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Rich get richer
  • 53 Replies sorted by
  • disordinarydisordinary

    @svart just because your entitled to something doesn't mean you have to except it - no one should be homeless, however some people choose to be because of political reasons.

    The US Unemployment Benefit is a joke, you are only eligible for 2 years and the conditions that need to be met to receive it are very strict.

    The US health system is a nightmare, and if I remember correctly the most expensive in the western world per person.

    My uncle was a top engineer, he was a test driver for Lamborghini in the 70's and 80's, he drove every single Lambo that came off the production line. Eventually he moved to the US and started a specialist high performance mechanics, and was very successful. One day his wife got cancer, he discovered that his comprehensive medical insurance wouldn't cover the rare strain of cancer and its treatment, the state wouldn't pick up the cost. So he spent everything that he had on the treatment. He lost his business, he lost his house, and he lost his wife. How is that comprehensive social welfare?

    I don't live in Euroipe, I live on the bottom of the planet, however we have a reasonable social welfare system - certainly not parts of Europe levels, but good enough.

    I really don't understand this obsession with firearms in the US. Here we have a very good policy - you need to have a background check before getting a firearm license, you need a reason for this - and the only firearms available for a standard user are riffles and shotguns which are designed for hunting.

    If you want to get an unreasonably large caliber weapon, a fully automatic rifle or a hand gun you need special dispensation.

    Firearms need to be stored in a special lock-box (in fact you can't even apply for a license without having a lock box) and the firing mechanism and ammo needs to be stored separately.

    Guns kill people and people kill people, remove guns and you make it much harder.

  • neokooneokoo

    @svart Now I understand better what you mean. Indeed the differences in culture, population and social structure between US and European welfare states are such that in practice same exact solutions are not likely to work. But beginning with progressively taxing the richest people still sounds sensible.

    I disagree that for someone who is not able to pull their weight to be left poor is any kind of freedom… but then again, in practice, even in Northern Europe there are unemployed people who choose to spend their welfare money on alcohol and drugs no matter what. As long as they do not commit crimes - and in part to keep it that way - they are usually left to live on small support money. Maybe that is some kind of freedom too.

    As for people in European welfare states who are well off and paying high taxes, there is a general attitude that since they were helped by social benefits, they in turn should help as well. Taxation issues are of course widely discussed, as well as ability of government to use money efficiently, but generally it is trusted that government spending is responsible.

    In most of those countries welfare systems are not very old, so few generations ago a leap of faith was taken to establish current values. Maybe, as jrd says, it is a chicken-and-egg thing also in US.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @all

    I want to repeat. Guys, back your opinions with facts and data, otherwise it'll be just pure flame and bunch of opinions.

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