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Originally Posted by Army_of_One  My take...
I'm sure Binky's social healthcare system works great. Who doesn't want "free healthcare". |
As I've said before the NHS, whilst not being perfect, (name me one large national healthcare service that is), it provides FREE healthcare to all people in the UK, regardless of where they live or who they are.
All European and Scandinavian countries have such national healthcare schemes, its part of our culture and our commitment to look after those within our societies who are sick, elderly, vunerable and in need. As the saying goes, "there is no such thing as a free lunch", and of course we pay for it through taxes. There are private health insurance schemes that are also available for those who wish to pay into them.
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Britain has what is called a VAT or Value Added Tax which is a 17.5% tax on consumer goods and services. (some goods and services are excluded from this tax) This is basically a tax on consumer spending.
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Like all European states within the EU, we have VAT, which is a local sales tax. In the UK it doesn't apply to everything, some things are exempt, and some things are zero rated.
It is probably fair to say that the US has overall a lower tax regime than Europe. I spent last Christmas/New Year in Denver with my daughter who lives there and I have to say supermarkets and restuarants are much cheaper than in the UK - no wonder you Americans eat out so often! Mind you we don't have to give a 20% tip in restuarants, although its fair to say I don't mind tipping in the US as the service is usually of a much higher standard than in the UK. I don't think the British understand the concept of good customer service! I was in New York a few weeks ago and even though its a major city, bustling and hectic, customer service there is also very good, and prices for most things are cheaper - I bought an iPod and a camera, and saved ££££'s!
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I feel that if something is totally free then everyone will take advantage of the system for even the smallest illness.
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In fairness Army1 I don't think this happens much. If people have minor ailments they get directed to the nurse within the practice who deals with such matters.
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Binky, do you have a DR shortage in Britain?
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On the 12 July last year the BBC reported
that in England there were 29,193 applicants for the 15,600 junior doctor training posts.
If you want the real facts about our NHS take a look at this link:
NHS Choices Quote:
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OUr system pretty much sucks but we DO have some of the best healthcare in the world....people that can afford it come HERE to have major surgeries done. They don't go to Cuba or Canada...
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You're probably right Army1, I guess the issue is one of how it is available to those who are unable through lack of money to tap into it? Don't you have something called Medicare?
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FURTHERmore Binky I do feel that we as able bodied tax paying citizens DO have a responsibility to help the elderly, disabled, mentally ill and such. BUT how much responsibility do we have to pay for the healthcare of a perfectly fit human being that chooses to not contribute to society?
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A difficult one and I wish I knew the answer.