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If it is so good, why do so may STILL pay fro a SEPARATE police from a PRIVATE insurer?
If you add ALL the taxes, I doubt if it is half of what most Americans pay.
That is your claim.. please back it up!
I can only publish number from governmental agencies, international agencies, private agencies, newspapers etc etc etc.. that has done the math, and showed that the US spends 16-17% of GDP on healthcare, while other 1st world nations, spend between 9-11% of GDP.
And they get better results.
People have CHOICE... they can CHOOSE to use a private doctor if the so want. Its how its works in almost every other 1st world nation.
I have used a private doctor. It cost 3-4 times MORE then going to my regular doctor, but I did get to spend 15min more at his office.
Add in health insurance premiums, deductibles, copays, out-of-pockets and balance billing and the US citizen is paying MORE, far more, than those in Europe whose taxes also include retirement. I did the math a while back on Canada. US people here have an $16,000 per year higher exposure than Canadians including all taxes.
There is variance in the provinces on availability of timely or specialist care . Most Canadians are very happy with their medical care, judging from the posts on health insurance forum and one former Canadian I know very well who has most of her family still in Canada. These people have been very prosperous in spite of the "high taxes" - and never give the cost of medical care a thought. It is very freeing. These people all own homes in Canada worth $500k or more. So much for high taxes taking everything you earn.
On long waits, here in US - I have a neighborhood clinic I go to almost always for the routine. Can usually get in within a day or two. Our major hospital clinics have much longer waits.
50 years ago I remember having to book primary care physician and ob-gyn appts. at least 3 months in advance. Long waits are nothing new to me.
Still not buying it, at least for US families.
My wife and i fall into the 28% tax bracket. Our sales tax here in MI, Regardless of items spent is 6%. We aren't lucky enough to have employer sponsored health care, so we self fund at $670 a month. Our office visit co pay is $30 per visit. Our deductable is $5500. If we strive to stay healthy it costs us $8040 a year in premiums, plus maybe , $100 or so for an office visit or two. On a good year. 3 years ago i spent two weeks in the hospital , 2 surgeries, and a night in ICU. That year we had to cover the $5500 deductable, which i think we have 4 or 5 more payments left.
How would pushing me into a 51% (using the figures from the Netherlands) personal income tax bracket and increasing sales tax from 6% to 21% be less expensive ? We have hobbies so buy quite a few items that would be taxed at that 21%
All this type of program does is target higher paid people to fund it.
As far as Canada goes, we hang out with a couple that are in the slightly over $200k range, and yes they live in a nice home roughly $275k. They enjoy many of the same hobbies we do, so they get it with the VAT quite a bit. And that is the one thing that they constantly seem to complain about, taxes and VAT. They also said that they wouldn't change anything but admit, had they had kids they could not afford to live the lifestyle they do due to those taxes and VAT.
My wife and i fall into the 28% tax bracket. Our sales tax here in MI, Regardless of items spent is 6%. We aren't lucky enough to have employer sponsored health care, so we self fund at $670 a month. Our office visit co pay is $30 per visit. Our deductable is $5500. If we strive to stay healthy it costs us $8040 a year in premiums, plus maybe , $100 or so for an office visit or two. On a good year. 3 years ago i spent two weeks in the hospital , 2 surgeries, and a night in ICU. That year we had to cover the $5500 deductable, which i think we have 4 or 5 more payments left.
How would pushing me into a 51% (using the figures from the Netherlands) personal income tax bracket and increasing sales tax from 6% to 21% be less expensive ? We have hobbies so buy quite a few items that would be taxed at that 21%
All this type of program does is target higher paid people to fund it.
As far as Canada goes, we hang out with a couple that are in the slightly over $200k range, and yes they live in a nice home roughly $275k. They enjoy many of the same hobbies we do, so they get it with the VAT quite a bit. And that is the one thing that they constantly seem to complain about, taxes and VAT. They also said that they wouldn't change anything but admit, had they had kids they could not afford to live the lifestyle they do due to those taxes and VAT.
VAT is exempt or payed at a reduced rate on many goods and services.
For instance here's a lits of VAT exempt and reduced good and services in the UK.
So ? It is reduced on things considered necessities, down to 6%. Although they are considering pushing it up to 9%.
Again, someone explain how pushing my income tax up to 51%, and taxing me 21% on the things i purchase like cigars, bourbon, and other hobby related items (snowmobiles, atv's, a cottage, etc) is going to cost us less ?
You can't because it isn't. Now if we were a family with 3 kids and make $30k a year combined, sure it might be less. Until that family decides to buy a car or some other items that would normally have a sales tax of 6% but is now 21%
"In other words, an average one-income household with two children now keeps 98.8 per cent of their gross income, once the child benefit is factored in. In the U.S., the same family would pay 14.2 per cent in taxes, a tax rate some 12 times higher than in Canada."
"And then there’s the USA. It’s hardly a surprise that in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and the great recession, taxes are surprisingly, even shockingly, high. But that’s hardly news; the media in the USA, conservative and otherwise, have been hammering home how overtaxed Americans are. And they’re right."
ADD: To acquire parallel medical coverage, they pay on average for a family of four $16K to 20K per year or go with less coverage. That's a lot of additional tax....if they want to have the same healthcare.
We'll keep ours and they keep their inferior system….easy peazy…….no problemmo.
So ? It is reduced on things considered necessities, down to 6%. Although they are considering pushing it up to 9%.
Again, someone explain how pushing my income tax up to 51%, and taxing me 21% on the things i purchase like cigars, bourbon, and other hobby related items (snowmobiles, atv's, a cottage, etc) is going to cost us less ?
You can't because it isn't. Now if we were a family with 3 kids and make $30k a year combined, sure it might be less. Until that family decides to buy a car or some other items that would normally have a sales tax of 6% but is now 21%
The reduced VAT rates are 0% and 5% in the UK, whilst the ordinary rate is 20%, however not just essentials a lot of other non essential goods and services are either zero rate exempt or 5%.
The US has a massive budget deficit which will be more than $1 trillion in 2019, and which is being made worse by trillions of dollars in tax cuts.
The US also has high spending in relation to military spending of over $700 Billion, and the prison population takes up the best part of another $100 Billion and the you have vast intelligence agencies like the NSA, Homeland Security, Space Programmes and indeed the Space Force, so you are looking at the best part of $1 Trillion if you add this lot together. Which is vastly more than what other countries spend.
Then you have health insurance to buy on top of any taxes, and they have sales tax in the US, although in the UK it's added as part of the overall price rather than at the check out till.
Health Insurance in the Netherlands is subsidised by the Government and the average bill is far more reasnable than in the US.
The basic health care plan in the Netherlands will cost € 100-120, which is arounf $115 to $140.
If you’re employed, your employer will also pay a small percentage towards medical coverage as well.
The Dutch System is explained very well on the website below -
Medical costs have not gone down since the study was published. They have only gone up.
Obamacare did nothing to bring down costs. It might have slowed the rate of increase somewhat but did nothing to actually bring down costs. So the number of people going broke from medical bills has gone up.
People used to die of diseases that are now treatable and often curable. This costs $$$.
75% of us are overweight/ obese and substantially more vulnerable to heart disease, diabetes, stroke, joint deterioration and some Cancers. The rate of overweight/ obesity has doubled over the past 50 years.
CDC reports 100 million in the US are Diabetic or pre- Diabetic. The American Diabetes Association reports the average cost to treat Diabetes and complications is approaching $10,000 a year. Diabetes 2 is nearly preventable.
It’s easier for people to blame Fill in the Blanks than take control of their own health/ risk factors.
"In other words, an average one-income household with two children now keeps 98.8 per cent of their gross income, once the child benefit is factored in. In the U.S., the same family would pay 14.2 per cent in taxes, a tax rate some 12 times higher than in Canada."
That sounds pretty much like what my Canadian friends said. Keep in mind though, everyone whether they have kids or not is effected by VAT.
The cheaper for all thing is a crock of ****, its cheaper for some. All it does is lesson the burden of health care costs to some, by spreading the costs to those that have higher incomes and no kids. Some might be okay with that, i'm not.
People used to die of diseases that are now treatable and often curable. This costs $$$.
75% of us are overweight/ obese and substantially more vulnerable to heart disease, diabetes, stroke, joint deterioration and some Cancers. The rate of overweight/ obesity has doubled over the past 50 years.
CDC reports 100 million in the US are Diabetic or pre- Diabetic. The American Diabetes Association reports the average cost to treat Diabetes and complications is approaching $10,000 a year. Diabetes 2 is nearly preventable.
It’s easier for people to blame Fill in the Blanks than take control of their own health/ risk factors.
Very good point. Like i said earlier, if my wife and i have a good year it only costs us $8040 in premium, and $30 per office visit.
This is a huge incentive to try and live a healthy lifestyle. We don't want another $5500 deductible charge for a hospital stay if we can help it.
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