How much would you pay in taxes for these benefits

I would be willing to pay less than I pay now and have it included everything I want.

I'm reckoning from the majority of responses that many people don't understand the concept of "you get what you pay for".

Or the idea of 'maintenance' and have absorbed (I don't say bought into because it's more subtle than that) the idea of using something until it breaks and only then fixing it, rather then maintaining it so that it doesn't break.

In the first case, above, it would seem most are not willing to pay, either up-front or after the fact for the kind of health care, social safety net, and education that other citizens of 1st World countries expect. And pay for these substandard pseudo-benefits you will.

On the second point (and someone did mention disease-care) maintaining anything is always cheaper than letting it (whatever it may be) get so run down as to break and then fixing it. It's part and parcel of our 'consumer' - throw away culture. A true conspiracy of market-based economies where we pay-out the largest amount of cash over and over rather then 'conserve' by maintaining our goods. Oh- and the ego-driven need to have what's new and shiny all the time.

Slaves to culture not freethinkers follow others.

a reply to: SprocketUK

That's because nothing is ever simple when government gets involved. There was a case in our financial bureaucracy where they were supposed to be watching for the kind of abuses that helped lead to the housing market crash, but the people who were tasked with that work didn't actually have enough of it or something because it turns out they were spending most of their time watching porn on their computers at work (an audit uncovered this), so they missed a lot of the trouble signals they should have caught.

Now the sensible explanation was that if they were really that bored because the work load was so low, then you fire down to where your employees are kept busy so they can't get into trouble like that. However, this is government where employees are protected by unions and you can't do that.

So the so-called solution was to hire more employees whose only job was to watch the bored employees to make sure they didn't watch porn on their computers.

Now if you ask me, we are simply wasting that much more in salary, benefits, retirement, etc., to keep paying those same employees to likely continue misusing their government computers while they are probably joined by their new watchdogs.

a reply to: FyreByrd

If I get what I pay for ... why do I live in a nation that spends more than any other developed nation on education per student with some of the worst results?

a reply to: MisterSpock

Woah guy, lot’s of astute insight there fo having not watched the vid. While you may be onto something, is it any surprise time and again the Danes are rated happiest people on the planet...?

I always point out if we cut a percentage of operating US based, we could have guns AND butter. But I think there is bumper sticker explaining this fact see AF vs public education bake sales

a reply to: JoshuaCox

...and swapping them for parasitic government? No thanks

Your healthcare isn't my problem. Pay for your own problems.

If you can't? Too bad for you, I suppose. I'll sleep just fine at night.

a reply to: slatesteam

And Denmark has a small, homogeneous population nowhere near as high as the US.

We have entirely too many people to even consider such things. Now, if you're talking pre-1900 population levels... maybe. 1800's? Sure. But 340,000,000? Not a chance in hell.

a reply to: carewemust

And they increase their profit by killing off those that require more than 3 days in hospital, or outlier care.

I hate what our healthcare system and hospitals have become, that is why I left.

I still provide healthcare to my patients, but now my job falls along Public Safety and Law Enforcement.

No insurance companies to deal with. Which is a blessing for all concerned.

originally posted by: MisterSpock
Didn't watch the video, I, like most people, probably already think they pay to much. Between income and property tax, I get half of what I earn. I'm then taxed anytime I spend what i have left. If I'm lucky to have enough money to pass onto my family, they will take 30 percent of that as well.

I'm just assuming that this topic involved "paying a little more" for socialist utopia.

Too bad you didn't watch it, because the gist of it is for the same s# you pay double or more for OOP after your admittedly high American tax burden, you get way more bang for the Dane tax buck and less financial stress your entire life.

I worked with a person from Denmark who was here in the US. He and his wife were trying to make money on the side,cash, because his tax rate was about 80%. So when he made an extra $1,000 here and was paid in cash it was like $5,000 if he had to report the income

So if this is paradise, why was he trying so hard to not report some of his income?

a reply to: JBurns

No. I’m not. I’m talking every modern year lately. But thanks for the misdirection and words in my mouth. PROVE me wrong with a link disputing what I said... have a good friday

Edit: you right though, US cares for too many bodies. Hence NATO, see southern border, broken infrastructure, welfare state, etc

It's not really a matter of needing to pay more taxes. It's more a question of what do I want my taxes to pay for?

My taxes pay for a lot of stupid stuff we don't need like; Congress paychecks and benefits. 700 military installations around the world. A bloated military budget. A black budget that we don't even know what we're paying for. A bloated IRS and Tax System. The Homeland SEcurity budget. The list goes on and on. Oh and stupid congressional hearings like STrozk or whatever his name is. Shouldn't that be handled internally? LIke demote, relocated, fire, internal audit etc. Why we got to get congress involved? Seems dumb. I work my whole life and pay taxes my whole life. give me some of that there healthcare!

a reply to: Nyiah

And the Danish system is underpinned by oil profits.

We don't have that here. The closest thing to it is the state of Alaska.

a reply to: amazing

Clearly you missed the thread about how our military budget, while a large part of discretionary spending, is still only a tiny percentage of overall spending while domestic programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security absolutely DWARF it in amount ...

originally posted by: stosh64
a reply to: FyreByrd

A little fact that people forget when comparing these European socialist 'utopias' to the United States is these small Countries get to live their lifestyle under the protection of the U.S. backed NATO.

Denmark, a favorite used by the socialists to compare and bash the U.S., currently only pays 1.17% of their GDP yet get to live safe and secure with the full backing of the U.S. led NATO.

Let them pay their 2% minimum, or better yet, just let the U.S. worry about itself and let Europe take care of their own defense, and see how fast priorities change.

Don't forget we're subsidizing their fixed drug prices.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: amazing

Clearly you missed the thread about how our military budget, while a large part of discretionary spending, is still only a tiny percentage of overall spending while domestic programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security absolutely DWARF it in amount ...

Oh yeah the $600 billion that we know about + all the black stuff that doesn't show up as an actual line item.

a reply to: amazing

And still no one has addressed the obvious --

We pay more on public education than any other developed nation in the world per student and get crap for results.

If this is all the better we can expect out of public services, then why would anyone fork over any money for them? Imagine your health care system run as well as public education! Come see the scenic hospitals of Detroit that are rotting from the inside out despite the fact that Americans spend more per taxpayer on their public health system per citizen than any other developed nation!

Hey, but at least your stay in that rotting hospital is free, amirite?

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: amazing

And still no one has addressed the obvious --

We pay more on public education than any other developed nation in the world per student and get crap for results.

If this is all the better we can expect out of public services, then why would anyone fork over any money for them? Imagine your health care system run as well as public education! Come see the scenic hospitals of Detroit that are rotting from the inside out despite the fact that Americans spend more per taxpayer on their public health system per citizen than any other developed nation!

Hey, but at least your stay in that rotting hospital is free, amirite?

Made up again,

In terms of countries' total government and private expenditures on education institutions by education level in 2014, the percentage of GDP that the United States spent on elementary and secondary education (3.6 percent) was slightly lower than the OECD average.

LOWER than other Western Nations.

nces.ed.gov...

Don't you embarrass yourself sometimes?

a reply to: FyreByrd

Why are you socialists always trying to take peoples money and give it to the government?what if someone wants to make a choice,just because you liberals can't control your life,don't put others in your category,get a damn job,earn your own money,then you can do what you want,not as your told

a reply to: ketsuko

Speaking of wasted tax dollars a huge chunk goes to law enforcement to waste on sting operations targeting prostitutes and people smoking herbs.

On topic , the idea behind socialized healthcare is that doctors can focus on preventative strategies to help keep costs down.