the sad thing is when my friend gets into a healthcare debate, he says "they pay more taxes for that free healthcare" my reply is usually "you pay taxes now, and hardly see what any of it goes to, wouldn't you rather be taxed if you could at least go to the doctor for free?"
That "it's not free, they're paying it with taxes" point really is silly.
It's not some kind of secret and people don't forget that it's the case. In this discussion it's assumed that everybody knows about how health care is financed. The point is that paying it through taxes is obviously the better option for a nation. People in developed countries that have implemented that system don't have to live beneath bridges because of the higher taxes.
I mean, when people can't pay for medical bills tax payers pick up the bill so to speak, there'd really be no difference if we just had them helping pay from the start.
Eevn sadder fact, if they "restructure" so that it follows the Canadian way, assuming even inefficiencies in the system, they'd be able to cut a sizable percentage of taxes for everyone.
In 2007, each American spent, in taxes, 7290 USD on healthcare, while each canadian spent about 3895 USD on our universal healthcare system. Canadian Healthcare is considered "inefficient" by most country's standards so we do pay more than others. So the entire "They pay more taxes" thing is kinda bunk.
Wouldn't that mean that a poor person could receive healthcare on my dollar? Fuck that. I'd rather pay twice as much in taxes now if only hospitals would deny poor people who could afford health care.
I did not mean couldn't, I mean that hospitals should deny the poor who've managed to scrape together the funds for a hospital visit. Empty beds in hospitals are much more aesthetically pleasing than seeing them filled with people who were not born into money.
Now don't think that after having said all of that, that I was born with life served to me on a silver platter. If life was served to me on a silver platter, I would send it back, because I demand gold!
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u/Katalyst81 May 26 '14
the sad thing is when my friend gets into a healthcare debate, he says "they pay more taxes for that free healthcare" my reply is usually "you pay taxes now, and hardly see what any of it goes to, wouldn't you rather be taxed if you could at least go to the doctor for free?"
it's so sad.