Strangely enough, it was an american economist that coined:
"Taxes are the price we pay for civilization." Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
I always hear this retort though, the wait times are insane which can be problematic for people with serious urgent ailments, anyone wanna share their experiences?
Edit: thanks for all the replies so far, keep em comin. I don’t personally believe this take but I never quite have substance to point to. Any statistic or polls would also be helpful!
Let me post two anecdotes.
In grad school I was in Canada when I crashed my bike, nearly broke my jaw, broke a tooth in half exposing a root. A cop helped me bandage my face, I got a root canal the same same, X-rays, and pain killers. Didn't pay a cent.
In the UK on vacation I got a nasty eye infection and a corneal ulcer as a result. Went to the ER, was seen, treated, and given meds for the next two weeks within three hours.
I'm an American. If luck had been different, that could have been a lot of debt. In both cases neither country even had a method for me to pay them, they just took care of me.
Because it's the right thing to do, not because they thought they could bill me into poverty.
I just had an appointment with a specialist. In December. I scheduled it in July. December was their first availability.
My father was discovered to have a shadow in his lung during an xray taken of his back, this was from a private healthcare provider. They referred him to the NHS because they specialise in treating serious conditions above all else, the private doctor even said that they are the best org for cancer care in the uk.
Within a week he was diagnosed with stage 1 lung cancer. Two weeks later they had completely removed the infected lobe of his lung, and around a week later he was released from hospital cured.
Apart from the initial, privately done xray for his back, this cost him exactly nothing. Within 3 weeks of a cancer scare he was completely cancer free.
It's admittedly psychiatric care not emergency medical, but I've been impressed by Norway this year.
After a decade or so of chaos after leaving high school, I had realised earlier this year that I had some issue and sought help.
Start to finish, from GP appointment -> psychiatric evaluation -> tests -> specialist -> testing meds -> follow up, took 6 months, and I'm $275 out of pocket, and meds for 1 month cost $6.5.
Two things worth noting are that they absolutely nailed identifying my issue first go, and that I responded well to the first thing they prescribed me, neither of which necessarily happen for everyone.
I'm not getting the symbolism in relation to the post but this gif is great regardless.
Image Transcription: Twitter Post
Stu Cameron, @stucam7771
Nobody 'likes' paying tax, but at least here in Scotland we get to use the hospitals, universities, infastructure, prescription drugs and more (that are tax funded) at no extra cost
I feel sorry for Americans, who also pay tax but without these benefits
Nice military though...
Is there some irony in the fact that the 13 colonies decided to rebel because they didn't want it pay tax back to England for services that they wouldn't get to see the benefits of and so started the American Revolution only to fast forward to now and have more or less the same thing happening?
I mean it's probably a bit more complicated than that but it seems like it's happening that way.
The US brings in 78% of what it spends. Period. So our taxes don't pay for what we get.
In fact, income tax is only a little more than 1/2 of the revenue.
So whatever. Lets stop pretending we have to be fiscally responsible in the US. We haven't passed a budget since 2008. It's just spending bills and continuing resolutions.
Give us healthcare. Don't bark about having the money. Just do it.
Our military dick is bigger.
Maybe if you line them all up
That is the risk with taxes. You can't stop paying them, so politicians, in some circumstances, are able to use them for things you don't want.
Welcome to politcal memes!
These are our rules:
Be civil
Jokes are okay, but don’t intentionally harass or disturb any member of our community. Sexism, racism and bigotry are not allowed. Good faith argumentation only. No posts discouraging people to vote or shaming people for voting.
No misinformation
Don’t post any intentional misinformation. When asked by mods, provide sources for any claims you make.
Posts should be memes
Random pictures do not qualify as memes. Relevance to politics is required.
No bots, spam or self-promotion
Follow instance rules, ask for your bot to be allowed on this community.
