because of this everyone, rich or poor alike, can study what they want, and prepare themselves to become something in life. When we come out of high school, we can speak three languages just to give an example.
University studies in Belgium cost about 600€ per year. That is a fraction of what it costs in the States.
Healthcare: Health insurance is obligatory, organised by the state, but, also very cheap. It costs me about 14€ per month. If I have to go to hospital for some reason, I hardly have to pay anything on top of that. This prevents people from ending up in the streets because they can't afford the medical bills and makes sure everyone gets the best possible care. I think that's a positive thing indeed.
Social benefits: If I lose my job for some reason, I get unemployment pay. Not a whole lot, but enough to allow me to pay my rent, food and the necessary things in life so I don't end up in the streets and so I have the possibility to find another job without ending up in dept. Again, same idea as above, positive indeed.
And there's much more, but I won't get into everything here.
Does that come at a certain cost? Well yes. The tax system is quite different here as well. Everyone pays a certain part of his/her income to the state, and yes that's a lot more than you Americans pay. The more you earn, the bigger the percentage of your income you pay on taxes. But i'm happy to pay my taxes, because when push comes to shove, and I end up in trouble, I have a safety net to rely on.
This all has the effect of reducing the percentage of poor people in the population. Having less poor, means having more people who can afford to consume products, which has in its turn a positive effect on economy, which creates jobs, so less unemployment, and so on....
The USA are the only developed country on this planet without universal health care. Are you guys going to tell me the whole world is wrong about this and you right?
There's nothing wrong with a bit of socialism (look it up before you get on your high horses, it's NOT the same as communism)
Just my two cents....
Love
Liesje
|